I have not had the chance to read the Bible. But I see the similarity between the moral of this story and the Buddha's teaching that "All living creatures share common karma." The force of karma is like a current. Although it is invisible, it does exist. It is just like the electric current that powers motors. All the karmas created by living beings will come together and form a current. As the current becomes disrupted, natural disasters are brought about. When more good people gather in our society, a good current will be formed. However, when more bad people gather, a bad current will dominate the good one. If kindhearted people gather together to motivate more people to do good deeds, then our society will be blessed and free from disasters. On the other hand, if there are many bad people who get together to do evil things, then all of society will become turbulent and disasters will follow.

No one can stop natural disasters from happening, but with thoughts of goodness we can prevent subsequent suffering.

On September 4, the Central Weather Bureau issued a typhoon warning. Tzu Chi immediately set up a disaster rescue coordination center in its Taipei branch office, and volunteers around the island got ready to provide help. Tzu Chi volunteers, taking the hearts of the bodhisattvas as their own, consolidated their power of love in disaster response efforts such as doing emergency rescue, cooking hot meals, and providing medical care. They hoped that by being well prepared they could lessen possible damage brought by the typhoon, and if people were affected they could offer timely help.

In addition to vigilantly gearing themselves up to rescue, accompany and comfort the needy, they also prayed sincerely that the world would be free from disaster and that all people would be safe. The day before the estimated landing of the typhoon, two thousand Tzu Cheng Faith Corps members of the northern Taiwan division had a retreat in our Kuantu complex. Li Feng-shih, the division chief, led everyone in earnest prayers. They prayed that the typhoon would miss Taiwan, that it would bring less wind and rainfall, and that the impact of the disaster would be minimized.

I happened to be staying in Kuantu during my monthly island-wide tour of Tzu Chi offices. I saw how erectly each of them knelt and how sincerely they supplicated. The willpower and orderliness the team displayed touched a cord in my heart.

I was worried about the coming of the typhoon, but I was relieved to see the vigilance and respect Tzu Chi people showed toward nature. In the end, Typhoon Sinlaku whirled above the ocean north of Taiwan for a couple of days and then went away. It was a relief for me and I was full of gratitude.

People nowadays no longer see nature with respect and awe because they do not fear the law of cause and effect and pay no attention to the idea of taking good care of their minds and behavior. When people have bad thoughts, their minds and bodies become disturbed. As a result, they do evil things that are totally against their conscience.

Evil deeds cause evil karmas, which in turn bring disasters. But if people can harbor only good thoughts and love in their minds, exercise the power of love and piously pray together, then blessings will abound. Accumulated blessings will be a force protecting us from disasters.

We should respect Mother Nature, just as we show respect to one another. When two parties get involved in a conflict, if one of them can stay humble, the other party will soon soften his stance as well. However if both parties play tough, then both will get injured.

Boundless blessings come from boundless love

Three years have passed since the earthquake devastated central Taiwan on September 21, 1999. From building prefabricated houses to the reconstruction of fifty schools for the affected victims, our volunteers have been there to comfort them. The reconstruction of the fifty schools under our Project Hope is close to completion. In early September this year, I visited some of the fully rebuilt schools. The moment I stepped on one campus, I heard students reading textbooks out loud, saw children playing happily, witnessed teachers vowing to teach the next generation with love and wisdom. I was very relieved. Such is the power of love!

There is only one way to perform tasks efficiently and beautifully--through united hearts, harmony, mutual love, and cooperation. Only when hearts are united will there be harmony. Only with harmony will people love and care for each other. Then from mutual love strength will arise. In other words, accomplishments are only possible when we cooperate with one heart and mind. Since we are all engaged in the mission of improving society, we must be grateful to each other. Before the September 21 earthquake, many people built walls in their hearts. The earthquake tore down those walls and opened up many people's potential to bring blessings to the world. I believe that when latent love is awakened and united, nothing is impossible.

Life is impermanent. No one can keep such sudden natural disasters from happening. But we can all bring out the love in us and in others to create blessings. And once the blessings can be converged into an ocean of love, it will harmonize society and decrease the natural disasters in the world.

Tzu Chi volunteers disassembled the prefabricated classrooms after the children moved to their new schools. Because our volunteers cherish blessings, they carefully stored every part of the classrooms, including things as tiny as screws. Moreover, our volunteers are reusing these housing materials to broaden Great Love by building houses for the needy in other areas.

With eyes of compassion, they look at all dark corners of society. When our volunteers see underserved people living in dilapidated shanties--be it solitary elders living on remote mountains or single-parent families living on faraway seashores--they can go there to build them safe homes with the retrieved materials from the prefabricated houses.

