Time really flies. To disciples of Buddhism. Time is helpful, but it can also be relentless. Time is helpful if we use it efficiently, because we can succeed in business as well as accumulate merit. Time can be relentless if we neglect it, because we will not accomplish anything, and we may have only irredeemable regret in our associations with other people.

The Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation has entered its 31st year with a solid foundation in its missions of charity, medicine, education, culture, international relief and bone marrow donation. Our religious welfare has developed a vital multi-directional aspect, resulting from the timely exercise of good deeds by many people. Looking to the future, we have a lot more to do.

To carry out our missions, we need manpower, finances, and above all, precious time. We rely on the unselfish donation of time by philanthropists everywhere. For example, those volunteers participation in relief work both at home and abroad must realize that if they cannot deliver relief material into the hands of disaster victims quickly and efficiently, the relief work will mean nothing. Timeliness is even more critical for bone marrow donation. From the moment of acquiring an HLA match right up to the final transplant, everyone involved is filled with a sense of imminence in saving a life.

Time management is an art in life. Some people just idle time away. Some, however, can fetch one pot after another from the long river of time and pour it into another life which is about to dry up. That is the bodhisattva's time. We should not waster time on reminiscing about the past, nor should we fritter away time on the illusions of great projects in the future. We must seize the moment not to work diligently and to give generously for the benefit of others and for the good of society.

Ordinary people make a clear distinction between work and leisure, and they define the latter ad drinking, eating and looking for fun. Because they work hard or because they have more things in life. People in these modern times have a stronger desire to enjoy leisure. With this attitude, they are apt to refuse to do anything to benefit others. They think they have little free time after work and that they must use that free time on pleasure.

Those who exert themselves on the Path of the Bodhisattvas show how to spend time positively. They realize that life is impermanent, so they want to make the best use of time to learn and to accumulate wisdom. These people devote themselves to volunteer work, which they also enjoy very much. To them it both work and recreation. By working together and spiritually communicating with their fellow volunteers, they can leave behind the entanglements of their routines and gain more comprehension of life.

What Tzu Chi promotes is to "enjoy leisure in service," in which one can retain a balance between his physical body and his mind. Creating the bodhisattva's time by enjoying leisure in service is truly beneficial and altruistic.