2020年前实现近60国支持“森林零砍伐” 60 countries support achieving zero deforestation before 2020

不止国家应该支持“森林零砍伐”，大家也应该支持，少买木制品，以及多环保纸类和木类。

Not only should countries support zero deforestation, people should show their support by buying less wood-produced products, recycled more paper and wood.

2020年前实现 近60国支持“森林零砍伐” - 波恩综合电

近60个国家的部长周三在德国波恩召开的生物多样性会议上，承诺支持在2020年之前停止砍伐森林的全球性运动。

德国也承诺在未来4年内拨出5亿欧元（近11亿新元）保护世界森林。

发起停止砍伐森林运动的是环境保护组织“世界自然基金会”（WWF）。该会国际总干事李普形容这项活动非常成功，即使期限已过，仍有更多部长表示愿意加入。

李普说：“我们预期20个国家（会支持这项运动），结果我们得到50多个国家（的支持）。”

这项运动所提出的在2020年之前达到“零净砍伐森林”的目标，意味着每砍下一棵树，就必须种植一棵新树。

来自191个国家的6000多名代表，参加了在波恩召开的为期两个星期的联合国生物多样性会议，而砍伐森林成为会议上最受关注和引起最多争议的课题。

联合国的研究显示，自恐龙在6500万年前灭绝之后，地球正面临最严重的大量物种灭绝危机。在波恩聚首的专家们，就是要找出可减缓植物和动物绝种速度的方法。

专家们说，人类活动，包括温室气体的排放，是造成这种情况的主因，而随着粮食价格飙升，政治人物已开始更加重视生物多样性。

德国总理默克尔就在会议上宣布，德国将在2012年之前提供5亿欧元来保护森林，之后也会每年提供5亿欧元。

默克尔说：“我们准备承担责任；我们准备竭尽所能来保障土地的肥沃和人类生命的基础。”她补充说，每天有大约150种动物和植物灭绝。

环保人士日认为，德国发出的强烈信息，将有助于生物多样性会谈取得突破。

另一方面，会议上公布的一份调查报告指出，巴西政府计划保护10%以上的亚马逊森林，免受砍伐和农业综合企业的危害，将有助于在本世纪中期以前，降低温室气体的排放量达11亿公吨。

全球温室气体排放量的20%，是由热带地区的砍伐森林活动造成的，而当中的半数又来自亚马逊河流域；亚马逊森林的65%坐落在巴西境内。

联合早报 - 2008年5月30日

ITE student took pay cut to switch from accountant to nursing工教局学生成就奖颁奖仪式不当会计员，想要当护士 减薪一半换满足感

Interest is very important. This is something that many young people lacks. They seem to be more interested in money and fame over what they really like. I truly wonder how far they can go in something that they do not like but bring them a lot of money.

兴趣很重要。很多当下的年轻人都对兴趣没什么兴趣。他们的兴趣就是名与利。我真的不知他们能在这条他们不喜欢但是名利双收的路上走多久。

工教局学生成就奖颁奖仪式不当会计员，想要当护士 减薪一半换满足感 - 赵倩玉

如果在你30多岁的时候，突然发现你对干了十多年的高薪工作已经没有热忱了，你会怎么做？也许有人会直接转行，但可能很少人会有勇气回学校从零开始，修读一门自己喜爱但又完全陌生的学科。

36岁的方韻馨就是这样的一个人，她形容自己曾是个“没有目标的人”，因为姐姐修读会计，她也跟着读了会计课程。但从事了十多年的会计行业，月入3000多元，她却总觉得自己对这行缺少了一股热忱。

2003年，沙斯（SARS）肆虐亚洲，当她看到新闻里的那些医护人员尽心尽力地抢救病人时，她重新思考眼前工作的意义，最后下定决心当护士。

像很多人一样，她也曾舍不得放弃高薪工作，再加上中学会考时科学不及格，不能直接进入理工学院的护理系，直到两年前，她决定报读工艺教育局(ITE)的护理课程。

在昨天的工教局学生成就奖颁奖仪式上，获得了李光耀模范生／见习生奖的韻馨，笑起来和其他20出头的获奖学生一样神采飞扬，但眼神里多了一丝淡定与成熟。

她说：“我的记忆力也许没那些比较年轻的学生好，但理解能力比较强，可能是多了点人生经历的缘故。”

因为在ITE的成绩优异，韻馨将在今年10月开始修读义安理工学院护理课程，目前她是陈笃生医院加护病房的助理护士，月薪是以前当会计员的一半，工作也不定时，但她觉得很值得。“我还没报读护理课程的时候，就想得很清楚了。护士的工作虽然光荣，实际上却很辛苦，不过，现在我每天工作都有满足感。”

