080413 The Recycling Efforts of the Taiwanese People

Date: April 13, 2008 (Sunday)
Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan

For a few years now, I’ve kept saying, “Time is running out. We should all put in efforts to save our Earth. Some people might think this is impossible. The Earth is experiencing climate change and it is being destroyed by humankind. Can we really save it? Yes, we can. Since the destruction is being caused by humans and it’s also humans who pollute the planet. As long as realize this and everyone is more mindful and puts in their effort, it is not impossible to save the Earth. If we can destroy the Earth, we can also save it. How can we go about saving it? First, we must be prudent. Second, we must be piously sincere. Third, we must all work together. Only through these three methods can we really save the planet and help reduce natural disasters and slow down the destruction of the Earth.

I often say that Taiwan’s treasure is the goodness of its people. The love that people have and and the recycling work that they do are Taiwan’s treasure. See, Tzu Chi has been doing recycling work for 19 years. This started in Taichung nineteen years ago. However, in Taipei, recycling work has also been actively promoted by several women, especially a woman name Hui-min. Even though she has a regular job, she utilizes her time to do recycling work. She also encourages her friends to join her. Hui-min along with a few of our commissioners started promoting recycling in Banciao. Since then recycling has become widespread in Taipei, especially in Banciao. About one-third of the villages in Banciao have recycling stations. There are around 100 recycling stations where recycling work is being carried out. Volunteers even set up a recycling station in an alley on top of a drainage trench. They had to cover up the trench to do recycling work in the narrow alley. Think about it. There are so many people doing recycling. There is a 91-year-old grandma who has been doing recycling work for 17 years. In these 17 years, she has gone to the recycling station everyday. Everyone at the recycling station loves her dearly and cares for her. “Aren’t you cold?” (the reporter asked.) “No. She has a vest on.” (a volunteer said.) “I didn’t think you guys would come so early.” (the grandma said,) “If I don’t come, people will think I got sick. I have to come everyday because if I don’t come, they’ll go to my house (to see if I’m alright).” “Everyone is so happy to see you” (the reporter said.) “Everyone likes to see me come here. So, I come and do what I can do to help” (the grandma said.)” If the grandma didn’t show up, the recycling volunteers would go to her house to check on her, to see if she’s alright. Because of their love and care, the grandma goes to the recycle station everyday so that they can see her and will not get worried. By showing up, they know she’s well. So, everyone wouldn’t worry about her. One volunteer said: “The old recycling truck doesn’t have power steering, so our hands got tired. The truck is over a decade old. So, Grandma said, ‘Let’s buy a new truck. We can raise funds for it.’ Because of her words, we immediately started fundraising.” See, though the grandma is (91 years old), she’s still dedicating herself. She says: “I’d rather not take medication. I’d rather donate that money than spend it on medicine.” See, she’s made a good vow and does good deeds. This is why she’s healthy. This is our recycling volunteer. There are many touching stories about them.

Also, the Chief of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) talked about three solutions. The three solutions are: Don’t eat meat, ride a bike, and be a frugal shopper. This is what the chief of UN’s IPCC is calling for. Eating less meat can help mitigate global warming. It isn’t only religious teachers or Buddhists who are exhorting people to do this. We all live on the Earth so we need to live in harmony with the Earth. So, in terms of protecting the planet, I also have three methods. The first is to be prudent and self-disciplined. We need to be more conscientious in our lifestyle choices. Our lifestyle should be proper and more disciplined. Second, we must be piously sincere in respecting and cherishing our Earth. We must cherish the air and the land and think of ways to reduce air pollution and carbon emissions. We must love the land and think about how to not harm our land. Therefore, we have to respect and love the Earth at all times. We need to further urge everyone to work for the public good. How can we work for the public good? By spending less, doing more recycling work, and by cherishing what we have. We really need to cherish what we have. Let’s be less wasteful and more frugal. Cut down on the beverages we drink. Actually, it’s best not to drink other beverages and just drink water. But don’t drink bottled water. The best thing is to boil a pot of water when cooking breakfast so that the people in the family can bring the boiled water with them to work or to school. That is most economical, and also the safest.

Everyone, we human beings really need to wake up. Disasters are happening all over the world. We saw in the news that a glacial lake suddenly disappeared in Chile. Swelling of the lake caused the glacier acting as a dam to shift so water flowed out, empting the lake. We also see that in parts of the U.S., there are blizzards, storms, and a tornado. Indeed, this is all very abnormal. Meanwhile, Taiwan is very small. Should be typhoon hit us, what would happen to us? Therefore, we need to be self-disciplined and piously sincere. We need to do good to protect the environment. Look at these little kids. Today, our Da Ai TV staff brought their families to do recycling work. They did this last week as well. They do this on their weekends. They were doing recycling work in Banciao. They brought their family along. This taught the kids not to drink beverages. Reporter asks a little child: “Why do you do recycling work?” Child answer: “So the Earth won’t explode.”. Reporter asks a little child: “Will you drink beverages again?” Child answer: “No.”. So, putting people in a certain environment enables them to learn certain things. Taiwan’s treasures are the goodness of its people and the recycling work its people do. So, we all need to cherish the Earth. We all live on this planet, so we need to live in harmony with the Earth.