| Giving With Utmost Sincerity | ||||||||
| By Dharma Master Cheng Yen Translated by Teresa Chang | ||||||||
From December 2014 to January 2015, massive flooding caused by heavy downpours devastated the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Over 260,000 people in nine states were affected. When the floodwaters receded, deposits of mud covered vast areas. Soaked garbage and household goods were piled up everywhere as people tried to clean out their homes. The weather was warm and humid in the flooded areas. The longer the mountains of garbage were left out in the open, the more risk they posed to public health. The deluge also affected the livelihoods of many who were temporarily thrown out of work. The same thing had happened a little over a year earlier in the Philippines when Typhoon Haiyan hit that nation. At that time, Tzu Chi launched a large-scale cash-for-work program to help typhoon victims clean up their houses and communities. The program succeeded in restoring life in ravaged areas, and the money that typhoon survivors received helped tide them over that difficult time. After the flooding in Malaysia this time, our volunteers in the country followed the example of Tzu Chi Philippines and initiated similar work-relief projects. They used heavy machinery and trucks to clear out garbage, and they led local residents in cleaning up streets, neighborhoods and schools. Since running water and electricity were out of service in some areas, many people hadn’t had hot food for days. In response, our volunteers provided hot meals for participants of the clean-up programs. Workers could go home at the end of a day not only with the cash they earned but also with their stomachs full. Malaysia has three major ethnic groups: Malay, Indian and Chinese. The three groups don’t usually have much interaction with each other, but our volunteers made no distinction between the different ethnicities while conducting the work-relief programs. They gave out of sincerity, care, and a respect for different religions to bring comfort to the flood victims. In the process, people from the three ethnicities worked in unison to restore their homes. They expressed gratitude to one another, dissolved what ethnic barriers there might have been between them, and made society more harmonious as a result. To relieve suffering caused by the floods, volunteers from areas including Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Penang traveled to the disaster zones and rendered relief with their hearts united. No matter what difficulties they encountered, they remembered this: Where there is a will, there is a way. Reaching out to flood survivors, they wanted to use love to soothe their hearts.
Our volunteers have worked nonstop for over a month now. In addition to conducting the cash-for-work programs, they have provided free clinics and held aid distributions. Our volunteers in the neighboring nation of Singapore mobilized to help raise funds. The floods dealt such a heavy blow to some areas that impoverished people there are facing a daunting road to recovery. Tzu Chi volunteers will continue to bring care to them for as long as it takes to help return stability to their lives. Working in the spirit of the bodhisattvas, they will not rest as long as there are people in need of help. A natural disaster does not differentiate between rich and poor. When a disaster hits, everyone suffers. No matter how beautifully decorated a house is, it lies in ruins after the ravages of a flood. By visiting a disaster area, Tzu Chi volunteers witness the impermanence of life and the fragility of the land. The suffering they witness helps them learn to count their blessings and inspires in them a deeper realization of how they must seize every chance to give and to pool together people’s love to fend off disasters. Our world is filled with suffering. Once you have resolved to be a real-life bodhisattva, you must make altruistic vows, act on your compassion, and give with utmost sincerity to cultivate yourself and benefit others. As long as you firmly resolve to live out the bodhisattva spirit, you’ll be able to overcome all difficulties and fulfill your wish of helping others.
Pure Land Denise Tsai (蔡岱霖), originally from Taiwan, is the first Tzu Chi commissioner in Mozambique. In just over two years, she has inspired 900 people in that country to volunteer for Tzu Chi. Tzu Chi first started in Taiwan with volunteers saving up coins to do charity work, and the volunteers in Mozambique have followed suit. Despite the fact that they live in poverty themselves, they are committed to helping the needy. Recently two Tzu Chi year-end blessing ceremonies were held in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, on land donated by Taiwanese businessman Chen Chun-fa (陳春發). That piece of land had been lying idle for some time, and our volunteers weeded it, cleaned it, and set it up for the events. More than 2,300 people attended the ceremonies.