30％ITE毕业生被工院录取

同样获得李光耀模范生／见习生奖的张展宏(21岁)从小就想当新航的飞机师，家里有大大小小50多个飞机模型，可是近视、身材不够高，再加上中学会考科学分数不理想，他一直不能如愿以偿。

这次他以优异的成绩毕业于ITE的航空科技课程，并已经被新加坡理工学院录取了，将修读航空工程科。问他考得好成绩的秘诀是不是因为他对这方面有兴趣时，他说：“应该说是热忱吧，因为‘兴趣’可能一下子就没了，但‘热忱’可以维持很久。”

因为热忱，展宏希望从理工学院毕业之后，新航能考虑到他已经了解飞机机械运作的情况下，聘请他为飞机师。

今年30％的ITE毕业生被理工学院录取。

联合早报 - 2008年5月30日

Vegetarian 素食

Since the middle of Jan 08, I started having more and more vegetarian meals. It started out during Lisa's death where I was at her place for 5 days, having vegetarian meals all the time. A week later, Julia SG gave me some of the cooked grocery she bought at our Chinese School, followed by some of the instant vegetarian food from her home.

零八年一月中旬以来，我慢慢地开始素食。缘起于理珊往生时，我在她家助念了五天，餐餐都是素食。一个礼拜后，瑞云师姑与我结缘了几盒她从人文学校购买的素熟食，接着又与我结缘了不少她家的即时素食。

Coincidentally, this period of time happen to be very busy for me and I no longer had the luxury of time to cook. Hence, the cooked vegetarian food became a god-sent. They tasted good and I decide to take the opportunity to go vegetarian.

巧合的是，这一段时间课业非常的忙碌，使我不再有多余的时间做饭。因此，素熟食和即时素食解决了我断炊之患。素食十分可口，我也决定借此机会开始素食。


However, I did not go full vegetarian as I do not know the correct way of being vegetarian and do not want to mess up my health. In the end, I was vegetarian for the full day for around 3-4 days a week. Initially it was tough as I keep forgetting that I was vegetarian for that day and ended up munching tidbits that contain meat.

不过，我并没有开始全素，因为不正确的素食方法很容易造成营养不良，令健康受损。最终，我一个礼拜大约素食三四天左右。万事起头难，刚开始时，经常忘了当天吃素，不自觉地吃下含有肉类的零食。

After some adjustment, I got the hang of it and got a surprising by-product. Being part-time vegetarian seems to clear out some of my toxic and the pimples on my face cleared. That was good news indeed.

渐渐地，经过一些调整，一个礼拜大约三四天的素食融入了生活中。此外，素食带来了额外的好消息，吃素似乎把身体的毒素排出，脸上的青春痘都消了。

四川地震人文学校募款 Sichuan Earthquake fund-raising at Chinese School

唐人街街头募款隔天，人文学校也为同学和家长们举办了一场标新立异的校内募款活动。

A day after the Sichuan earthquake fund-raising at Chinatown, we had our own fund-raising for our students and parents at our Chinese School. It was a very special form of fund-raising.

我们在第三节课时，把同学都聚集在餐厅内。大家（同学、家长及慈济人）一起观看了一场短片，了解四川地震的破坏力。短片一幕接着一幕显示着，儿童受困在瓦砾中、学生紧握着手中的铅笔一动也不动、父母盼儿归的焦虑、母亲面对着孩子遗体的欲哭无泪。餐厅内除了许校长的旁述，鸦雀无声。众所周知这次四川大地震，多所学校倒塌，学童死伤惨重。

We gathered all our students during the third class period and everybody (students, parents and Tzu Chi volunteers) watched a short powerpoint clip of what happened in Sichuan. The powerpoint showed many pictures of children in pain and agony parents waiting for their child, since it slowly became a well-known fact that many schools collapsed during the earthquake and hence many children were injured or killed.

聚集在餐厅之前，教师们已发给每位同学一张一元纸币。短片之后，许校长谈了谈四川地震灾民的困境。之后金满师姑告诉同学们，他们可以选择使用手中的一元买零食。不过，观看了四川儿童正在经历的痛苦及苦难，十分希望同学们能捐出那一元。到最后，我相信所有的同学都把他们手中的一元投入劝募箱里。可喜的是，有几位同学向父母要求多点钱投入劝募箱，而家长们除了本身的捐款外，也都乐于答应孩子那小小的要求。

Before this session, our teachers handed out to each student a 1-dollar note. After the powerpoint was presented, our principal Xu SB talked about what happen in Sichuan, followed by Vickie SG who told our students that they can choose to use that 1-dollar to buy tidbits for themselves. But after viewing the pain and suffering the children are experiencing in Sichuan, we hope that they can donate the 1-dollar. In the end, I believed that all the students donated their 1-dollar. There are a few who asked for more money from their parents for donation and many parents contributed their part as well.

