The origins of Tzu Chi lie in the spirit of upholding the Buddha’s one  great cause for coming to this world, along with Grandmaster Yin  Shun’s teaching, “For Buddha’s teachings, for sentient beings.” This  became my aspiration and the vow that I made. 

At that time, Grandmaster Yin Shun wanted me to return to western  Taiwan. It was difficult not to follow my teacher’s directive, but several  elderly disciples were reluctant to see me leave Hualien. They asked a  scribe to write a letter to Grandmaster Yin Shun, asking him to allow me  to stay in Hualien. I thought, “Although I am to remain in Hualien, my  aspiration in becoming a monastic was to serve humanity. If I cannot  do this, why would I have left the lay life?” 

I told this group of elderly Bodhisattvas, “If you want me to stay in  Hualien, you must help me do something…” Doing the work of Tzu Chi  requires everyone’s strength, but asking someone to donate tens of  dollars every month was very difficult. So, I told everyone, “When you  go shopping for groceries each day, before you pick up your basket  for the market, set aside fifty cents1 first. Saving fifty cents a day from  your grocery money, you will not notice much of a difference in your  meals. However, little by little it adds up—in one month you can donate  fifteen dollars to help people—a win-win situation.” 

The disciples responded, “Master, if this is the case, I can just donate  fifteen dollars a month without saving fifty cents every day.” I told  them, “Yes, I can do the math, but what I hope is that you do not just  give rise to this aspiration to help others once a month. I want you to  give rise to good thoughts every day, make good vows every day, and  do good deeds every day.” 

Good thoughts, good vows, and doing good deeds—this is what I  hope for everyone. Even after you have joined Tzu Chi, I still hope that  you will not forget to do good deeds and that you can remember to  tell everyone about Tzu Chi every day. Share the Buddhist principles  and actions of “doing good deeds every day” with others. Being able  to accumulate goodness bit by bit in this way spreads the Dharma,  educates humanity, and brings purity to people’s hearts. 

This year marks Tzu Chi’s sixtieth anniversary. I want everyone to  remember the “fifty cents” from before and return to the spirit of  love at our origin. Finding a fifty cent coin in Taiwan nowadays is not a  simple task, but if we have the will to do it, there is nothing we cannot  do. With “seeds of remembrance” (Adenanthera seeds) tied together  with fifty cent coins, you will think of me as you give rise to love and  cultivate blessings and wisdom. 

From this origin, Tzu Chi’s footprints now reach around the globe. Tzu  Chi started with fifty cents—fifty cents was our founding capital. Sixty  years later, I still deeply hope that Tzu Chi’s wisdom-life will be passed  down from generation to generation. We need a second generation of  Tzu Chi volunteers, then third, fourth, fifth, and sixth generations, and  continue to pass it down uninterruptedly to fifty or even five thousand  generations. 

In the Lotus Sutra’s “Chapter on the Merits and Virtues of Joy,” the  Buddha also asked us to teach and transform others in succession.  We must not forget what the Buddha taught. The Buddha taught and  transformed fifty Bodhisattvas, asking each person to pass it on to  fifty others. I would say to pass on the Dharma not just to fifty people;  everyone should pass it on for fifty generations, continuously passing it  down—for five thousand years, fifty thousand years, on until Maitreya  Bodhisattva becomes a Buddha in this world. When the new Buddha  comes to this world, I hope he will still receive those “fifty-cent”  Bodhisattvas to become Buddhas. 

Over 2,500 years ago, Sakyamuni Buddha was born into this world.  Were you or I living at the same time as the Buddha? It is hard to say.  Perhaps we did not have the karmic conditions to live at the same time  as the Buddha, or perhaps the karmic conditions were special and  we were among the Buddha’s close disciples. The karmic conditions  to be born human are difficult to encounter. In this lifetime there are  so many Tzu Chi volunteers; will we be able to meet again in future  lifetimes? Even for me, if I continuously return in future lives, will I be  able to encounter Tzu Chi? I founded Tzu Chi, and I hope that everyone  will pass Tzu Chi onward so that in life after life, everyone will be Tzu  Chi volunteers and we can meet again. 

I remember when Chi Cheng (Yuanliang Ling), executive director of  Tzu Chi’s Dallas branch, spoke with me at the end of his life. Seeing  him lying in bed on our video call, speaking with such strength, I did  not feel at all that he was about to pass away. He spoke as if he were  about to take on another Tzu Chi mission and give for humanity. He  said, “Master, I would like to have the red beans—the two red beans.” 

All Tzu Chi volunteers know that he wanted those two seeds of  remembrance that I give to volunteers. I told him, “I know you want the  red beans. You must hold my hand tightly and hold on firmly. The ‘two  red beans’ represent Tzu Chi’s seeds. You hold my hand; I hold your  hand. Let us hold hands firmly, passing the teachings down through  generations. In your next life, you must hold my hand and walk with  me again.” I trust that he already had a firm direction, united in heart  and path with his teacher. I am also getting older now, and we have an  agreement for the next life—from a young age, he will help guide me. 

Life after life, coming and going, the older ones come first; the younger  ones follow behind. Regardless of age, regardless of distance, we  must keep this Tzu Chi affinity firmly in our consciousness. In our  consciousness, in our intentions, we must keep this affinity, do the  work of Tzu Chi, and walk the Bodhisattva Path. Let us abide peacefully  in the present and be firm in our direction as we advance on the Path.