By Master Cheng Yen
Translated by Teresa Chang
Material possessions do not guarantee a life of happiness. On the contrary, ceaseless craving for more material comfort is certain to result in a life of misery. Material greed begets a poverty of affection and love. Altruistic love, on the other hand, makes us spiritually and mentally rich. To be the most affluent persons in the world, we should try to lead a life of contentment and gratitude, and to give of ourselves with love.
Society is like the human body, in which harmful and beneficial bacteria coexist. If the body's immune system is strong, the harmful bacteria are held in check and the body does not fall ill. The same is true for society. If a society has strong immunity (i.e. healthy minds and attitudes), it can fight off the negative forces that impact it and remain healthy.
The mass media influence a society's immune system tremendously. They bolster or hinder the ability of people to respond positively to events in the world. If the media produce wholesome programs and report good news, the social immune systems of viewers will be fortified. When the minds of people are clean, society will move in a positive direction. However, harmful effects will ensue if the media choose to distribute only nasty, sensational news. Like bad bacteria overwhelming a person's immune system, such unwholesome news overpowers the good minds and hearts of the viewers and can turn society upside down.
In the middle of September, the Department of Communication Studies at Tzu Chi University held a "robe ceremony" in which Master Cheng Yen presented uniforms to fourth-year students ready to begin their internship training at TV stations, magazines and newspapers in Taiwan. The ceremony carries the same symbolic meaning as the ceremony held for our students in the Tzu Chi College of Medicine. For medical students, the robe signifies the faculty's best wishes for them and the hope that they will learn medical skills and a sense of mission while serving as interns in our hospitals. For the students in Communication Studies, the robe signifies our hope that they will learn to report positive news and help bring a stream of purity and harmony into society. In the same way that medical professionals can protect and save the physical lives of patients, workers in the mass media can protect and save the wisdom and spiritual lives of the viewers.
The world of mass communications is a complicated place. I hope that our students will be immune from pollutants, protect their minds, and uphold their vows to promote the bright side of human nature. I hope they help purify people's minds by producing only quality programs and covering good news on decent people and events. May they always uphold the vow they made at the robe ceremony: "We fully understand that the impact of the media--whether positive or negative, wholesome or unwholesome--as great power within society. The influence of the media hinges entirely upon the mindsets and perspectives of those of us working in the media industry. We hereby vow: May our mindset of kindness and all our efforts help cleanse people's hearts, create a more peaceful and harmonious society, and lead to a world free of disasters."
It is not easy to help lift all people from poverty, but at least everyone can be equally rich spiritually--rich in love and wisdom.Life used to be simpler and people were more easily content. As an old Chinese saying goes, "It is better to teach your children a useful skill than to give them a thousand pieces of gold." In the past, parents just needed to help their children learn a skill, after which the children would start to share the family's financial burdens by finding work. But life is harder nowadays. People are too concerned with their possessions; they endlessly compare what they have with others. People living in societies overwhelmed by materialism have become less content. When they gain one thing, they crave nine more. Children, steeped in a culture of materialism since infancy, learn from their parents and grow up thinking that happiness is directly related to the number of one's possessions.
A little greed may seem harmless. However, this human defect will grow stronger and stronger, until it becomes insatiable. No matter how much we own, we will never feel satisfied. Greed also breeds antagonism in families, among members of society, and even between nations. It is the root of all chaos in the world.
Will we ever have enough? If we are always comparing what we have with what others have, we will never feel adequate. We will want more and more and more, and we will never feel like we have enough. As the saying goes, "Aarice is what makes money scarce." If we can become less greedy and more content, we will never feel that anything is inadequate. Actually, we need very little in our everyday lives to experience contentment.
The source of greed is a lack of altruistic love. Only love will make our hearts rich. How can we experience this richness? We could start by truly appreciating the things others have and not wanting to own them ourselves. Then we could try our best to make others feel peaceful and carefree with our sincere care and love. When we share what we have with others, we are actually bringing joy and spiritual affluence to ourselves.