所有的一元纸币都来自昨日在唐人街的劝募。在很多人的眼里，捐款是左手出右手进，善款并没有增加。的确是这样，但是我们的同学上了一堂宝贵的人生课。我们在同学们的心田里种下了一颗善的种子，希望日后会萌芽，茁壮。此外，把纸币投入劝募箱里的行为本身就是种善因，并期许日后助缘够时，会产生善的果报。了解这两个原因，这看似愚蠢的行为，其实充满着智慧。

All the 1-dollar notes came from yesterday donation at Chinatown. To many, it would look like giving out the money for our students to hold them for a few minutes before returning the money back into the donation. There is no addition donation. This is very true, but we gained something more, our students did. By doing so, our aim is to cultivate the seeds of compassion in our students. Furthermore, their very act of putting the money into the donation box is the act of giving and will generate positive karma for them. Understanding these 2 reasons, it will no longer look like a foolish act by our Chinese School volunteers.

慈济劝募，不只募款，还募心。

It is an act of wisdom.

四川地震唐人街街头募款 Sichuan Earthquake fund-raising at Chinatown

五月十二日，中国四川发生八级大地震，往生者数以千计，数百万人受伤。山河变色，家破人亡，天盖之下，地载之上，无一幸免。上人发出呼吁，要求全球慈济人“送爱到四川”。地震一个礼拜后，慈济波士顿及遍布世界的慈济分支联会，开始街头劝募。

On 12 May, an earthquake of magnitude 8 hit Sichuan, China, killing thousands, injuring millions and destroying almost everything. We received request from our headquarters to start fund-raising for Sichuan. A week after the terrible earthquake, Tzu Chi Boston as well as many others branches all over the world, spring into action.


我们在唐人街的募款活动是我印象中最大的一次，几乎每一位慈济人和慈青伙伴们都到场支援。统筹的师伯和师姑们一大早就到牌坊下，准备好志工背心、海报、传单以及募款箱。人到齐及听过解说后，大家往唐人街各处散去。这一次募款活动之大，唐人街郊外的超级市场我们也不放过。

Our fund-raising at Chinatown was the biggest I can remember, almost everybody, Tzu Chi and Tzu Ching volunteers, was activated. The organizing SB and SG are here early in the morning, well prepared with donation boxes, flyers, posters and volunteer jackets. Once, everybody arrived and is briefed, we spread out across the whole of Chinatown, including the outskirt supermarkets.

我记得几个月前在唐人街为美国加州野火募款时，我是费了一番唇舌，才让大德了解慈济在做什么。可是这一次我只是轻轻提起“我们正在为四川地震灾民募款”，大德们大多数都很乐意慷慨解囊。其中当有一些大德问我们是哪个团体时，我都回答说，我们慈济是一个慈善兼佛教团体，总部设在台湾，今天募款的每一分钱都会送往地震抗灾。

I recalled during the California wild fire fund-raising at Chinatown a few months ago, I had a hard time explaining to passerby what we are doing. But this time, just the simple mentioned of "we are raising fund for Sichuan earthquake victims" and the donations started pouring in. Several of them asked which organization we are and we replied that Tzu Chi is a charitable / Buddhist organization based in Taiwan and every single cents of this donation will be going to the earthquake victims.

这一次劝募，我感触良多。有很多大德回答说他们已经捐过款了。虽然我们并没有从他们那募到捐款，我们还是感谢他们的善行。但是有更多的大德在回答说他们已经捐过款后，仍然打开钱包，再一次的捐款。的确，行善缺你一人不行。更感人的是，不少无家可归者听闻我们在为四川地震灾民募款时，都从讨来的钱中分点捐了给我们。无语的感动。

I noticed several good acts of kindness. There are many who replied that they had already sent in their donation. Although we did not manage to get any donation from them, we thanked them for their previous acts of kindness. But there are even more many other who after replying that they had already sent in their donation, still dig into their pockets and donated. Many thanks go out to them. There are also some homeless who after hearing our causes, gave us some donation, from the very little money he got from others. I am very touched.

有一户家庭令我记忆深刻，一家五口，父母亲及三个孩子。当我向父亲劝募时，他很乐意地捐款。母亲也同样地捐款。看着父母亲的行为，两位女儿也各自拿出自己的钱包，并一起捐款。最小的儿子太害羞，捐款经由母亲的手投入募款箱。看在眼里，感觉真是言教不如身教。

There is one family I remembered dearly. It was a family of five, father, mother and 3 children. After I approached the father for donation, he gladly donated. The mother did the same thing. Seeing what both their parents did, the 2 daughters took out their own money and donated it as well. Their youngest son was too shy to place the money into our donation box. I believed that this is family education at its very best.