With sincerity, our Tzu Cheng Faith Corps members can conquer any obstacles. Most of them had no background in housing construction. But now they have become experts in building homes for the needy, and they are also capable of installing water pipes and electric lines. On the day care recipients move into their new house, our volunteers often cook sweet rice balls in an attempt to warm the house and share joy with all the neighbors. Our volunteers can also take the opportunity to encourage the neighbors to help attend to the needs of the family.

On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival--a traditional time for family reunions--our volunteers always visit old folks who are living alone or in nursing homes and present them with moon cakes and fruit. Most of these elderly people have no children, but because our volunteers take their children's places, they are no longer lonely.

In every person's heart lies boundless love. Yet if we narrow our love to only a few individuals, we will experience misery because we will be trapped and torn in the little circle of those we love. But we can actually extend this love to all beings in the world. We are interdependent with all beings. If others are hurt and you feel the pain, if others are suffering and you feel the sorrow, then you have truly extended your love to all living beings. This is what the Buddha meant when he said, "The mind is as accommodating as the universe."

Although disasters have happened one after another in the world, please do not be discouraged. We should hold on and never quit. As I often say, we should do our work willingly and accept the results cheerfully.

TIMA is a mobile hospital

Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) members from thirteen countries happily met in Hualien on the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Such happiness came from their shared aspirations. Most of them did not know each other, but they have all contributed their medical services in their countries, and some have even joined overseas medical missions. This time they met in Hualien, Taiwan, to exchange the free clinic experiences, medical knowledge and medical situations in their countries.

The hardest suffering in life is illness. It is even more terrible if one lives in medically insufficient areas such as remote seashores or mountains. These loving doctors who aspire to protect lives and to cure patients' illnesses do not fear the long roads they have to travel to get there. They not only heal physical pain, they also relieve mental misery with comforting words. This is the heart of the Buddha, the Great Healer.

TIMA was established in 1996, but its origin can be traced back to 1966, when the Tzu Chi Foundation was established. Thirty-six years ago, Tzu Chi began with charitable activities. In the beginning, we sent impoverished sick people to hospitals and paid their medical costs. Because so many poor people were sick, we set up a free clinic in Hualien in 1972 and provided free medical services twice a week. I am very grateful to the medical staff of the Hualien Provincial Hospital at that time. They regularly helped in our free clinic, and they even traveled up the mountains and down to the seaside with our volunteers to treat our care recipients.

In order to provide greater medical care to residents of the undeveloped eastern coast of Taiwan, we built the Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital in 1986. From then on the elderly, homeless and physically challenged could receive the same quality of medical care as those in western Taiwan. Moreover, they could be in the hands of loving medical personnel and volunteers. The medical staff of this hospital shouldered the mission of offering regular free clinics, rain or shine, to people living high up in the mountains.

Likewise our Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital has performed great medical functions since its inauguration two years ago. In central southern Taiwan, many young people have left their homes for the cities, leaving the old people behind to take care of their lands. Being human, these old folks naturally become frail and sick sometimes. However, there are few medical facilities in that area. So members of the Dalin medical staff go to treat them, to do health checkups, and to raise their awareness on health issues.

Moreover, seeing that the homeless in the cities have nowhere to wash themselves, TIMA in northern Taiwan offers free haircuts at their free clinics, and provide a mobile bathroom equipped with hot water for homeless people to take a shower and put on clean clothes. Furthermore, our volunteers also patiently guide them to stand up on their own feet again, to overcome their mental hurdles and rejoin society.

I am very grateful to this group of loving people. Although they come from all walks of life, they all harbor love in their hearts. They have united individual love to personally give care to the dark corners in the world.

I believe that as long as we give willingly, difficulties of any magnitude can be conquered. Giving begets joy.

Prescription for a better life

We must remember to discipline our minds in our everyday life. Let us be content with our lot, perform our duties well, and do not go beyond our bounds. Let us be ever more vigilant, especially in time of peace. With a balanced mindset, our families will enjoy harmony. When each family is harmonious, society will be in accord. Consequently, disasters in the world will decrease. It all begins with fine-tuning our minds.

Tzu Chi's four missions--charity, medicine, education, and culture--are made possible with the selfless giving of our volunteers. Charity is the hope of mankind; medical care is the hope of life; education is the hope of society; the promotion of culture is the hope of the soul. Many people are frustrated by current social phenomena. But I believe instead of worrying that the sky might fall and submerging oneself in fear, why not stand up, shrug off the fear and stride forward to give love? If we can all do so earnestly, hope will be revealed.

What is the way to awaken Great Love in every heart so everybody can give of oneself with joy? I believe the formula lies in four kinds of spirits and actions.

The four spirits are contentment, gratitude, understanding and accommodation. These four spirits will open our hearts and activate infinite wisdom and compassion in us. In this way, boundless blessings will be generated.

The four actions are the union of our hearts, harmony, love, and cooperation with one another. When everyone works with one heart and mind, great strength will be produced. With that strength we will surely light up the world.