Loving-kindness is to offer happiness

Immeasurable means universal. "Once a thought of kindness arises, it will prevail throughout the universe." Tzu Chi was founded in Taiwan, but today Tzu Chi people throughout the world are helping the poor and needy without taking nationality, race, or religion into consideration. When an altruistic thought rises in our minds, we must carry it out by continuously practicing loving-kindness without any regrets. Then gradually our loving-kindness will grow beyond measure.

Loving-kindness is to make others happy and blessed. Where do blessings come from? They come from doing good deeds. Therefore, besides helping the poor, Tzu Chi people also encourage the rich to share what they have with the less fortunate. By engaging in the missions of relieving people's suffering and encouraging the rich to give their love, Tzu Chi people are in fact cultivating loving-kindness.

When my father suddenly passed away over four decades ago, I was shocked to see how fleeting life could be, and I decided to engage in spiritual cultivation. During that time, I saw how much suffering people need to bear with. It dawned on me that the Buddha came to the world in an attempt to help relieve people from their suffering. If each of us cares only about ourselves, then suffering beings will never be saved. If only I could mobilize 500 people to join me and help the less fortunate, the combined strength would then be like Kuan Yin, the bodhisattva with a thousand eyes to see the suffering in the world and a thousand hands to reach out and help. With that thought in mind, I rejected the idea of self-salvation and founded the Buddhist Tzu Chi Merit Association about four decades ago.

In the first few years of Tzu Chi, our members became commissioners without taking any training courses because their intentions and hearts were resolute and pure. They were easily moved by the touching stories that happened in our association, and they unhesitatingly and courageously undertook the Tzu Chi missions. Although they received no training, they had a firm resolve to take the Buddha's compassion and my commitment as their own. Whatever challenges and setbacks they encountered, they never gave up. Their every thought was on how to motivate more people to join Tzu Chi so that more people could be helped.

Having worked hard over the last three decades, Tzu Chi commissioners can be found around the world today. Everyone still endeavors to uphold the conviction of "helping the poor and inspiring the rich to share what they have with the poor." By giving of themselves completely to society, they are in fact striding forward on the Path of the Bodhisattvas with wisdom and compassion. In order to truly deliver the poor from suffering and bring them to happiness, our commissioners not only try to rid the care recipients of poverty and illnesses, but they also encourage the recipients to cultivate blessings by nurturing the idea of "I, too, want to help others." In this way, every drop of kindness converges into a big ocean of love. When more people in the world do good deeds, society will become more harmonious and peaceful.

In Malacca, Malaysia, there is an eighty-year-old grandmother whose two children both died of drug abuse. Our commissioners have taken care of her for many years and even moved her into a nursing home. During our monthly relief distribution in September 2003, this woman suddenly handed 2,020 ringgits [US$530] to one of our commissioners. She said, "Please donate this money to Tzu Chi for me so that more people will be helped." She explained that she led a simple and contented life because the nursing home provided her with almost anything she needed and our volunteers gave her care and love. The money, however, brought her headaches since she constantly worried that she might lose it. She decided to donate it to Tzu Chi so that she would in return be rewarded with peace of mind and joy.

How wise she is! Although she is materially poor, she is truly spiritually rich. She can maintain her inner wealth of joy and peace while generously sharing what she has with others.

In Taiwan, many adorable Tzu Chi volunteers from all walks of life and different age groups are constantly doing resource recycling at the grassroots level in order to protect the environment. They joyfully do the work without expecting any recognition or praise from me. Their attentive "just do it" attitude toward the recycling work is truly moving.

Among them, there are many senior volunteers who have devoted a good part of their lives to their families and society. Now even in their sixties and seventies, they do not rest on their laurels. Instead they choose to go out on the streets and busily collect recyclables such as plastic bottles and beer cans in order to "turn garbage into gold." How beautiful their hearts are! By combining their physical and wisdom lives, they have made their lives meaningful indeed.

Unlike them, many people do the opposite. These people might have scrimped and saved when they were poor. But once they become rich, they reward themselves with luxuries such as beautiful houses and fancy cars. When meeting with their friends, they often argue about who is richer. Their greed is insatiable.

