20230413如法付出聚善德Findling Bliss in Giving
"Indeed, we all keep our aspirations in mind. Due to Covid, it's been years since we last came back. Master, we all missed you and wanted to act cute to you."
"On behalf of our 'root-seeking' team, who are all Jing Si disciples, I'd like to thank Master as well as Dharma masters and staff at the Abode for caring for us in every possible way. Every opportunity to come back is precious. So, I happily seize every opportunity to do so."
You all love me dearly, so you need to work harder to spread my teachings for me. It's truly strenuous for me to give a talk. As it's not easy for you to come back, I truly hope to listen to you share how you give with love for Tzu Chi and how much work you've carried out. True principles are to be shared, taken to heart, and lived out. Does it bring us joy to live them out? By practicing true principles to benefit all, we can be filled with spiritual joy.
Lately, I often say that we must count how much value we've created out of our lives. How much value have we created? Coming to this worked, can we gain spiritual joy by eating, drinking, and having fun? Many people have deluded thoughts. They might exerciese by hiking, but take the elevator (rather than the stairs) when they return home. This is an example about deluded thoughts. So, everyone, let us reflect on how we're living our lives.
You've talked about a shooting case in the U.S. It has caused widespread shock and panic. Yet, only a few people know that it's because we humans keep creating bad karma that calamities have been occurring. So, (to mitigate disasters,) we must cultivate a calm and still mind.
Sitting meditation doesn't guarantee that. We need to interact with others and think about why some people can work together in unity and harmony. They've done many good things for the world, and being with them brings peace to our minds, as we believe in those who do good.
I often say that we must have right beliefs. with right beliefs, we'll walk together towards the right direction in life. We'll feel at peace and won't go astray. When we're alone, we'll go astray easily. Contrarily, (with guidance,) we can head in the right direction. So, we must do good things with good people. This way, our minds will always be broad, peaceful, and full of spiritual joy.
"Since I became certiflied, I've been unceasingly going amongst people to serve. Not even the pandemic could hold me back. I share with others how saving up daily can help many in need. To inspire more to do good, we promote vegetarianism and urge people not to kill animals. To do that, I must go vegetarian first. This is why I've been a vegetarian for years. Only when we go vegetarian can we encourage others to do the same."
We must cultivate our wisdom. I often mention "knowledge." We know something after we learn about it. Yet, we need wisdom, not joust knowledge. The Chinese character for "wisdom" consists of two parts meaning "know" and "sun", respectively. So, wisdom means "to know clearly."
With wisdom, we'll regard everything equally, without drawing a distinction between the rich and the poor or between humans and animals. We'll cherish all life. Such is all-embracing love. By contemplating simple principles, we can apply them to all kinds of issues and matters.
Take myself for example. My Master encouraged me to work for Buddhism and all living beings. I've vowed to do so life after life. There's no end to practicing this simple principle. So, we must engrave good words upon our hearts and use our body to put them into action. We must thank our parents for giving us our body, for with our body, we can form good affinities with one another, and with that, we can walk the Bodhistatva Path in concerted efforts.
So, we must be grateful for everything and everyone. Morever, we must give of ourselves. Only then can we live out our aspirations. When we aspire to do good, we shouldn't think that it's beyond our means. We are all able to do good as long as we're willing to. If we're willing to take action, we'll be good people who do good.
So, we can all serve as living bodhisattvas. I call you all living bodhisattvas as you all serve with enlightened love. Without enlightened love, you might be lost in doing more business and working overtime so as to make a lot of money. Such is earning money rather than merits.
Only when we take true principles to heart can we create merits. Only when we understand truths deeply will we do good and cultivate merits for ourselves. Such is harboring truths within and creating merits without. Do you understand it? By taking in good works and doing good things, we can be filled with spiritual joy. As our body and mind are both on the right track, we an keep afflictions at bay.
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