最后，这一次劝款活动，好几位同学共襄盛举。首先，四川地震是重大灾难，几乎每人，尤其是中国留学生，无一不知，无一不晓。其次，我在宿舍里累月地积极为慈济宣导，终于让他们心中善的种子发芽。因此，许许多多的感谢，感恩他们的参与、付出时间及精力。

Lastly, this fund-raising, I am able to get several of my classmates along. Firstly, Sichuan earthquake is such a major disaster that almost everybody, especially the students from China, heard of it. Secondly, my active talking of Tzu Chi back at my dorm started to rub off them. Still, many thanks to them for their time, energy and involvement.

Asian, Apolitical NGOs get better access in Burma (Myanmar) 亚洲，政治立场中立的非政府机构更能进入缅甸

Master Cheng Yan key idea of “not getting involved in politics” is the main reason why our international relief is so successful.

证严上人要慈济人“不参与政治”，所以我们的国际赈灾能执行的那么成功。

Asian, Apolitical NGOs get better access in Burma (Myanmar) - Simon Montlake

The Taiwanese Tzu Chi Foundation says it has sent 15 workers into Burma and won permission to set up a distribution center in Rangoon.

As the United Nations and Western aid agencies grapple with Burma's refusal to allow unfettered access to as many as 2.5 million cyclone victims, help is quietly arriving from Taiwan. Its lack of political stakes in Burma (Myanmar) and the vibrancy of its civil society have smoothed a path into Burma for its Buddhist charities.

"They trust us as a friendly group. They know we're going there to help, not to hurt. Friendship and trust is the only way," says Shen Xian-Long, secretary of International Headquarters Search and Rescue Taiwan (IHSRT), which joined the first Taiwanese aid mission to Burma.

With Burma refusing to allow in Western relief specialists and blocking non-Burmese staff from reaching the afflicted Irrawaddy Delta, any aid from Asian NGOs that gets through is much needed, say aid organizations in Burma.

A UN official said Wednesday that Burma had agreed to issue visas to 160 relief workers from neighboring India, Bangladesh, Thailand, and China – but not other countries, underscoring the regime's deep suspicion of Western powers that have been pushing hardest for humanitarian access.

Residents in Rangoon, Burma's largest city and former capital, have also been trying to organize their own deliveries along with Buddhist monks and entrepreneurs, amid frustration over the lackluster Burmese military response.

Such small-scale initiatives aren't a substitute for the specialist international staff and equipment that Burma needs desperately to mount a credible relief operation, says Tim Costello, the head of World Vision Australia. "They don't have the capacity, the helicopters, or the planes, and they don't have sufficient technical expertise," he says.

World Vision has more than 500 mostly local staff in Burma, but Mr. Costello says he and other foreigners have been ordered not to leave Rangoon.

Yet as Western relief workers waited anxiously in Rangoon and outside Burma, a team of Taiwanese aid workers arrived in Rangoon to deliver emergency food and discuss further assistance with Burmese authorities. Headed by a Burmese-born Taiwanese monk whose foundation runs charities in Burma, the group carried in nine tons of aid, among the first such deliveries. A second three-ton airlift is due Friday.

Mercy Malaysia, which was active in Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami, says it also sent relief workers and supplies into Burma within a week of the cyclone.

The Tzu Chi Foundation, the largest NGO in the Chinese-speaking world and a rising player in global disaster relief, has sent 15 volunteers from neighboring countries to Burma to work with more than 100 local staff to distribute aid, says Her Rey-Sheng, a spokesman for the group and a full-time volunteer.

Tzu Chi also got permission this week to set up a distribution center at a Buddhist temple in Rangoon and work with monks there. It's planning a fund-raising drive for reconstruction projects.

Taiwanese relief organizations face some of the same logistical and political constraints in Burma as their Western counterparts. Mr. Shen, of IHSRT, says a shattered road network and a lack of air and sea transport means that most Taiwanese food aid is handed over to the military for distribution. That runs the risk of diversion to military stocks, something Burma's junta has been accused of doing.

Still, Taiwanese aid workers say their low-key, hands-off approach to countries like military-ruled Burma, which has been lambasted by Western countries, pays off in times of crisis. Even Burma's close political ties to Beijing, a fierce diplomatic rival of Taiwan, didn't appear to intrude.

In fact, Tzu Chi has even been able to win the trust of the Chinese government. In 1991, after flooding along the Yangtze River. Chinese authorities were suspicious of offers of help from Taiwan, over which it claims sovereignty, while some Taiwanese attacked the group for aiding "the enemy."

Its volunteers eventually got permission to work there. This year, it became the first NGO with a foreign legal representative to be licensed in China.

