In response to Tzu Chi’s international disaster relief work, some people say, “Instead of helping Taiwan, Tzu Chi goes abroad to provide relief. Going to mainland China to provide relief is robbing resources from Taiwan and strengthening the power of the enemy.”
This is an example of people who do not cultivate the fields of their minds and who have not earnestly contemplated the problem. First, it must be understood what kind of organization Tzu Chi is. Tzu Chi is a Buddhist organization.
The Buddha teaches us that love does not discriminate between people or their backgrounds, and that we should love all sentient beings in this world. Regardless of a person’s skin color, we are all humans nonetheless, and we should not discriminate by ethnicity. Moreover, it is not just human beings that we are supposed to love! We must love not only people, but animals, too.
So, let us love all life in this world; this is the Buddha’s perspective. The Buddha taught us that our hearts should encompass the universe and the boundless worlds within it. We must broaden our hearts. No matter how big the universe is, our hearts can be just as big. There is no one in this world that I do not love.
Mainland China and Taiwan are simply on opposite shores. The people there are suffering, and we hear about it. If we can bear to ignore them, we are not fit to be human beings; how could we even claim to be learning the Buddha’s teachings?
Learning the Buddha’s teachings means cultivating a compassionate heart and being unable to bear sentient beings’ suffering. When others hurt, we feel pain, and we feel sad when others suffer.
We do not just speak nice sounding words; we put these into action for everyone to see. This is an example of treating the world’s sentient beings with sincerity and integrity.
We feel pain when others are hurt. When others are physically hurt, we feel their pain in our hearts; when others suffer due to their circumstances, we feel their sadness in our hearts.
Great love must encompass our global village. Tzu Chi volunteers love with “hearts that encompass the universe and the boundless worlds within it.” We must spread open our loving hearts so that they can encompass the universe, spreading our love to all sentient beings in this world.
Every time I hear someone say, “Instead of helping Taiwan, Tzu Chi goes abroad to provide relief,” I feel deeply saddened. If the day comes when we need everyone to come help save Taiwan, that means Taiwan is experiencing an extreme tragedy and requires people’s help.
Why are we not forming good aspirations? Isn’t it a good thing to be someone who can help others?
The earth is fragile; it is difficult for all things contained between the earth and sky to remain forever in harmony. This world is always filled with disasters, and so we must always form aspirations, as we are blessed to do so.