Life Wisdom: Make Good Use of Technology to Benefit Living Beings
For the past few days, we saw Tzu Chi volunteers and staff attended trainings. Seeing them cultivating diligently, I’m truly happy. There was also training for Tzu Chi staff around the world too. Tzu Chi has offices in many parts of the world. Our staff all took part in the training. Young people nowadays make use of advanced technology to interact with, encourage, and share experiences with one another.
Yesterday, we had a training for Tzu Cheng’s and Tzu Chi commissioners. Tzu Chi volunteers around the world all gathered together at the same time. Volunteers live in different countries. The training took place at midnight, morning, noon, or afternoon where they live. Despite living in different time zones, they all attended the training at the same time.
At the moment, with fast internet speed, at the push of a button, as I gave a talk, they could hear me. Volunteers from several thousand locations in a few dozen countries and regions all listened to my talk online. Many volunteers shared their Tzu Chi work with others.
Yesterday, I saw many images laid out on the screen. The person inside the image waved his or her hand and simultaneously heard us talk. Technology is truly praiseworthy. At this moment, am I not also travelling on a spacecraft orbing around the Earth? Am I not interacting with people?
Our interactions and the interaction among Tzu Chi volunteers are very genuine. Our online training benefits people and doesn’t cost a lot of money. We know to utilize modern technology to educate and encourage one another. Indeed, we truly need to make good use of our power of love to help one another and to encourage one another.
Like grasping the knot of the rice dumplings, we can pull up the power of love from the whole world. The knot of the rice dumplings can pull the rice dumplings up neatly and sturdily, It is something we can see.
Lately, we saw on the news of the wealthy going into space. Some flights lasted a few minutes, but what about the cost? It was enormous. The issue is not only about the cost, we can think about how it has disturbed the world’s ecology and what pollution it has created in the world and the universe. In order to send a spacecraft into space, what is the cost in building it on Earth? How many resources and materials were used?
As the spacecraft was completed, sent to space, and then came down some minutes later, how much manpower and how many material resources went into the whole process? How much damage was done to Earth? I find no words to describe how I feel. The only purpose of this is to fulfill a desire, yet the feeling they get from it is fleeting.
Such are humans. In the seconds while the spacecraft took off, it would be hard for them to say that they did not feel nervous. Did they feel happy in their brain and their hearts? We don’t know. Once they were in space, did they feel peaceful? We have no idea.
In all, it is unbelievable, we can only say that it is very unbelievable. On the face of the earth, there are so many people suffering in poverty. If the space travelers took the money and bought material supplies to help people, it could feed so many and they’d receive praises from so many others.
I truly feel, with a typical mentality, we can’t bear to see living beings suffer; this is having compassion which is the mindset possessed by most people in the world. There’s much suffering in the world where events of impermanence are happening all the time, within a second or minute. Many things can happen within a second.
Nowadays, climates have become extreme. Mother Nature is indeed out of balance. When the world is out of balance, disasters can occur instantly at once. The world is impermanent; all things on Earth go through the four phases of change. A volcano that has formed over many million years ago has erupted now; from this, we see impermanence and deterioration. When the volcano was erupting, lava spewed out and flowed down from the volcano. It is truly shocking and frightening to see.
In all, modern technology has brought people a lot of convenience. However, we have to use it properly to benefit people and society. If we misuse technology to deplete, destroy, and stir up the balance of Mother Nature, we’ll cause a lot of destruction and pollution. So, when modern technology is used well, a lot of merits can be created. If people use it incorrectly, blessings will be used up and negative karma will be created.
All in all, it all depends on our thoughts. I give everyone my blessings. I hope that everyone, at each moment, can give of themselves to create blessings for the world, grow in wisdom-life, benefit all beings, and serve as a living bodhisattva. I wish everyone well, and thank you.
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