Its bedrock belief, prescribed by Master Cheng Yen, the Buddhist nun who founded Tzu Chi in 1966, is that all charitable work should be grounded in gratitude to the needy to ensure selfless giving. "Every volunteer feels the same way. By going to help others, they feel blessed," says Mr. Her.

While Tzu Chi has 10 million members in more than 65 countries and annual donations of $300 million, homegrown Asian NGOs don't yet match the size of Western humanitarian organizations, and the idea of cross-border humanitarian work is relatively new.

"Chinese society for the last 5,000 years is about helping your family and village and clan members," says Mark O'Neill, a Hong Kong-based journalist who has written a book about Tzu Chi. "The idea that you should help Indonesians or Sri Lankans – people with whom you have no relationship and can give you no benefit – didn't exist."

But the 2004 tsunami and other Asian disasters have spurred their growth in fast developing countries such as Malaysia, Taiwan, and Singapore. Young people talk eagerly of volunteering outside their own community, and philanthropy is booming as affluence spreads across the region.

The Christian Science Monitor - 16 May 2008 edition

Tzu Chi Day at New York 纽约全球慈济日

3-in-1 day: Buddha's birthday, Mothers' Day and Tzu Chi Day. I started the day by waking up at 3 am and called home for a chat. Later, I met Jiuan SB and Judy SJ and we drove to Alewife Station to meet with the rest. Boston Tzu Chi catered a bus to ferry everybody down to New York for Tzu Chi Day. The bus trip took 4 hours and I slept during the whole trip.

三合一日：佛诞节、母亲节及全球慈济日。我一大早凌晨三点起身，打了几通电话回家问候家人。之后，坐建发师兄和小芳师姐的顺风车到Alewife地铁站与大伙会合。波士顿慈济租了辆巴士，接大家下纽约。旅程需要四个钟头，而整个行程我都在睡。

Sean SB, Cai SG, Hui An SG and Yi Fang SG went down to New York a day earlier for planning and rehearsal. The location, the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, is the former venue of the 1964 New York World's Fair, with the Unisphere forming the backdrop of our whole celebration.

祥达师伯、蔡师姑、惠安师姑和宜芳师姑前一天便到纽约开会及彩排。浴佛地点在Flushing Meadows-Corona 公园，也是1964年纽约世界博览会举行的地点。公园里有个巨大的地球仪，成了我们整个庆祝活动的背景。

The morning started with the stationing of our volunteers for the "bathing" ceremony. Several statues of Buddhas are placed on a circular table while our volunteers stood behind, radiating outwards like "sun rays".

早上一开始，慈济人就忙着为各自“浴佛”仪式定位。我们把几尊佛像摆放在圆形桌上，而慈济人则象太阳光般，绕着圆桌辐射而出 。

When the whole "bathing" ceremony started, a group of seniors volunteers slowing marched in. They marched from both side of the Unisphere and converged right under it, before marching slowly towards the circular table. After forming a circle around the Buddhas, they became the first to "bath" the Buddhas by dipping their fingertips into the bowls of water and picking up a flower bud. After our senior volunteers moved out, our volunteers forming the "sun rays" moved in, circle by circle, each taking their turn to "bath" the Buddhas. After that, our remaining volunteers "bath" the Buddhas, followed by the public.

当整个“浴佛”典礼开始时，一群资深慈济委员慈诚慢慢步入。委员慈诚们从地球仪两侧缓缓而行，在地球仪正下方会合，一起转方向朝圆桌而来。之后，委员慈诚们绕着圆桌形成两个同心圆，献上灯烛、香汤及鲜花。紧接着，委员慈诚们便开始“浴佛”：九十度弯腰，指尖轻点香汤名为“礼佛足”；双手和掌，以恭敬心接过花苞既是“接花香”。委员慈诚们浴佛后慢慢迁出，“太阳光”内的慈济人便一圈圈的接着浴佛。再来则轮到其他慈济人以及会众浴佛。

After the whole "bathing" ceremony, conduced by Yi Fang SG and coordinated by Hui An SG, we hanged around the park, taking pictures and looking at Tzu Chi exhibits on display at the adjacent Queens Museum of Art.

整个“浴佛”典礼，由宜芳师姑主持及惠安师姑统筹。典礼圆满结束后，我们在公园里漫步、拍照以及到比邻的皇后区美术馆参观慈济静思展。

Later, Boston Tzu Chi and Tzu Ching volunteers acted out a skit for the public, emphasizing the important of recycling and environmental awareness. The skit was based on that skit performed during out Chinese New Year celebration but greatly modified and improved.

值得一提的是，波士顿慈济及慈青们，承担了一出短剧。短剧在皇后区美术馆前演出，希望能对会众强调环保意识的重要性。该短剧是在新春祈福会演出的剧本基础上，改进及完善后，再一次的呈献。

After the skit, we headed back to New York Flushing Tzu Chi office for lunch. Many thanks to the New York volunteers who prepared lunch for us. After lunch, we headed back to Boston, another 4 hours of bus journey. But this time, it is more enjoyable, everybody is wide awake, we shared our experience and feeling of the Tzu Chi Day at New York and I had a great time playing with Savanna.

