The following is a speech in the "Happy Life" series. The Speech was delivered on October 14, 1996, at the Chung Cheng University in Chiayi.

Ladies and gentlemen: Amitabha!

I am very pleased to be here together with friends in Chiayi.

Yesterday we held the groundbreaking ceremony for the Tzu Chi Talin Hospital. More than 15,000 people participated in the celebration. I am very grateful to the Tzu Chi commissioners and Tzu Cheng Faith Corps members in Chiayi and Yunlin counties. It took them a long time to clear that 18-hectare [44.5 acre] piece of wilderness. Tzu Chi people even came from Taichung, Kaohsiung and Pingtung to join in the task. The heart-to-heart brotherhood was really touching.

In the past five to six years, Tzu Chi has made a great effort to find a proper piece of land for the hospital. With the help of people from all walks of life, we have finally acquired the land so that we can build the hospital to serve people living in the Chiayi and Yunlin areas.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
FOR THE MIND

A few minutes ago, our sign language team performed two songs, "A Breathing Globe" and "The Gardener of the Great Earth," which have to do with environmental protection for the earth and for the mind.

When people's hearts are defiled they can easily generate the five poisons--greed, anger, delusion, arrogance and suspicion--which cause many problems among people.

Greed Makes People Go Astray and Lose Wisdom

The greedier people are, the more desires they have. If a greedy person has $1,000, he thinks, "How nice it would be to have $9,000 more to make a total of $10,000!" But when he has got $10,000, he desires to have $90,000 more to make $100,000. With such insatiable desire, when will he be really satisfied?

Just because of such voracious desires, some people try everything they can to seek wealth and position. They may lead a meaningless life, and may also create many social problems. Unless a person can rid himself of greed, he will go astray without any wisdom.

Anger Causes Perplexities and Mental Imbalance

"Anger" means losing one's temper easily. Whoever gets angry easily will have more perplexities. When he has perplexities, it will be difficult for him to get along with people around him.

There was an old woman who loved her grandson very much. But her daughter-in-law didn't like her to touch him because she didn't think the old woman paid very much attention to cleanliness. Her husband didn't agree with her. He said, "I was brought up by my mother. Why do you think I'm clean enough, but not my mother?"

"Your mother belongs to the old generation. Her ideas of keeping clean are different. What if she feeds our child something unclean?"

The husband found it difficult to reason with his wife. So he used his brains to find a way to change her mind.

They had an orchard. One day he cut the roots of several fruit trees with a hoe. A few days later, his wife found some fruit fallen on the ground. When she looked closer, she saw the roots of the trees had been broken. She asked her husband how it happened, and he admitted he had done it. Then she scolded him. "How stupid you are! Don't you know if the roots are broken, the fruit will never ripen? It will fall off the tree. Do you know how much loss we'll suffer?"

"It's true, tree roots should not be broken," her husband said. "What about people then? Without my mother, there would be no me! You love our child. My mother also loves me and her grandchild. It's normal. We should try to understand her feelings and be grateful to her."

The wife thought for a moment. "He's right. Why do I make trouble with my mother-in-law every day? Why am I so fussy with her?"

Later on, she looked at her mother-in-law from another angle and found she was actually very kind. Furthermore, without her mother-in-law, she would have no husband. From then on, she changed her own temper and became a gentle daughter-in-law.

People easily lose their tempers and argue with others when they don't understand the reasons for things. Therefore, we should be mindful and try to understand the reasons. This way we won't lose our tempers so easily.

Anger is a defilement of the mind. If we can get rid of anger, we will have more peace of mind.

A Life of Stupidity Is Pathetic

Some people realize that life is meaningless unless they can do something for society. Other people are confused by events and concepts in life. They pass their days muddleheaded. They may be very rich, but they don't know how to spend their money.

Not long ago, the newspaper reported that a rich businessman in Thailand arranged a wedding party for his cats. He had two cats with diamond-like eyes. The setting alone cost him US$28,000. He spent $60,000 for the dowry for the "bride." The total expenses for the wedding amounted to as much as $88,000. In order to show his wealth, he invited some high-ranking government officials to attend the ceremony.

At the same time, torrential rain in Thailand caused sudden floods on the Mekong River and the Mae Nam River. Thousands of people became homeless and had no food. When the local Tzu Chi people heard the news, they immediately went to help.

Tzu Chi people spent less than US$20,000 to save several thousand victims. Yet that businessman spent more than $80,000 for a wedding of two cats. How deluded he was! If a rich person does not know how to spend money to benefit others, he is actually very pathetic. On the other hand, if a person has wisdom, he will be lovable whether he is rich or poor.