The Infinite Meaning Sutra points out that all those who aspire to buddhahood should "practice the precepts, contemplation, wisdom, and emancipation, and then gain wisdom and insights after attaining emancipation." The precepts prevent us from doing wrong. They are an armor that shields a spiritual cultivator from greed, anger, and delusion, the most dangerous poisons in the world. When we are greedy, angry, or deluded, we become ignorant. Ignorance is like muck or mire that pollutes our minds and saps our wisdom life. Only when we discipline our minds with the precepts can we really love ourselves and deal with people and things properly. Greed is a bottomless pit that can never be filled up. When we rein in our minds with the precepts, we will not be troubled by worries over gains and losses. Such contentment frees us from afflictions and brings us emancipation.

In September 2003, some of our Tzu Chi University medical students performed simulated surgeries on frozen cadavers. Li Tsung-chi, one of the body donors, was a successful and kind-hearted entrepreneur in the marine business in Taiwan before he passed away last year. He worked hard when he was young and eventually became a billionaire. Although he owned a big shipping company, he never indulged himself in material comforts. After he joined Tzu Chi, he donated his money, time, and eventually his body. Even after he passed away, he silently taught doctors and students valuable medical lessons with his body. We can see how wisely he utilized the final value of his body.

His whole life could be described by a verse in the Infinite Meaning Sutra: "The mind, tranquil and peaceful, seeks no fame and has no cravings. Such a mind is free from delusions and inverted thoughts." Mr. Li was rich both spiritually and materially.

Ever since Tzu Chi was founded 38 years ago, our volunteers have kindly gone to the poorest and most dangerous areas in the world to offer help and happiness to the needy. Through giving, they cultivate their wisdom and blessings at the same time. With one heart, they engage in the Tzu Chi missions without regret.

Compassion is to relieve the suffering of others

The second Immeasurable Mind is compassion. Compassion means sympathizing with the suffering of others and trying to relieve it. There are many people in the world who are suffering from natural and man-made calamities, illness, poverty, disability, loneliness, and helplessness. No words can describe how miserable their lives are. Great compassion means that we compassionately redeem all living beings from their suffering.

There are not many Tzu Chi members in Paraguay, but they bravely shoulder the responsibility to help others. In order to distribute relief supplies to local Indians when disasters ravage the land, they often drive for a long time on dirt roads to reach remote aborigine villages. Sometimes the roads are so bad that they need to get out of the car and push it from behind. But they never complain. They believe that their hard work is worthwhile if they can more or less help alleviate the villagers' pain.

Torrential rains flooded many parts of Kedah, Malaysia, in October 2003. "It rained so heavily that it seemed as if God had forgotten to turn off the heavenly faucet," remarked a local woman. Knowing the disaster had left victims uncertain about how to carry on with their lives, Tzu Chi volunteers from Penang promptly traveled by raft to the heavily flooded regions to gather first-hand information about the disaster. Their hearts went out to victims who had lost everything and could only sleep on paper ripped from cardboard boxes. After they had evaluated the situation, our volunteers went straight back to the city and purchased a lot of daily necessities. On the following day, they went back to the villages to personally distribute the supplies to the victims.

These living bodhisattvas often show up as soon as disasters hit. Abiding by the conviction of "helping compassionately without any complaints," they go through fire and water to accompany and care for suffering souls.

I can still recall that over three decades ago, Hualien [a city located in eastern Taiwan] was a very backward place with insufficient medical resources. I discovered that many of our care recipients were so poor because they were suffering from illnesses. They had no money to see doctors, and their minor diseases would eventually develop into serious ones. Although I was a nun who could hardly make ends meet myself, I could not bear to see others being tormented with a hopeless and miserable tomorrow. Thus I vowed to build a hospital especially for those who could not afford to see doctors.

Although the path toward the construction of the hospital was a painfully rough journey, I harbored no complaints. I would willingly work my fingers to the bone just to see our hospital save a single life. It really cheered me up whenever I saw a patient's face break into a smile.

To relieve others of suffering is never easy, but we must do so without any grudges. The Infinite Meaning Sutra says, "The minds of the bodhisattvas are tranquil and crystal clear, and their commitment to help is profound and firm. The bodhisattvas unwaveringly persevere in their commitments for millions of eons." If we can reach this mindset, then we naturally will harbor no complaints. These verses are the essence of the sutra. They have helped and given me strength since I began to carry out my spiritual cultivation nearly four decades ago. These verses have never left my mind for a single day. I urge myself to keep my mind in a tranquil and crystal clear state every day so that I can transcend the exterior environment and free myself from interpersonal friction and conflict. Furthermore, I need to make profound and firm commitments to help the needy. That is why I often say that the universe is limited, but my commitments to help are unlimited.