During the ceremonies, Denise Tsai gave out hong-baos to the attendees. [Giving out these artistically designed small red packets is a tradition of a Tzu Chi year-end blessing ceremony. The money for making them comes from royalties from Master Cheng Yen’s books.] Each hong-bao contained a Mozambican coin worth 1.5 American cents. Tsai explained that the hong-baos were from Taiwan and represented the best wishes from the Jing Si Abode, the spiritual home of all Tzu Chi volunteers. It was a small gift to wish everyone blessings and wisdom. In order to teach children the importance of filial piety, an activity was held in which children washed the feet of their mothers and served them beverages. Many mothers were so moved by the gesture that they took only a couple of sips before feeding the beverages back to their children. The atmosphere was heartwarming and touching. Through this activity, volunteers hoped to convey this message to the children: “Never delay in practicing filial piety and doing good.” I was warmed when I saw the participants walk into the venue with their steps in unison, following the rhythm of the chant, “On Opening the Sutra.” Some of them have been listening to my Dharma talks. Though they do not understand my words in Chinese and their understanding of the English subtitles is limited, they take in the Buddha’s teachings with a pure and simple heart and express their faith in what they have learned by practicing the Buddha’s teachings in their daily life, thereby dignifying the Dharma with their actions. Though the venue where the blessing ceremonies were held was simple and crude, their hearts were pure and clear. The purity of their minds transformed the place into a Pure Land. When our minds are impure and tainted, they easily give rise to unwholesome thoughts, which can lead to all sorts of wrongdoings. The purpose of spiritual practice is to keep our minds pure and clear. When our minds are pure and unpolluted, we will be able to open our hearts to the Dharma and put it into practice to relieve the suffering in the world.
Firm commitment If we want to purify and transform people’s minds in this world, we must have patience and forbearance. We must stay true to our commitment, do our best to overcome difficulties, and bravely go forward. Facing different kinds of people, we must use our wisdom to guide them according to their levels of understanding and lead them out of suffering. At the same time, we must keep our minds pure, in the same way a lotus flower grows unsullied out of the mud. Walking the Bodhisattva Path, we need to practice the Six Perfections: giving, keeping the precepts, tolerating insults, diligence, contemplation, and wisdom. When we see others in need of help, we must quickly go to them to give them material aid, share the Dharma with them, and help rid them of fear and gain peace of mind. This is “giving.” By “keeping the precepts,” we observe morals and ethics and avoid misdeeds and wrongdoings. We practice “tolerating insults” when we show good sense and remain unperturbed in the face of challenging conditions. We practice “contemplation” when we don’t adopt or share others’ bad habits or attitudes, and “diligence” when we cultivate ourselves assiduously every day without slacking off. Then, we’ll be able to help our “wisdom” grow. If we can live out the Six Perfections, our resolution to practice the Bodhisattva Way will be firm and we won’t be daunted by any difficulties. If a seed of goodness can sprout in places full of poverty and hardship, more people will be lifted out of suffering. Knowing that, our volunteers in Durban, South Africa, have formed an international team to guide new volunteers in other African countries in doing philanthropic work and to help strengthen their commitment to walk the Bodhisattva Path. They often need to travel long distances for this purpose. Such work is hard. One of the team members is 78-year-old Tolakele Mkhize. She joined Tzu Chi 16 years ago and has remained very dedicated to giving to the needy. Last November she caught a cold after going on a trip with other team members to Botswana. But after resting for merely four days, she was off again with other volunteers to do Tzu Chi work in Port Elizabeth.
