（Photo source: Pexels）
In the face of climate change, a persistent pandemic, war, an imbalance of the four elements on earth and an imbalance of the mind, people living in this day and age have faced many sufferings. Recently, the Ukraine-Russia conflict has caused a refugee crisis; millions of people have left their homes with the sole hope that their families can be safe. They have travelled extremely long distances to seek refuge in neighbouring countries, faced long queues for shelter, carried their babies or held their young children’s hands as they walked. In this vastness, they would feel helpless and not know where they could settle down.
For people who are fortunate enough, it would feel as though time flies too quickly, but they come to terms with it fast. However, this is not the case for people embroiled in peril. How many people going through suffering are hoping for someone else to lend a helping hand at this very moment? If we could evoke our sense of sympathy and take up this responsibility of rendering help, we can spread love to others more. We can do a lot more when we can aggregate acts of kindness. If everyone has the same sense of love and care, we can help even more people settle down in safe places.
Kindness and love can culminate in good outcomes. If we fervently pray, we can reduce bad karma with kindness while regaining a sense of stability and groundedness.
There is only a tiny difference between good and bad thoughts or good and bad actions. If everyone could remain at ease, the world would be peaceful, and people could live comfortably. However, things could become tumultuous when a tiny minority changes their minds. A shift in policy from the people in power can leave citizens embroiled in conflict and suffering from resource shortages. Once military conflict starts, it is difficult for one to return to the peaceful times in the past.
If one follows a sinful desire to usurp what does not belong to them and do multiple heinous deeds to harm others, everyone would have to live in fear. There have been so many families seeking refuge who do not know what lies ahead. They cannot stop for any moment and live in fear every second. Even when their loved ones collapse beside them, they have no choice but to continue ahead. Their traumatic circumstances are painfully difficult to describe. The world cannot have further conflicts, and we must be vigilant. We should promote peace in the world with a loving heart to prevent such heart-wrenching scenes from happening again.
With a calm and kind heart, we can eliminate conflicts and catastrophes. We can do so by cutting away undesirable thoughts and troubles; only then can we love, forgive, and respect others. Promoting peace and love starts with actions like greeting others with a smile and treating them respectfully.
We cannot take anything or anybody for granted, not even our breathing or our environment. Amidst tumultuous times, we should be grateful for any glimpses of peace. We should be grateful for what we have and treasure the lives around us, but we should never be complacent about it.
Do not underestimate the power of love, for it can give someone facing adversity a sense of direction and hope. When more people are willing to spread love and kindness by stepping out of their comfort zones, more people in need can be identified and helped promptly.
When we care for others and the environment, it broadens our horizons. Conversely, if we choose to isolate ourselves from the world, it is akin to closing the windows - you would not see the light from the outside and lose track of time. Being close-minded and unwilling to open up, one’s wisdom will be lost gradually.
We should always reflect upon our actions, on whether it is morally right and magnanimous. Spiritual cultivation is what we do within, but we should also put effort into serving others. By modelling the way to build a harmonious world, more people would be driven to spread kindness to others. When there is more kindness in the world, evil thoughts and deeds would naturally become lesser.
The bodhisattva path is within our reach as long as we are conscious enough to do acts of kindness. By guarding our minds and showing love collectively, individuals can inspire each other and spread love and kindness to the masses.
Learn the compassion of Guanyin bodhisattva and have the willpower of Kṣitigarbha to reach out to others. Where there is a will, there is strength. We, too, can bring about more happiness to the world. We can leverage our strength in numbers with selfless giving to help others.
Translated by Teo Jia Xin
Share 
