20170118合心救護調乾坤 Living Out Love in Action
The imbalance of Nature’s elements has caused many disasters around the world. To relieve disaster-induced suffering, we need to disseminate the Buddha’s teachings in order to inspire more people around the world to give with love and offer help to the needy at any time and any place.
In addition to substantial help, purifying our mind is equally important. We need to cultivate a heart of goodness and the qualities of sincerity, integrity, faith, and honesty so that we’ll have a heart of abundant love and devote ourselves in any place that needs our timely help.
In the act of timely help, our hearts and minds go in line with truth and our sincere piety can resonate with the Dharma-protecting beings above.
The Earth has fallen ill due to the imbalance of Nature’s elements. To help the Earth regain health, we need to curb global warming. We humans also fall ill due to the imbalanced elements in our body. If we have a fever, who will we turn to for help? Certainly, we will seek medical treatment by seeing a doctor.
Yet, what if one’s mind or the Earth falls ill? The only cure is the Dharma. From the Dharma, we learn correct views and understanding. By piously following the Buddha’s teachings, every one of us can tame and purify our minds, which will in turn help Nature’s elements resume their balance, thereby quelling global warming and mitigating natural disasters.
So, if we can learn the Dharma, we must seize every moment doing so. We must go amongst people by adhering to the virtues sincerity, integrity, faith, honesty, loving kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.
Last month, our medical team, along with our volunteers from various countries and regions went to Jordan to care for refugees who have greatly suffered for years. Upon arriving in Jordan, we immediately set out on our relief mission by visiting a refugee home in Sweileh.
I held the child’s hands in mine and found his hands very cold. I checked his eyelids and found he had slight anemia. We the relief team, brought warm clothing with us. So, my hands were warm. I held his hands in mine so that he could feel my warmth. I hoped I could bring warmth to his hands, and then, to his heart.
Although for the refugees, our volunteers and doctors are a group of people from a foreign land, they cared for them like their own family. Our relief work in Jordan lasted eight days. From our relief team, we’ve heard many touching stories and from the stories, we know that our volunteers and doctors gave with selfless love to relieve the refugees of suffering.
They did so with loving-kindness, compassion, and joy without any regrets, complaints, or worries. They willingly give of themselves and serve with joy, whatever difficulties may arise.
It was really cold n Jordan. But see Dr. Chen, he held the child’s hands when he found his hands were cold. He cared for the child like his own. Like Dr. Chen, the others in our relief team also served willingly and with joy.
We see that a volunteer of ours, Mr. Lin, helped to take care of an infant, while the mother was seeing a doctor.
What’s wrong with the equipment? The safety switch is off. It’s a minor problem.
It’s a minor problem. The baby’s mom is seeing a dentist. So ?
I’m babysitting for her.
In addition to maintaining the medical equipment, Mr. Lin also helped to look after the baby. He took care of the baby with much love as if the baby were his own grandchild. So, if we can come forth to relieve the suffering of all living beings like Bodhisattvas and inspire the goodness in more people, there’ll be less people suffering.
Yet, it’s best that people’s minds can all be purified, so that there won’t be any man-made disasters.
The story of boiled eggs was also very touching. The refugee children threw away the eggs we gave them because they’d never seen any eggs in their lives and they didn’t know eggs are edible.
Later, with the help of our doctors, the children learned how to eat an egg from their parents. A girl even danced as she was happy after tasting an egg. There are also other touching stories like this.
But, if we just listen to the stories without going there to help the refugees, can we fully understand what love is?
Love is intangible but by taking action to help the needy, we can better understand what love is. Dr. Chen showed his love to the child when he found his hands were cold. This I show we can find truth in our actions. Otherwise, if we don’t take action, we won’t understand the true meaning of life’s principles.
On the last day before taking the flight, we still held a free clinic at the residence of Ji Hui, our volunteer in Jordan. The free clinic really brought happiness to those refugees. This is the gift we gave to them for the New Year.
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