The following are excerpts from a speech delivered by Master Cheng Yen at the 31st Anniversary of the Tzu Chi Foundation.

Ladies and gentlemen, Amitabha!

These days, everywhere in the Abode of Still Thoughts, we see many Tzu Chi members from all over the world. What a wonderful gathering it is!

In the past few days, I have pondered what I should speak to you about on the thirty-first anniveersary of the Tzu Chi Foundation. As the days passed by, my mind became more and more empty. I didn't know exactly how I could express what was on my mind. There is a saying: "It is hard to express our gratitude for someone's great help." Now I can fully understand what this means.

All I can think of these days are "great love and gratitude." Wherever we go, we Tzu Chi people offer great love. Whoever we meet, we never forget to sincerely show gratitude to each other.

With great love and gratitude, what else do we need ? As long as we have great love in our hearts and as long as we can express gratitude, we have the most rewarding life.

With Precepts in Mind, One Will Respect Oneself

Tzu Chi was founded on the basis of Buddhist dharma, and we carry out our various missions in accordance with those teachings. We are all Buddha's disciples. Buddha was born into this world with a special purpose. In his forty-nine years of preaching, he taught us two things: to activate our conscience and then use our wisdom to serve people, and to walk on the Path of the Bodhisattvas to help the needy.

Buddha lectured on the Sutra of Infinite Meaning. Because of its profound significance and beautiful wording, I like the Sutra of Infinite Meaning very much. Today I would like to share with you some concepts from it: precepts, contemplation, wisdom, emancipation, and the transcendental capabilities acquired through emancipation.

A "precept" is an admonition to stop wrongdoing or to prevent any wrongdoings from happening. If any mistake has already been made, we should stop right away and correct ourselves immediately.

For us disciples of Buddha, precepts are indispensable. Just like ancient soldiers had to wear helmets and armor to protect themselves on the battlefield, we rely on precepts to guard ourselves against such evil things as greed, anger, delusion, etc. Once those evil thoughts invade our minds, ignorance will follow. "Ignorance" means darkness and defilement. When our minds are attacked by darkness and defilement, our wisdom will be obscured. With the precepts in our minds, we will love ourselves. We will abide by the rules in dealing with people and events. Why do people commit crimes? Because they get lost spiritually and stop respecting themselves.

An extremely tragic crime that happened recently was the kidnapping of seventeen-year-old Pai Hsiao-yen, the only daughter of Pai Ping-ping, a famous TV star in Taiwan. Yesterday afternoon, Josephine Lee, one of our Tzu Chi commissioners, phoned me from Ms. Pai's residence and asked me whether I could say a few words to her. I said to Ms. Pai that the most important thing for her to do at the moment was to keep calm and give blessings to her daughter. No matter what had happened, she had to keep her mind open and calm. Then she would know what to do next.

More than ten years ago, my mother phoned me and told me that my second brother had been beaten to death in the army. Her voice was very sad. I said to her that her son was dead and there was nothing we could do to bring him back to life. Therefore, she had to let go of her sorrow. Of course, it was the saddest and most painful thing a mother could bear. But the killer's parents would be even more panicky and sorrowful. They would not only feel guilty themselves, but would feel anxious about the penalty that would soon be inflicted upon their son. Furthermore, the case happened in the army and the killer would be charged according o martial law, which was very severe. I told my mother that she had to broaden her mind and look at the tragedy through the eyes of the killer's parents. It would be better for her to forgive the killer. At the same time, she should consider asking the military court to give clemency to the killer and reduce his penalty.

My mother was very wise. After hearing what I said, she knew what to do: she forgave the killer. The army unit where my brother had served sent his body home. They gave my mother some money to pay for the funeral. My mother held a simple funeral, had my brother's body cremated and placed the ash urn in a temple. She then donated the rest of the money to Tzu Chi. The young man who had killed my brother came and knelt in repentance in front of my brother's coffin. His parents were very grateful to my mother.

With this personal experience, I suggested to Ms. Pai Ping-ping that she broaden her mind. She sounded very calm and strong.

Yesterday I saw the parents, wife and child of one of the three murderers on TV. I felt very sorry for them. His mother screamed as tears rolled down her face: "Please set the little girl free. Otherwise, how can your parents ever face other people again?" His father and wife also tearfully begged him to release the victim.

However, it was too late. Even as they were pleading, the girl's body had already been found in a ditch. Both Ms. Pai and the criminals' relatives were devastated when they heard the news. In fact, the criminals' families suffered even more, because they would be ashamed for the rest of their lives. As for the murderers themselves, although they have not yet been caught, they have to live with anxiety and fear all the time. They are actually living in hell.

You can see how important it is to abide by precepts. If the criminals had had precepts in mind, they would have respected themselves and would not have foolishly hurt others and themselves. They would not have to hide from the police or drag their relatives into such humiliation.

Stop Wrongdoing Promptly, Be Free From Worry

I remember not long after the publication of my book Still Thoughts, I received a letter. Whoever sent it wrote on the envelope: "I am very grateful to you because your Still Thoughts has saved me." There was no name and address on it. I wondered who had been saved by my book, so I opened the envelope and there was a long letter inside.

The writer said that he had graduated from university and worked in a good company. His boss valued him very highly and he was quickly promoted. However, a friend asked him to endorse a check for a large amount of money, and that friend ended up running away with the money. The creditor demanded that he pay back the money. Driven to desperation, this young man began concocting a scheme to rob a bank.

