20200820隨順從善推茹素Rejoicing in Goodness and Putting It into Practice
"In the past, I did my work well but I was poor at interacting with people. I worked very hard, but few people liked me. I was too straightforward, which was my flaw. My husband often said that I was too straightforward. I was too straightforward even with my family.
Later, I underwent Tzu Chi's volunteer training. Master encouraged us to form good affinities with others. By doing so, I noticed a great difference. Indeed! Now, I can always carry out my work smoothly. Wherever I go, people like me very much. I always wear a smile.
Master says that if we smile, people will smile back So, I still wear a smile at all times. When people on the streets see me, they smile at me though they don't know me. I find Master's teachings to be truly fantastic."
In life, if we find that a passage, a sentence, or even a word in Buddhist texts speaks to us, we must live out the true principle quickly. This will bring us joy, too. Practicing true principles can bring us benefits. We should also guide others to live them out. This is how we pass on the Dharma. Apart from learning the Dharma and practicing it, we must also pass it on ceaselessly. And, we must praise good deeds and practice goodness.
When we see others do good, we should praise them. As they are doing the right thing, we should praise them and say: "I can help you if you want me to." When others are doing something right and do need our help, we can lend a helping hard without being asked to. This is how we praise good deeds and practice goodness.
We must do all that is good together. As goodness is to be practiced, we must view doing good as our responsibility. When something is right, we should just do it. If no one is willing to do good, how will there be goodness in this world?So, we must give rise to good thoughts and put them into action. We must also encourage others to join our rank. Only when we work together can we accomplish good things to benefit all.
The Buddha taught us to walk the Bodhisattva Path by going amongst people to serve. Now that we understand we need to go amongst people to serve and do all that is right to benefit all, we should just do it. And, when we see others do good, we should join their efforts. This is also the right thing to do. Apart from serving as living bodhisattvas and going amongst people to benefit all, we must also give our support when we see others do good. We must work together to do good things.
For example, we Tzu Chi members have been promoting vegetarianism. The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us crucial lessons. There is not yet a way to stop the spread of the virus. What can we do? The only way to end the pandemic is by harboring sincere piety. How do we express our sincere piety?By practicing vegetarianism and harboring all-embracing love. We must harbor goodness and all-embracing love. It's not enough if we only love people. We must also extend our love to all animals.
(By going vegetarian,) we can safeguard people's health and lives and protect all animals. Such is all-embracing love. How can we enjoy good health? By going vegetarian. Vegetables, fruits, grains, and other plant foods are very nutritious and are provided by Mother Nature. Since we can enjoy good health by eating foods from Mother Nature, why do we have to eat animals?Animals are also sentient beings.
We must not give rise to the bad thought of eating animals. Animals carry germs. So, if we eat animals, those germs enter our body through our mouth. The crucial lessons brought by the pandemic teach us about the right thing to do. I say that the pandemic is a warning to humanity. It has taught us that the only way to safeguard everyone's health and end the pandemic is for everyone to go vegetarian.
We must all harbor love and practice vegetarianism together. We should have faith that simply by going vegetarian and harboring love, we can create countless merits. We should cultivate ourselves, give rise to good thoughts, and put them into action. At a time like this, we must learn the crucial lessons brought by the pandemic and share them with others. We should urge people not to eat meat because this is how many viruses infect people and make people ill. Let us promote vegetarianism. This is a way to create countless merits.
We must all speak good words and curb our desire for meat in order to sow blessings. Will we eat meat and create bad karma as a result? Or will we sow blessings by practicing true principles? It all depends on whether we truly understand life's truths. We must always be mindful.
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