The world of Tzu Chi September-October 2021 (Vol.137)

01 TZU CHI 137 By Dharma Master Cheng Yen Translated by Teresa Chang aster’s Teaching A vegetarian diet helps us nurture a kind heart. It is also good for the environment and contributes to the well-being of the world as a whole. Kindness Begins With You O n the morning of August 14, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake jolted Haiti, killing over 2,000 and injuring more than 12,000. On the heels of the deadly quake, a tropical storm hit the island. My heart ached thinking of the people there without proper shelter to protect them from the wind and rain. Compounding the impact of the disasters is poverty, which is widespread in Haiti. We have some volunteers there working to help local needy people, and volunteers from the U.S. regularly visit to provide assistance and support too, but poor public security makes it difficult to render aid. Despite breakthroughs in technology, the best earthquake alert systems only provide a few seconds’ worth of warning before the shaking starts—and a few seconds does not allow people to flee to safety. Before they realize what is happening, the earthquake is upon them. Life is so impermanent; it is hard to predict what will happen next. We must be grateful for each day, even each second, that passes in peace and safety. When we consciously cultivate an attitude of gratitude, our capacity to feel joy and well-being will grow. Our world is still very much in the grips of the Covid-19 pandemic. People continue to live with a heightened sense of fear and uncertainty. After one and a half years, has humanity awakened to the lesson this pandemic is teaching us? Our unbridled desires, such as those for meat, are causing a backlash. To satisfy their craving for meat, people have devoured countless animals. Estimates have shown that it takes 38 chickens to make 500 boxed meals, but our world now has eight billion people. How many animals must be slaughtered to provide just one meal for all those eating meat? The killing required creates an immense amount of bad karma. With that, how is it possible for the world to enjoy peace and be free from disasters? Animals carry viruses and bacteria, so we can also prevent disease from entering our bodies by avoiding meat. Many medical experts have studied vegetarianism since the pandemic started raging and found that a balanced plant-