Life Wisdom: Paving a Path with Our Vows and Love
Even when people are facing one another, it isn’t easy for them to have the same mindset. Today, I’m speaking to volunteers in Malaysia, and despite that we are mountains and oceans away, they have taken my words to heart, and they listen to my morning Dharma talk. When you learn my Dharma, our hearts will surely be close together; without my Dharma, the connection we have as master and disciple will be severed.
So, (with my Dharma), there will never be a gap between us nor will what we have ever be broken. This is not just for this life; it is for lifetimes to come. Our roles might be interchangeable; perhaps, if you utilize the Dharma mindfully in helping living beings and forming affinities widely, in the future, when affinity ripens, you will be the master and I’ll be the disciple. Therefore, the wisdom-life will never be severed and our roles will go on forever.
What I hope for the most is not to be reborn in the heaven realm, but to return, again and again, to our world as a human. Only in the world can people have the same mission and vow in helping living beings, have the same aspiration, and walk the Bodhisattva Path. I heard one of the doctors did not go home to see her parents for a whole year. Why? It is because she was taking care of patients, so she did not go (see her parents) for a whole year. People might think: “This person has vacation days,” “she can take some days off and go home.”
Yet, because she has given rise to compassion like a bodhisattva, and she cannot bear to see living beings suffer, so she forgo her vacation to (uphold her vow). When one vows to be a doctor, being a doctor is this person’s mission. When a doctor is facing a patient, the doctor’s responsibility is to safeguard his initial aspiration of being a doctor, and this is to uphold one’s vow and carry out the Dharma. When it is our responsibility, we need to know ourselves and our missions well. Take the Buddha coming to the world as an example, he aspired to attain Buddhahood; once he did, he expounded the Dharma in the world to save living beings and teach them the Bodhisattva Way.
This is why the wisdom-life of the Buddha will remain forever in our world; an example of a good doctor is also eternal. Such example can change people’s perspective, and they will look up to you; your wisdom-life and your spirit will become an example for generations to come. Let us seize time; every second can be a time to make a vow. The value of your life can be passed down to the next generation because they will look to you as an example, and your wisdom-life will be extended through theirs. It is to be passed on generation after generation. Each one of us must bear this mindset.
Every day, I seize my every second, and I hope my disciples will learn selfless Great Love from me and extend their personal love to a love for all. Just now, we heard that a doctor has not visited her parents for an entire year. She has put her personal love aside and taken up the responsibility of safeguarding people’s lives with Great Love.
I’m truly touched. Such is the history of volunteers’ life story. Volunteers, we must keep our life story (wholesome). Volunteers in Malaysia must work together with one heart and spread love across Malaysia. I tell them to unite the hearts of all volunteers in Malaysia Tzu Chi is the greater life, the wisdom-life shared by all volunteers. People’s life is limited to one lifetime. We must connect the lives of all volunteers together. We share a greater self and the life we have together is called Tzu Chi. Walking Tzu Chi’s Bodhisattva Path is our mission.
Everyone, let us spread our love wide and make our compassion long lasting. This is forming lasting compassion and spreading Great Love. Volunteers, you are close to my heart and understand me well. I’m grateful that, at this time, Ji Yuan quickly purchased expensive but needed medical equipment and PPEs for hospitals. I truly praise this. For all that they’ve done for this pandemic, I keep expressing my gratitude to the volunteers via videoconference.
When something is right, we must keep on doing it. I praise volunteers in Malaysia. In this pandemic, they’ve inspired the public to do good by urging people to donate money, which they then pool together into a sizable sum. I’m grateful to volunteers in Penang, Kedah, and other states for their mindfulness in carrying out Tzu Chi’s work. I hope we can carry out our work to more places and people who are vegetarians can share their experience with other people. In this way, it’s not hard to purify people’s hearts and protect lives in Malaysia. This depends on everyone’s mindfulness. For the right things, we must do more of them quickly and solidly.
Be more mindful. To transform living beings widely is to create a pure land of bodhisattvas. Jing Si disciples in Malaysia vow to Master: we’ll inspire everyone to do good including eating a vegetarian diet. With everyone eating a vegetarian diet, we keep disasters away. I look forward to them accomplishing this. My expectation of them comes from the bottom of my heart and their vow of walking with me. I’m very happy. Of the four immeasurable minds, I feel great joy today after seeing your great giving and the Great Love of Tzu Chi’s values and spirit. You’ve accomplished the above. I give you my blessings and am happy for you. I truly hope everyone will pave the path with mindfulness and love to spread Great Love and form lasting compassion. I give everyone my blessings. May your power of love spread further and make your compassion long lasting to around the world.
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