This March, a relic of the finger of Sakyamuni Buddha arrived in Taiwan from China. Our commissioners were touched to see a sea of people reverently paying homage to the relic, and they described the grand event to Mr. King, a resident of the Le Sheng Sanitarium for Lepers. Mr. King responded, "Actually, your fingers are all like the Buddha's finger--because you have all used them to help the needy!"

How true his words are! The Buddha taught us that "All minds, buddhas, and living creatures are the same." Though different in name, the three have the same intrinsic quality--pure, undefiled wisdom. This wisdom, which Buddhists call the buddha-nature, can do great things. Yet we humans forget to tap into this crystal clear wisdom, and instead we taint our minds with incessant cravings. We should remember that as long as we can make the best of our buddha-nature and help others with compassion, we ourselves are buddhas.

Indonesia needs us

Torrential rain started to assail Indonesia on January 28. It continued for over a month, flooding eighty percent of Jakarta and the surrounding cities. In some areas, the floodwaters reached three meters [10 ft] in height. More than a hundred people perished in the deluge or in subsequent landslides. Over 330,000 people sought refuge in mosques, schools, cemeteries, or on elevated highways.

The floods washed away flimsy, illegally built houses and left countless people homeless. Many regions remained flooded for a long time. Even those whose houses were still standing had to endure the misery of soaking in dirty water. Garbage and excrement from humans and animals floated in the very water residents used to do dishes and laundry. Such unsanitary conditions really made us worry.

Many Tzu Chi volunteers who lived in Indonesia were flood victims as well. Because they could not bear to see others suffer, they set aside their concern about their own homes and they pitched in to help others. They distributed food, drinking water, and daily necessities, and they held free clinics. In the flooded areas, they had to depend on boats for transportation. Because Tzu Chi gave financial assistance to the impoverished families of about 38,000 policemen and soldiers in late 1998, the Indonesian navy provided inflatable boats to ferry volunteers in and out of the disaster areas.

In early March, the floodwaters finally began to subside. To prevent the deluged regions from turning into breeding grounds for contagious diseases, I urged Tzu Chi people to work with policemen, soldiers and flood victims to pump out flood water, clean and decontaminate the disaster areas, and carry out free medical clinics. The Indonesian government already provided us with land, so from July we will build 1000 five-stories high houses for the homeless.

We all live on the same planet, share the same sky, and breathe the same air. Therefore, although the disaster occurred in Indonesia, we should still do our best to help the flood victims. Otherwise if a plague breaks out, the whole world will be affected and Indonesia will not be the only area suffering from the deluge.

The power of the mind

The Buddha said 2,500 years ago that all things go through the four phases of formation, existence, decay and annihilation. This includes the earth.

The earth gives nourishment to all living creatures, yet it is these very creatures, especially human beings, that are destroying her. Man's lust and hostility lead to wars, which, along with the power of natural disasters, have seriously marred the surface of the planet. The three minor calamities mentioned in the Buddhist scriptures-famine, plague and war-are all caused by mankind. People exploit the earth and cause the four elements [earth, water, fire, and wind, which make up all things] to fall out of balance, which severely damages Mother Nature.

When we fall sick, we need to take care of our bodies in order to regain strength. When our natural environment is damaged, we need to take care of it so that it will regain its ecological balance. When our body has a wound, it will fester if left untreated. When the forests and mountains on the surface of the earth are continually plundered by human beings, the destruction and damage go deeper than we can see. We must stop exploiting nature. We must refrain from cultivating mountainsides and filling up the ocean with soil in order to eke out a little more arable land. Such actions will sap the energy of nature and bring all living creatures within danger of extinction.

In recent years, we have witnessed countless natural disasters around the world. In many places, droughts have made the land barren, floods have destroyed crops, and water pollution has poisoned harvests. Global warming, air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution are all induced by nothing other than the insatiable greed of human beings. As our society enjoys a higher and higher living standard, people have become used to throwing away usable items so as to buy more fashionable ones. Actually, when we consume tangible resources, we are also consuming our blessings. If actions are not taken to protect the earth and guard our minds, the destruction of the world will only be accelerated.

