Dear friends, I sincerely welcome your return to the Abode of Still Thoughts. Despite the great geographical distance between us, in my heart I always feel grateful to you. Finally we're all here together, so I can personally extend my gratitude to all of you.

In Buddhism, all beings are constantly reincarnated through the Six Realms of heaven, human, Asura, animal, hungry ghost and hell. In this cycle of reincarnation we are rarely born as humans, so it's truly fortunate that we were born on the same planet with human bodies. It's even more fortunate and blessed that we can all realize our commitment with the same conviction of "relieving suffering and giving joy."

Technology makes things possible

We are also fortunate to live in the same era of advanced technology. With the help of modern technology, many things have become possible. A couple of days ago you were at the Dalin Hospital on the west coast of Taiwan and I was here in Hualien on the east coast, but thanks to satellite technology we could see each other on-screen. When you were having fun, I could instantly share your joy. Our viewing each other without actual physical contact was like the supernatural power of "heavenly eyes" mentioned in some Buddhist scriptures.

Although you all live in different nations, you arrived in Taiwan at roughly the same time. I know some of you flew over ten hours, and some even over thirty hours to come here. Again we have to thank the technology that makes transportation so convenient. Without modern technology, this would be impossible. It is one of the good points of living in this modern era!

Destiny brings us together

On top of it all, we all have the karmic destiny to join the Tzu Chi World. That destiny brought us together to carry out the same mission. I know that in countries such as the Philippines, the United States and Thailand, you have frequently gone to remote areas to conduct free clinics. Every time you carry out a free clinic, I feel both happy and worried. But in my heart there is always gratitude to all of you, for you all lovingly serve those who are less fortunate.

Because of your karmic destiny, you had the opportunity to hear about Tzu Chi and carry out free clinics so joyfully. Also because of our destiny, we are happy to meet each other.

It's easy to be moved and become temporarily enthusiastic about the work of the foundation, but it's most important to be persistent in your commitment. Please do bear this moment of enthusiasm that you have now always in mind. That's the true meaning of turning the transient moment of making your commitment into an eternity.

In Taiwan, many Tzu Chi people have vowed to devote themselves to carrying out our missions and to serving suffering beings in this life and in many lives to come. It's significant that so many of us, including you and I, are marching toward the same goal with the same conviction.

How do we make our participation in Tzu Chi last forever? The key factor lies in the feeling of gratitude. We should always feel grateful to many people, including those around us. We often travel great distances to give our love and care to strangers, and yet we often forget to show love and gratitude to those around us.

One heart

To obtain the power to save others, we should all bring our hearts close together. We should always work with one heart and harmoniously cooperate with each other as a team. When we have one heart, we speak the same language-the language of selfless Great Love. Having the same heart is not enough. Your heart is in you and my heart is in me, and neither can be seen or touched. To feel the same heart we have to work in harmony, and it is harmony that makes Tzu Chi a beautiful world. Then we must cooperate and put all our strength together into one great power.

I hope that in every corner of the world, we can all have one heart, work in harmony and cooperate as a team. Then, I am sure, we will all be happy and grateful to one another. Each time you engage in a free clinic, I always pray sincerely for your safety, happiness and peace.

The four missions of Tzu Chi

The four missions of Tzu Chi-charity, medical care, educational development and cultural promotion-have been made possible with the devotion of many people. Nearly thirty-five years have passed since we started the mission of charity. In the beginning our charity work was confined to Taiwan, but today our work has been extended to many different countries.

The purpose of charity is to save people and the purpose of medical care is to protect life, so we can say that the spirit of charity is in medical service. Nothing is more precious in the world than life, and all of you in TIMA have been doing the best you can to protect life. Wherever people cry for help, you are there. Medical care in Taiwan has become more commonly available, yet medical ethics and sincere love are still somewhat lacking.

The most unbearable suffering in life is illness. If doctors and nurses do not treat patients with love, then patients not only have to suffer physical pain but also mental anxiety. How painful that is! Illness can also lead to poverty. If the financial provider of the family falls sick, the family will be in serious trouble. It could affect the children's education and might even lead to juvenile delinquency. Therefore the foundation not only pays attention to medical care, but we also promote the medical virtue of caring personally for our patients.

You have all visited the Tzu Chi hospitals in Dalin, Kuanshan and Yuli. Kuanshan is a little town and the hospital is quite small. It's located near the exit of a highway where traffic accidents occur frequently. When people had car accidents in the past, they had nowhere to go. Now with the new hospital in Kuanshan, lives can be promptly saved.

Yuli Hospital has been operating for over twenty years. Compared to other hospitals, the facilities there are obsolete. Tzu Chi took it over because the superintendent passed away and the hospital needed people to sustain its operations. Our medical personnel still go to work in this hospital, even though the facilities are not very adequate. Every morning at six o'clock, they report for duty and start doing home care. Rain or shine, they are always busy at their work. I am very grateful to them.

You have seen the scale and the excellent facilities of our new Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital. In fact, more new equipment will soon be installed. Moreover, the doctors and nurses at this hospital are very devoted to their work. They have been laboring tirelessly for the past two months. I think Dalin Hospital has been living up to the ideal of being a "cornerstone of life protection." In Taiwan, Tzu Chi is gradually extending its medical services to more and more regions. Our goal is to imbue all our medical staff with high standards of love and morality and encourage them to treat all patients as they would their own relatives.

We will soon complete our Tzu Chi education system from kindergarten, elementary school, junior and senior high schools, all the way to graduate schools. The aim of a complete educational system is to cultivate the wisdom life, whereas the goal of medical service is to save physical life.

It takes a high degree of culture to sublimate one's wisdom life. In order to promote the Tzu Chi mission of culture, many cultural activities have been intensified. We now have the Tzu Chi Monthly, Rhythms Magazine, Tzu Chi TV, etc. Our television programs can be viewed around the world, and the words I speak can be heard in many different places all at the same time. The aim of our mission of culture is to purify and beautify human nature. By using all our modern media equipment to record the events in the Tzu Chi World, a fleeting moment can be preserved forever.

I am very grateful for all your efforts. With your love, wisdom and devotion, the realization of our four missions has been made possible.

In sum, the length of our physical life is limited, but our wisdom life is infinite. I hope that all of us can exert ourselves to do good and elevate our inner goodness into the eternal wisdom life. Let us work together to extend our Great Love to all people.