Date: April 26, 2008 (Saturday)
Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
What we see is the Loess Plateau (in Gansu, China). (Loess is a silty type of soil, yellow in color.) Gausu has the thickest layer of loess in the world with a thickness of 700 to 800 meters. On the Loess Plateau, if there is no rain, it’ll be very difficult to grow any crops. The people there are farmers and live a difficult life. They work diligently but the conditions of their environment make life difficult because there’s no water. So, they cherish water just as if it were gold. They cherish every single drop of water. The life of the women there consists of fetching water and taking care of their family. We also see the men planting crops. They use a cup to water the crops. A cup of water is used to water two or three stalks of corn.
Everyone, how do we use water in our everyday life? Look how little water they have to use. Seeing it, we must learn to cherish what we have in the past several years, Tzu Chi built over 10,000 water cisterns for them to collect rainwater. The water cisterns have improved their lives. However, in the past five years, their climate has changed. They’ve experienced very severe drought. If it does not rain, having water cisterns itself cannot help. So, we begun plans to relocate them to another area. Last month, the construction for this new village began. We plan to build 200 houses for the 900 residents of this village, so that they can leave the dry, arid mountain. The construction has already begun. If all goes according to plan, they will have a new home to settle down in and, the county government also plans to give them farmland. The water from the Yellow River can be pumped to irrigate the farmlands. We hope this area will be able to accommodate more people so that we can move people out of the drought-stricken mountains. If they move here, there’d be hope for their future.
We also see the difficult life of the children in Gansu. These children are students. They board at the school because their home is far away. There are only 29 teachers at this school teaching over 400 students. If the student live far away, he or she has to live at the school. There are around 200 students living at the school. Their living quarters is a small room.
“How many people in a room?” “Twenty-five” “Twenty-five?” “Yes.”
These students are very studious, and can endure hardship. Their quarters are very simple and crude. Look at their beds. Their bed consists of wooden boards laid on top of a stack of bricks, stones, or roof tiles. These form bed legs. Because these bed legs are stacked, they are all a different height so the beds are not all even. Look at what they eat.
“Is this your dinner?” “Yes.” “What is it?” “Steam bun.” “Everyday?” “Yes, everyday.” “What about you?” “This is my dinner, too.” “Steam bun too?” “Yes.” “With water?” “Yes.” “Do you get tired of eating it?” “No.” “Does it taste good?” “Yes.” “Do you have to eat it?” “Yes.” “Why?” “I’ll get hungry.” “You’ll get hungry.” “What about you?” “Rolled steam bun.” “What’s in this box?” “Rolled steam bun.” “How come there are so many rolled steam buns?” “It’s for the next two weeks.”
How do they study at night? We saw that they use candles. Three students share one candle. One candle lasts two nights.
“The three of you use this candle to read?” “Yes.” “Why use candle, not a flashlight?” “Flashlight is too expensive” “Too expensive. How much is it?” “Around 10 RMB (US$1.43)” “How about a candle?” “Half a RMB (US$0.07)” “That’s why you use candles?” “Yes.” “Can you see at night?” “Yes.”
Look at how studious, how hardworking they are despite the harsh conditions. They study very hard, because they know without education, there’s no hope for their future. Their parents also know that education is a must, no matter how poor they are. So, the parents work very hard so that their children can go to school. Though conditions at school are hard, the children endure it all because they know education provides the only hope. There are close to 500 students and just 29 teachers. There are so many students and the school is in such poor condition. Yet, the children are very studious. More than 60 percent of the students graduate and continue their education. See, because they study hard, that’s why this percentage is so high. This is due to the hard work of the students, the hard work of the teachers, and the hard work of the parents. Everyone endures the hardships without complaint. These students have only one wish in their heart, to improve their life. For this, they willingly endure such harsh living conditions. So, they approach it with a simple heart. Their material circumstances are hard, but their hearts are untouched by it. They are willing to do this for the sake of their future.
All in all, if we are content with our life, we will not be miserable. As long as the students have goals for a better future, they can withstand their current hardship. This is why I often say we need to have self-discipline, be diligent, frugal, and withstand hardship. If we cannot discipline ourselves, and overcome our inner hurdles, how can we get ourselves to be diligent? We need to work hard. Aren’t they working very hard to get an education? To work hard for their future requires self-discipline. They have to discipline their minds to be able to study hard and be frugal and be content to bear with such harsh conditions. They have to be frugal in order to survive. And, even if we have abundant material supplies, we should not be wasteful. If we can live more frugally, we can save money to help others. See, how many people are surviving a hard life by working hard and being frugal. Although these students live a hard life now, I wish them well & see a bright future for them.
Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
What we see is the Loess Plateau (in Gansu, China). (Loess is a silty type of soil, yellow in color.) Gausu has the thickest layer of loess in the world with a thickness of 700 to 800 meters. On the Loess Plateau, if there is no rain, it’ll be very difficult to grow any crops. The people there are farmers and live a difficult life. They work diligently but the conditions of their environment make life difficult because there’s no water. So, they cherish water just as if it were gold. They cherish every single drop of water. The life of the women there consists of fetching water and taking care of their family. We also see the men planting crops. They use a cup to water the crops. A cup of water is used to water two or three stalks of corn.
Everyone, how do we use water in our everyday life? Look how little water they have to use. Seeing it, we must learn to cherish what we have in the past several years, Tzu Chi built over 10,000 water cisterns for them to collect rainwater. The water cisterns have improved their lives. However, in the past five years, their climate has changed. They’ve experienced very severe drought. If it does not rain, having water cisterns itself cannot help. So, we begun plans to relocate them to another area. Last month, the construction for this new village began. We plan to build 200 houses for the 900 residents of this village, so that they can leave the dry, arid mountain. The construction has already begun. If all goes according to plan, they will have a new home to settle down in and, the county government also plans to give them farmland. The water from the Yellow River can be pumped to irrigate the farmlands. We hope this area will be able to accommodate more people so that we can move people out of the drought-stricken mountains. If they move here, there’d be hope for their future.
We also see the difficult life of the children in Gansu. These children are students. They board at the school because their home is far away. There are only 29 teachers at this school teaching over 400 students. If the student live far away, he or she has to live at the school. There are around 200 students living at the school. Their living quarters is a small room.
“How many people in a room?” “Twenty-five” “Twenty-five?” “Yes.”
These students are very studious, and can endure hardship. Their quarters are very simple and crude. Look at their beds. Their bed consists of wooden boards laid on top of a stack of bricks, stones, or roof tiles. These form bed legs. Because these bed legs are stacked, they are all a different height so the beds are not all even. Look at what they eat.
“Is this your dinner?” “Yes.” “What is it?” “Steam bun.” “Everyday?” “Yes, everyday.” “What about you?” “This is my dinner, too.” “Steam bun too?” “Yes.” “With water?” “Yes.” “Do you get tired of eating it?” “No.” “Does it taste good?” “Yes.” “Do you have to eat it?” “Yes.” “Why?” “I’ll get hungry.” “You’ll get hungry.” “What about you?” “Rolled steam bun.” “What’s in this box?” “Rolled steam bun.” “How come there are so many rolled steam buns?” “It’s for the next two weeks.”
How do they study at night? We saw that they use candles. Three students share one candle. One candle lasts two nights.
“The three of you use this candle to read?” “Yes.” “Why use candle, not a flashlight?” “Flashlight is too expensive” “Too expensive. How much is it?” “Around 10 RMB (US$1.43)” “How about a candle?” “Half a RMB (US$0.07)” “That’s why you use candles?” “Yes.” “Can you see at night?” “Yes.”
Look at how studious, how hardworking they are despite the harsh conditions. They study very hard, because they know without education, there’s no hope for their future. Their parents also know that education is a must, no matter how poor they are. So, the parents work very hard so that their children can go to school. Though conditions at school are hard, the children endure it all because they know education provides the only hope. There are close to 500 students and just 29 teachers. There are so many students and the school is in such poor condition. Yet, the children are very studious. More than 60 percent of the students graduate and continue their education. See, because they study hard, that’s why this percentage is so high. This is due to the hard work of the students, the hard work of the teachers, and the hard work of the parents. Everyone endures the hardships without complaint. These students have only one wish in their heart, to improve their life. For this, they willingly endure such harsh living conditions. So, they approach it with a simple heart. Their material circumstances are hard, but their hearts are untouched by it. They are willing to do this for the sake of their future.
All in all, if we are content with our life, we will not be miserable. As long as the students have goals for a better future, they can withstand their current hardship. This is why I often say we need to have self-discipline, be diligent, frugal, and withstand hardship. If we cannot discipline ourselves, and overcome our inner hurdles, how can we get ourselves to be diligent? We need to work hard. Aren’t they working very hard to get an education? To work hard for their future requires self-discipline. They have to discipline their minds to be able to study hard and be frugal and be content to bear with such harsh conditions. They have to be frugal in order to survive. And, even if we have abundant material supplies, we should not be wasteful. If we can live more frugally, we can save money to help others. See, how many people are surviving a hard life by working hard and being frugal. Although these students live a hard life now, I wish them well & see a bright future for them.
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