Since the illnesses of our minds have made the earth sick, if our minds are purified, this planet will be saved from further injuries. The Buddha taught that "The mind alone creates everything." To protect the earth, we must uproot our greed, anger, delusion, arrogance and doubt. When our minds are sound, our families will be happy, our society harmonious, and everyone will learn to cherish their blessings and use the earth's resources with care.

It is not hard to protect our environment. It takes only a little effort to reduce the amount of garbage we produce every day. For example, after drinking a carton of milk, rinse it out with water, drink the water and then recycle the carton. This way, not a drop of milk will be wasted and the rinsed carton can be put to use again. Every time I need to wash my hands, I always place a washbasin under the faucet, because the water saved in the basin can also be used again for watering flowers.

Natural resources are limited indeed. We certainly need to protect the earth for our children. I want to remind you that helping our children is actually creating blessings for ourselves. Why? Because we Buddhists believe in reincarnation. By maintaining a nice, clean earth for our children, we are at the same time keeping a habitable environment for ourselves when we are reborn in this world.

Around ten years ago, I stayed in Taichung for three days to give a series of speeches. One morning I went out and saw a street littered with garbage left over from a night market. When I finished my lecture that day, the audience gave me a hearty round of applause. I said to them, "Please use your clapping hands to pick up garbage, sweep the streets and recycle resources. Let us keep our earth clean, and turn garbage into gold and gold into love." The proceeds from recycling can be used to aid the needy and construct hospitals. That's why I said garbage could be turned into gold and gold into love.

Over the past decade, Tzu Chi's environmental protection volunteers from all walks of life and all age groups have responded to my call and zealously devoted themselves to protecting our environment. I am truly grateful to them.

The second Sunday of every month is Tzu Chi recycling day. On that day, a lot of people come to our recycling stations, some carrying stacks of cardboard, some bundles of paper, and some bags of plastic bottles. There are even little children among them. I am happy to see so many people doing recycling. These volunteers are the guardian bodhisattvas of the earth, mending the wounds that Mother Nature received from humanity's insatiable greed. Words simply cannot express my gratitude to them.

There is a story in a sutra. In the time of the Buddha, there was a woman slave who was responsible for sweeping a town. She was pious and respected the Buddha. One day she learned that the Enlightened One would soon be in town, and she longed to go near him and pay him homage. But believing that a lowly person like herself could not approach the venerable Buddha, she wept sadly. A monk saw her and asked her why she wept. When she told him the reason, he said to her, "The Buddha gives the highest respect to those who serve others." He told her to go home, take a bath and change into clean attire, and then go pay tribute to the Buddha. The woman did accordingly and went along with others to listen to the Buddha's lecture. The Buddha looked at the attendees one by one. There were kings, ministers and rich elders among them, but his eyes fell on the woman. With a smile he proclaimed that among all present, the woman had the purest and sincerest heart because she had a noble heart to serve others.

Our environmental protection volunteers are just like this woman. Although they sort through dirty rubbish, they have the purest and noblest hearts, for to give unconditionally is the purest virtue.

I believe our minds can be free of worries if we engage in recycling. Bending down and picking up rubbish in front of strangers is genuine spiritual cultivation, because one must overcome one's ego to do so. Actually, as long as we harbor love for people and all living creatures, it will not be hard to let go of our ego. Love can dissolve our attachments and pride.

Now I would like to make one further appeal: after turning garbage into love, let's turn that love into a stream that can gently cleanse the world. Nowadays television is the medium with the fastest transmission speed. I hope that everyone can contribute the money they make from recycling goods to our Tzu Chi TV station. Even an aluminum can or a stack of newspapers can help support the cause. Tzu Chi TV aims to shower the world with love and to purify people's minds. If we work together, we can spread our messages of goodness around the globe and achieve the aim of purification.

If everyone in society can help recycle resources, the amount of garbage will be reduced, pollution will be decreased, and the cleanliness of our environment will be improved. When all that is done, we will not have to worry about outbreaks of plagues or worsening climate changes that can lead to rampant natural disasters and famines.

The Buddha said that the land we live in is impure and defiled by evil views, worries, wars, etc. But he also taught us that "The mind alone creates everything." The mind can corrupt the world, but it can also cleanse the world. Our society needs a purifying stream to wash away greed and hatred. Let's work together to transform the world into a Pure Land.