20160520 六度萬行菩薩道 Practicing the Dharma along the Bodhisattva Path
The Buddha taught us that the impurities of the world have polluted the space we live in and hindered people from seeing life’s principles. Like a wall of sandstorm obscuring our ability to see things.
It is similar to people’s hearts when being shrouded by ignorance, just like the once-clear space being blocked by the sandstorms. This is how ignorance affects.
Indeed, how did the vast, clear space become clouded by such a large and heavy sandstorm? It is because of the imbalance in Nature. Why has Nature become imbalanced? It is due to the collective karma created by humans. The Earth is overheating, which has caused the world to become imbalanced and be plagued by disasters.
On May 18, earthquakes struck Ecuador again. Tzu Chi volunteers were there carrying out the Cash for Relief program. Some people fainted by what happened, and our volunteers immediately comforted and calmed the people frightened by the quake. TIMA doctors provided timely medical services. These earthquakes that have occurred in Ecuador are very worrying to us. We truly need more living bodhisattvas around the world.
We see that volunteers in Jordan and Germany have accomplished a tough task of helping a family reunite. This refugee family from Syria became separated due to war. Thus, Tzu Chi volunteers in Jordan assisted the family and provided them plane tickets for them to reunite in Germany. It is heartwarming to see their reunion.
Completing a tough task like this is certainly not easy. It is really commendable. Tzu Chi volunteers made efforts to accomplish this task. They are truly impressive. Moreover, Tzu chi volunteers care for both people and the Earth.
We also see that the Wall Street Journal ranked Taiwan third in the world in recycling rate. This is very impressive. It reminds me of the times when Tzu Chi started promoting recycling decades ago. At that time, our recycling volunteers served as role models by taking initiative to do recycling and collect and sort recyclables, and they have continued to do so this day. Today, the recycling rate in Taiwan has increased significantly. Many people know how to do recycling now.
Achieving third place in the world is indeed not easy, and we’re very happy of this. This credit should go to the recycling volunteers, many of whom are senior volunteers. Therefore, the elderly are not a social problem. They are healthy in body and mind. They love the Earth and put their love into action by dedicating themselves in recycling work every day.
All in all, good deeds need someone to start it. As long as someone takes the first step and goes on the correct path, people will join in. This is a good thing. I hope Tzu Chi volunteers can inspire people to purify their hearts and transform their lifestyle.
For example, there is a school in the U.S. that has adopted a fully vegetarian menu.
We see these teachers say that since the children started eating vegetarian, they have behaved much better, become fast learners, and been very healthy.
“The cravings of small children are influenced by adults. They’re born without preferences. They will eat what you tell them to.”
“We eat a lot of vegetables so we can be healthy. Dad makes delicious food. I like his bitter melon soup, it’s really good.”
“When animals are harmed, I also feel their pain.”
“So we can’t eat meat, only vegetables.”
All in all, eating vegetarian is good for body and mind. It can make children calm and gentle. This all comes from what we eat. If everyone can use their wisdom to refrain from eating meat, it would truly be a great help to the Earth. This all starts with changing our lifestyle.
Of course, the same goes for using material goods. Many people keep buying new clothes to fill their closet and continue to buy more even though they haven’t even removed the price tag from the clothes they already purchased. In the end, these clothes are donated. Although these clothes were donated to help others out of love, the greed of people compels them to keep wanting to buy more clothes.
Because of this continuous consumption, much of the world’s resources and energy are being wasted causing carbon footprint and depleting water resources, which have led to the world becoming polluted. All in all, we need to be mindful.
Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital’s medical program provides medical services to people living in remote villages, high in the mountains or in secluded areas. The Tzu Chi medical mission has always safeguarded people’s lives and served people with great sincerity. I hope that Tzu Chi volunteers can also be more mindful in keeping people spiritually healthy by purifying their hearts.
We need to integrate the practice of six paramitas into our lives and we can easily do this in every aspect of our lives. Being a living bodhisattva is not difficult. All it takes is to start practicing the six paramitas and taking action to do good deeds. So, we need to be more mindful in doing this.
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