I always have three wishes at the beginning of every year:
I ask not for good health, but for an alert, discerning mind;
I ask not that everything will go my way, but that I may have perseverance and courage;
I ask not for less responsibility, but for increased strength.

Ladies and gentlemen, Amitabha!

The earthquake of September 21 was the greatest disaster in Taiwan in the last hundred years. We had the opportunity to witness it at the end of the century, so we should take it as a good perception of life.

It is not only the year 1999 that has disturbed me. Actually, I have always felt uneasy every year in the past thirty-odd years, because I understood what the Buddha said about the impermanence of life and the fragility of the land. Therefore, I made a vow to purify people's minds. The minds of most people are confused. If I can illuminate the heart of one person, we will have one more light. If I can purify the mind of one more person, there will be less bad karma.

Recently in Taiwan many people have been talking about "reformation of the mind." In my opinion, the mind does not need reformation; instead it needs purification. Everyone is born with a mind of light, but the mind has been defiled and needs to be cleaned. It is just like a light bulb that has been covered with a piece of black cloth. We only have to remove that cloth to let the light shine.

The minds of ordinary people are covered by cloth woven with greed, anger and delusion, and they are unable to show their light. If every mind is purified, the world will be clean and radiant. And that is what I have been trying hard to do for the past thirty-odd years--purify people's minds.

If we look at society now, we notice that more and more people are creating bad karma. People used to be industrious, thrifty and conservative. They might not have created blessings, but they hardly created any bad karma. But people now use any means to gratify themselves. To reach that objective, they even fight and injure each other.

When people create bad karma together, the land will fight back. Therefore, natural disasters happen. On the other hand, people can also make good karma together. That is why I hope to reduce the bad karma and increase the good.

We have a long way to go to realize our goals of helping the poor and educating the rich, but I always try to encourage myself by remembering that thirty years ago I had only thirty followers. Now, after all these years of hard work, tens of thousands of commissioners, teachers and Tzu Cheng Faith Corps members are working together with me. This really encourages and stimulates me.

Everyone has $300 billion

The Buddha discovered the truth of the universe and of life, and he imparted to us his pure, bright wisdom. We accept his teachings and act on them. He gave us our wisdom life, so his followers are also called "the Buddha's students." We must pass his teachings on to other people and thus extend his wisdom life.

There is a story in the Agama Sutra.

A king came out from his palace one day and took a walk in the city to see how his people were getting on. All he saw were magnificent buildings and plenty of merchandise in the market. He thought, "My kingdom is very rich and my people lead a good, affluent life."

In order to find out further how many rich people there were and how much wealth they had, he approached the richest person one day and asked him how much property he had. This person said, "I have $400 billion worth of property inside and outside."

The king said, "I own the whole country and my property is only $400 billion. How can you also own $400 billion? And what do you mean by "inside and outside"?

"Your Majesty, my outside property is worth $100 billion. To own such valuable property, I am very grateful to you because I can trade freely on your land. Next I have to be grateful to my fellow countrymen. Because of them, I have earned all this visible property. Then I am grateful to my dependents and servants because they have been working hard for me. So my visible property of $100 billion comes from my trade, the people, and the country."

"What about the other $300 billion?" asked the king.

"The additional $300 billion is inside and invisible. As I have the Buddha in my heart, his majesty, compassion and wisdom enrich my heart. That is worth $100 billion. I have the Buddha's teachings in my words and I always say good words. That is worth the second $100 billion. Besides, every day I do good deeds. That is worth another $100 billion. So the 'inside property' is worth $300 billion. Together with the $100 billion 'outside property,' the total is $400 billion."

This story tells us that keeping the Buddha in our hearts, speaking his teachings and doing good deeds are wealth that will never be exhausted.

Keeping the Buddha in our hearts is exactly what I mean when I say, "Take the Buddha's mind as your own mind." The Buddha's mind is a compassionate mind, and great love is its outward expression. Always speaking gently and kindly means you speak the Buddha's teachings. If you say good words, you can dignify yourselves. Just having the Buddha in your heart and uttering the Buddha's teachings are not enough. The most important thing is to put what you have learned into practice. If you till the field of blessings, you will reap the blessings.

Love fills us with confidence

In Tzu Chi's Project Hope, we have so far committed ourselves to rebuild forty-three schools, both primary schools and middle schools, in quake-ravaged areas in central Taiwan. We are not afraid of taking on such a heavy responsibility. We are only concerned whether we have enough strength. However, if we can combine everyone's strength, I am sure we can reach our goal.

I make three wishes at the beginning of each new year:

1. I ask not for good health, but for an alert, discerning mind;
2. I ask not that everything will go my way, but that I may have perseverance and courage;
3. I ask not for less responsibility, but for increased strength.

Tzu Chi is not rich, but it is full of determination and commitment. Where does the money for reconstruction come from? It comes from everybody's pockets. I hope you will not be afraid of the heavy responsibility. Let the seeds of kindness grow in everyone. The power of love can heal all wounds. The more love we give, the more power of blessing we will obtain. The land will be in peace and the climate will become stable.

Time flies and our life is short. Please make good use of your abilities. When we are dealing with people and events, we must make sure that we not only learn something, but that we take one step further toward enlightenment. Please bear the Buddha in mind, put his teachings in your words, and show love in your actions. All these are "invisible property" which will never run out.

May all of you cultivate blessings and wisdom.