Date: April 16, 2008 (Wednesday)
Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
We cannot bear to see living beings suffer and we cannot bear to see the Earth being harmed. Isn’t that what we sing & pray for every morning? However, living beings share collective karma. We see that the world is facing the crisis of food shortage. How did the shortage of grains come about? Was it due to natural disasters or manmade disasters? This is what we should contemplate carefully. We should know that everyone is responsible. Even the natural disasters that occur are a result of human actions. Needless to say, manmade disasters and war are also a result of human actions. In fact, if everyone could abide by their duties, all problems could be solved. All it takes is for everyone to lead a simple lifestyle and persist in doing so.
For example, let me tell you a story about the Greek philosopher, Socrates. On the first day of class, he said to his students: “This first lesson is very easy. Everyone, raise your arms and swing them back and forth. Do this 300 times a day. Can you do it?” All his students laughed. They thought, “It is so easy. Who wouldn’t be able to do this?” That was all he taught during that class. One month later, Socrates asked his students: “Have all of you been persevering with swinging your arms 300 times every day? How many have persisted in doing this?” Around ninety percent of his students raised their hands to show that they had done it. Two months later, Socrates asked his class again. Only 80 percent had continued. Then, after one year had passed, he asked again: “How many of you still swing your arms 300 times a day?” There was only one person left. This person later became known as the famous Greek philosopher Plato. See how persistence lies in one’s own willpower.
Presently, countries around the world and the UN are all very concerned about the imbalance in climate conditions worldwide. This imbalance has led to global warming as well as famine. A total of 36 countries are already facing a food crisis. Among these countries, 21 are in Africa. See how because of the hike in food prices, the poor have become even poorer while the situation for those who have nothing to eat has become even worse. For those who have money and want to buy food, there has been a huge hike in prices of several times their normal price. Conditions are truly very, very difficult. So, food riots have been sparked in many countries.
Over 30 years ago, I had already mentioned that the Three Minor Calamities and the Major Calamities predicted by the Buddha would gradually come to pass and that we might not escape it in our lifetime. Just as expected, in the last 30 to 40 years, we’ve come to see signs of it. So, we should take the Buddha’s words seriously and practice as he had taught. If in the last 40 or so years, people had heeded warning and begun taking measures to lead a simpler life early on, then the Earth wouldn’t be in the state it is in today.
I’ve been continually urging everyone since many years ago not to drive unless absolutely necessary. Who’d have expected that UN experts on the intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) would now also encourage people to drive less, or, even better, to ride a bike or travel on foot. Going on foot is the best and least polluting form of transport and also the healthiest. Isn’t this what Tzu Chi volunteers have been continuously promoting every day for the last ten or twenty or so years? We have also been continuously calling on everyone to become vegetarian. In breeding livestock for food, a lot of carbon emissions are created. Is it really so difficult for people to become vegetarian? Actually, it’s not difficult but just requires perseverance. If everyone can persist in leading a simple life, spending less, and driving less--- Aren’t those the easiest things that can be achieved by all of us?
Look at the great philosopher, Socrates. What he asked his students to do was very simple. But, despite it being so simple, the key lies in persisting in doing so every day. Only then can one succeed. See, this is such a simple practice that everyone is able to complete. But oftentimes, in seeking for material comforts or because we lack patience, or do not have enough resolve, no matter how simple a practice is, we still wouldn’t be able to carry it out. So, now, the Earth is facing a crisis. It is being destroyed and more and more people are facing famine. As the world population keeps increasing, the amount of grains needed for consumption also keeps rising every year. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization and World Bank have warned that world grain stocks have fallen to less than 60 days of world consumption. Everyone, 60 days is only two months. Because of grain shortage, many rice-growing countries in Asia have cut down on rice exports. This is a worldwide crisis we are facing, so everyone in the world has a responsibility to help alleviate this crisis. If every one of us can persist in leading a simpler life, and start with ourselves, I’m sure that the crisis we are facing can be alleviated. It’s not that we can’t do it, just that we lack the willpower to persist in it. That’s how man’s greed, pursuit of a comfortable life, and vanity have led to so many disasters in the world. Everyone, as Tzu Chi volunteers, I hope that every one of us can uphold this sense of mission. We ourselves must be persistent in doing what we should do. Otherwise, reducing carbon emissions and solving the problem of food shortages will be very difficult. Moreover, with the world now running out of petroleum, people have begun to use plants to produce biofuel. There is already not enough to feed humans, yet they are now using plants to produce fuel for cars and machines. Even machines are consuming crops for humans. This is truly very unwise. Indeed, our ignorance and illusions cause us to do wrong things. So, we must work harder to spread the word about living a simpler life.
Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
We cannot bear to see living beings suffer and we cannot bear to see the Earth being harmed. Isn’t that what we sing & pray for every morning? However, living beings share collective karma. We see that the world is facing the crisis of food shortage. How did the shortage of grains come about? Was it due to natural disasters or manmade disasters? This is what we should contemplate carefully. We should know that everyone is responsible. Even the natural disasters that occur are a result of human actions. Needless to say, manmade disasters and war are also a result of human actions. In fact, if everyone could abide by their duties, all problems could be solved. All it takes is for everyone to lead a simple lifestyle and persist in doing so.
For example, let me tell you a story about the Greek philosopher, Socrates. On the first day of class, he said to his students: “This first lesson is very easy. Everyone, raise your arms and swing them back and forth. Do this 300 times a day. Can you do it?” All his students laughed. They thought, “It is so easy. Who wouldn’t be able to do this?” That was all he taught during that class. One month later, Socrates asked his students: “Have all of you been persevering with swinging your arms 300 times every day? How many have persisted in doing this?” Around ninety percent of his students raised their hands to show that they had done it. Two months later, Socrates asked his class again. Only 80 percent had continued. Then, after one year had passed, he asked again: “How many of you still swing your arms 300 times a day?” There was only one person left. This person later became known as the famous Greek philosopher Plato. See how persistence lies in one’s own willpower.
Presently, countries around the world and the UN are all very concerned about the imbalance in climate conditions worldwide. This imbalance has led to global warming as well as famine. A total of 36 countries are already facing a food crisis. Among these countries, 21 are in Africa. See how because of the hike in food prices, the poor have become even poorer while the situation for those who have nothing to eat has become even worse. For those who have money and want to buy food, there has been a huge hike in prices of several times their normal price. Conditions are truly very, very difficult. So, food riots have been sparked in many countries.
Over 30 years ago, I had already mentioned that the Three Minor Calamities and the Major Calamities predicted by the Buddha would gradually come to pass and that we might not escape it in our lifetime. Just as expected, in the last 30 to 40 years, we’ve come to see signs of it. So, we should take the Buddha’s words seriously and practice as he had taught. If in the last 40 or so years, people had heeded warning and begun taking measures to lead a simpler life early on, then the Earth wouldn’t be in the state it is in today.
I’ve been continually urging everyone since many years ago not to drive unless absolutely necessary. Who’d have expected that UN experts on the intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) would now also encourage people to drive less, or, even better, to ride a bike or travel on foot. Going on foot is the best and least polluting form of transport and also the healthiest. Isn’t this what Tzu Chi volunteers have been continuously promoting every day for the last ten or twenty or so years? We have also been continuously calling on everyone to become vegetarian. In breeding livestock for food, a lot of carbon emissions are created. Is it really so difficult for people to become vegetarian? Actually, it’s not difficult but just requires perseverance. If everyone can persist in leading a simple life, spending less, and driving less--- Aren’t those the easiest things that can be achieved by all of us?
Look at the great philosopher, Socrates. What he asked his students to do was very simple. But, despite it being so simple, the key lies in persisting in doing so every day. Only then can one succeed. See, this is such a simple practice that everyone is able to complete. But oftentimes, in seeking for material comforts or because we lack patience, or do not have enough resolve, no matter how simple a practice is, we still wouldn’t be able to carry it out. So, now, the Earth is facing a crisis. It is being destroyed and more and more people are facing famine. As the world population keeps increasing, the amount of grains needed for consumption also keeps rising every year. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization and World Bank have warned that world grain stocks have fallen to less than 60 days of world consumption. Everyone, 60 days is only two months. Because of grain shortage, many rice-growing countries in Asia have cut down on rice exports. This is a worldwide crisis we are facing, so everyone in the world has a responsibility to help alleviate this crisis. If every one of us can persist in leading a simpler life, and start with ourselves, I’m sure that the crisis we are facing can be alleviated. It’s not that we can’t do it, just that we lack the willpower to persist in it. That’s how man’s greed, pursuit of a comfortable life, and vanity have led to so many disasters in the world. Everyone, as Tzu Chi volunteers, I hope that every one of us can uphold this sense of mission. We ourselves must be persistent in doing what we should do. Otherwise, reducing carbon emissions and solving the problem of food shortages will be very difficult. Moreover, with the world now running out of petroleum, people have begun to use plants to produce biofuel. There is already not enough to feed humans, yet they are now using plants to produce fuel for cars and machines. Even machines are consuming crops for humans. This is truly very unwise. Indeed, our ignorance and illusions cause us to do wrong things. So, we must work harder to spread the word about living a simpler life.
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