The arid mountains of China's Gansu Province are home to many impoverished children. Although they own virtually nothing, they live lives of contentment. It is not uncommon for the children to walk several hours to and from school each day. They are happy to be able to attend school, even though the school is rather shabby. They cherish what they have, however little it might be. Recently, a camera team sent from our Tzu Chi Da Ai TV Station videotaped a heartrending scene of a little schoolgirl writing her lessons. The youngster's pencil had been worn down to only 1 centimeter [half an inch], but she didn't seem to mind. As she held the nub of the pencil tightly in her fingers, she was just happy to have the ability and opportunity to write.
Deeply moved for the girl and other poor children shown in the footage, Chen Zhi-an (陳芝安), a Da Ai TV producer, started a Pencil Case Drive. She called on children in Taiwan to donate pencils and pencil cases for children living in impoverished areas. Schoolchildren throughout Taiwan responded warmly, and within just a few months our TV station had received over 10,000 pencil cases filled with brand-new pencils and other items. The school supplies were sent to children living in Gansu, Guizhou, northern Thailand, and other poor regions. The drive created ripples of love that are still moving outward.
A mother of a child who participated in the drive said that she used to buy her children expensive, brand-name stationery, but they did not appreciate it at all. When she saw how happy the children in Gansu were despite their poverty, she was suddenly inspired. She said that from now on she would teach her children by example, demonstrating frugality herself and encouraging her children to say "No" to their insatiable desires.
Many adults in Gansu's Tianzhu Plateau leave their hometowns and families behind to work in big cities. Young children are often left under the care of their elderly grandparents. Liping is a young girl in this situation. Her parents work in the city, so she and her two siblings live with their grandmother. Although she is only in eighth grade, she is very mature for her age. After school, she rushes directly home to help her grandmother with the chores. She knows that her parents are working hard to support them, so she studies hard and gets good grades. Her dream is to earn money by working as an interpreter so that she can help other poor children like her in the future.
Although life is hard on Liping, she does not complain. Besides being determined to make life better for her own family, she has vowed to help other impoverished children lead happy lives. A child with a heart like hers is truly rare.
The number of people living in poverty in the world is incomprehensible. I often pray that all of them will break free from the fetters of poverty. This is a wish that can hardly be realized. However, everyone can find spiritual richness. All we have to do is to desire little, give freely, and rejoice over the happiness of others. A person with such a mindset is truly blessed and wealthy beyond measure.
In the cycle of reincarnation, one is rarely reborn as a human being. So live this life with a sense of mission to improve yourself and others.According to a World Health Organization report, approximately one million people committed suicide in 2000. Many of those who committed suicide actually lived in wealthy nations. Many had happy families, higher education, and decent jobs. But because of erroneous thoughts, they felt forever trapped. Ending their own lives seemed to be the only way out of their troubles.
But does ending one's life really resolve one's troubles? The answer is, "No!" Moreover, it breaks the hearts of the many beloved relatives left to pick up the pieces. In 2003, WHO designated September 10 as "World Suicide Prevention Day." In my opinion, every day should be designated as World Suicide Prevention Day.
Life is impermanent. How fortunate we are, born into the world safe and sound and growing up safe and strong. No matter whether our families are rich or poor, we should cherish and be grateful for life. If we could live out the value of life and serve others, how fulfilling and joyful our lives would be.
In the cycle of reincarnation, life in human form is so hard to come by. Let us live then with a sense of mission. Let us cherish life and be strong. We have to be responsible for ourselves. When our lives seem uneventful, we should be all the more grateful that accidents and misfortunes have not befallen us. We should treasure our blessings. We should take our gratitude a step further and help others to receive blessings as well. Should accidents or misfortunes happen, we should accept them and face them with strength. Once we have weathered our trials and are standing on our feet again, we can help many more people to find happiness for themselves. In so doing, we live up to the true value of our precious life.
Cai Lin-zhang (蔡林樟) is a Tzu Chi volunteer who was born into a well-to-do family. He was very successful in school and later in his career. When he was 28, he was diagnosed with tongue cancer. He received treatment and fortunately regained his health. Putting his illness behind him, he got married and started a family. But when he was 45, another tumor was found in his mouth. This time around, the cancer was much more resistant to treatment. He suffered tremendously through a total of seven surgeries. He required many skin grafts, and he was in terrible pain. At one point, he considered ending his suffering by committing suicide.
