20200415 - 大愛共伴弭災難Coming Together to Support Those Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic
We see that here at the Abode, people are once again donating the money they’d saved. Hundreds took this time. I’ve also asked our Dharma masters: “Where did you get money to make a donation?” They replied: “It was from our monthly allowance of NTD1,000. We save our allowance and make donations to help those affected by disasters.” They truly have my admiration.
This is how they save all they can to help the needy. We also see members in out medical mission. Each of the medical and administrative staff at our hospitals saves all they can for the common good, too.
They also call on patients to do the same by saying: “Disasters occur frequently in the world. If possible, we should often work to help the needy. If you have spare change, you can donate it in our coin banks. By doing so, you can sow blessings. You can also give your well-wishes when dropping the coins.”
So, our outpatients donate money in our coin banks, too. They’ve even encouraged their children to nurture a loving heart. The children have also shown their love by bringing their coin banks back to our hospitals.
See how our Tzu Chi members have pooled people’s love together. We must inspire more people to give with love and sincere piety in times of need. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought us all crucial lessons. I keep saying that we must learn the lessons.
Indeed, due to the pandemic, shutdowns have been ongoing for a long time. Many countries have imposed lockdowns. As factories and stores have been closed temporarily, a lot of people have become out of work. Many of them originally relied on daily wages. For them, a day without work means a day of hunger.
Wee see our rice distributions in the Philippines. I’ve learned about many touching stories. How have we carried out distributions amid the lockdown? We’ve applied for lockdown passes. We held rice distributions to bring peace to the local society.
The poor have been suffering from hunger. As many of them are out of work, social unrest may arise. Therefore, to ensure stability, we need to first end hunger.
“The rice is what I need now. My family had our last cup of rice last night.”
“I’m truly graceful to Tzu Chi volunteers. They never forget us. Whenever a disaster strikes, be it a storm or a man-made disaster, they always come to our aid.”
The rice they’ve received can last them for one month. For that, they are all very grateful. With the assistance oif soldiers, police, etc., we hold distributions in two districts every single day.
Due to the lockdown, not many male volunteers can help this time. As time is pressing and we have to unload rice from more than one truck, our female volunteers also have to unload the rice. I truly cannot bear to see them unload the heavy sacks of rice.
This is how they shoulder the responsibility at a time like this, Our volunteers plan to give out rice to nearly 80,000 households. When I asked them if they were tired, they said, “Yes, but Master says that one should put aside personal interests and work to benefit all. As many people do not have food now, we’re willing to serve even if we’re tired.”
When one of our volunteers wished to take part, her family disagreed, saying: “How can you carry out the distributions when everyone has to stay home? Also, you don’t have enough strength to unload the rice.” This was how they stopped her.
She replied, “If everyone thinks likewise and does not come forth to help, how can the distributions be carried out?” So, she insisted on taking part.
Then,. Her son said: “I’ll go with you. How about that?” Seeing how we carried out the distribution, her son also gave of himself to help.”
After he was done unloading the rice, he told his mother: “There’ll also be distributions tomorrow, and I’ll come to help too.”
From this example, we see how we can inspire oru family to work for the greater good. When we give with love, we can inspire others to do the same.
Now, we need to pool everyone’s love together. We should not only continue to give with love. We should also inspire our family and friends to do the same. We must also inspire everyone to harbour sincere piety within and go vegetarian.
The desire for meat is transient. (It's easy) to go vegetarian. We just need to curb our desire for meat.
“Why don't you eat vegetarian? By eating vegetarian for one day, you can save an animal from being killed. Isn’t this wonderful? Those who heard me say so only nodded again. So, I knew that what I’d said didn't work. I’d try again next time.”
“Although she’s only three years old, she’s not shy of promoting vegetarianism. She even seizes opportunities to do so.”
“We both are Tzu Chi members. Also, when we go out, she’s always with us as there is no one to take care of her at home. I think her environment has a great influence on her.”
“Just imagine you were an animal that is fated to be killed for meat. Isn’t this lamentable? It is too late if an animal has been killed and turned into a dish. If we stop eating meat, fewer animals will be killed. If we curb our desire for meat, we can save countless animals that would otherwise be killed. I hope everyone can eat vegetarian just like me.”
Even the little girl knows to cherish all life and protect animals. We adults simply let ourselves be bound by our desire for meat. Now, we should turn our desire into love and pool everyone’s love together. Only then can disasters be mitigated. We must work hard to call on everyone to harbour love within and go vegetarian. We must all practice vegetarianism so our sincere piety can be heard by all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas above.
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