Date: February 18th, 2011
Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Creating a Cycle of Goodness in Society(守善少欲明明德)
See how the riots in Tunisia has now led to protests in Bahrain.
The protests were largely peaceful until police and military responded with force.
All this is indeed very worrying to see.
There are also natural disasters, which are very worrying as well.
However, I also saw on Da Ai News heartwarming stories of Tzu Chi volunteers in different countries reaching out to care for others with love.
What they have done will bring about a cycle of goodness, which we hope can become more widespread so that there will be more heartwarming interactions like this among people.
That is why I often share with you that everyone must abide by their duties, reduce their desires, and be more grateful.
These are what we must do to maintain a heart of goodness and manifest our bright virtue within.
If everyone can abide by their duties, they will not commit wrongdoings and will do what they ought to do.
To abide by our duties, we must set a rule for ourselves, and that is to have few desires.
We mustn’t have too many desires, so we must work to lessen our desires.
Apart from reducing our desires, we must also nurture a heart of gratitude.
If we can be more grateful toward one another and bear a heart of gratitude, we will naturally treat others with gratitude and be grateful to everyone for everything.
That would be a beautiful society indeed.
In today’s society, we often see the tug of war between good and evil.
Whether good and evil shall win all depends on our minds.
Every one of us is constantly struggling between good and evil, and it all depends on us which side shall win.
When good prevails, there will be peace in society and the world will be free of disasters.
So, at all times, we must give rise to thoughts of goodness and work to form good affinities with others instead of bad ones.
To do that, we must first let our good thoughts prevail over the bad ones and work to eliminate our ignorance.
To eliminate our ignorance, we must repent and do so with deepest sincerity.
This is “deep repentance”.
In the footage, we see many examples of people who abide by their duties, have few desires and harbor a heart of gratitude.
Take for example a couple who volunteer at one of our recycling stations in Taichung.
While sorting recyclables, they found an envelope with nearly US$600 inside.
They immediately turned in the money to the police.
The officer said to them:
“According to law, you may receive 30 percent of the cash you found.”
But they refused because the wife said that as Tzu Chi volunteers, they must take care of their minds by being honest.
See how pure and clean their minds are.
It is truly very beautiful.
I am very moved by them.
The man who’d lost the money then decided to donate it to Tzu Chi.
This is truly a cycle of goodness that can bring about peace and harmony in society.
We also saw two elementary students who found a wallet and immediately turned it in to the police.
When the police told them that they could receive some of the money as a reward, they said, “No, that doesn’t belong to us, so it’s only right for us to return it.”
These two children both come from a single-parent family and even receive aids from the school.
It is truly commendable that they returned the money they found.
For that, we must thank their teachers for having taught them so well.
There is also an elderly man who lives on an old-age pension from the government.
When he found a purse on the train, he brought it to the police.
This is indeed a good practice in society.
Also, a few days ago, I read in the newspaper that a Kiwanis club in Yunlin invited over 100 students from poor families and gave each of them NT$500(US$17) to buy the stationery they need for school.
There were two sisters who chose to buy coin banks as they wished to save up money and donate to Tzu Chi to help others in need just as Tzu Chi has been helping them.
Having received Tzu Chi volunteers’ care, they’ve learned from a young age that there are others who are worse off than them.
That’s why they’re able to understand that people must help one another, and those who receive help from others must be grateful and repay others’ kindness when possible.
Seeing how pure and clean these girls’ hearts are, I’m truly very moving.
We also see a couple in Taipei, who are both our recycling volunteers and have been very dedicated to Tzu Chi’s work.
The wife, Xiu-xia, is truly very diligent.
She watches my dharma talk, Wisdom at Dawn, on Da Ai TV every day and jots down what I say.
Not only that, but she also reviews what she has written down and then practices what she has learned.
This is how she seizes time to learn and walks the path diligently.
Apart from that, she also shares Jing Si Aphorisms with other volunteers at the recycling station.
What she does is truly very moving.
I’d like to share with everyone that it is time for us to deeply “delve into the Dharma”.
The path of Tzu Chi is for us to walk on so that we can learn as we work and awaken to truths as we learn.
The way we cultivate ourselves in Tzu Chi is to walk the path ourselves and to experience it firsthand so that we can know that we are walking on the right path and are cultivating both blessings and wisdom.
By doing so, we’ll be able to open our hearts, and have correct faith, as we know that the path we choose to walk on is the right one, and our wisdom-life will grow continually.
This is how Tzu Chi members “delve into the Dharma”.
So, Tzu Chi members across Taiwan are now organizing study groups to study the Water Repentance text in preparation for five stage performances of the text to be given in May and August.
Those who will take part in the performances will have to abstain from meat.
This is an expression of “deep repentance”.
By not eating meat, unwholesome thoughts will not arise in us and our pure wisdom will grow continually.
This is “deep repentance”.
As everyone takes up a vegetarian diet, they are constantly reflecting upon themselves.
This is to repent deeply.
By repenting, we become clean.
So, everyone, we truly must abide by our duties, reduce desires, be more grateful, maintain a heart of goodness, and manifest our bright virtue within.
We should understand that the original true nature of everyone is pure and untainted.
So, everyone, please be mindful always.
(Source: Da Ai TV 人間菩提)
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