Life Wisdom: Growing Spiritually on the Bodhisattva Path
Tzu Chi volunteers in Canada, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen one another. I see volunteers have been giving back in Canada. Speaking of giving back, we should be grateful to that land. The land that they stand on has been turned into a farm with love. That piece of land allows Tzu Chi volunteers to connect with the earth just like the Abode.
We see their farm; it truly has the farming atmosphere of the Abode. Not only do we see it, we can also feel the Jing Si Dharma lineage there. We can see that volunteers there want to pass on the Jing Si Dharma lineage. Moreover, on that piece of land, they are mindful in planting and taking care of the trees for them to become (an orchard). They are mindful in grow the trees.
Patience is required in growing trees. It takes a long time for trees to grow. The roots extend deep in the ground while the branches reach out to the sky. They have been growing trees there. We humans also need to compete with trees. We plant trees and also compete with the trees. Look at the trees, their roots keep on penetrating deep and wide into the soil.
Every day, I’m at the Abode. From my seat here, (I see trees). Every day, I would open a door and walk in the garden. In a small area in front of me, I would raise my head to see two big trees. They seem to be growing taller, even though they are old. They are still growing taller because they are growing new buds and new branches. I also look around one of the trees and see that the tree has expanded its branches.
When I look down, I see parts of its roots. A part of the root is above the ground, but I think the rest of it is growing into the soil. That’s how it’ll stand firm on a piece of land; come rain or wind, it’ll be standing there. People are like trees, and Tzu Chi volunteers ought to be mindful about this. We all begin as a seed when we first aspired, when we grow our branches and leaves, it is akin to being certified. After we are certified, we start reaching further out and we can (help many people) like trees providing shades. When the sun is blazing down and it is very hot, trees can provide a shade for people.
Tzu Chi volunteers need shades for protection, too. When people interact, it’s easy for people to (influence) one another. “What you’ve told me encourages me so much,” “it touches me deeply and I’m very happy.” “I want to join Tzu Chi and become certified.” For some, they have joined Tzu Chi and aspired, but they meet more people and hear different things, perhaps, amongst the volunteers, they hear something that bothers them, so they look upset. When they see the other party, they realize others are also upset; this will bring turmoil into people’s hearts.
Yet, Tzu Chi is a cultivation ground, so let us care about each other; if someone’s feeling is hurt, we should comfort them at once. Or, we can encourage ourselves and set our goal to become bodhisattvas. We can be grateful to our fellow cultivators for giving us an opportunity to cultivate and overcome ourselves. Ask ourselves, do we have great benevolence? That means to be compassionate and virtuous. Compassion and virtues can be cultivated easily,however, do we also have great courage?
To have great courage, we must have great forbearance; when we cannot forbear something, we lack courage, and without courage, we cannot begin to walk on the Bodhisattva Path. Volunteers, as we cultivate compassion, we have to develop great forbearance more; such is how we serve as living bodhisattvas to take on the responsibility of being a bodhisattva. I had said to Tzu Chings before: take on the responsibility of caring for the world for me; the greater area our work covers, the greater the responsibility is.
Living in the world, we shouldn’t let our time slip by emptily. Be it light or heavy, we will always carry out the responsibility assigned to us; when we take on a heavy duty, we have the ability to take up a heavy load; let us seize time in this life to create good affinities with other people. I am grateful to volunteers (in Canada) for safeguarding Tzu Chi’s big family there; like on that piece of farmland, whether our volunteers plant vegetables or grow trees, they will definitely have harvest from the land.
So, we must be mindful in sowing seeds of kindness; they will definitely give back to the land. When recruiting volunteers, we have to not only recruit new volunteers but also interact with our senior volunteers in accompanying and developing one another. This is what I hope for for volunteers in faraway Canada. I hope that they can encourage one another.
Although, it is far away in distance, I believe that volunteers’ hearts are very close to mine. I hope that the pandemic can come to its end quickly, so everyone can come to the Abode and see me soon. I am getting on in years, and I truly miss seeing volunteers at the Abode, which makes me happy. I give you all my blessings. You must be firm in your spiritual cultivation, interact with, encourage, and be grateful to one another, and grow spiritually on the Bodhisattva Path. Thank you and I wish everyone well.
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