Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Love, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity in Action (慈悲喜捨做慈濟)
Over these last few days we have been talking about eliminating the ordinary mind and returning to our inherent pure nature, which is equal to the Buddha’s. This has been our topic for the past few days. There are many different methods. Aside from the Six Paramitas, there are also the Four Immeasurables.
Previously, we spoke of Great Loving-kindness without regrets and Great Compassion without complaints. Loving-kindness compassion and joy are attitudes we should use to face this world. They teach us how to give to people, deal with things and benefit others. We need to be truly selfless to benefit humanity. We must resolve to never have regrets as we help alleviate the suffering of sentient beings. This takes a lot of physical and mental effort, yet we must have no complaints.
When we are among sentient beings, we must always be joyful and be truly willing to give. After we act, we will be happy. This is called Great Joy without worries. It comes from giving of ourselves to others.
Great Joy without worries is giving to everyone with a willing and happy mind. Regardless of difficulties, we will have no worries.
Great Giving in Equanimity is without expectations. It has to do with our state of mind. In all of our giving, whether we benefit others or relieve sentient beings’ sufferings. We need to give willingly. Regardless of pain or joy, we give with great willingness. Aside from this willingness, we must practice giving from our hearts, and give completely. We do not think “I can save someone.” “There is someone who needs my help.” “I have saved so many people;” or “I have donated this much.” When none of this is on our minds, our minds can be pure.
Great Giving in Equanimity is without expectation. It is to regard everything with the mindset of the Three Spheres of Emptiness. Regardless of difficulties, we will have no expectations.
One day, I saw an episode of “Grassroots Bodhi” about a Mr. Gu from Taipei. He is a Tzu Chi Commissioner & Faith Crops member and everyone in his family is a Tzu Chi volunteer. He said “As a child, I could not go to school.” Why didn’t he go to school? He said, “My parents sold me when I was three. They sold me for NT＄300 worked in the fields every day. I did all kinds of work.” That is how he grew up.
He eventually married and had a family of his own, but he still worked in the fields daily. Later, the couple moved north to work at the docks in packing and delivery. They made a living doing heavy lifting and worked very hard. To sustain their family, both of them did such labor-intensive work. After his son and daughter grew up, Mr. Gu became very dedicated to Tzu Chi. Besides being a commissioner & Faith Corps Member, he also does recycling.
But he felt he could do more; he felt just contributing his labor was not enough. He vowed, “I want to be an Honorary Board Member.” But where could he find NT $1 million? He had to work even harder to earn it. He said, “It’s odd, even since I made the vow, business has been especially good at the market. I’ve had a lot more jobs. So, I have already donated my first NT$1 Million. This is my second.”
His children are both very filial, so they volunteer with him when they have time. And his wife obviously supports him. She is also a Tzu Chi Commissioner. This kind of life exemplifies joy. He is happy and without worries. He has led such a simple life. Starting at a young age he worked very hard. But he does not consider his family or his life to be a source of suffering. He worked very hard, but he never suffered because he has a very open mind and easily adapted to his surroundings. He truly accepted his conditions. Even though he was born into a poor family that sold him, he was able to accept and be at peace-with whatever came his way. Now he can enjoy life. He wants to volunteer with Tzu Chi. He is very happy that he is healthy and can be part of the Faith Corps family where he found many Dharma brothers.
He says that he is very happy to be part of the big Tzu Chi family. He feels this family is so big that it includes people from all over the world. So he is very happy every day and does everything with joy & willingness. When we look at his life, even though he is not financially wealthy, he is very wealth spiritually. Aside from being wealth in spirit, he also has great children and a great wife. So he lives a very enriched life. His abundance is not material, but spiritual, in how he lives, and in his warm family ties. In life, if we can accept our circumstances and make the most of them, we will not suffer.
When we face adverse conditions in life, if we can accept these conditions and engage in giving with a heart of great Joy, naturally, our conditions will change and suffering will transformed into joy.
Some people are the rich among the rich; they are rich not only in material wealth, but also in love and kindness. Look at the group of entrepreneurs in Indonesia. Their enterprises are considered conglomerates and they employ hundreds of thousands of people. These kinds of corporations are quite large. You see, the heads of these enterprises have shouldered Tzu Chi’s missions in Indonesia. They have accomplished so much in such a short time. The first “seed” of Tzu Chi in Indonesia was planted by someone from Taiwan.
