"At that time, I'd go play mahjong when I had a spare moment."
"I thought to myself that if I instead used that time to sweep the streets."
"My hands would be moving all the same."
"From that time onwards, I quit my gambling"
"Don't you miss it at all?"
"Yeah, sometimes"
"When that happens, what do you do?"
"I'd tell myself I must remain firm"
"and that I don't want to gamble"
"How did you do that?"
"Remain firm"
"and keep an upright mind"
"I told myself that I wouldn't do it"
"and that was final"
"That was it. Nothing special actually."
"People can do either good or evil."
(and they can change at any time)
All it takes is a change in thought.
Take this elderly bodhisattva, Liao Yin.
For example, her life has been filled with twists and turns.
Not long after she was born, she was adopted.
Her adoptive mother loved and cherished her very much to the extent that she was rather spoiled.
A few years later, her adoptive mother passed away.
Later, her adoptive father remarried.
Her stepmother would ask her to do all the household chores.
At the time, she was just 11 or 12 years old but she had to do all the work at home.
(She endured much hardship.) One time, she got into a physical fight with her stepmother and then she ran away from home.
Her adoptive father found her and wanted to bring her home.
She then negotiated with her father that she'd go home with him only if he let her start her own business.
Her father agreed, and o she started a business.
(selling cigarettes, liquor, and betel nuts)
Later, she got married.
Her husband was a policeman.
But she on the other hand, smoked, drank, chewed betel nuts and gambled.
That's how she spent her days until her husband passed away.
Then, when she was 65, one day she switched on the radio and happened to hear someone say.
"So, please be more mindful"
(That was the tail end of the program)
She hadn't heard what came before that
(but somehow, those last words spoke to her)
(and made her want to listen more)
So, the next day, she switched on the radio at the right time and was able to listen to the radio program from the beginning.
She heard me tell many stories before she heard me say.
It's easier to get lung cancer if you smoke.
It's easier to get liver cancer if you drink.
And if you chew betel nuts, you're prone to oral cancer.
After I heard this, I felt it was as if Master was talking about me.
I felt I was as if Master was talking about me.
I did all of these things.
From that day onwards, I said to my son, A-hai:
"You don't need to buy cigarettes,"
"alcohol or betel nuts for me anymore."
I'm going to quit everything"
A-hai said to me:
"You've had these habits for many decades"
"Can you really quit?"
I said to him:
"Yes, I can definitely quit"
"If I say I'll quit, I'll quit"
She was determined to quit. It wasn't' easy.
It was truly very hard work.
But with her resolve and determination she was able to do it.
So, how did I quit?
I put a huge bottle of water in the freezer, and when I wanted to drink alcohol,
I would drink a glass of freezing water instead.
When I felt like chewing betel nuts I'd chew on very salty preserved plums and my teeth would hurt so badly.
For about one week, it was really painful.
During that week, my hands and feet couldn't stop trembling.
After a week, it gradually got better.
She said at the time, the first week felt as though her insides were on fire.
It was very painful.
But she bore with it and persisted.
When her cravings came and her hands trembled because that's what happens when one is addicted to alcohol.
She'd grab a broom and go sweep the sidewalk or do recycling.
(because she'd known about Tzu Chi by then)
Sometimes her gambling and drinking buddies would try and tempt her, so she turned vegetarian (and that kept them away)
How did she come to know about Tzu Chi?
In fact, she came to know about Tzu Chi through her daughter-in-law and daughter.
One time, a Tzu Chi commissioner had gone to where her daughter-in-law worked to pick up a donation.
Though I was a donating member I still wanted to find out more about Tzu Chi.
I didn't know about some of their activities.
Then, I wrote a postcard to the Tzu Chi office in
The first time I went back to Hualien, my mother-in-law and I were very pleased.
Because at the time Master was giving blessings to those who had birthdays that month.
Our birthdays happened to be in March so we went up together.
We were lucky enough to receive Master's blessings in person the first time we saw her.
So, from that moment, we followed in Master's footsteps.
From that time onwards, she dedicated herself wholeheartedly to doing Tzu Chi's work.
She served as our recycling volunteer and started to collect donations too.
Then, very naturally, she went on to become a commissioner.
Now, she is in her seventies.
But see how she still works diligently to do recycling every day.
