980102人間菩提英文版 Leaving a Meaningful Life Story by Working to Benefit Others

人間菩提--撰寫生命歷史
Leaving a Meaningful Life Story by Working to Benefit Others


“Thank you”
“Every department donates”
“This is from the News Department”
“This is from the Production Department”
“and the News Team from Taichung”
“This is Zhu-qi’s coin bank”
“Dong-liang’s is a jar”
“This is from the 7th floor”
“Master, this is from the Financial Dept.”
“This is for our winter distributions”
“Master, our Program Department”
“has been responding to Mr. Tang’s call to”
(save a coin every day)
“Thank you”
“This is from the Foreign Languages Department”
“So, are they all U.S. coins in there?”
“Mr. Tang did put”
“U.S. coins in there every time he came”

Early this morning, a big group of our staff at the cultural center came to see me. It was truly a big group.
Today, they brought their coin banks with them are presented these coin banks to me.
Every department at our cultural center has been saving coins in the coin banks.
Seeing that, I am very grateful.
Our staff at the cultural center truly know my heart and share (Tzu Chi’s ideals)
(and are models of)
(Tzu Chi’s culture of Great Love)
Every one of them has been doing their work with a sense of mission.
In the course of their work, they interact with our Tzu Chi members are through these interactions, these staff have been touched and inspired by our volunteers.
That’s why they don’t consider what they do as a job only, but consider the work they ddo as their mission.
In recent years, we’ve seen how staff at our Da Ai TV report true stories and guide people to have a correct perspective.
(Da Ai TV) is a media outlet that reports stories that are true and beautiful.
With a heart of kindness and goodness, our staff reports stories about the goodness our staff reports stories about the goodness and beauty of mankind.
That’s why I often say that Da Ai TV truly serves to purify people’s minds and the reports that our Da Ai TV produces cannot be found on any other channel.
If other media can report on such stories of goodness and beauty,
I am sure that this world of ours will be very beautiful.
Just now we saw the stories of two gentlemen and both were very touching.
One story we saw was about Mr. Li.
He was in his eighties when he passed away.
He had been serving as our recycling volunteer for over a decade. He was very steadfast in this and dedicated himself to the work every day.
But it the recyclables he collects or those his neighbors bring to him, he’d carry them to our recycling stations on his bicycle.
Though he’s getting on in years, he still rides his bike like this.
Every time we tell him there’s work to do, he never refuses.
I feel that he is setting an example for e to follow.
Because, despite his age, he is still able to do the work.
Seeing him working like that, we don’t dare to slack off.
He is still doing the work at such an age and we are younger than him.
How can we do less than him?
I am doing this because Master says:
“Just do it”
“That’s very true”
“As long as I am able, I’ll follow Master and keep doing this.”
I was told that our volunteers had hoped that after making this film of him, he could
go onstage (to personally tell his story)
To everyone’s regret, he passed away last month.
But, he has passed on his love and his work, to his daughter and son.
See, Mr. Li passed away in his eighties and he had been serving as our volunteer for over a decade, thus leaving a legacy of love.
If he didn’t get involved in Tzu Chi’s work, even if he had lived to a hundred, he still might not have left any legacy.
But in the ten plus years he dedicated himself every day, (through his selfless contributions) he was writing a beautiful story of his life.
See, didn’t he set a fine example for his children and also for our Tzu Chi volunteers?
We also saw the footage on Tzu Chi members bringing aid to Afghanistan in 1998.
At the time, our volunteers brought a large amount of medicines and nutritional supplements from the U.S. to Afghanistan along with Sir Edward Artis from Knightsbridge International.
Dr. Artis brought a cardiologist along with him.
Together with Mr. Huang, our volunteer from the U.S. staff from our Rhythms Monthly and other Tzu Chi members.
There were a total of seven in the group.
The airplane that they took was one full of bullet holes.
Despite that, they still bravely got on that airplane and flew over the skies of Afghanistan.
There were cannons on the ground and on the plane, they were discussing what to do, if the plane was hit by cannon fire, and how many parachutes they had onboard.
It turned out that there were only four.
But there were seven people. So, what to do?
(There weren’t enough parachutes for everyone)
After discussing it, they decided that since the purpose of their trip was to deliver antibiotics and other medicines and nutritional supplements to the people.
They might as well use the parachutes to carry these supplies so that they could land safely.
I was very moved when I heard them recounting this.
They took the mission so seriously that they didn’t even consider their own lives.
If their plane was to be hit by cannon fire, all they hoped for was that the medicines and supplies could land safely so those in need could use them.
See how they were willing to sacrifice themselves.
Though their lives may have been endangered, all they thought of was that many people were waiting for the medicines.
So, if something were to happen to the plane, their own welfare wouldn’t be their first priority.
I was very moved (by their selflessness)
But, (I disagreed with their thinking)
I feel that everyone should still put their safety first when doing aid work because if you lose your lives who’d be there to do the aid work?
So, everyone, I still must remind you to take good care of yourselves.
Only when we are safe and well will we be able to help others.
Everyone, all around the world, there are so many disasters.
To bring aid to those affected by disaster, we must not look down on any effort no matter how inconsequential it may seem.
As we step onto the Bodhisattva Path, we must take action and seize time to benefit others in society.
The world is filled with suffering and that’s why we need living bodhisattvas to go into the community to listen and to see where there are people in suffering so that we can reach out to them and bring them aid in person.
Just now we saw that in the year 2008 just in Taiwan, Tzu Chi has provided emergency aid to over 100,000 people, and given long-term aid to over 30,000 people.
Besides that, whenever our volunteers learn that there are families living in dirty and dilapidated houses or wherever there are people both poor and sick they’d go help clean up and repair their houses or help bathe the sick and care for them.
That is what Tzu Chi volunteers have been doing for people in Taiwan. We not only help people in other countries. Of course, we earnestly hope that everyone in Taiwan can be safe and well and at the same time, we will also work to provide aid to people around the world.
(It is our vow to help people in need)
Aren’t those who can come to others’ rescue the most blessed?
Everyone, we must diligently carry out the spirit of our Jing Si principles and walk the path of Tzu Chi by going into the community to serve.