At that time, she was not yet a commissioner. Su-mei was a housewife. In Taiwan she learned of Tzu Chi and how it brings stability society, relieves suffering and helps the poor. In Taiwan, Tzu Chi can also mobilize quickly for disaster relief. She felt that Indonesia needed a group like this. So she resolved to bring Tzu Chi’s spirit and ideals to Indonesia and focused on changing one person at a time.
Several women came together and began to carry out Tzu Chi’s work there.
Like farmers they plowed the field, planted and cultivated the seeds of Tzu Chi in Indonesia. Their actions moved many people, including local entrepreneurs who started to donate money toward relief work. After they saw how happy the volunteers were, these entrepreneurs also joined. By doing so they realized the joy in personally giving to someone else. They even came to realize that, actually, in saving others they were saving themselves.
Thus, these entrepreneurs gradually came together. After the floor in Indonesia, I took the opportunity to invite them Taiwan. I spoke with them for only a short period of time, but they truly listened. With great earnestness, I asked them to (lead the project) and they accepted. Before they left, they said to me, “Master, we will carry out the five-part plan you laid out. No problem.”
With that, they returned to Indonesia and began the work. They started by removing the water. Many areas were still submerged in floodwater. They arranged to pump out the water quickly so the residents could live in dry surroundings. In the mean time, they mobilized their employees to join the Tzu Chi volunteers in cleaning up. Aside from that, they also recruited the local military and police force to clean the area together. As the water was being pumped out, they started collecting and hauling away the garbage. Even local resident were touched by the actions and proactively joined the cleanup efforts. After the water was pumped out and the garbage cleared, they quickly disinfected the area. Then the whole area became much cleaner and much more pleasant.
Following this, they still had work to do. While the area was under water for a month, people lived in a very polluted environment, so people inevitably fell ill. So a free clinic was quickly organized. I am very grateful for Tzu Chi volunteers from eight countries who worked together worked together to make it possible. Doctors and medical volunteers from those countries converged to treat over 10,000 people.
Afterwards, we wanted to give them a permanent home so their future generations could have stability, and they wouldn’t be homeless or squatters, living in filthy and smelly surroundings. To eliminate the root of these problems, the only solution was to find a piece of land. It had to be near the city so they could make a living. We wanted them to settle down and stabilize their lives. These homes would allow them to settle down and find jobs. Then they could easily and happy work and lead stable lives. We provide them with physical safety. This brings stability to their lives so they can also find employment.
I am very grateful. Because of the status of this group of entrepreneurs in their country and society, they were able to work with top government officials and also work with the general populace. After they procured the land, they began to gather everyone’s loving contributions to construct Great Love Village. Seeing the surroundings and the buildings of the Great love Village is truly inspiring. They are the evidence of the contributions made by the rich among the rich.
So within Tzu Chi, there are rich and there are poor, but they are the rich among the rich, and the rich among the poor. What we do is help those who are materially rich but spiritually poor and those who are materially and spiritually poor. We work with them and continually appeal to others in society to joins us. Many Tzu Chi volunteers guide others by setting an example. Thus they teach the rich and help the poor. As more people’s love is awakened, more people will be materially & spiritually rich. We amass the strength of joy to help disaster-stricken or impoverished people. Therefore, Great Joy is without worries. We all have the potential to be worry-free and happy, as long as we accept our circumstances and conditions. We give whatever is within our means. Then we will be happy every day.
Whether we practice kindness, compassion or joy, giving in equanimity is most important. If we can give while seeing all sentient beings as equal if we fulfill our core responsibilities, without thinking about how much we have done and without being arrogant about anything, if we can do this, we will never have worries. “When there are no worries, there is no fear.” Then we will be free of confusions and afflictions. This is what we need to learn from the Buddha.
A mind of giving in equanimity is without expectations. Thus it is free of worries and afflictions. When the mind has no defilements, purity arises.
Fellow practitioners, we must achieve a state of continuous giving. Then our minds will be pure and free of afflictions every day. We must have no regrets, complain, worries or expectations. The highest state is one of no expectations “One without expectations develops high character.” If we can give unconditionally, we can slowly leave the state of ordinary people and move closer to the state of sages. So everyone, please be careful of your mindset in daily living and please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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