20170108 聚福弭災濟蒼生Accumulating Blessings to Relieve Suffering
In recent years, we have been talking about global climate change. Around the New Year, I saw that disasters in several countries that are caused by unfavorable climate devastated people, especially the poor, worsening their life.
Taiwan is indeed a place full of blessings with favorable climate throughout the year. Taiwan has plenty of food supply for domestic needs and even has the ability to help other countries. People who are able to help others are the most blessed.
We saw many in Husinchu attending the Year-End Blessings Ceremony, which opened with the solemn sound of bells and drums. Hsinchu is an affluent area where people are courteous and filled with love. Hsinchu is truly a place of virtues because of its virtuous people.
Also, we saw that many elderly volunteers brought with them their heavy coin bank to show me their donation. I touched their coin banks, and expressed my gratitude. The coins in the coin banks were then poured, with a low jingling sound, into a big urn one after another.
The big urn was soon filled up with the donated coins, which can help save people in need. Indeed, Taiwan is very safe and peaceful and has very good climate. If we can be more giving, we create more blessing. A saying tell us, the family that does good will be blessed. Every day, we should give rise to a thought of loving people.
With such loving thought to help others every day, we can create and Accumulate blessings. This way, we will be more blessed. This is why we spread Great Love around the world and inspire lasting compassion in people life after life. To be compassionate is being a bodhisattva with enlightened love.
When people bring forth their bodhisattva nature, by pooling together every bit of helping effort, they can help a large number of people in need around the world regardless of ethnic or religious differences.
We can help many people around the world by donating some of our money for relief aid. This year, just like in the past, I give everyone a direction to focus on in a couplet. This year’s couplet is “Create Blessings.” “Every Grain of Rice Delivers Eternal Love” and “Nurture Wisdom.” “Each Tiny Particle Holds Life’s Truth”.
What this means is that Tzu Chi started out with very few resources. We bought rice with what little money we had to help the poor. That was how Tzu Chi started over 50 years ago in Taiwan, following the Buddha’s teachings over 2,000 years ago to walk the Bodhisattva Path and to love and care for all living beings.
To care for all living beings, we must not let them go hungry. Therefore, 50 years ago, the main food aid we gave out in distributions was mostly rice. This is what we had done in the past and continues to do so today. We’ve been providing rice aid in Taiwan.
Now, when we go on disaster relief overseas, Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture also provides rice to Tzu Chi for our volunteers to personally deliver the rice to poor people in many countries. We give rice in distributions.
This is why every grain of rice we deliver contains our eternal love. We’ve been doing this since the beginning and continues until now. The wisdom we gain while serving people comes from the teachings of the Buddha, which have been passed down since the Buddha’s time. His teaching is the Dharma.
The Dharma teaches us to give love, and this love will then spread to around the world. The tiny love that each person gives contains life’s principles. When you donate money with love, your money goes into a fund along with other people’s donations; this fund is used to help people in need around the world.
There is a profound principle behind the love contributed by many to help people in need around the world. This is wisdom. With wisdom, we find life’s truth in everything.
Everyone, the power of love is very important. I often say that, “In the rice grain lies many suns and moons.” “Great Love and lasting compassion protect our homeland.” With Great Love in our heart, we can serve others and make Taiwan more safe and peaceful. Taiwan is not very big; so we extend our Great Love to help people in the world.
So many of them, upon receiving aid from Tzu Chi would say, “Thank you Taiwan, thank you Tzu Chi.” As we carry out works of goodwill overseas, they respond with gratitude and wish us well. Hence the saying goes, “Great :Love and lasting compassion protect our homeland.” Isn’t that a good thing to have for Taiwan?
Also, “Charitable deeds of loving-kindness bring bountiful blessings.” Having loving-kindness in ourselves and eagerly doing charitable deeds, we create blessings for our whole family. This is why charitable deeds of loving-kindness bring bountiful blessings.
Moreover, “Conducts of wisdom passes on virtues through the generations.” When parents conduct themselves with virtues, their children and grandchildren will, too; this is wisdom. Back in the day, people say to pass virtues on to their children. Indeed, this wisdom.
There are so many recycling volunteers here today, protecting our Earth by doing recycling. This is how they give with their power of love. By actively doing recycling every day, their heart is filled with kindness to protect our Earth. Their heart is full of kind and good thoughts. By protecting our Earth, they gain blessings and good health.
These elderly recycling volunteers e truly very wise. I’m very grateful to them. Such power of live is what we ought to keep on giving. Chinese Year New is approaching. I take the occasion to come to Hsinchu to give my blessing to everyone. I hope that everyone has received a red envelope.
The red envelopes are not made with money from the Tzu Chi Foundation but from the annual royalties of my publications. This is how I spend royalties I received.
Yet, it is not enough. I’m most grateful to all Dharma masters at the Jing Si Abode for helping to make this possible. Despites having already worked so hard, they persist in supporting me to form good affinities with people in this way.
Before we attain Buddhahood, we should first form good affinities with others. This is the reason that for decades, I’ve been using the royalties of my publications to form affinities with people and my disciples as well as give everyone my blessings.
Through these red envelopes, I share my intellectual property with everyone. Please cherish your red envelope, do not randomly put it aside.
Should you annually collect the red envelopes, they will become your family heirlooms. With much sincere piety, I give you all my blessings. These red envelopes are a token of my sincere blessings to form good affinities with everyone.
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