Master's Dharma Talk: Working Together to Benefit the World

“Our first objective is to collaborate with the Al Hasanah Mosque because we do not distinguish among religions. Secondly, we also want to express gratitude to residents who live near the mosque for giving us an opportunity to do good deeds and trusting us to help repairing and expanding the mosque. Thirdly, we are from Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation,” said Mujianto, chief executive of Tzu Chi Medan.

“In Indonesia, Buddhism is not a major religion. Our goal is to make Indonesia a peaceful and harmonious country. This is a collaboration between Muslims and non-Muslims. This is working in harmony and helping this country. So, this provides us the opportunity to collaborate in repairing and expanding the mosque. Living in the same country, we should help each other. My family and I want to express gratitude to you. Thank you for repairing our house. The most important thing is that we can work together. If any disaster occurs, we can help each other. We are always thinking about what we can do for our country rather than what our country can do for us. What we can do now is doing good deeds,” said Mujianto.

People should respect one another so we won’t hold grudges against others, leading to confrontation. Such is the cause of unrest in the world. Look at our society, isn’t that the case? Things could be resolved with proper communication. There’s no need to create unrest, but why have people wasted so many resources, efforts, and manpower?

Much time is wasted in accusing each other on who’s right and who’s wrong, or blaming the faults of others. These conflicts have complicated  people’s relationships among families and societies. Conflicts do not arise on its own; because people’s thoughts have gone astray, they create disharmony among people. Such disharmony accumulates and leads to disasters and the imbalance of Mother Nature.

This is sad. Although we know this, it is difficult for people to change their way. Even when we know of this, it is hard for us to do so. This is why there is so much suffering in the world. The Dharma always reminds us that we need to pay importance to karma. When we create a cause and conditions are ripe, the result will be brought about.

As we face negative results, we experience suffering. Indeed, this is because people failed to think carefully. All it takes is a shift of perspective; there will be harmony and problems can be solved. For example, in Indonesia, there is a family living in a remote island. They live in hardship. When Tzu Chi volunteers learned of their situation, they could not bear to see them suffer.

The grandma said when it rained at night, she couldn’t sleep, because she didn’t know whether her house would collapse on her in her sleep. What happened to the house? When I got back home, I thought about how to help her; and my friend said Tzu Chi could help. Tzu Chi volunteers overcame all kinds of difficulties to help this family.

“On the motorbike, I can only carry four bags of sand at a time or a bag of cement at a time. It was really hard and difficult. Every time when it was rainy or windy, This grandmother became very anxious. Now that volunteers build a new house for her, she said she no longer worries about the wind or rain. She feels safe,” said Mujianto.

As long as we are determined, nothing is impossible. In Taiwan, there are similar examples. We pool small contributions together to make a real difference. We give of our love; when pooled together, it becomes a pillar of support for society. In addition, we need to awaken people’s hearts. Take our volunteer Mrs. Xu-Li Xuexiang  for example. She is over 70,  but she knows that people’s hearts need to be purified.

Da Ai TV is committed to spreading the Dharma, inspiring people, and purifying their hearts. So, she willingly donates money a little at a time by working hard. Da Ai TV is the source of our spiritual wellspring. Because of this, people’s hearts are purified gradually, and they are inspired to give of their love to serve society and the world, and encourage one another to walk the correct life path.

People need to give each other spiritual support, and be pious. No matter what religion we believe in, we should have correct faith. If the religious teachings can be applied to people and matters and lead us in the correct direction, then that religion is worth believing in. We need to have faith in order to have a correct direction.

Without having a correct faith, we cannot have a correct direction. By having correct religious belief, we will not become lost in life. When these religions come together, their teachings agree with one another without contradictions. That is because they share a common purpose and goal, which is “love.” The sincerest love is peaceful. It is the common goal of humankind. This is what we really need.

What we need most right now is peaceful love. To attain such peaceful love, people need to think deeply and carefully. I often hear people share their insights on Jing Si Aphorisms. I often hear this. With their insights, they are heading toward the correct direction. Volunteers, having the power of love is really important. A Jing Si Aphorism a day can purify us and help us think about the correct direction of our life. This is very important.