20200608勤耕因緣聚善士 Being Grateful for the Affinities
Everyone, you can use the hands you’re applauding with to do something, such as collecting and sorting recyclables. I hope we can all work together to call on everyone to recycle and reduce garbage.
How old are you? 96.
How long have you been doing recycling? 30 years
Tzu Chi started its recycling efforts in 1990. As a forest ranger, I would travel to Jiaxian; no one recycled in the early days. I asked grocer’s shops and betel nut stands, are you keeping the cardboard boxes? They said no. I’d collect them, break them down, and bring them with me on my trip back.
30 years of doing recycling is just what I do daily and of all these years, I’ve been doing recycling for 30 years. I don’t think of it at all as it’s a part of life, recycling is a part of life, and to be practiced every day.
This year marks 30 years of our recycling effort. Doing recycling in our recycling station, everyone does so happily; such is our recycling effort. Our volunteer, Cai Kuan, is 103 years old. She is still an active volunteer; she still serves in the community and shares tasks with other volunteers. She is also a recycling volunteer.
This is what Tzu Chi volunteer are about. Everyone cherishes time and no time is wasted in life of a Tzu Chi volunteers. Having deposited 50 years of their age, they are now in their 20s, 30s, 40s, or 50s, that’s if they have deposited 50 years of their age in the age treasury. We are still in our youth or middle age; no one is an elderly, so, we can work hard in giving of ourselves.
Of course, as you are my first-generation disciples, I wish my teachings will be pass on. In the Lotus Sutra I’m expounding now the Buddha talked about entrustment, which tells everyone to take on and continue passing on the teachings. This is the same principle.
As we are now in June, we see Tzu Chi’s universities hold their graduation ceremonies. This year, there is the COVID-19 pandemic. In previous years, we would invite hundreds of Tzu Chi moms and dads to the ceremonies. This year, the universities asked them not to come. Parents of graduating students were also advised not to attend the ceremony, but to watch the ceremony via live-stream at home.
Each department held the ceremony for their graduating students, which is still really dignified and solemn, the procedures were like previous years, there were also steps of turning the tassel and handing diplomas to students from professors. The ceremony is done with propriety as before.
I mentioned that the ceremony must be done with propriety as before but not to break rules against large assemblies. We were able to held ceremonies in different venues and also with propriety. We saw that each department held their graduation ceremony separately in different venues such as classrooms, lecture halls and so on. All departments held their ceremonies which is really graceful and solemn.
Although I saw this via live-stream, I was truly comforted and pleased. Such is propriety. Propriety is to follow life’s truth. Life’s truth is demonstrated through etiquette. Without propriety, it will be hard for us to see life’s truth. So, propriety is to follow life’s truth. This is the purpose of education, which is to teach us how to behave with etiquette first.
Seeing all this, I am full of gratitude. I am grateful. I often say that I am really blessed to see Tzu Chi’s four missions running well. In our medical mission, the superintendents have responsibly led all their medical staff to run each department well, so I don’t need to be worried at all.
It is the same with our education mission. Presidents of our universities and directors of all school departments have been mindfully dedicating themselves and earnestly educating students. The charity mission is the same; Tzu Chi volunteers all over the world have carried out the mission according to Tzu Chi’s spirit.
So, I feel that this life, I should be content with gratefulness. Recently, I have been telling everyone about yin yuan, which means affinity. Underneath the character yin, if we add a character xin which means heart, it will become En which means gratefulness.
I have been mindful all these years, for the heart underneath the affinity of yin; it means gratefulness. So, I am grateful for all affinities I have had.
This is why every day I’m grateful to affinities for bringing people together to carry out Tzu Chi’s four missions around the world. Every day, at any country, and at any moment, there are Tzu Chi volunteers carrying out Tzu Chi’s work. When it’s nighttime in Taiwan, volunteers in other countries would be carrying out Tzu Chi’s work during the day.
Whether it’s on land or coastal areas, Tzu Chi volunteers have no problem getting to where they need to go. They have no fear of obstacles so obstacles do not hinder them. Wherever they go, they do meritorious deeds that make everyone happy. I’m truly grateful to them.
There are so many things to be grateful for. Time continues to pass; I hope everyone can be sincerely pious every day. Right now, we need to sincerely and actively promote vegetarianism widely. People must eat a vegetarian diet, and we must promote vegetarianism.
In doing so, we need to bring out the sincerity in people’s hearts. Regardless of one’s religious belief, everyone must be sincere and pray sincerely for this pandemic to end quickly. Only when life returns to normal can people return to work and businesses and industries resume their operations.
However, people should have gained deep realizations from this pandemic. We shouldn’t live a lavish life nor indulge in pleasure. It’s best to live a peaceful, harmonious life. Let us sincerely pray for peace. I’m grateful to volunteers’ power of live.
Recently, everyone has been cultivating diligently. Yesterday, over 35,000 people participated in our online spiritual retreat. Volunteers in nearly 50 countries and regions and in over 165 Tzu Chi gathering places in communities took part in the spiritual retreat. When everyone cultivates diligently and passes on the Dharma, society will be harmonious and peaceful. I give everyone my blessings. Thank you, and please cultivate diligently.
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