20141202吃苦了苦轉心念 Living a Life of Purpose
In August 2011, my eldest son suddenly passed away I cried every day. Whenever I saw his things, I couldn't help but cry. On Oct. 31, 2012, my husband also passed away. At that moment, I really wanted to go with him. But Tzu Chi volunteers gave me a lot of support. So, I told myself that I couldn't cry anymore as tears could not bring back my husband and son I told myself that I had to move on.
See how much people can suffer spiritually. Life is indeed filled with much suffering. That's why the Buddha teaches us about the Four Noble Truths, which are about the truths of suffering. These were his first teachings after he attained enlightenment He analyzed for us the nature of suffering, etc. with examples that we can easily relate to and problems we encounter in our everyday life so we can better understand and then take in the truths of suffering.
This is how the Buddha used events and people's experience to share life's [principles with us and help us learn the truths of suffering. Life is impermanent and unpredictable. Our life diminishes as time passes, and time truly flies by very quickly. In the span of our lives for a few decades, what can we do for our world? What is the purpose of life in this world? This is what we must think deeply about.
Some people may want to enjoy a comfortable life. But such a life is empty. No matter how much we suffer in life, we can learn life's truths from it. And as we suffer, our negative karma will be depleted and joy will come our way. See how many suffering people come across Tzu Chi, become our volunteers, and change for the better. In the past, they needed help. But now, they have changed and can in turn help others. By giving of love to help other people in need, they're practicing the true Dharma.
This is how we can practice the Dharma in our everyday life. Actually, every one of us is a bodhisattva, and everyone's heart is a cultivation ground. So, it's up to us how we want to dignify our cultivation ground within. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are in our hearts, not in temples, As a living bodhisattva, when people suffer, we should quickly go to their aid. this is our purpose of life.
The purpose of our life is to help one another and be there for one another. For example, I help you, and you help me as well. Thanks to you, we can spread the Dharma in the world. If it weren't for you, my words wouldn't have reached so many people. To purify people's minds, we need to make the Dharma more widespread. To work for Buddhism and all living beings, we must share the Dharma with more people. You diligently listen to my Dharma talks, so I have to work hard as well. That's how you've helped me.
And, when my words inspire you and change your lives, I've also helped you. This is how we've helped one another. So, we should be grateful to one another. Everyone around us can help us in some way, so we should be grateful to them at all times. This is what it means to live out the Dharma in our everyday life and in our deeds, words and thoughts.
When we take the Dharma to heart, we should live it out in our actions. After we've taken in the Dharma, we should also share it with other people. This is to live out the Dharma through words, To recruit more living bodhisattvas, we need to learn the Dharma, understand more about Tzu Chi, take in our Jing Si Dharma Lineage, adn then share what we've learned with others.
By doing so, we're passing on the Dharma through words. Whether we can do this depends on whether we can keep the Dharma in our thoughts. You've spent two years training to become a certified Tzu Chi volunteer. Before that, some of you might have started volunteering with Tzu Chi. So, you may have served for many years. And the reason you're here today is to further pledge your vow to live out the Dharma in your daily living and in our deeds words and thoughts.
So, please put your hearts into it. Serving as living bodhisattvas in this world, you should help and cherish one another and steadfastly give of yourselves to serve others. This is because we've chosen to practice the true Dharma in life. So, we should diligently learn the Dharma. Only then can we use the Dharma to explain what's happening around us or share the Dharma with people with stories they can relate to. This is only possible with the true Dharma.
So, to serve as living bodhisattvas, we need to learn how to share the Dharma with others and inspire more people to give so we can sow more blessings and form good affinities with more people and become awakened ourselves as we serve. This is how wonderful the true Dharma is, so we should cherish it. Everyone, loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity are the core values of Tzu Chi. Loving-kindness is about going among people to serve
Compassion is about walking the Boddhi Path. Joy is about learning the Dharma because when we take in the Dharma, we'll be filled with spiritual joy. Equanimity is about giving and letting go. We should give up our desires for sleep, comfort, pleasure, etc. and eliminate our ignorance and use the time we've saved up to learn the Dharma. If we can do so, we are following our Jing Si Dharma Linage, which can help to nurture our wisdom.
And by walking out Tzu Chi Path to serve others, we're sowing blessings for our world. Everyone, can you do that? Yes. If so, I hope all of you will abide by your vow and won't waver. Since you've made the vow, you should not change your mind. The Dharma contains many useful teachings and can be applied tactfully in different ways for different situations. This is how the Dharma can be used in every aspect of our life as long as we are mindful.
首頁 