A mind of tranquility and clarity is like a piece of lazurite--clear, bright, and luminous. Some people believe that the only way to calm the mind down is by disengaging oneself from worldly affairs and chanting the name of the Buddha. This is true. By doing so, the mind might become quiet. But eventually deluded thoughts run rampant and ruffle the mind again. If we can actively benefit others with all kinds of good deeds, then not only will we be able to establish good relationships with them, we will also be able to purify our minds. This is an effective way to benefit others and ourselves at the same time.

In the cycle of reincarnation, we are rarely born as human beings. It is even rarer that we can hear the Buddha's teachings. So we must fully utilize this life and be committed to helping others. We must vow to love all living beings in the world. Let us diligently lead a deserving and fruitful life.

Vows are easy to make but difficult to keep. It is easy to become enthusiastic about helping others, but is more difficult to persist. The mindset of ordinary people is ever-changing. When people are moved by the sufferings of others, they quickly make altruistic vows to give of themselves. But before long, their flame of enthusiasm grows weaker and weaker and they become reluctant to give or serve. Therefore, when we make a vow to help the needy, we must be determined to carry it out no matter how many difficulties may come our way.

For over 38 years, Tzu Chi volunteers have persevered with their initial vows and bravely relieved others from their suffering. Although they have sometimes been wronged and misunderstood, they continue to work hard without making any complaints.

Joy is to exercise wisdom

The third Immeasurable Mind is joy.

What is joy? We have it when we are carefree and have no greed or worries in our minds. Above all, we enjoy it when we get along harmoniously with others without any interpersonal friction. Joy is a manifestation of wisdom.

There is a Taiwanese saying: "Our minds run wild as if they were on fire." This describes how our minds go crazy when tormented with worries. How can we acquire genuine joy in life?

The Infinite Meaning Sutra says, "Abiding by the Buddha's instruction to spread his teaching and eradicate worldly desires and worries by applying the dharma-rainfall with all our hearts, we can then open the gate leading to nirvana and fan the wind of emancipation. In this way, we can remove the fever of agitation and turn the Buddha's teachings into pure water that can quench the thirst and heat inside ourselves." How peaceful and carefree such a state is!

If we follow the Eight Noble Paths of Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Behavior, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Contemplation, then we are indeed living in accordance with "abiding by the Buddha's instruction to spread his teachings and eradicate worldly desires and worries by applying the dharma-rainfall with all our hearts." We should be mindful of our ways and should be extending our helping hands to other people. Other people will come to trust us and eventually join us in helping others.

The water of dharma is like the dew. At dawn we see dewdrops glistening on the tips of tree leaves or blades of grass and dampening the ground. When the ground becomes moist, dust and sand cannot be blown up into the air by the wind. Likewise, if our minds are nourished by the Buddha's teachings, which are like the morning dew, then when the hot wind of affliction blows, the dust of worldly desire and suffering will not be stirred up. When our minds are not easily disturbed by disoriented thoughts, they will be constantly peaceful and serene.

So we should continuously moisten our own agitated minds as well as those of others with the cool dewdrops of the Buddha's teachings. Then the dust of craving and mental affliction will be dampened and settled. When we arrive at this stage, "We can then open the gate leading to nirvana and fan the wind of emancipation." Nirvana is a spiritual state of ultimate tranquility and brightness. "The fever of agitation" means we feel like we are being smelted in fire when we are tormented with worries. We will be at ease if we can fan the cool wind of emancipation--the Buddha's teachings. So the sutra says, "In this way, we can remove the fever of agitation and turn the Buddha's teachings into pure water that can quench the thirst and heat inside ourselves."

In October, volunteers from nine countries carried out a three-day relief distribution and free clinic in Indonesia. Our volunteers saw that the water of the Angke River was now flowing peacefully through Jakarta and the illegally built houses that once occupied the river banks were gone. They found it hard to believe that just a year ago, the Angke was still reeking with the stench of garbage that almost blocked the river. During the last year, Tzu Chi volunteers in Indonesia built a Great Love community for the residents living in those illegal shacks and helped the local government dredge silt from the river.

