“With each passing day, our life diminishes. Like fish in a dwindling  pond, what joy can there be?” 

Time continues to pass. What joy can there truly be in life? Yet Tzu Chi volunteers find happiness each day because they listen to the Dharma, embrace it, and put it into practice. They follow the teachings of the  Bodhisattva Path through action. Not only do they practice what they learn, but they also progress steadily along the Bodhisattva Path, giving of themselves with sincerity and genuine dedication. 

Even as they age, Tzu Chi volunteers joyfully and willingly provide long-term care to others. Rather than expecting to receive such assistance from others, we should vow to become those who provide long-term care to others. 

Here in Kaohsiung, Tzu Chi has been present for over thirty years.  Kaohsiung is blessed with many mountains, sacred places, and numerous spiritual practice centers. Our volunteers joined in their prime years, and they are all diligent and thoughtful. Not wanting to cause me worry, they often say, “Master, please be at ease! We will  follow your teachings and work together in harmony.” I trust them,  and this trust brings peace of mind. 

I often tell myself, “Be content!” Recently, when taking inventory of my life, I feel it has been worthwhile. I was 29 when the thought of wanting to help people in suffering first arose; I was not yet 30 when  I called for the fifty-cent donations in the bamboo banks. From those fifty cents until now, Tzu Chi volunteers have grown month by month,  year by year as Living Bodhisattvas, giving of themselves worldwide. 

At my present age, there is not much I can do myself. I am comforted to see Tzu Chi volunteers passing down their wisdom-life from generation to generation. I hear of fathers and sons sharing their experiences,  with third and fourth generations also joining and becoming certified volunteers. Even five-generation volunteer families serve together.  From great-grandparents to grandparents to sons holding their babies—all are my disciples. 

The Lotus Sutra said that those who come to hear the Buddha Dharma should joyously pass it down to fifty others. I hope that Tzu Chi volunteers, starting from this generation, will pass the teachings down for fifty generations; with each generation averaging fifty years, fifty generations would span two thousand five hundred years. 

From the Buddha’s time until now, it has been over 2,500 years. Our vow should be to extend this legacy 2,500 years into the future, through the generations, continuing the Buddha’s one great cause for coming to the human realm: to go among people and transform sentient beings.  I hope that in the future, the Buddha Dharma will eternally abide in this world. 

I do not know when I will leave this life, but I will find a family among you with whom I share a karmic affinity. This may sound profound, but it is actually simple. Maintain your original aspiration and keep your spiritual resolve firm. We begin paving the Bodhisattva Path now— after today’s work is done, we continue tomorrow. After this lifetime’s work is complete, we continue in the next life, connecting generation to generation, letting our descendants carry on our mission. When we return in the future, we will continue the path our descendants have paved. This is what we call “passing down through generations.” Let us make aspirations and vows to always practice the Bodhisattva Path,  lifetime after lifetime. 

Tzu Chi responds to disasters all across Taiwan and around the world,  while here in Hualien, where Tzu Chi originated, we have enjoyed peace for decades. However, after the recent strong earthquake in Hualien, with walls cracking and tiles falling, Tzu Chi volunteers became “unsummoned teachers,” helping to repair homes. Indeed,  giving is itself a blessing; through this, we not only created blessings for ourselves, but we also formed positive affinities with others. 

As Tzu Chi volunteers from across Taiwan devoted themselves to caring for Hualien, they must also share their experiences with others on my behalf. In this way, we not only put the teachings into practice but also share what we have witnessed. This is just like the one great cause of the Buddha for coming to this world: to teach and transform Living  Bodhisattvas to form more aspirations and create positive affinities. 

This is also why we set up spiritual practice centers. Tzu Chi’s spiritual practice centers are crucial in passing on these teachings. They are all set up using funds raised locally, pooling together people’s resources to buy each brick and bag of cement bit by bit. Over these decades in  Taiwan, how many practice centers have been established? How many  Tzu Chi volunteers have joined? How many people have helped? How many tasks have been accomplished? We can only say it is “inconceivable  and immeasurable.” When we have an abundance of such spiritual practice centers, then in times of natural disaster or human calamity,  wherever there are seeds and karmic conditions, no matter where they occur, we will always respond. 

We must fully utilize true spiritual practice centers to guide people in society. The elderly need care, young people need to be gathered together, and middle-aged people should be warmly welcomed. Invite them to understand Tzu Chi better and become involved in society. 

Taiwan is not large, so we must earnestly gather our strength, caring for and looking after each other regardless of region. Please guide,  care for, and welcome more people on my behalf, so that Tzu Chi’s karmic connections can spread further and more widely.