Last month, a group of Tzu Chi people came to Hualien from Kaohsiung. In that group there was an old lady, aged 82, accompanied by her two daughters. One of her daughters said, "Master, my mother has always wanted to come see you at the Abode of Still Thoughts."

I asked the old lady, "Now you have fulfilled your wish -- you have seen me. Are you happy?"

"Yes, I'm very happy," said the old lady, "but I have another wish." "What is your other wish?"

Her daughter replied on her behalf, "My mother wants to donate NT$1 million [US$36,364]."

The old lady gave me the money piously. "I'm very grateful that you've donated so much money," I said to her. "Did your children give you the money?"

"No," she said. "I've been saving it up myself for years."

"Mother is very thoughtful," her daughter added. "She doesn't want to be a burden on her children. So she has saved the money in case she got sick or to be used at the end of her life for her funeral."

One day, the old woman suddenly said to her daughter, "I would like to donate the money to help the Master build the hospital."

The daughter said, "Let all of us help you fulfill your wish, okay?" This wise mother replied, "When I donate money, I want to donate it from my own pocket. If you give me the money, that is not my own donation. However, after I donate all my savings , I'll depend on you all when my last moment comes."

Her daughters explained to her that she could donate her body to the Tzu Chi College of Medicine for medical research. In this way, she could leave her love to the human world.

Having heard their explanation, the mother said that that would be perfect. "When my last day comes, I can give my body to the Master. There will be no need to spend any money on a funeral. Besides, I can make a contribution to medicine. Now I've decided to donate all my savings. I think the money should be spent on something meaningful."

In order to help me build the hospital, she donated all the money she had saved for so many years. Furthermore, she signed a body donation card so that when she passes away, her body can be used by medical students to learn anatomy. What a wise old lady she is!

When does money have value? When is money wasted? We must think carefully about the value of life. I always say, "We have no claim to our bodies, but only the right to use them." How should a person spend his money, what kind of job should he be engaged in, how should he make the most altruistic use of his body? All this needs to be considered with wisdom.

Knowledge Is Nothing to Be Proud Of

Arrogance is another perplexity and defilement of the mind.

Nowadays people often argue with one another about who is more capable and who is stronger. Actually all human beings are equal. Some people may receive an admirable education, but they can only use their professional knowledge in a specialized field. If they lack the altruism which comes from wisdom, their intellectual ability doesn't do much good in their lives.

Just look at society today. Why is there so much turmoil and chaos? It is because there are too many people who just have professional knowledge but not wisdom. If one only has professional knowledge, but does not use it in the right way, it will be detrimental to him. A person with real wisdom knows what is right and what is wrong. He will never do things that he is not supposed to do. If not used properly, knowledge will do more harm than good.

For this reason, the Tzu Chi College of Medicine emphasizes the importance of humanitarian education. Medical students will never become conscientious doctors if they only care about the training and medical knowledge they can acquire. We try the best we can to bring out the conscience and altruism hidden in their hearts.

Cooperation Is Possible Only When There Is No Doubt

In addition to charity, medicine, education and culture, Tzu Chi's missions also include bone marrow donation and international relief. Speaking of the bone marrow donor registry, Mr. Huang Su-hsien, CEO of the US Tzu Chi Branch Office, just told me that on October 13, more than 1,000 Tzu Chi members in America got together in an auditorium in San Francisco for a charity performance for the US marrow data bank.

I always say that the sun never sets on Tzu Chi. It is evening in Taiwan right now, but the day is just breaking in some parts of the United States and Tzu Chi people there are just starting to work. There are Tzu Chi people everywhere in the world. It's like a relay race. When we finish work on this side of the globe, Tzu Chi people begin their work on the other side of the globe. One step with six footprints [the Tzu Chi missions of charity, medicine, education, culture, bone marrow donation and international relief] are being carried out at the same time in this big global village.

In addition to the six footprints, we are now moving towards another task-environmental protection for the great earth. Environmental protection must start from the mind. If everybody can get rid of greed, anger, delusion and pride, then all people can help each other and work together to open up a piece of clean land.

Tzu Chi's beauty lies in the conviction that in the world there is no one I would not love, no one I would not forgive and no one I would not trust. When all minds have been purified, then all hearts can be linked together.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
FOR HEALTH

After we have gotten rid of greed, anger, delusion, arrogance and suspicion, then we must purify our bodies. In other words, we must do environmental protection for health.

