080330 Diligently Learn the Dharma and Cultivate Wisdom and Blessings

Date: March 30, 2008 (Sunday)

Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan

Everyone! These animals are living creatures. They have life, too. But because people eat meat, Many animals are raised for slaughter to become food for human beings. If you’ve been watching Da Ai TV, you will know that protecting the environment isn’t only about recycling. If we want to do a thorough job of protecting the environment. We should try to raise less livestock such as cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, etc, because for the sake of raising these livestock, many trees must be cut down to provide pasture to feed these livestock. So, in the future, the amount of crops yielded will continually decrease because land is continually being converted into pasture for livestock rather than being farmed. Nowadays, petroleum prices are continually rising and petroleum reserves are being depleted. Burning petroleum also emits greenhouse gases. So now, people are talking about biofuel such as fuel derived from plants. Actually this is not the perfect solution. We may face water shortage in the future. Land contamination will also be a problem. So, to find good, uncontaminated land that can get enough water to grow crops may already be difficult. Now, cars also need to have fuel derived from plants. So, in the future, there will be less crops available for food. Moreover, we often hear about foot-and-mouth disease as well as avian flue, etc. The more we raise livestock, the more diseases of this kind there will be. In a word, if we can be vegetarian, it can solve a lot of problems. It’d be good if we can be more diligent, too and walk to places that are close by. If the place is farther away, we can rice a bicycle. But, it’s best not to always be traveling about everywhere. These all have impact on our environment. If you tune into Da Ai TV, you will gain a lot of knowledge. Da Ai TV doesn’t have sensationalist programming or false reporting which are very unsettling or disturbing. If you can tune into Da Ai TV at every moment, it is broadcasting the Dharma. So, if you watch it more often, it can help us to open up our inner mind and help us eliminate our afflictions. We can gain wisdom with the gaining of knowledge. So, please do watch Da Ai TV.

Nowadays, I can no longer travel to different Tzu Chi offices every month to meet with all of you as I used to. So I though it’d be a good idea to make use of modern technology so everyone can also listen to the daily Morning Volunteer Assembly with us. Sometimes, when there are so many things that need to be taken care of. It’s not true that I have no troubles. There is a lot that troubles me, too. However, every morning, there is something that recharges me. Do you know what recharges me? The Morning Volunteer Assembly. It recharges me and gives me new inspiration. Every morning, I can hear a lot of things. Our hospitals are connected to us via satellite and the superintendent, asst, supts, and various doctors and medical teams from our hospitals will come up to share their thoughts. From their sharing, we can learn a lot about how we can take care of our health. We can learn to recognize the symptoms of various diseases and also know how to prevent some of them. In fact, some people have asked me: “Master, how come you have so much medical know edge?” “You also have a lot of knowledge about science, astronomy, and geography”. Actually, I got all that from the Morning Assembly. Indeed, we need to first understand the ways of this world. If we are to appreciate spiritual teachings. Because I gain so much from listening to the Morning Volunteer Assembly. I also hope that the daily Morning Volunteer Assembly can also be viewed at all our Tzu Chi offices so that Tzu Chi volunteers can come and listen. Besides Tzu Chi members, we can also try to invite other people in our community to come and listen as well. This Morning Volunteer Assembly. This Morning Volunteer Assembly isn’t broadcast on Da Ai TV. It is transmitted directly from the Abode to here and there Tzu Chi offices. And if you cannot get up to do the Morning Service, do at least be up by 5:30a.m to listen to my dharma talk. Only then will you be able to learn the Dharma. Having the time for this just takes some adjustments on your part. It’s not true that you don’t have time. All you have to do is sleep a little less. It’s not because you don’t have the time because it’s at 5:30a.m. Nothing is going on then. If I can get up to give a dharma talk then, how can you not be able to get up? It’s just asking you to get up by 5:30a.m. We get up sometime past 3 a.m. In the word, I hope you can understand my hopes. It’s because I hope you can listen to the Dharma. This is to cultivate wisdom. It’s my hope that you will be able to pass the Dharma on to others as you serve in the community. If you learn the Dharma, you will be able to help people to resolve their afflictions. In addition to improving their living conditions. This is cultivating both wisdom and blessings. If we do not learn the Dharma and cultivate, how can we guide others onto the Path? So having Dharma, we’ll have the means to guide others. We need to listen to Dharma. Only then will we have the wisdom to be able to inspire guide and transform others. If we don’t learn Dharma, though we want to influence someone, we won’t be able to achieve it. We need to “recruit bodhisattvas” and inspire people to become bodhisattvas so we need to make dharma connections with others and use the Dharma to guide and inspire others. Do you understand my meaning? You won’t be able to say to me: “I go to other temples because that’s where I learn Dharma & cultivate wisdom”. I’m already doing everything I can top bring the temple into your home. If you don’t cultivate, who can you blame?

Though I’ve said so much. Ultimately, I hope that you will listen to my dharma teachings. To do that, you need to take hold of time. It’s not true that there is no time. It’s just whether you’re willing to take hold of that time. Starting now, everyone must be diligent. The “temple” or cultivation ground is right in our home. You need not go anywhere. Nowadays, everyone is reducing their carbon footprint. You won’t need to go out to a temple. When you wake up in the morning, the “temple” is right here in your own home. Ultimately, it is within you. So every morning on Da Ai TV, there is the Morning Service and dharma talk. How convenient that is. Then, there’s also the live program of the Abode’s Morning Volunteer Assembly. You can listen by coming here. From it you can gain medical knowledge as well as knowledge on astronomy, geography, etc. While being in Taiwan, you’ll be able to know about things happening around the world. Do you understand? It is my hope that at all the places I can link to via technology all of you can also see what I see and know what I know. It’s for this reason that I have been doing everything I can to make use of modern technology to bring these things to your home. Please remember that if you really love me, you should bring me into your home by watching Da Ai TV and by listening to my dharma teachings. If you don’t’ listen to my dharma teachings, though you tell me that you are all in harmony. I won’t be able to sense it. Every day, I take in my own teaching as well. If you don’t take them in, I’ll re-collect them. If you take them in, I won’t be able to take them from you. Everyone, if you really wish to follow me, since I’ve already handed the teachings to you, you should cherish them and quickly take them in. That’s about cultivating blessings and wisdom.