I believe that in the near future, the river will regain its clarity and beauty. But how many people are aware that an invisible, putrid Angke River might exist right in their own minds? The river in our mind was originally clean, but we have poisoned it with greed, anger, delusion, arrogance, and doubt, causing it to reek with pollution. How can we purify the river within?

Look closely and you will see that our body is nothing but a smelly bag of skin with excrement constantly being discharged from our nine orifices. Yet many people still crave more and more luxury goods to indulge themselves. They fail to comprehend the value of life. Since we have the chance to join Tzu Chi, we must decisively get rid of that selfish mindset and begin rolling up our sleeves to do good deeds. In this way, we will gain a profound understanding of our innate nature, and we will be cleansing the polluted Angke River in our minds.

People with sincerity and honesty lead the most beautiful life. I hope all of us can dredge our mental silt and afflictions, keep our hearts pure, and extend our helping hands to others. Then we will be cultivating our wisdom and upgrading the value of life.

Giving without expecting anything in return

The fourth Immeasurable Mind is unselfish giving. Only with an undefiled mindset can a person give unselfishly without asking for anything in return.

Some people have done quite a few good deeds, but they get very upset if their "noble acts" are not noticed or recognized by others. Such cravings and attachment to recognition and fame are truly torturous. Great Love should be given to the needy without expecting anything in return. When we see doing good as our responsibility, we can do it happily. Then our minds and intentions will be pure and we will become wiser.

In October 2003, Mrs. Therese Shaheen, chairperson of the American Institute in Taiwan [the American quasi-embassy in Taiwan], came to Hualien to see me. She told me she had heard a lot about what we have done in terms of international humanitarian relief work, and she was especially impressed with how quickly Tzu Chi people entered Ground Zero to help after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York. Our volunteers alleviated the financial burdens of numerous bereaved families, and they thoughtfully calmed many victims' minds with hugs and kind words.

When survivors and members of bereaved families came for financial assistance, Tzu Chi people tried not to ask too many questions which would otherwise directly or indirectly evoke heartrending memories of the tragedy. They simply gave the emergency cash promptly without going through complicated procedures or red tape. In addition, they tried their best to help bring the victims' lives back to normal so that they could stand on their feet again soon. That immediate and unconditional help made a deep impression on the US government, many other humanitarian organizations, and the local people.

In order to relieve the suffering of others, we must first befriend and help them without asking for anything in return. As the Infinite Meaning Sutra points out, "We need to moisten all living beings' roots of goodness in the Mahayana Buddhist thought, scatter the seeds of goodness in the field of merits, and make the bodhi sprouts thrive." The word "moisten" here means to dip. When we dip a plum in honey, it becomes sweet; if we steep it in salt water, it slowly becomes salty. Tzu Chi volunteers joyfully take action to help others with kindness and love. Their kind actions set a good example for other people to follow. When people get involved in Tzu Chi activities, they are steeped in a pool of kindness and love. Consequently, they also act kindly and lovingly toward other people.

Tzu Chi volunteers, like gardeners, sow seeds of kindness in people's hearts and then nurture them with more love so that the seeds will sprout someday. As the Infinite Meaning Sutra indicates, one seed will develop into an infinite number of seeds and an infinite number of seeds originate from one. If one gives unselfishly and unconditionally, one will be able to spread the seeds of love and kindness far and wide. In this way, one will be able to nurture the wisdom lives of others and, above all, oneself.

I am grateful for the commitment of all our Tzu Chi volunteers to give unselfishly in every corner of the world. Because of their diligent and sincere contributions, the world seems to have become more beautiful and the demarcations between different nationalities, races, and religions have become less important.　

There is a field of blessings in each of us. The field was originally free of contamination. But if we are lax in taking care of it, the field will be invaded by weeds and its soil will soon acidify. By then it will be hard to grow anything good and sweet.

Action is very much stressed in Tzu Chi. We emphasize the importance of putting the Buddha's teachings into action. I hope all of you will assiduously broaden your bodhi mind of enlightenment to the state of infinity.

Let us practice the Four Immeasurable Minds with pure intentions. May you exercise loving-kindness and persist in helping others no matter what difficulties may come your way. May you apply compassion to relieve the suffering of others with unwavering resolution, and may you not be troubled by those who take your help for granted. May you be joyful and carefree, use your wisdom to face all trials, and not let affliction cloud your mind. Last but not least, may you give unselfishly! We can then write our own Tzu Chi Great Treasury Sutra with undefiled Great Love and concrete actions in helping others.