20230329利他共榮福連綿Cultivating Blessings and Wisdom by Benefiting Others
I often feel that I'm very blessed in this life and have also created much value out of my life. The same can be said of you all. So, we truly must count our blessings and harbor gratitude within. Of course, to have a successful career, you have to work very hard.
In the same way, for more than 50 years, I've been very blessed because I deem hard work as a blessing, as I often say. In Tzu Chi, when we see someone work so hard that he or she is drenched in sweat, instead of saying, thank you. You must be tired, we say, you're very blessed.
Indeed, we're very blessed. We must keep in mind that we're blessed as we're able to serve. Also, instead of working just for ourselves, we must take society into consideration first. Take the food industry for example. Before a product is put on sale, it must be considered whether the product is good for health. This is how we benefit others before benefiting ourselves.
Actually, when we're walking, no matter which foot we use to take the first step, we're heading forward. Working for our own good is like only taking the first step. If we only take the first step without taking the second one with the other foot, we'll always be where we are.
So, to benefit others is to benefit ourselves, which, in turn, enables us to benefit more people. Only when the world makes progress and society is prosperous can we develop our career. And, to bring prosperity to society, we must benefit others first, as I often say.
So, we must all do goodness. I truly hope that we can save up daily instead of stopping at making a large donation. A family doing goodness is blessed. Every day, we should aspire to help others. This is how we cultivate a good heart and sow blessings. Blessings carry energy that is like air currents. With blessings, a protective layer can be formed. I hope we can sow blessings every single day.
I often talk about our honorary board members. Of course, I'm very grateful to them. Without their donations, how long would it take me to pool small donations together and help one person in need? Yet, our honorary board members, I hope you can become our commissioners or Tzu Cheng members and understand Tzu Chi's work instead of stopping at making a large donation.
I hope you can understand our work, whatever your background, f or by understanding what we've been doing, you'll be inspired and give with love more than willingly. Whether you make a large or small donation, when your donations are pooled together, many people in need can be helped.
This is how you sow blessings together, and by doing so, you'll also be blessed. Take bamboo baskets for example. Only when the loaded baskets at both ends of a carrying pole are of the same weight can we move the loads with ease.
With blessings at one end and wisdom at the other, I shoulder the responsibility of cultivating bother blessings and wisdom. Everyone, when we aspire to sow blessings by helping the needy, we should invite others to join us. This is how we cultivate wisdom.
By inviting others to join us, we'll have more strength. When working together to help those in need, we can cultivate blessings. And, by humbling ourselves to invite others to join us, we can cultivate wisdom.
We see Turkey. The recent earthquake was truly devastating. Now, Tzu Chi volunteers are carrying out relief there and have been sending footages back. I truly hope that we can bring more care and aid to the quake survivors there.
Whether we are rich or poor, we can all give. A meal we've consumed is nothing but a meal. Yet, if we all save a little and make a donation, thousands of people can fill their stomachs. Do you understand what I'm saying? (Yes). A little money can only buy us one or two mouthfuls of good. Yet, when we all donate a little money, thousands of people will have food to eat.
This is how we sow blessings. Let us all donate what we can rather than keep the money to ourselves so that thousands of or even ten thousand people will have food to eat. This is how we sow blessings through giving.
While a little money is not useful to us, by giving it out, we can help so many people, and so, we can sow blessings for ourselves, too. This is how giving brings blessings. I truly hope that we Tzu Chi members can all keep this true principle in mind. Not only should we give, but we should also inspire others to give so everyone in our communities and society will all give with love more than willing.
This is how our country can be at peace, how the climate can be balanced, and how we can be safe and well. All this is made possible by blessings. When we all sow blessings through giving, we can bring about peace.
I truly hope that we can all serve as living bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas are beings with enlightened love. With enlightened love, we'll feel others' suffering as our very own. When people get injured, we can't bear to see them suffer and we're deeply pained.
When we see people in extreme poverty, we feel deeply for them and bring them aid. This is how we give with a bodhisattva heart. I truly hope that you can all walk the Bodhisattva Path. (We will.)
Very well. I hope you'll all do so. When we harbor goodness within and vow to practice it, we'll do good deeds, thereby sowing blessings for the world. Let us take one step after another and keep walking forward on the Bodhisattva Path. You also need to make progress in your career. I'm very grateful to you all and I'd like to give you my best wishes. Let us all sow blessings, develop our work, and make progress.Thank you all.
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