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I've been hearing the devout pledge "I'm willing" from Tzu Chi volunteers frequently. Everyone's vows have touched me and given me great confidence. Tzu Chi has gone through nearly six decades of arduous journey, and I am grateful for the Dharma companions, the support from the rear, and the people paving the way in front. It is because of everyone's support that the path has become so smooth now.
I'm grateful to the Tzu Chi volunteers from Singapore and Malaysia who have been diligently studying the Dharma for years and have also heard the vows of the Dharma Masters to repay the Buddha's homeland. Over the past two years, a group has been taking turns to travel to Nepal and India, entering the communities to serve, and planning the construction of houses and schools. Among them, the 36 Great Love Homes in Bodhgaya, India, have already commenced construction. Soon, there will be a well-organised village, providing solid homes for families living in dilapidated huts and stabilising their lives. Our sincere intentions starting from there can also inspire the local volunteers to rise up.
What the secular world calls "repaying" is returning kindness using material or financial means. But the way we repay the Buddha's homeland is through spreading Dharma wisdom. If it weren't for the Buddha being born in this world over 2,500 years ago, cultivating spirituality and teaching sentient beings to become Bodhisattvas, perhaps we would still be lost and unaware.
Over 2,500 years ago, Prince Siddhartha left the palace and saw the sufferings of the people outside – the sick without medicine, the elderly without homes. Whatever he looked at was disease, pain, and poverty. Even if he ascended the throne in the future and had power, he would still be unable to help this group of suffering people. How to let everyone realise the pain? How to teach the "Dharma of liberation from suffering"? He decided to leave his family and seek the truth. After enduring arduous ascetic practices and battling body and mind, he finally awakened to the truth of the universe and all phenomena.
During the Buddha's time, transportation was inconvenient, and the places he could reach were not far. There was also no modern equipment, so the range of sound transmission was not wide. The Buddhist scriptures described “the Buddha's voice, starting from near, reached far and penetrated the ten directions." Is this possible? This is a description of the Buddha's awakened truth, not limited by time and space, able to enter the minds of those who listen to the Dharma. Everyone has the same wisdom as the Buddha; it's just that ordinary people are confused, their pure nature polluted by afflictions and ignorance. We often said "purify the human mind," which means turn delusion to enlightenment, turn bewilderment and ignorance to right knowledge and right view.
The wisdom attained by the Buddha, in modern terms, is psychology, able to resolve the puzzles of the soul. Ageing, illness, and death in one's life are very natural, yet people still have worries and anxieties; or they are entangled by emotions, bound without freedom, with love turning to deeper resentment, allowing afflictions to traumatize their own hearts. People with wisdom know that the human world is filled with suffering, and that life comes and goes, always in accordance with cause, condition, effect, and retribution.
Recognising impermanence is the greatest awakening. Everyone talks about "impermanence," but without truly comprehending the principle of impermanence, when the situation is right before them, they will still lament: "I haven't done anything wrong, why did this happen to me?" or "Why is it me? I've already done so many good deeds!" This kind of mindset is not understanding causality and not integrating the Dharma into the heart.
Use the Dharma to unravel the matters the mind cannot comprehend, and use the principle of causality for self-adjustment. Otherwise, even if many people come to give advice, it still cannot be resolved or work. Being able to see clearly and let go allows the path to be traversed rather than sinking in suffering. The most important thing is to resolve negative karma and connect with positive karma; we also need to quickly use the Dharma to liberate others and resolve their afflictions.
We are now able to enjoy the Buddha's teaching of "seeing one's innate nature." The Buddhist teachings have come from the Buddha's homeland, so we should also reciprocate. This generation of Tzu Chi volunteers needs to collectively complete the vow the Buddha made over 2,500 years ago. The Bodhisattva path of Tzu Chi has been walked with great realisation, also helping many suffering people in the world. Now, we need to implement this method and experience in the local area to turn around the lives of the suffering and retain the proper Dharma in the future world.
I am grateful to Tzu Chi volunteers from Singapore and Malaysia who have gone ahead to the Buddha’s homeland on our behalf. We must share our thoughts with everyone and offer our support. It is often said that "merit is boundless"; everyone’s single-minded devotion and every little effort can accumulate into great merit.
Natural disasters, man-made calamities, poverty, and illness—so many suffering people around the world need help. One person alone cannot provide enough aid, nor would a few people suffice. It requires everyone to come together. Wherever we can see and hear, our love can reach. As long as the Dharma can be spread, the world can be purified.
The great purpose of the Buddha’s appearance in this world was to teach the bodhisattva path. We don’t need to wait long to become bodhisattvas. In this life, we all have the affinity to become bodhisattvas. Listening to the Dharma, receiving it, transmitting it, and applying it in the world is to propagate the Dharma. Giving everyone the opportunity to create blessings is to benefit living beings. Propagating the Dharma and benefiting living beings—this is the immediate realisation of being a bodhisattva. Let us all devote ourselves to this!
Translated by Yang Yu Jia
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