Shih Cheng Yen's Blog, page 41

Tzu Chi Free Medical Clinic Treats 4,100 People in Sri Lanka

From July 13 to 15, a team of 158 volunteers from Tzu Chi hospitals, the Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) and the Tzu Chi Foundation held a free medical clinic in the south of Sri Lanka. They treated more than 4,100 patients. Many suffered from chronic illnesses they had been unable to cure due to poverty and lack of medical knowledge.

Mirror of the Heart: The Power of Mindfulness

“For the person in the mirror to smile, we must smile first. If we hope to live a life of happiness and ease, there is only one way
—we must learn to adjust our mindset.”

Mirror of the Heart : The Power of Mindfulness

New Book

“For the person in the mirror to smile,
we must smile first.
If we hope to live a life of happiness and ease,
there is only one way
—we must learn to adjust our mindset.”

Serving Others as a Way of Cultivation

[Master's Teachings]
When people think about practicing Buddhism, some would associate it with chanting the Buddha’s name. Buddhists feel that there is a lot of suffering in the six realms. To be liberated from suffering, some would chant Amitabha Buddha’s name because they believe he would take them to the Pure Land. This is also a method for them to reach a peaceful state of mind.

In California, Tzu Chi Volunteers Give Nutritious Food to Families in Need

On April 8, Tzu Chi volunteers in Cerritos, southern California distributed nutritious food to about 170 poor families, to improve their health and eating habits. It was the ninth such distribution to families in Huntington Park, in Los Angeles County, since June 2017. They gave out the food at the Miles Avenue Elementary School.

Tzu Chi in Indonesia Holds Medical Clinic For Afghan Refugees

April 8, 2018 was a beautiful day, with white clouds in a blue sky; a breeze brushed through the mountain which made the air even more fresh. It was on that day that Tzu Chi volunteers arrived in Cisarua, Indonesia to provide a free medical clinic for Afghan refugees.

Disaster Risk Reduction Program for Taiwan High Schools

“Children’s education cannot wait. Campus safety cannot be neglected.”

In Taiwan, Tzu Chi aims to provide a safe environment for students and teachers in case of a major disaster. Since 2014, in collaboration with the county governments of Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung, the Foundation has brought the Project Hope of Disaster Risk Reduction to 26 schools. This year, Tzu Chi plans to rebuild dangerous buildings in four schools in Miaoli County: Yuanli Senior High School (苑裡高中), Gongguan Junior High School (公館國中), Houlung Junior High School (後龍國中), and Zaociao Junior High School (造橋國中). On March 31, in the presence of County Magistrate Mr. Hsu Yao-chang and Tzu Chi Vice-President Ms. Lin Bi-Yu, groundbreaking ceremonies were held at the Zaociao and Houlung schools.

One classroom building of Zaociao Junior High School was built over 50 year ago on a hill. Inspections have shown signs of ground deformation and collapse on the site; so it was proposed to rebuild the structure and reinforce the soil and water conservation. Houlung Junior High School was the first middle school established in the town; the school classroom structures built then have been used for over 60 years. Building inspection results have shown that the capacity-to-demand ratio was low, as well as a high level of chloride in the west wing. Therefore, the buildings were deemed as dangerous and closed.

Gongguan Junior High School was the first school in Miaoli to build a music school. Since then, it has built up its reputation and won numerous awards. However, one of school buildings has serious cracks and its metal frames exposed to the air; students have even been injured by fallen tiles. Therefore, Tzu Chi plans to build a new building with 18 classrooms. Before the completion, the foundation will provide six prefabricated classrooms to enable classes to continue normally.

“In this campus of love, we have a bright future. Contentment, gratitude, and dedication. We all are blessed.” Accompanied by the music, students of the Zaociao school sang the song written by their principal Mr. Lin Yu-Shen, to share their gratitude. The national champion diabolo team also performed to celebrate this special day.

During the ceremony, the magistrate of Maoli county, Mr. Hsu Yao-chang, also expressed his gratitude for Tzu Chi’s efforts to rebuild school buildings in order to give students a safe learning environment. The blueprint design includes safety, environmental protection, culture and functionality.

“Education is the Project of Hope. When the Jiji earthquake struck (1999), Dharma Master Cheng Yen was concerned for those students whose learning was interrupted by the severe damage to their schools. Hence, Tzu Chi assisted in rebuilding over 50 earthquake-affected schools. We are very thankful for the efforts of the government, schools, and every one of you, to give us this opportunity to provide a safe and sturdy learning environment for the children. We wish you the best for the completion of the construction,” said Lin Bi-Yu, Vice-President of Tzu Chi.