呈献好短剧后，我们返回纽约会所用午膳。感恩纽约慈济香积菩萨为我们准备的爱心饭盒。午膳后，大家踏上回波士顿的四小时车程。不过这次，没有睡意，只有欢笑。大家分享各自的心得及体验，而我则在回程中和Savanna玩的不亦乐乎。

Yawns, Young and Wealthy but Normal 英美出现「无趣族」收入高爱助人 生活简单重环保

How I wish there are more people like the "Yawns" and Tzu Chi volunteers. I must say that the "Yawns" are role models for everybody, even Tzu Chi volunteers, to learn.

我多么希望人人能象“无趣族”和慈济人。我必须承认，“无趣族”是大家，包括慈济人，的楷模。

英美出现「无趣族」收入高爱助人 生活简单重环保 - 旧金山美联电

生活富裕的英国和美国出现了一个“无趣族”，他们收入丰厚，但生活简单；不爱花费，却乐于助人，而且还很关心环境。

环保问题已经不容忽视，越来越多人关注地球的病况。英美现在出现了一个由20至40多岁男女组成的“无趣族” (Yawns, Young and Wealthy but Normal) ，他们是年轻、富裕的普通人，重视环保，也关怀不幸的人。

伦敦《星期日电讯报》报道，越来越多富裕的年轻英国人具备社会意识，他们关心环境，很少花费，但捐出了不少钱给慈善机构。虽然“无趣族”的生活似乎很乏味，但他们的梦想很远大，希望能够改变这个世界，以拯救地球。

谷歌的软件工程师悉尼就是一个典型的“无趣族”，他于2003年将股票期权兑现后，所获得的金钱足以让他一生无忧。不过，悉尼并没有为自己在矽谷建造一栋占地930平方米的豪宅，而是在内华达州一个拥有4间卧室的房子退休，然后把多余的钱捐出去。

例如，悉尼将40万美元（约54万5000新元）捐给当地艺术理事会，让他们建造一个新的艺术中心；将100万美元捐给一家巴士公司，以开发一条新路线，让赌场员工可以乘搭公共交通工具上下班；将170万美元捐给一所高中，建造新的足球场和跑道；他也经常捐出数百万美元给提供医疗服务或尝试拯救地球的慈善机构。

据斯坦福大学社会学家古鲁斯基说，这个趋势完全符合情理，因为社会倾向于周期性的改变，例如从反唯物主义的嬉皮士到亲唯物主义的雅皮士等。再加上气候的变化以及恐怖主义的威胁，因此人们将更注重精神方面的需要，而不是物质享受。

古鲁斯基说：“一个文化和人口的‘完美风暴’，可能将在来临的日子里，果断地推动我们迈向一个极端的后物质主义形式。”这有助于解释为何“地球日”再次受到瞩目，而各类产品也开始“绿化”。另外，消费者趋势专家丹齐格认为，也许美国人已经极度厌倦了购物。她说：“绿化只是一小部分。美国人的购物热潮已持续了10年，我们的壁橱满了，阁楼满了，车房也满了。已经够了。”

联合早报 - 2008年5月5日

波士顿半日精进及全球慈济日 Boston half-day of Diligence and Tzu Chi Day

人文学校家庭日后，我们回到祥达师伯家，参加波士顿半日精进及全球慈济日。

After our Family Day at Chinese School, we headed back to Sean SB place for our own Boston half-day of Diligence and Tzu Chi Day celebration.

我们花了些时间布置客厅，让客厅多点慈济人文气氛。我们把通往阳台的大门用深蓝布盖起，摆放好佛像，以及挂起上人的法照。午膳后，半日精进以祈祷开始。接着观看上人开示。之后，我们学习如何绕法绕佛以及顶礼。

We spent some time decorating the living room to make it more "Tzu Chi"-like, covering the door to the balcony with dark blue cloths and hanging Master portrait. After lunch, the half-day of Diligence started with praying and watching Master's teaching. Later, we learned and practice how to pray in the proper Buddhist manners.

过后，我们休息用茶点。茶点后，宜芳师姑抵达，为我们进行波士顿的迷你版“浴佛节”仪式。由祥达师伯和诗白师伯率领，大家在宜芳师姑的带领下，两位接着两位“浴佛”：轻轻地用指尖沾沾在桌上一碗清水以及接过一朵康乃馨。

After we break for tea, Yi Fang SG arrived and we conducted our own Boston mini-version "Bathing the Buddha" ceremony. Led by Sean SB and Vict SB, each of us presented, following the instruction of Yi Fang SG, we "bathed" the Buddha by slightly dipping our fingertips into the bowl of water and picking up a carnation bud.

