Whether Tzu Chi volunteers return from different places or I travel to  meet them, we share a deep sense of closeness. The closeness everyone  feels toward me comes from receiving the Dharma and taking it to  heart. As Dharma relatives, this genuine closeness fills everyone with  joy and gratitude. 

Think about it—if students do not respect their teacher, how will they  accept what the teacher says? When the relationship between teacher  and student is harmonious, we are grateful to the teacher, and even  more so, grateful to the students for respecting the teacher and being  willing to follow the teacher’s guidance. 

By the same token, I am deeply grateful for every Tzu Chi volunteer,  each of whom is so genuine. Over these past several decades, Tzu Chi  has had an enormous impact on Taiwanese society. No matter the  scale of a disaster—large or small—whenever and wherever disaster  strikes, Tzu Chi volunteers mobilize on their own initiative, immediately  pooling their strength and taking the necessary actions. 

Tzu Chi volunteers around the world are now the same as those in  Taiwan; they know that when disaster strikes, they must respond with  care and mobilize without delay. I can now feel somewhat at ease,  knowing that Tzu Chi volunteers everywhere carry this deep concern,  that worldly matters are intimately connected to our own. I am glad,  and I feel at peace about Tzu Chi’s presence in the world. 

I am growing old and I feel it in myself. My hope for the Dharma masters  at the Jing Si Abode—the second generation—is that they will know  how to observe, hold to the vision, and know how to carry the mission  forward. Likewise, all of you must pass this on to the next generation.  The finest inheritance is to pass down goodness as a family tradition,  leaving moral character as a legacy to our children and grandchildren.  Virtue means giving. Though we often say “give without expectations,”  the truth is that every act of giving benefits oneself in equal measure.  What you do, you gain; what you give, you receive in kind; what you  do not do, you do not receive. When you eat, you are the one who is  full—it makes no sense to say, “You are hungry, so let me eat for you.” 

We often hear people say, “I will dedicate the merit to you,” or “I am  reciting sutras for someone and will dedicate the merit to them.” In  truth, when you recite with sincere devotion, the sutra’s merit remains  yours. When you pray for another person’s peace and well-being, that  person, upon sensing your sincerity, will feel their heart open and  expand. It is not that the power of prayer directly brings peace to the  sick person. Rather, knowing that someone is praying on their behalf,  that person feels a deep sense of gratitude; their heart brightens, and  their illness begins to improve. 

You cultivate for yourself and you gain for yourself; if you do not  cultivate, you gain nothing. When you give with love and pray for  someone’s peace and well-being, the first one to receive that peace is  yourself. 

When you care about a certain person and sincerely pray for them,  that is your faith. When that person knows you are praying for them  and believes in your sincerity, that too is faith. It is a mutual trust,  a shared belief that comforts and sustains both. The mind is of the  utmost importance. When you say, “I am praying for you,” it allows  the other person’s heart to open and feel at ease. This is how sincerity  makes things possible. 

Everyone is so busy, yet many have taken leave to come back and see  me—that itself is sincerity. I am deeply grateful and say to all of you:  “Thank you!” Hearing that, you also feel joyful. “We want Master to  know that we are sincere.” To know each other this way is what it  means to be kindred spirits. Being kindred spirits means understanding  yourself and trusting that I accept your sincerity; it is the ultimate  expression of mutual understanding and Great Love. 

We must be this way with everyone—sharing mutual understanding  and love. Everyone says, “We ask Master to not worry.” If all people  truly understand and love one another—with unity, harmony, mutual  love, and concerted effort—then Tzu Chi will be firmly established in  the world, and I will have nothing to worry about. 

Without taking on Tzu Chi’s work, you would not have known me,  nor would you have known about Tzu Chi at all. The footprints of Tzu  Chi’s humanitarian work have reached 139 countries and regions. I feel  deeply fortunate, because through Tzu Chi’s work, we have formed  affinities with people across more than half the countries of the world.  I have not personally visited all these places, and Tzu Chi is not the  result of my efforts alone. Tzu Chi is built by everyone, and thus we  share in this profound affinity. 

Whenever disaster strikes anywhere in the world, Tzu Chi volunteers  go where they are needed. Some also go out into the streets to solicit  donations. We do this not because we lack the funds for disaster  relief, but because we want to help everyone form good affinities  with others. Speaking a kind word or sharing about a good deed with  a single person creates one affinity. Moving a person to join Tzu Chi  creates one good affinity. These are affinities of Bodhisattvas, and  before attaining Buddhahood, we must first create good affinities with  people. Creating these causes and conditions draws people in and lets  the world see Tzu Chi. 

Wisdom comes from experience. Holding a bamboo coin bank and  going out to the streets and shops, we tell the story beginning with  the fifty-cent donations that started Tzu Chi. If someone says, “Tzu  Chi has so much money,” we can respond: “Yes, Tzu Chi has resources  because we must bring relief to the entire world. Providing disaster  relief globally requires everyone’s heartfelt commitment. Tzu Chi gives  us the opportunity to form good affinities with people all over the  world.” Whether you start sharing about Tzu Chi from its origins or  work your way back from the end, you are sharing the good that Tzu  Chi does. 

Every Tzu Chi volunteer must acknowledge themselves as such. Of the  countless small donations solicited, we have never taken a single thing  for ourselves. We give of ourselves over and over again. The bamboo  bank story helps people form good affinities in the world. The funds  then collected are used to relieve suffering, which is also a way of  forming good affinities. Please reflect carefully on what I am saying  now. From that one initial thought sixty years ago to this very day, it  has always been this same teaching. 

Watching all of you in class, listening to Stephen Huang speak, I too  felt great Dharma joy. He uses my teachings and speaks only of Tzu  Chi, and whatever he says is about good people and good deeds. We  must all diligently advance. I am not the only person who teaches the  Dharma. Listening to whatever any person says is also hearing the  Dharma. Over time, what we encounter in people, situations, and  things naturally merges with the teachings we have heard. When we  hear something good, we pick it up and learn from it. When we hear  something not so good, we also pick it up—as a caution to ourselves  or as a metaphor. All of Tzu Chi is Dharma. That is the value of listening  to the Dharma, and what we gain from listening to it. 

We must take the Dharma back with us to study and apply it. As for the  joy you feel hearing it, hold it well in your heart, learn it, and let it show  in your conduct. In truth, the mind, the Buddha, and sentient beings  are no different in nature. When we hear the Buddha Dharma and feel  joy, we study it and put it into practice, until every gesture and step we  take brings joy to all who see us.