20170221弘揚正法淨世間Spreading True Principles to Purify People’s Minds
We are living in the era of impurity. We see many extreme weather conditions and manmade disasters caused by the disharmony in people’s minds. This is exactly the era of impurity the Buddha foretold.
In the Lotus Sutra, we see that living beings are deemed very willful. It is difficult to guide and inspire them. This is especially the case with modern people. We really need to spread wholesome teachings more widely to purify people’s minds and inspire them to refrain from overindulgence.
Otherwise, their minds will be more turbulent and become more difficult to tame. The Buddha expected his disciples to pass on the wondrous true principles. However, at the time, people in this Saha world were so strong-willed and arrogant that they were unlikely to take in the Buddha’s teachings.
Understanding the Buddha’s concern that the true principles would not be passed on, his disciples vowed to expound the Lotus Sutra.
But they said they would do so in some other world rather than on this earth. Believing that there were other worlds, as the Buddha had said, they didn’t want to expound the sutra to people on this earth because people of this world had many evils.
This world of the Five Turbidities, or impurities, as the Buddha referred to, is the world where we live now.
Indeed, now in this world, Nature’s elements have become imbalanced. A strong quake hit the Philippines on February 10, local time. Soon after that, our volunteers mobilized to survey post-disaster conditions and planned for relief efforts.
Dr. Anton Mari Lim is the coordinator at Tzu Chi Zamboanga. Dr. Lim and our coordinator in Cebu as well as volunteers form Bohol and other provinces in the Philippines all gathered at the affected areas to carry out relief work.
Tzu Chi reports news about disasters in the world to bear witness to the times and record the history of mankind. With reports about people’s suffering, we can learn about their situation and mobilize nearby volunteers to provide timely aid.
Without such information, we’re much less able to know who needs our help. So, these reports are really important.
We’ve seen many disasters and there may be more in the future because all natural disasters are caused by negative karma we humans create collectively. We also see that many countries have reported outbreaks of avian flu.
It’s really heartrending to see countless poultry killed. In fact, without meat, we still can take in sufficient nutrients. We only need to eat grains to keep our bodies and minds sound and healthy.
In all, we must give of ourselves to relieve suffering in the world. We must also protect the Earth by promoting recycling among people and encouraging them to keep using things that are still usable instead of buying new ones.
The imbalance of Nature’s elements has resulted in many natural disasters. So, we must quell the disasters by purifying people’s minds. Life is impermanent, so we must wake up from delusions.
We also see Ms. Lin in Penghu, Taiwan. When she was only over ten years old, her father, who was a construction worker, fell from heights and became paralyzed. She has since been taking care of her family.
Our volunteers are so touched by her and have been caring for the family. From Ms. Lin, we know that not all people in the world are stubborn and difficult to guide. She never complains. Instead, she is grateful to her parents.
Oftentimes, such a tragedy will lead a woman to leave her family behind in just two or three years. But my mother stands by us, which I think is really remarkable.
It’s been almost 17 years since then, and Tzu Chi volunteers continue to care for us.
She is grateful to her mother for staying and to her father for working so hard. Even in hardship, she sees everything in her life with a positive and grateful heart.
We must also report stories like this. With care from our volunteers, although her father is bed-ridden, he is also committed to fundraising by encouraging people visiting him to donate what little they have. Although he can only lie in bed, he is inspired by us through our Da Ai TV. This is how we can inspire people to have a correct mindset. In all, we need to work hard to help those who suffer in the world.
We need to make known stories of goodness, which is what the Buddha wished us to do. Only by purifying people’s hearts with correct thoughts can we bring hopes to the world.
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