There is a saying: "Health is a blessing." No matter what we use, eat, wear and dwell in, we have to pay attention to cleanliness.

A Simple Life Is the Most Free

Clothing: Clean and tidy, that is all we need. The price of the material has nothing to do with our health.

Food: Not long ago, there was mad cow disease. Some businessmen have even sold meat from diseased pigs, ducks, and chickens on the local market. All these went into the mouths of people.

There is a five-year-old boy who has been a vegetarian since he was born. Whenever he ate meat, he would throw up. I asked him why he didn't eat meat. He said, "Mad cow disease, animal plague. How terrible! I don't like meat at all." It is remarkable that he would care for food sanitation at his age.

In daily life, we frequently hear about cases of food poisoning. Therefore, we have to pay special attention to sanitation. It is not worth sacrificing our health to satisfy our appetite.

Nowadays people don't like to walk. Wherever they go, they only go by car. Moreover, they want their cars to be luxurious and comfortable. However, the exhaust pollutes the air and is detrimental to health. We should use our feet more often. Walking and jogging not only strengthen our bodies, but also diminish air pollution.

Environmental protection for health is very important. Life is so short that we must look after our health well. Otherwise, instead of making good use of our life, we have to spend a lot of time seeing doctors and taking medicine. That would be a great waste. We don't need to be too fussy about the quality of our clothing, food and housing. The most important thing is whether they are clean and sanitary.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
FOR THE GREAT EARTH

Typhoon Herb caused extreme damage to Taiwan. The rainfall on Ali Mountain in two days was close to 2,000 mm [80 in], equal to the average rainfall of a whole year in Taiwan. In many places, mud and stones were washed down, devastating lives and property. Just as the Buddha said, "The world is impermanent and the land is fragile."

Two years ago, Typhoon Doug attacked Taiwan, also causing great damage. I remember I went out with Tzu Chi members to inspect the damage. The roads to Jenai County and Hsinyi County were broken to pieces. We had to walk one step and jump another step. I suggested that all the people in Shengmu Village be moved to another place because it was unsuitable for people to live there. Tzu Chi people wanted to help them rebuild their homes elsewhere. Unfortunately, it was hard for us to acquire a piece of good land, and so we couldn't start construction. This time the whole village was almost destroyed by the flow of mud and rocks.

Was it a natural disaster or a man-made calamity?

In my opinion, it was a man-made calamity followed by a natural disaster. People felled trees recklessly, without conserving the water and soil. Therefore, the water and soil flowed away, causing serious damage.

Do Environmental Protection, Love the Earth

Several years ago, I called on Tzu Chi people to recycle resources. They immediately organized environmental protection volunteer teams in different villages in Taiwan to start the task. Other people were influenced by them and joined in the work. It is estimated that to make 50 kg [110 lb] of paper, we need to cut one 20-year-old tree. Based on this estimate, the paper reclaimed by Tzu Chi people in 1995 alone was equal to 366,702 twenty-year-old trees. In other words, we saved that many trees last year.

Each book contains the wisdom of the writer and each book is made of paper that is manufactured from a tree. We have to pass on the wisdom of the writers to the next generation. At the same time, we have to take care of the trees and protect the environment. The only way to do this is to recycle resources, to reclaim used paper.

I hope all of us will begin from our own places and love the great earth we dwell on. We should do resource recycling and at the same time produce less garbage. Actually we should pay attention to environmental protection at all times. We should love our homes and our country and always keep them clean. Environmental protection should not be a whimsical slogan. It should be carried out forever.

The resources of the great earth are right under our feet. The pure land is around you and me. Garbage is produced by ourselves. Cleaning the great earth also depends on ourselves. According to statistics, 40 percent of garbage is reclaimable. Some of it can be made into organic fertilizer. We only have to make a little effort to sort the garbage so that it can be recycled for reuse.

Don't Let the Green Mountains Shed Tears Again

The sky is broken.
Who would not be saddened?
The green mountains are shedding tears.
Who would not be sorrowful?

This song, "The Gardener of the Great Earth," accurately describes the weeping sadness of the mountains. After Typhoon Herb attacked Taiwan, I saw TV pictures of mud and stones flooding down from the mountains, and I was very, very sad. As a matter of fact, every one of us can be a gardener of the great earth. I hope all of us will take action to save the mountains, recycle resources and clean the earth.

We have no claim to our bodies but only the right to use them. How to use them properly is a matter of wisdom. If we live with the concepts of environmental protection for mind, health and the great earth, our society will be rich and we will always be lucky and happy.