20160527共識共行無量義 Going to the Aid of People in Need and Inspiring Goodness in Everyone
“When I saw Canoa right after the quake, I thought it was a nightmare. I felt very sad. During the first two weeks, I ran about looking for machinery for cleaning up the rubble.”
“I was born here and grew up here. I’ve been here my entire life. We’re desperate for help and I’m very happy to see people coming to our aid. After the quake, we’ve lost everything.”
‘Tzu chi volunteers came all the way to help us. They didn’t just distribute food to us, but gave us jobs and helped us to resume our normal lives and to build hope for our future.”
“Although I’m old, my family and I will do our best to rebuild our home. I’m grateful for Tzu Chi’s help.”
After an earthquake hit Ecuador in April, many people have lost all hope as their houses were destroyed and they were at a loss of what to do. Fortunately, Tzu Chi volunteers went to their aid and also shared the Buddha’s teachings with them.
They helped the locals with love and respect, bringing hope to them and opening up their hearts in darkness so the light could shine in.
Inspired, many locals took part in our cash-for-work program, working together to clean up four towns devastated by the quake. The first town our volunteers went to was Portoviejo.
When they first went, our volunteers spent quite a few days sharing with the locals how Tzu Chi has gone to many countries devastated by disasters to help those affected get back on their feet again.
After our U.S. volunteers spoke, our volunteers from South America would interpret for them. Together, they also brought comfort to the locals. What they did won trust from the locals. Not only that, the locals also accepted the cash-for-work program that our volunteers organized for them and worked hand in hand to clean up the disaster areas.
The first two towns they cleaned up, Portoviejo and Manta, have recovered from the quake. Grateful to our volunteers, the locals from Portoviejo and Manta also went to Canoa and Pedernales, the third and fourth towns Tzu Chi went to implement a cash-for-work program, to help with the cleanup.
Motivated by the program, many people were inspired to join us in cleaning up their own communities. Many local media have covered the event.
The government of Pedernales even posted the story on its website. This shows their respect for Tzu Chi. So, everyone knows about Tzu Chi and is very grateful. See how our volunteers guided everyone to sing and sign to the song
“We Are One Family” and how orderly everyone was! With everyone coming together like this, they’ve truly become like one big family.
Indeed, when people’s minds are purified and rebuilt, it is not difficult to rebuild their society where everyone can live in peace and safety and the economy will recover soon. So, we must help them with all our hearts. In the Lotus Sutra, there’s a chapter describing Bodhisattvas emerging from the ground.
Now, we’ve seen bodhisattvas descending from the sky because our volunteers from the U.S and South America have to go to Ecuador by airplane. They went there to help the locals not only with their hearts but also with the Buddha’s teachings.
For every one of our aid teams, there are less than 30 members. With so few of them, how are they to inspire so many locals to help? With the Buddha’s teachings.
When the locals take in what our volunteers share with them, they’ll be inspired and awakened. When they find the teachings useful, they’ll take them in and put them into practice.
This is how the Buddha’s teachings can be applied to the world we live in now. Apart from purifying people’s minds, we must also inspire them to give.
See how Ecuador is gradually recovering and how everyone is beaming with smiles! Everyone really wears a beautiful smile and is very pleasant and friendly. This is what a harmonious society is like.
Isn’t that like a pure land of bodhisattvas free of disasters? This is what we hope to see.
We also see Myanmar. After it was hit by flooding last August, our volunteers went there several times to give out rice seeds to affected farmers. Now, the farmers are reaping a good harvest.
“I sowed the rice seeds the moment I received them from Tzu Chi. Now it’s time to harvest. It’s going to be a good harvest. I guess I can reap over 100 bushels this year. I know that simply by looking at the rice grains because I’ve been farming for a long time.”
“One acre of land usually produces 90 bushels of rice. But this year, there’ll be over 100 bushels. I’ve never had such a bumper harvest. It must be the love and blessing that comes with the rice seeds we’d received.”
Everyone is very happy that each grain of rice is full and plump and that they’ve never had a better harvest.
“Master said the grains of rice can fill a bushel. So, we’ve been very cautious not to waste a single grain of rice. Everyone in my village is saving up rice to donate to the needy. I also go to other villages to promote the practice. I give them bottles so they can start saving.”
Indeed, one seed can give rise to innumerable seeds. Many locals are either saving up rice or coins every day and some are doing both to help the needy. This is in Myanmar.
In Ecuador, those helping with cleaning up quake disaster areas are also donating money to help others after they’ve learned about the practice. How touching it is! Seeing that, we’re really very happy.
The Buddha’s teaching can inspire goodness in people and help them to better themselves. When our goodness is inspired, we must take action to do good and invite others to join our rank.
With the help of the Buddha’s teachings, people’s goodness can be better awakened so they’ll be better inspired to do good and truly take action. So, we must work harder to inspire goodness in everyone.