The world of Tzu Chi February 2021(Vol.131)

2021 • 02 52 * This article is extracted from the book “Reminders under the Sala Trees – A Commentary on the Sutra of the Buddha’s Bequeathed Teachings”. harma but also constantly nurture the compassion in our hearts. We must never slander or transgress against others, especially our fellow practitioners. However, ordinary people often make these kinds of mistakes. I often hear Tzu Chi commissioners say that during their fundraising events, people often cynically comment, “Tzu Chi only cultivates blessings, not wisdom!” After hearing comments like this, some people who might not have studied Buddhism for very long and do not yet understand the truths of the Buddha-Dharma might become doubtful and hesitant to continue forward. There are even some who say, “To show faith in Buddhism, one must worship the Buddha, buy living creatures to set them free, and contribute to printing sutras; helping the poor and providing urgent relief are merely worldly affairs.” Such words have truly discouraged many people who wish to diligently advance onward and serve society. In this way, “obstructing people from treading a good path” is like letting cattle loose onto other people’s farmlands to eat their crops; this is damaging others’ roots of goodness. As Buddhist practitioners, we must encourage one another to emulate the spirit of the Buddha. The Buddha came to this world to “teach all sentient beings his understanding and views”. He wanted sentient beings to realize that everyone has a Buddha-nature equal to his, but most people remain confused and unaware. The karmic retributions of sentient beings’ afflictions are due to a single ignorant thought, which brings about limitless hardship and suffering. In his compassion, the Buddha tirelessly taught sentient beings to awaken their spirit of Great Love and inspired them to put their thoughts of loving-kindness and compassion into action to save and transform sentient beings. Only in this way could they transform their karma. We should have loving-kindness for the wealthy and have compassion for the poor. This is the meaning of “helping the poor and educating the rich”. When we see impoverished sentient beings, we view their suffering as our own and do our best to help them—this is compassion. On the other hand, wealthy people need to understand why they are so blessed: it is because in a past life, they planted the seeds of blessings. In light of this, we should encourage them to prolong their good karma—this is loving-kindness. (To be continued in the next issue)