She said, "My arm is hurting"
"But even if my right arm hurts"
"I still have the left arm"
"And if my left foot hurts,"
"I've still got my right foot"
She truly is very admirable.
People say that a person's nature is hard to change.
Actually, our true nature is pure and good.
(but we have bad habits)
And we must change those bad habits.
The unwholesome habits we pick up were all I learned from the environment around us.
It is possible to change. The worst is if we don't want to change.
For those who are resolved to change, it wouldn't be difficult to get rid of all their bad habits.
So, once we decide to quit our bad habits we should make an immediate start.
See, how many blessings Liao Yin has sown over these ten years or so by dedicating herself to doing recycling and how she has inspired many others to become Tzu Chi volunteers.
Don't I often say that a seed of goodness can multiply to bear innumerable seeds of goodness.
Over these ten years or so, she truly has done a great deal to benefit others.
So, we must persist in the work we do.
Turning to
Some of our volunteers have arrived there to prepare for the groundbreaking for
the permanent housing and a school.
All this is to provide a safe place for the cyclone survivors to settle into.
With homes to settle into, it will bring more stability to their lives.
We also wish to see them harvest the rice crops.
However, the local weather forecast says there will be heavy rainfall for these next few days.
I can't help but be worried for them.
However, as long as we bear good thoughts and let these seeds of goodness continuously multiply.
(such seeds of goodness will eventually)
(become widespread everywhere)
Likewise, as long as we give them the rice seeds)
These seeds will be able to grow into countless grains of rice and continuously give rise to more seeds.
May the weather clear up soon
(The farmers have been)
(working very hard to grow the seeds we gave them)
But, it still depends on the weather.
If the weather clears up today then there is still hope.
But if the weather does not cooperate------
It would be heartbreaking if all the blood and sweat they have put in.
These past few months all go down the drain.
And despite our having traveled all this way to distribute rice seeds and fertilizers, they might not see any harvest.
If that happens, we'd feel terrible for them.
We pray that since these rice seeds came from the donations of so many loving people may the losses be minimal and may there be as much harvest as possible.
Everyone, I hope that we can all help pray for them.
I am grateful to so many people who give of themselves with love to help inspire others to change their bad habits so that they can return to the correct path and start doing good to benefit humanity.
(With more people giving of their love)
even more people will be helped.
So, we truly must continue to work hard.
(and pool together even more people's efforts)
And encourage everyone to pray with sincere piety.
Alright, if everyone can bear good thoughts there will be great strength.
Let's pray for
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為善造惡繫一念
斷除積習勤植福
自助助人轉逆境
同祈苦難俱遠離
每個人的心中都有單純善良的本性，但是我們常常受到環境影響，培養出了壞習慣。今天的志工早會，證嚴上人就分享了，住在台北新莊的環保志工，陳廖銀阿嬤的故事。
還沒加入慈濟成為環保志工之前，他號稱自己有四項專長，就是抽菸、喝酒、賭博、吃檳榔，後來因緣際會，接觸到證嚴上人的法，她找回了清淨的本性，改變心念，戒掉超過五十年的壞習慣。
陳廖銀阿嬤戒賭之後，笑稱自己是用以打麻將的手，去做環保，雙手也一樣是在運動，他的家人也因此加入環保志工的行列。證嚴上人讚嘆，改變不好習氣，轉變成善的行為，就是造福人群。
戴著安全帽、騎著三輪車載回收，這是七十八歲的陳廖銀阿嬤，每天的例行公事。還沒加入慈濟前，阿嬤可是抽煙、檳榔、喝酒、賭博，樣樣來、樣樣專；偶然有一天，聽到上人的法，一轉心念，下定決心後，戒掉超過五十年的壞習性。
歡喜心作環保，陳廖銀阿嬤越做越起勁，走入慈濟世界、投入環保的她，改掉又臭又硬的壞脾氣，掃除心中污垢、無明煩惱，還引導家人一起彎腰幫忙作回收。
生活清淡心就平靜，洗滌心中的無明，就能啟發清澄的智慧。清平地富，成就圓滿人生。
2008-10-31 21:11:38
Regards, Jenny
Today's Jing Si Aphorisms: To a beautiful heart, everything appears beautiful.
今日靜思語: 心美看什麼都美.
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