Since they would have to travel over a thousand kilometers, everyone urged her to stay home and rest. But she said that even if she didn’t go, she couldn’t rest with peace of mind, for every time she lay down to rest, she would think of how I worked even when I was ill. “I’m old,” she said. “There isn’t much time left for me. I must make the best use of the time I have left by working harder for Tzu Chi.” She also said that she felt reborn when she joined Tzu Chi 16 years ago, and so she was only 16 now. She is indeed very dedicated. Not even illness can slow her down. She gives of herself so wholeheartedly and willingly. By devoting her life to society, she has made a positive difference in many poor people’s lives. Though our African volunteers are materially poor, they are spiritually rich. They have taken the Buddha’s teachings to heart, and the Dharma is like an inexhaustible treasure trove from which they draw strength. The process of helping others might be filled with challenges, but once they know they are going in the right direction, they stride forward cheerfully. If we don’t commit ourselves but just march in place, we’ll surely never make any headway on the Bodhisattva Path. But if we bravely commit ourselves and move onward, we’ll find that it’s not difficult to walk this path at all. Let’s pave each inch of this road with love and inspire others to join us as we proceed on it. The world will indeed benefit if we do so.
Treasure trove within On January 1, 2015, a raging fire believed to have been ignited by firecrackers engulfed 200 houses in Quezon City, Metro Manila, leaving nearly two thousand families homeless. Local Tzu Chi volunteers quickly went to help. After assessing the destruction, they distributed daily necessities and emergency cash to help victims get through this difficult time. A fire survivor said that she had received help from Tzu Chi five years ago after Typhoon Ketsana. Some time later, Tzu Chi gave her rice and medical assistance again. This time, when she was affected by the blaze, Tzu Chi volunteers came to her aid again. The sight of our volunteers has made her feel very safe and warm. Suffering abounds in this world. When a disaster hits, it usually falls the most heavily on the poor. I hope everyone uses their worldly wealth wisely. When you have enough to eat, think of those who are starving. When more people pool their love together, more suffering people will be saved. Please do not live blindly and damage the environment and Mother Nature for your personal gain. Even if we accumulate abundant wealth, we can keep nothing with us forever. What’s more, we’ll have to worry about whom to leave our wealth and treasures to after we depart from this world. We are simply creating troubles for ourselves. Human beings rely on the Earth to live. However, instead of cherishing the environment, they keep damaging it to satisfy their desires. Such greed harms not only the physical world, but also their inner spiritual worlds. Yushan Island in China’s Fujian Province used to be clean and beautiful. In recent years, however, the growing economy in China has boosted tourism, and tourists have brought a lot of pollution to the island; garbage can now be seen everywhere there. Local Tzu Chi volunteers have worked hard to pick up recyclable garbage and carefully sort it out for recycling. They have worked so hard that blisters and calluses have formed on their hands. In my eyes, the calluses on their hands are like gems—they are worth far more than the diamonds rich people wear on their fingers. I am really thankful to these recycling volunteers. They use their hands to clean up and protect the Earth. The well-being of the Earth is the well-being of us humans. Everyone possesses infinite treasures in their hearts. All we need to do is open our hearts to good teachings and tap into that inner wealth. Then we will be able to benefit the world with infinite wisdom and love. Furthermore, unlike material treasures like diamonds or gold, our spiritual treasures can be found without drilling into and damaging the Earth. Nor do we need to rent safety boxes to keep them safe. When our time in this world comes to an end, we can even take them with us to our next lives. They are truly the most precious thing in life. Time ticks by relentlessly second by second. We have now entered 2015. My biggest wish for this new year is for everyone to embrace sincerity. Unbalanced minds and erratic climate conditions have resulted in a greater frequency of man-made and natural disasters. If we want to be safe and well, we can’t rely on praying. Safety and peace only come to us when we live each day with pious sincerity and vigilant care, when we accumulate blessings by respecting heaven, loving the earth, and doing good deeds. I’m truly thankful for living in a safe place, for passing each day in peace and safety. Gratitude and pious sincerity are what make a society harmonious. Think positively, speak kindly, and do good deeds—that’s how we can bring happiness to the world. I hope everyone starts with themselves and embraces sincerity, integrity, faith and honesty in their hearts. Respect your parents and older family members, love and care for your siblings and younger family members, and interact with all people with sincere earnestness. Doing so will create blessings for the world. When everyone has sincerity and helps love to grow and converge, the world we live in will be very fortunate. Let us be ever more mindful. This article is excerpted from a series of speeches delivered by Master Cheng Yen from January 1 to 17, 2015. |
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