整个仪式过后，精进结束。大家都暖好身，准备好参与下个礼拜在纽约的大型“浴佛节”典礼。

After the whole ceremony is done, we ended the whole session. Now we are all prepared for the coming major "Bathing the Buddha" ceremony at New York next week.

人文学校家庭日 Family Day at Chinese School

今天是人文学校每年的家庭日，没有上课。感恩我们的家长义工们，计划既组织整个家庭日，以及想出好多好玩的游戏。

Today, there are no lessons at our Chinese School. It is our annual Family Day. Many thanks to our parents volunteers who planned and organized the whole events as well as games for everybody.

既然是家庭日，所有的游戏都围绕着亲子互动和促进家庭凝聚力。同学们对游戏都感到非常的兴奋。反观家长们，却有一点慢热。因此，我们第一场游戏只涉及同学们，大玩平衡游戏，如边步行边平衡一颗大皮球在羽毛球拍上，以及把自己装在大垃圾袋里跳着向前行。

Since this is our Family Day, all the games evolved around parents-children interaction and fostering better family cohesiveness. Unlike children who are very excited about playing games, our parents are slight slow in warming up. Hence, our first game only involves our students, playing balancing games like balancing a big rubber ball on a badminton racket and trash bag jumping.

当每人都兴奋起来后，我们把家长也拉下场。两人一组，母子、母女、兄弟或父女皆可。我们玩的游戏需要高度的默契，如两人三腿赛、背靠着背传皮球、双人跳绳等。

Once, everybody got excited, our parents joined us. We had mother and son, mother and daughter, elder brother and younger brother, father and daughter, whatever 2-people combination a family can come up with, participating. We played games like 3-legged racing, passing a rubber ball in-between your backs, double skipping.

我注意到家长最喜欢的游戏是能让他们想起多年前童年回忆的游戏。当我们让家长坐上孩童型的脚车，并让子女在身后推着他们向前行驶时，家长们都开怀大笑。

But I noticed that the games our parents enjoyed the most are games that reminded them of their own childhood many years ago. Parents are all smiling and laughing when we asked them to cycle kid-size bicycles while their kids push them from behind.

我特别喜欢两个景头。一个是上述父亲正忙于拍摄活动，而女儿则从父亲肩膀上俯瞰而下。我相信父女俩都十分享受这一刻。第二个景头是家庭日的重头戏。整个活动在接近尾声时，因为母亲节将至，我们给每一位同学发了康乃馨。所有同学和父母，各排成一线，父母面对着子女。一首歌播完后，同学们把手中的康乃馨，送给他们自己的父母，尤其是母亲，并说了一声“我爱你”。

There are 2 scenes that I particularly liked. One is the above, where a dad was busying filming the event while his daughter looked down from above. I am sure the daughter is enjoying as much as her dad. The second is the last event. We ended the whole event by handing out carnations to each of our students since Mothers' Day is approaching. All our students stood in a line while their parents stood in another line facing their own children. After a song, we get all our students to present their carnation to their parents, especially their mum, with a line of "I love you"


证严上人常说：“世上有两件事不能等，行孝和行善”。看看我们的教师是如此的开心，我相信每一个人，尤其是她，都玩得很尽兴。

Like what Master Cheng Yan always say "There are two things we cannot wait in the world, performing acts of filial piety and charity." The above picture shows how happy one of our teachers is. I am sure everybody, especially her, had a great time.

At MIT, the Greening of Young Minds 麻省理工学子越来越有环保意识

This is something that can be encouraged across all students and campuses.

很好的活动，应该遍洒所有莘莘学子以及各学府。

At MIT, the Greening of Young Minds - Daniel McGinn

It's a Monday night at MIT, just a few weeks before final exams. Grad students Tegin Teich and Todd Schenk could be studying or relaxing. Instead, they're hustling through a maze of basement hallways in search of notorious energy hogs: vending machines. The average soda dispenser consumes 3,500 kilowatts a year—more than four times the juice for a home refrigerator. To conserve electricity, MIT's administrators have been installing devices called Vending Misers, which use motion detectors to turn off a machine's lights and cooling systems when people aren't nearby, cutting energy consumption by 50 percent. Trouble is, MIT isn't exactly sure where all its vending machines are located, or which ones already have the devices installed. So tonight it's enlisted the MIT Energy Club to help figure it out.