A society’s future depends on its people; to nurture talented people means providing them with a proper education. Tzu Chi’s Project Hope of Disaster Risk Reduction aims to provide an excellent learning environment that is safe and green, works efficiently and provides students with culture.

The Old Monk and the Landowner

As we walk the Bodhisattva Path, the Buddha teaches us that we should form good affinities with people. However, we have different affinities with everyone. Some people may naturally like us. However, others may be indifferent; how do we treat everyone with a sense of gratitude and respect?

A long time ago, there was an old monk who left his temple to go into the city. By the time he left the city, the sky was already getting dark. Suddenly, there was thunder and lightning: a storm had arrived. The old monk started running, but seeing that the rain would not stop anytime soon, he decided to seek shelter.

In the heavy rain, he saw that not far from him there was a house that belonged to a wealthy landowner. The old monk was very happy and ran as fast as he could towards the house. When he reached the door, he knocked and a watchman answered, “What’s the matter?”

The old monk replied, “I am going back to my temple but the journey is long, and it is raining heavily. May I come into your house and wait until the rain stops?”

The watchman said, “I’m sorry, but you’d better leave. My master always turns away monks or other kinds of spiritual cultivator who come to our door. He says he has no affinity with spiritual cultivators, so I believe he will not let you stay here.”

The old monk kept pleading. Eventually, the watchman softened and said, “Let me hurry to my master. I can only let you in if he agrees.” While he went to ask, the old monk stood outside and waited in the rain.

After a long time, the watchman finally returned. He apologized, “I’m sorry! I’ve asked my master. After several attempts, he still refused. You cannot stay here. I’m very sorry.”

The old monk felt he had no choice but to look for other shelter. So, he went on. The rain was still pouring and it was dark all around him. Realizing he had no choice, he turned back and asked the watchman again, “Please, I don’t need to come into the house; just let me stand under the eaves of the house to stay out of the rain. Could I please do that?”

The watchman answered, “I don’t think so. My master really doesn’t like monks.”

Seeing that he could not even stay under the eaves of the house, the old monk made up his mind to return to his temple even if it meant getting soaked and travelling at night. By the time he got back to the temple, it was already midnight and it was still raining.

Three years later, the landowner took in a concubine. She was a kind lady and a devoted Buddhist. One day, she expressed her desire of visiting the temple to the landowner. She would like to pray for a son.

The landowner decided to go along. At the temple, as he was looking around, he stumbled upon a spirit tablet* with his name on it. He was very surprised and asked a young novice, “How did my name get on this spirit tablet?”

The novice answered, “Three years ago, my master came back to the temple late at night and all drenched from the rain. I heard him mutter to himself about having no affinity with a man. Afterwards, he wrote this name and put up this spirit tablet. Every day, my master prays for him and hopes to transform bad affinities into good ones.”

Upon hearing this the landowner felt very ashamed. He recalled that, three years earlier, his watchman had told him about an old monk seeking shelter from the rain. He wondered to himself, “Why did I dislike monks so much at that time? I turned the old monk away, yet he did not bear resentment towards me, he even set up a spirit tablet for me, praying for my good health and well-being.” The more he thought about this, the more ashamed he was. He deeply repented. From then on, this landowner became a major supporter of the temple.

This story tells us that we must treat everyone with equal compassion. To those who have helped us, we have to be grateful, and to those who do not help, and to others who even hurt us, we have to harbor gratitude and still be respectful to them. This is the way for us to create good affinities with those with whom we presently have no affinities.

* A spirit tablet can be found in Buddhist temples. It is used to wish for blessings for the person whose name is inscribed on it.


From Dharma Master Cheng Yen's Talks
Compiled into English by the Jing Si Abode English Editorial Team, with the help of Tzu Chi volunteers

In Portugal, Tzu Chi Helps 420 Families Hit by Devastating Forest Fires

In Portugal, volunteers of the Tzu Chi Foundation gave gift vouchers to 420 families who were hit last year by the country’s worst forest fires in decades. They will use the money to rebuild the life on their farms. The volunteers came from the U.S and six countries in Europe, including Portugal.

Feeling Young Again

[Master's Teachings] In recent years, the problem of the aging population truly concerns me. Some of our volunteers are also worried that they are already advanced in age. To encourage our elderly volunteers not to give in to old age, I thought to establish a “Treasury of Age". I wish that, our elderly volunteers can save 50 years of their life in this treasury so they'll consider themselves still young and continue to serve with their rich experience.