The world of Tzu Chi (Vol.110)

TZU CHI 110 51 * This article is extracted from the book “The Master Tells Stories”. We should not only show compassion and try to make everyone happy, but we should also motivate others to preserve their compassion, get involved and give of themselves. Then they will find great joy. There is a saying, “To give is better than to receive.” If we can guide people to give with a correct and pure mind, they will receive perpetual joy. This is true Dharma. They will not go astray, and they will be content and happy. What is suffering? What is happiness? Poor people do not necessarily suffer just because they do not have money. People who are rich or have high social status are not necessarily happy either. Suffering and happiness are only in the mind. If people are poor but content, they will always be happy. This is the true Dharma. So we have to give rise to joy by means of supporting the true Dharma. Once we have the right concepts, not only will we always be happy, but we will also be able to influence other people to give happily and to share their joy. “Give rise to generosity by means of cultivating wisdom.” Wise people know that if they do not cling to things, but continually give of themselves, they will have no anxieties and they will be happy. In order to motivate everyone to cultivate their wisdom, they must have this generosity. This shows that anyone who walks the Buddhist Path can be happy. No matter where one goes, that place will always be a training ground for the mind. Each environment will always have some undesirable features, but if one always remembers that each place is a training ground, one can transform that environment. If we concentrate on our work, we will never have any anxieties. We will always have a feeling of accomplishment. A mind that is committed to the Way is thus a training ground, and it is also the bodhi mind. With this bodhi mind, we are always happy and at ease. We often talk about “kindness, compassion, joy and unselfish giving.” “Kindness” is charity work, “compassion” is eliminating suffering, “joy” is changing our way of looking at the world, and “unselfish giving” is education. Our daily life cannot part from these four concepts. Carrying out these concepts cultivates good fortune and wisdom.