Life Wisdom: Cultivating for the Well-Being of the World
Time truly flies and we are having the Year-End Blessing Ceremonies again. Humans have a limited lifespan; because of this limited lifespan, despite that it’s strenuous for me to speak, I will still seize this moment (to talk). This tour hasn’t been easy for me, from northern to central Taiwan, I’ve traveled in short distances. I see such elegant cultivation grounds and when the Dharma masters visit, the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha are all together in one place. I also see Tzu Chi volunteers from all walks of life, walking on the Bodhisattva Path together with the same mindset and vows.
When I came in, I sensed a very solemn spirit of cultivation. As I walked down the stairs, every step I took, I was thinking that (life) is truly impermanent. The seconds of time are taking everything away from my life rapidly, and what is left for me? I don’t know. However, I only know I must seize the present, as in this second and this moment, no matter how much time I still have ahead of me, I’m very grateful.
Lately, I’ve been telling Tzu Chi volunteers to take an inventory of the things they have done in their life. In the past, I often said that when we raise our heads, let us repent. Who has never made a mistake? Everyone has done so with their thoughts. We think of something and we say something, so we create bad karma with our mouth. Maybe we give rise to greed and act upon it. Who has not made a mistake with our thoughts, words, or actions? So, let us always harbor a heart of repentance. Repentance brings purity. Isn’t that right? Repentance can help us become awaken.
But, some would ask, “Master, although I did such things before,” “I’ve already taken in Master’s teachings,” “corrected myself, and repented for them,” “why do I still suffer from heavy negative karma?” “Master, I’ve tried to create a lot of blessings,” “how come I am (suffering from misfortune.)”
When expressing, they’d use a lot of “I” or “My”. (They mention their) misfortune or hardship and wonder why haven’t their situation improved?
I’d say to them, “It was due to the deeds you’ve done” “in your past lives.” “You come to this world not knowing principles,” “you should feel very blessed” “for you’ve encountered the Dharma.” “Moreover, you’ve joined Tzu Chi.”
In learning the Dharma, we can better understand the law of karma and its retribution. We must have knowledge of the law of karma. We must not become superstitious, yet, we need to believe in the law of karma. In the past year, we see that the world climate has become truly out of balance. By out of balance, it means earthquakes, floods, wildfires, and storms (frequently occur); nature is truly out of balance.
Every day, I see news of many disasters happening around the world, I truly feel worried and anxious. What we hope for the most is that we can take off our mask (for good).
See, I am onstage. Because there’s a good distance between you and me, (I agreed that it’s fine to take off my mask.) Every one of us should wear a mask, doing this is to safeguard our own health, protect our family and communities as well as every person in our society.
In all, being a human in this world, everybody should take good care of themselves. We should develop virtues and grow in wisdom-life. In developing virtues, we accomplish deeds; what do we seek? We want to develop virtue. So, a virtuous person is able to accomplish good deeds; have we accomplished virtuous deeds? How do we develop virtue? We have to give of ourselves. We give of ourselves not for our own benefit but for the benefit of others. When we are wearing a face mask, though we’re protected by the mask, it’s actually to protect everyone. We must follow rules and regulations and serve as an example for people in society. So, we must not break rules and regulations.
For this pandemic, I’m truly grateful to all Tzu Chi volunteers. I feel that (helping with this pandemic) is beyond my capability. I don’t know where the fund is, but I believe that help will come from kindhearted people. As long as I call out to people, for the wellbeing of the public, people will pool their strength together. Just like drops of water can form a river and grains of rice can fill up a basket, individual contribution, when being pooled together, can form great strength.
Everyone, we must seize our time.
I see that experts are warning us about new variants of this COVID-19 virus in the future, so we must stay vigilant in this pandemic. The one thing that we must do now is being sincerely pious. There’s no solution to this pandemic. Throughout my trip as I travel from north to south, medical professionals all tell me to keep distances. So, wearing a face mask is very important. Keeping sanitation practices is even more important.
All in all, everyone must follow regulations, be sincerely pious, and adopt a vegetarian diet. Eating a vegetarian diet can protect lives and purify our air. When people don’t eat meat, we do not need to raise livestock. When the number of livestock decreases, our air will not be so polluted. Everyone, think deeply about this. It takes half a year to raise a chicken. How much feed does it consume? We need to raise it for half a year in order to eat its meat, (does it worth putting in all the resources?) Everyone, apply this line of thinking and please think deeply about this. Volunteers, you must have this sense of mission. At this time, we must urge people to adopt a vegetarian diet. Loving and protecting lives is to spare the lives of animals. This is creating merits.
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