20141121人間菩提 ~ 茹素護生‧救拔苦難Cherishing All Life and Caring for Our Children
In Europe, due to the H5N8 avian flu outbreak, hundreds of thousands of poultry have been culled. Many people love the taste of meat. But in fact, we really don’t need meat to stay healthy. Vegetables and grains are enough to nourished our bodies and sustain our lives. But to satisfy their palate, people eat whatever they desire.
They raise animals and when there’s an outbreak of disease, thousands of animals will be culled. By doing so, people have created negative karma. With such heavy negative karma that everyone has created collectively, when can our world enjoy peace and safety?
People are truly very cruel. The Buddha’s teachings contain many true principles that we’re not aware of, and they show us what the right things to do are. So, we should follow the Buddha’s teachings to prevent misfortunes from happening. Wouldn’t that be better as our society will be more wholesome and the world more peaceful? The Buddha’s teachings can save our world, so we should work hard to learn them.
Last night, students and teachers from our schools gathered together to rehearse for the sutra adaptation they’re going to present for the 25th anniversary of our Mission of Education. It is truly very moving. See how our students, from college students to kindergarteners, and our teachers worked closely together to move in sync. Their orderly and synchronized movements fully displayed their state of mind. From that, we can see their hearts have come together as one. This is our mission of education---We not only impart knowledge to children, but also life’s principles and then guide them to put what they’ve learned into practice.
After learning true principles from taking part in the sutra adaptation and with their teacher’s mindful guidance, many children have learned to be more respectful to their parents, do good deeds, and respect all life. So, many of them have become vegetarian and they’re more determined than some adults. They are resolved to eat vegetarian and have taken the Dharma to heart. They are really pure and are the hope of our society.
This weekend, we’ll be celebrating the 25th anniversary of our Mission of Education. I’m really very grateful to every one of our schools for guiding our children so well that every one of them is so bright and pure. Now, we must work even harder to educate our children. Apart from teaching them knowledge, we should also guide them to take good care of their body and mind, which is very important. Three days ago, Supt. Kao of our hospital in Hualien came back from the Philippines. He went there to take part in a free clinic in Marikina and to give free vaccinations to children in Quezon.
At the free clinic, a mother brought her conjoined twins to ask for our help. Like Lea and Rachel, who were the first conjoined twins we’d helped separate, they are also conjoined at the upper abdomen and chest. From the picture of Lea and Rachel taken with Supt Kao, we see that they’ve reached his shoulders. When their mother first brought them to Hualien, they were just babies conjoined together. At the time, our medical team worked very mindfully to conduct separation surgery for them.
Now, they have grown up and are very beautiful. They are outgoing and kind-hearted. They also eat vegetarian and often help with our recycling work and take part in many of Tzu Chi events.
In 2010, we also performed separation surgery for another conjoined twins from the Philippines. This is how medicine can help people. And see how these conjoined twins have benefited from it. For that, I’m truly very grateful. At the free clinic, we also saw a little girl whose skull didn’t close properly when she was born. So, her brain tissue has pushed through the opening, forming a mass on her head. She is only five-month old, but her family is too poor to afford surgery.
Local doctors also recommended an operation, which is very risky of course. So, they need another four months for further assessment. But won’t that be too late? That’s why we hope to quickly contact the local hospital and see how we can help.
We also see a man who has been severely burned. When he was in his early 30s, his limbs were seriously burned in an explosion. It’s been nine years, and he still can’t bend his hands and fingers. See how much he’s suffered. There are indeed many suffering people in the world.
Yesterday, Dr. Chu from our Dept. of Pediatrics briefed me about the health checkups they’ve been conducting for primary and middle school children in Hualien. For eight years, they’ve been doing this for first, fourth, and seventh graders in 130 schools across Hualien. This is what they’ve been doing for students across Hualien for eight years. When I asked if every student can receive two checkups in every four years, Dr. Chu said yes and that they’ll continue to do it. They’ve taken up this responsibility to care for children across Hualien. This is how our doctors care for children with love, I’m really very grateful to them.
Yesterday, many doctors also brought me the awards they’ve received lately, including medical contribution awards, role model awards, etc. My table was filled with their awards. I personally handed these awards back to them to show my gratitude. Every one of them gives of themselves with sincere love. There are many heartwarming stories to share. All in all, we need to work harder to take care of everyone’s hearts and minds as well as lead a disciplined life and cherish all life on Earth. Only then can our world be peaceful and the weather be favorable.
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