While he was lingering in front of the bank, waiting for a good opportunity, a woman arrived, parked her motorcycle beside him and went into the bank. In a basket on her motorcycle was a copy of Still Thoughts. The man took up the book and opened it. The words that caught his eyes were: "If you are doing good deeds, count me in; if you are doing evil, count me out." He said it was like being hit by a bolt of lightning. He immediately turned around and ran home.

After he calmed down a bit at home, he began thinking about those words in the book. He realized that if he had not abandoned his evil plan, he might have hurt somebody or he himself might have been hurt. How wonderful that he could stop himself in time! Now he could lead a free life without the weight and humiliation of punishment. That was why he expressed his gratitude to me again and again.

The worst punishment a person can receive is regret. Regret for doing something wrong will torture your mind and cause much agony. If you follow the precepts, you will not do anything wrong and will have no agony. When there is no agony in your mind, you will feel calm and tranquil-this is contemplation. When your mind is free from agony and is calm and tranquil, then your wisdom will grow. With wisdom, you will comprehend all truths. This is indeed true emancipation from worries. With this true emancipation, we will attain the realm of dhyana and samadhi [a tranquil state of mind that enables us to get rid of all kinds of worries and distractionas]. In sum, all of these are what is described in the Sutra of Infinite Meaning: precepts, contemplation, wisdom, emancipation, and the transcendental capabilities acquired through emancipation.

Grasp the Moment to Strive Forward

If you read the Sutra of Infinite Meaning, you will find everything we do in Tzu Chi follows the instructions of Buddha that are recorded in that sutra. As long as your thought, speech and behavior abide by the principles of Tzu Chi-sincerity, integrity, trust and honesty-and as long as you follow the four immeasurables-kindness, compassion, joy and unselfish giving-you will be in accord with the Sutra of Infinite Meaning. You have already chosen the road of Tzu Chi. If you really comprehend Tzu Chi's spirit, you will never feel regret. I hope all of ou can seize the moment and hang on to the good thrughts that you have now. Please don't forget that it is always easy to be enthusiastic, but difficult to be persistent.

We are lucky to have been born in human form. We are even luckier to be able to walk on the Path of the Bodhisattvas. So concentrate your mind and keep working diligently. If you deviate, you will waste precious time. If you lag behind, you will not be able to catch up. If you drop out, you will lose direction. Please cherish every opportunity to help the needy.

My responsibility is to lead you to the Path of the Bodhisattvas. Although you live all over the world, as long as you think of me, I will always be with you. Let us walk together toward our goals.

Focus Your Mind on the Salvation of All People

In the Sutra of Infinite Meaning, there is another sentence: "The mind is peaceful and crystal clear and your heart is as vast as the universe." What a wonderful condition this is! I like this line very much.

Whenever there was a blackout in the past, I would light a candle with pleasure. It would be completely dark and quiet all around me. I would gaze at the soft light of the candle and feel very peaceful. That state of mind was really beautiful.

Thirty years ago, Tzu Chi had no publication department. I myself had to do all the writing for the Tzu Chi Monthly. Even when I was visiting poor families or doing other work, my mind would be distracted by the articles that I was writing. At such times, I would stand in front of Buddha's statue and watch the candlelight. In the day, candlelight is nothing special, but at night, when there is no sun, candlelight is very special indeed. So I made a vow to become a candle in a dark corner to light the way in the human world.

When your mind reaches that state of peacefulness and crystal clearness, your heart will be as vast as the universe. Then the commitment you make will be as broad as the universe. There will be no one in the world you do not love. When you make such a great vow, you will get tremendous strength.

When your mind is peaceful, there will be no anxieties or distractions. You will have a clear understanding of human events and the needs of the world, and the proper attitude in handling worldly affairs. You will naturally make a vow to do what you are supposed to do. Can you change your vow at random? No, you can't. You must stick to your vow. For how long then? Forever and ever. So after you have made a vow, the most important thing is that you have to stick to it forever and ever, not just in this life, but in all your lives to come.

A senior commissioner once told her family that when she died, they must write two words on the soles of her feet-"Tzu" on one and "Chi" on the other-so that she could return to this world as quickly as possible. We Tzu Chi people must have this determination. As long as we can stick to our vows, all 84,000 Buddhist ways to enlightenment will be open to us.

When we do Tzu Chi work attentively, we can verify the philosophy set forth in the Buddhist teachings. For instance, what is Buddha's joy? When you help rid others of poverty, crisis or anxiety, they feel happy and you feel joyful too. This kind ofjoy is Buddha's joy. I often tell the volunteers in Tzu Chi Hospital that the most beautiful face is the smiling face of a patient. When you see an ordinary person smile, you don't feel it's anything unusual. But when you see a patient smile, you feel truly joyful.

Volunteers do everything they can to help patients. No matter what kind of disease they have or how dirty and smelly they are, volunteers bathe and massage them. When patients say with a smile that they feel much more relaxed, the volunteers are filled with joy to the bottom of their hearts. Judging from what the volunteers have learned and applied, that sincere joy comes from the wonderful teachings of Buddha. Otherwise, how can they make the patients happy and themselves happy as well?

As long as we can stick to the vow to save people, help the needy, and mindfully deal with all people and events, then all the proper ways to attain enlightenment will become manifest. You will receive great wisdom to comprehend all of Buddha's teachings. You only have to attain enlightenment through one way, the way used by us Tzu Chi people. There is no need to search for other ways.