It's just one event on the club's very busy calendar. With 750 students, the four-year-old group is MIT's fastest-growing extracurricular organization. Many of its members aim to build careers in "green tech" fields, and club events offer a chance to network and learn about the challenges and opportunities in emerging energy fields. In recent weeks, members had lunch with the U.S. Energy secretary and toured a nuclear reactor. Others discussed national biofuel policy as part of a wonky biweekly discussion held over beer and pizza at a local pub. Club members say the group exposes them to people and ideas from other disciplines; as a result, M.B.A. types become better versed in the science of climate change, while science geeks get comfortable reading business plans and understanding concepts like return on investment. In contrast to left-leaning campus environmentalists of a decade ago, who might have joined Greenpeace after school, "most of our [members] really believe in the power of the tools of capitalism to solve the problem," says founder Dave Danielson, who earned a Ph.D. in material sciences last fall.

Down in the basement at MIT, the club is getting some early results. Teich and Schenk have found a group of eight vending machines. Four of them are hooked up to Vending Misers, but only one is functioning. "This is like wiring a stereo," Schenk says, untangling wires to make the devices work. Later, Teich climbs on top of a different machine to pick off layers of masking tape left over from a paint job that had rendered the gizmo's sensor inoperable. "We probably just saved [MIT] $100" in reduced electricity bills, Teich says. It won't save the planet—but every bit counts.

Newsweek – 3 May 2008

到中文学校帮忙 Helping out in Tzu Chi Chinese School

我想我参加了大部分慈济人文学校的活动。如果建发师兄和小芳师姐也要到人文学校，他们会给我个顺风车。否则，我便坐金满师姑的车。早期，在人文学校无所事事，常在校内无目标地游荡。目前，我在餐厅里帮忙师姑卖面包和素食。有讲座，活动或演出时，我也帮忙拍照留记录。当然，我也顺便请购一个礼拜所需的素食。

I think I had attended most of the Tzu Chi Chinese School events. If Jiuan SX and Judy SJ are going as well, they will give me a ride. Or else, I can get a ride from Vickie SG. In the early days I got nothing to do, wandering aimlessly in the school compound. Presently, I helped in selling grocery in the morning and taking pictures during talks, presentations or shows. Of course, I did my weekly grocery shopping there too.

鈺梅认为波士顿慈济应该把时间和精力放在慈青。这是因为波士顿是大学城，大专学生很多。如果我们能成功地把他们接引入慈青，以及日后的慈济，我们便会多了一队生力军。不过，我们现在却把大部分的时间花在人文学校上。

Victoria mentioned that she believed that Tzu Chi Boston should be channeling our time and attention to Tzu Ching since Boston has the highest concentration of young students in the region. If we successfully engaged them into Tzu Ching and later Tzu Chi, we will get a boost of new blood. Instead we are spending an unproportional high amount of time on Tzu Chi Chinese School.

有两个主要原因。我们的会所目前正在装修，行政大多数都在人文学校进行。当慈济人在校内开过会议后，大多都会在学校里帮帮助。另一个原因可能是，大部分的慈济人都有子女在人文学校读书。因此，在人文学校付出，是家业和善业并行。

There are 2 main reasons. Our branch office is presently under renovation and all administration is carried out at out Chinese School. When our volunteers are physically having a discussion in the school compound, you tend to help out with the school whenever possible. The next reason is that most of our volunteers have children enrolling in our Chinese School. This gives them the luxury of taking care of family and volunteering at Tzu Chi at the same time.


壮大慈青和在人文学校付出不应该互相抵触。相反，它们应该是相辅相成的。迟早师伯和师姑的子女会到达入大学的年龄。在此之前，我们应该投入更多的时间把人文学校搞好，鼓励更多家长加入慈济的行列。有了更多的慈济人，将有更多师伯和师姑抽得出时间帮助带慈青。另外，把小菩萨照顾好，他们日后才会更愿意加入慈少或慈青。

Growing Tzu Ching and getting more involved with our Chinese School should not crash. Instead, they should go hand in hand. It will only be a matter of time before SG/SB children will reach college age. Before this happen, we should invest more time in our Chinese School to encourage more parents to join us. By growing our own volunteers numbers, there will be more SG/SB who are free to help out in Tzu Ching. Furthermore, by taking care of our students, they are more likely to join Tzu Ching in the future.

此外，我们需要一个共同的平台，让慈济和慈青能共同参与，无论是机构关怀、环保或手语。慈青现在的瓶颈是我们有同学有兴趣加入，但是我们没有定期的活动让他们付出。目前每个月的安老院关怀无法吸引年轻人。

Furthermore, we need to find a common platform for both Tzu Chi and Tzu Ching, an event be it institutional care or recycling or sign language. The bottleneck in Tzu Ching presently is we have interested students but no events on a monthly basis to engage them. The current events like going to old folk homes are not attractive to young people.

没有解决方法的捷径。每个人都需要努力，认真地思考这个问题。

There is no easy solution. Everybody needs to think hard on this issue.