A relative reminded him that even Avalokitesvara Guan Yin Bodhisattva would be unable to help him if he constantly lamented his illness and cultivated thoughts of suicide. As if hit by a thunderbolt from the sky, he suddenly realized that so much of the pain he had endured was from a hell he had created for himself. He saw that instead of dwelling on his suffering, he should cherish the fact that he was still alive. With that thought, he picked himself up.
Later, Lin-zhang joined Tzu Chi and used his story to encourage other patients in Tzu Chi hospitals. He has regained his confidence and happiness by giving of himself through volunteer work. He leads a happy and rewarding life by encouraging spiritually and physically emaciated patients to regain hope for life.
There was once a young lady who suffered a broken heart when her boyfriend broke up with her. One day she happened to walk by the Tzu Chi office in Kaohsiung, in southern Taiwan. On an impulse, she walked in. She broke down crying as soon as she saw the volunteers. They listened to her sad story and comforted her. A volunteer told her, "If one person doesn't love you anymore, why don't you come to Tzu Chi so that you will be loved by many?" The words brought a smile to her face. Now she frequents the Tzu Chi office and helps with the cleaning chores. Her volunteering has cleaned away her sadness. Although she lost the love of one, she gained the love of thousands. A change in her way of thinking enabled her to enrich her life.
We were all born into the world. The process of "being born" itself was no easy task. Even after being delivered from our mother's womb into this world, the journey of life that awaits us is not always sunny. Life's weather can be cloudy, rainy, or even stormy. Life can fluctuate between hope and despair. When you are experiencing stormy conditions on your life's journey, just hang in there. The sun will come out again soon. Please don't quit, and, above all please don't hurt yourself.
Life lies in the span of a breath. Every second of life deserves to be cherished. Every second of life should be used to brighten up the lives of others.
Let's eat meals, use things, and travel around in an environmentally friendly way. Curbing global warming is not hard if we really care.When the SARS epidemic hit Asia in 2003, Tzu Chi appealed to everyone to eat vegetarian meals. Following a vegetarian diet is a way to humble ourselves, refrain from taking the lives of animals, and show respect for nature. Volunteers in Malaysia responded to our appeal in 2003 by holding a vegetarian bazaar to raise money for charity. The bazaar has become an annual event. This year, it was held on September 2.
Volunteers cooked with enthusiasm at the vegetarian event, wanting to show people that a meal without meat could be delicious. The bazaar was also plastic-free: no plastic bags or Styrofoam containers were used. Volunteers encouraged everyone to bring their own bags and eating utensils. Over 50,000 people attended the bazaar, and everyone listened to our volunteers' appeal to be good to the earth. Not only did people eat in an environmentally friendly way, they also arrived at the bazaar in the same way: via public transportation or by using car pools. This reduced carbon emissions.
More than 3,000 volunteers participated in the event. Among the volunteers were some patients of the Tzu Chi free dialysis clinic or other long-term care recipients. After witnessing what Tzu Chi members did for their long-term care recipients, many people offered to help. They realized that they could help others just like the Tzu Chi volunteers. In this way, volunteers successfully used the occasion of a fundraising bazaar to raise the public's environmental awareness and interest in altruism.
The whole event was an admirable achievement. We might have thought it would have been too difficult to achieve. But when we rid ourselves of self-doubt, nothing is too difficult. When we open our hearts, we can achieve anything.
The earth provides for all living creatures, but the growing human population is putting a lot of strain on the earth's resources. People are constantly polluting the air and water and destroying the land, all to make their lives more convenient. The ecological systems of our planet have fallen ill. The environmental crises we created today will be passed on to our children and grandchildren. It will not end unless we change our lifestyles from now on.
Curbing global warming is not impossible, but we need to take action to make it happen. Let us start by purifying our minds, leading a simpler life, and respecting Mother Nature. Only by doing so can the world be peaceful, livable and free from disasters.
Source at http://tzuchi-culture.com/taipei_new/?mod=tc_monthly_en&act=detail&id=47
Mandarin Source at http://www.newdaai.tv/culture/?mod=tc_monthly&act=detail&id=258
