Life Wisdom: More Goodness, Less Disaster
I often say that our value in life lies in our experiences. History is written every day. We can write a new page of history daily, and day after day, our achievements become a part of history. Our young Tzu Chi volunteers should understand how our senior volunteers walk the Tzu Chi Path and carry out Tzu Chi's work.
Only then can they pave a long Tzu Chi Path and make history in the countless ages to come. Just look back at Tzu Chi's history and the footprints we've left. How widely have we sown blessings in the world through our hard work? We see that our volunteers have truly accomplished a lot around the world. There are many of them, and by serving with all their hearts, they've sown countless blessings for the world. There are indeed many touching stories. So, we truly must value Tzu Chi's history highly. To do so, we can take photos when we do our work. We can also film. Footages are even more realistic than photos.
I think that as time passes very quickly, if we do not record our work, it will soon be forgotten. Contrarily, records about our work can be passed on forever. They can also guide others and bring people around the world together to give with love. We must spread love all around and inspire everyone to give with love. If we do not tell people how we give with love, they will not know. So, we must share our stories with everyone.
Apart from that, we must also share Tzu Chi's history with all. By understanding history, we can cultivate wisdom. When we see something, it's easy for us to know what it is. In addition to knowing what it is, we must also analyze it. This is how we can cultivate wisdom. With wisdom, we will understand that relief supplies are very precious as they are made possible by many people giving selflessly with love.
Look at Haiti, which was hit by a major quake in August. There are many poor people in Haiti and our volunteers have been giving out food supplies, such as rice, to them. In the aftermath of the quake, our volunteers in the U.S. have mobilized and brought aid there. Our volunteers, including Si Cheng and Xing Min, have told me that there is much social unrest in Haiti. When carrying out relief there, they felt insecure and did not know what could happen at the next moment. Robberies and conflicts have truly brought about disharmony in that society.
Our relief supplies, which included rice, were large in quantity and were very heavy, and we needed to transport them from Port-au-Prince to the affected areas. Along the journey, which is over 150 km, many robberies had occurred. So, our volunteers were all very afraid. I'm indeed very grateful that all of our relief supplies have been sent to the affected areas safely. This reminds me that everything arises from our minds. Social unrest also arises from people's minds.
So, we must inspire love in all. In this world, there are both light and darkness. While there are many people around the world whose hearts are basked in the light of love, there are also many people whose hearts are shrouded in darkness and ignorance. When there is more light, naturally more darkness can be dispelled. Good and evil are always in a tug of war. When more people do good, bad karma can be reduced, and when more people sow blessings, disasters can be mitigated. Look at the many disasters in the world. How can we help those affected? We can bring them food or clothes, or help repair their homes. We must give all we can to help them.
So far, we have 9,000 sacks of rice and food packages. The supplies this time are very heavy. I'm very grateful to Fr. Zucchi Olibrice. Last night, they unloaded the supplies into the warehouse we use for aid distributions. This truly was a "Mission Impossible,"but they made it. We'd prepared for this aid distribution for a long time. During the process, we all harbored utmost respect and gratitude to Master Cheng Yen. Indeed, we had put in much heart and effort to carry out this distribution. We're all very happy to be able to help the quake survivors. While there is much to share about what has happened in the past, we must keep guiding others in the future by setting a good example.
We must, from one generation to another, guide others to give with love. Life is impermanent and the world is filled with much suffering. The land is fragile, and even worse, it'svery hard to mitigate natural disasters. The only way to mitigate disasters is by guiding others to sow more blessings. When a disaster occurs, we must guide people to work together and carry out recovery with love. Such a guidance is indeed of great value. By changing our way of thinking, we can sow many blessings and cultivate wisdom. Let us sow blessings for the world and grow in wisdom.
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