人間菩提--轉賭博迷思做環保
She usually gambled under that starfruit tree.
I gambled at the grocer's from 11p.m. till dawn when I had to go home and prepare breakfast.
I lost over US$400. When I went home, I parked my scooter outside.
(for fear of waking my family)
My son bought a cell phone for me.
I kept it turned off especially when I was gambling.
I even pawned my cell phone for money.
I went to temples to seek the winning numbers.
I drew lots to see the numbers on them.
I even went to a child prophet in
I even used numbers from my dreams.
I lost around US$30,000.
This grandma we see in the footage,
She not only gambled, but also played the lottery, and would seek revelations of the winning numbers.
She even went to a graveyard in the middle of the night seeking revelations of the winning numbers.
One time, in the process of doing this, she got chased by a dog.
But that didn't stop her.
That was how deep she was into it.
She had already lost herself in it
She was totally consumed by her craving for money that she couldn't stop.
It was truly unbelievable.
When she was caught up in the midst of it, I believe she herself must have beenvery troubled by what she was doing.
Such are people's deluded ways.
Of course, there's always a story behind how each lost his way.
It actually began on the day her youngest son got married when the matchmaker asked her to buy a lottery ticket.
She was originally a very dutiful housewife and a good mother to her children.
But by giving in to a moment's temptation, she had a hard time turning back.
One time, her daughter-in-law saw Tzu Chi's disaster relief work on TV and called up our Tzu Chi office in
She said that she wanted do donate money and asked someone to go to her house to collect her donation.
One day, Grandma
When she arrived home and saw our Tzu Chi volunteer collecting the donation from her daughter-in-law, she thought, "I'd better donate some money,"
"then maybe I would have a better luck"
"with gambling or get lucky numbers"
"for the lottery"
So, she quickly donated the US$15 she had left.
One month later, this Tzu Chi volunteer went to her house again.
But Grandma
(about donating money) this time.
She told our volunteer, "Come on,"
"I am not very well-off"
"Can you stop trying to cheat me out of money?"
That was her reaction when she saw our volunteer again.
Our volunteer then showed her the Tzu Chi Monthly he brought with him.
(It happened to report on the aid work)
That was being done in
In the photos, she saw children in great suffering.
Some were so starved that they had very skinny necks and big bellies.
Her heart truly went out to them.
Those starving children reminded her of her four little grandchildren that her daughter had left behind after dying in a car crash.
Thinking of that, she began to cry.
She thought to herself how small these children were and how her grandchildren had such a sad lot as it was let alone these children who had nothing to eat.
She found it heartbreaking.
From that time on, her daughter-in-law began reading the Jing Si Aphorisms in Tzu Chi Monthly magazine out loud to her.
Listening to it, she found it had truth in it.
One time, when I was in
Hearing this she changed her way of thinking and began using the hands she gambled with to do recycling.
Although she had begun to do recycling she would still gamble once in a while.
To really change her gambling habit wasn't that easy.
But she did begin to change slowly and step by step.
It wasn't up until 2003 when she heard me giving a dharma talk in
So, that was when she truly gave up gambling to dedicate herself to Tzu Chi thus ending her 17-year gambling addiction.
After giving up her gambling habit, she made a vow to start training to become a commissioner.
At first, despite her saying that she was doing recycling, her family didn't believe that she had changed.
It wasn't until Tzu Chi volunteers came by with a recycling truck to pick up the recyclables she had collected that her children and grandchildren realized that she was doing this for Tzu Chi.
Then they supported her.
They even cleared out a space outside the house for her to set up a small recycling station where the recyclables can be kept and sorted before they are taken away.
Not only have they provided this space but everyone in her family has also been inspired by her to do recycling.
So, she quit gambling completely in 2003 but it wasn't until the end of 2007
that she became a certified commissioner.
See, over those five years, Tzu Chi volunteers guided and took her to go visit our care recipients.
At the same time she has continually been doing recycling with the hands that she used to gamble with and bringing comfort and care to the suffering.
She is able to follow everything we teach here in Tzu Chi.
She was 75 years old when she became certified.
People say life begins when you're 70.
She started fully dedicating herself to Tzu Chi only five years ago and became a commissioner at 75.
So, isn't it true that life begins at 70?
See, with her willingness to change her life, she is able to lead a bright and meaningful life.
Her family, friends, and neighbors now view her in a completely different light seeing her as a new person leading a bright and beautiful life.
See how she makes full use of every second and even rides around to collect recyclables by loading as much as she can onto her scooter.
See, she has transformed from a gambler to a living bodhisattva, and is now walking on a straight, broad, and spacious path.
In life, it's never too late to change.
Ever since she came to know about Tzu Chi, she has been volunteering on and off. However, through the work she did, seeds of goodness had been planted in the field of her mind.
Indeed, we shouldn't fear hard work.
Having done it, what we've done can inspire others.
| | | |
| ||
| | ||
|
|
Regards, Jenny
Today's Jing Si Aphorisms: Dharma is very simple: eliminate greed, malice, and ignorance, and you will discovery your own true nature.
今日靜思語: 佛法很簡單, 只要去除貪.瞋.癡三毒,就可以明心見性.
No comments:
Post a Comment