Life Wisdom: Extinguishing Our Desires with the Water of Dharma
What will happen if we humans remain deluded? See, the Earth is in a dire condition with wildfires occurring around the world. The Earth is deteriorating. Who is to blame? We humans.
We truly must put out the wildfires in time as they've been destroying forests. While some people are striving to put out the fires, what's most important is for all of us to nurture our heart and mind with sincere piety, for our heart and mind has been like a house on fire. What caused the fire? Our desires.
Our heart and mind has been burning fiercely with desires. If we do not put out our inner fire quickly, the land will be damaged by wildfires even more rapidly. It's still not too late for us to mitigate global warming. Global temperatures have been rising too quickly due to the greenhouse effect, and to curb the temperature rise, we must all curb our desires quickly.
We must stop our heart and mind from burning with desires. We must also mindfully learn the true principles on why natural disasters have been occurring frequently around the world and why there are also many other disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic happening. The only way to mitigate disasters is for all of us to curb our desires quickly, and the first and most effective step is to go vegetarian.
I talk about vegetarianism countless times a day. Let us keep our desires in check. Our desires lead to the creation of bad karma and bad karma is mostly created as a result of people eating meat. Now, we all have to wear a face mask, which reminds us to guard our mouth.
Face masks are still indispensable because we did not curb our desire for meat, and have therefore rendered the air contaminated with the virus, so we have to keep our nose and mouth covered. The only way to end the pandemic is by going vegetarian. The pandemic has taught us this crucial lesson, and what's most important now is to guide everyone to guard their mouth.
First, we must curb our desire for meat. Second, and also very importantly, we must speak good words, do good deeds, and spread good teachings. Only then can we all settle our minds. Suppose we are all on the same boat. When the sea waves are strong, we must all remain calm. If we become anxious and move, the boat will sway even more violently and can capsize easily when another wave comes.
So, when strong waves strike, those on the boat must stay calm. In the same manner, we must stop desires from arising in our mind. We must also listen to the Dharma. Recently, in our videoconferences, I've heard our Tzu Chi members say: "Master, we all listen to your Dharma talks every morning and discuss your teachings in our study groups." They've also shared with me what words I've said, when I said these words, and what teachings I've imparted.
What they've said to me is all correct. When I give a talk to other Tzu Chi members, they also listen to me through live streaming. This is made possible thanks to modern technology. I hope our Tzu Chi members can all take my teachings to heart and live them out.
Yet, it's not enough if there are only Tzu Chi members listening to my Dharma talks. We must encourage more people to listen to the Dharma and live it out. We must seize time to do so. See, the many disasters have each reminded us that the Earth is in a dire condition.
We must nurture people's hearts and minds quickly by sharing the Dharma with others and calling on them to take the Dharma to heart. We must quickly share the Dharma that is like dew or water. I've often mentioned this. When I explained the Water Repentance text, I often mentioned that the Dharma is like water, and when I explained the Lotus Sutra, I often said that the Dharma is like dew.
The Dharma is like dew or water to nurture and purify our hearts and minds. Everyone, we must not remain silent. I used to say that it was of little use to share the Dharma. But, at a time like this, sharing the Dharma is a must. We must seize time and opportunities to listen to and share the Dharma so drops of Dharma water can enter people's hearts and minds and quell desires.
The Dharma is like water. With the ongoing wildfires, the Earth is in a dire condition. While water is needed to put out fires, it takes the water of Dharma to extinguish people's desires that have become very rampant, for only the water of Dharma can purify people's hearts and minds. We must all learn the Dharma with sincere piety so as to take in the water of Dharma.
Let us live out our innate goodness, which is also like water that can put out the inner fire caused by our desires. In all, everyone, please be mindful at each moment.
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