Teachings by Dharma Master Cheng Yen
Translated by Dharma as Water Dev. Dept, Tzu Chi USA
As time progresses, more people are listening to the Buddha Dharma, and more people understand Tzu Chi’s direction. We also continue to gather people who share the same aspiration and are willing to practice the Bodhisattva Path.
We need everyone in the world to do good deeds, transcend religious boundaries, and help the suffering. The love of humanity in Christianity, compassion in Buddhism, and great love that we often speak of in Tzu Chi, are all forms of love. A broad and profound great love is the direction a Bodhisattva should practice.
I feel joyful as I listen to your aspirations and vows to spread love to the world! However, it is easy to form aspirations and make vows; maintaining them is challenging. It is even more difficult to uphold our vows when facing difficulties. To do that is truly worthy of merit. The world is full of afflictions, ignorance, and obstacles. Without upholding your faith and love, the power of your vows will undoubtedly be quickly extinguished.
I hope you do not form this aspiration only when you see me, but that you start each day with a vow to “talk about Tzu Chi when meeting and talking to people, to form good aspirations and practice great love always.” Each of these small acts represents a thought, and all reverent thoughts bring infinite merits.
“Taking refuge” is when ordinary beings head toward a pure, broad path of great love. “Taking refuge” means “turning toward.” The Chinese character for “taking refuge” comprises the characters of “white” and “reverse.” “Reverse” represents turning away from darkness, and “white” symbolizes directing the mind toward brightness. We want to “turn our minds from the darkness to the light.”
“Darkness” refers to a past when our minds were defiled, filled with greed and desires. Every thought would center on benefiting ourselves and pursuing personal interests, and we would rarely consider benefiting the world or caring for others. This is what ordinary beings are like, characterized by selfishness, limited love, loving only themselves, and disregarding others.
To seek refuge, we must open the door to our hearts and shine a light upon the world. We light a bright lamp at the bottom of our hearts, then open the door to enable everyone to light the candles of their hearts and go forth. Each additional lighted candle adds a bit more brightness. When all candles in a room are lit, we turn darkness into light.
The Buddha came to the world to guide people toward seeing the vastness and beautiful scenes of the world. The Bodhisattva Path is this beautiful scene. Bodhisattvas welcome sentient beings with open arms, dispersing their ignorance and discursive thoughts and providing them with a bright and broad path.
Bodhisattvas do not only seek self-attainment; they must also transform others. We should look up to the Buddha, realize that life is impermanent, and promptly head toward the right path. We must sail toward the other shore, a bright, peaceful, and pure land. Yet, ferrying only ourselves is not the best use of time and direction; why not guide more people onto this ship of compassion?
For almost sixty years, Tzu Chi has witnessed countless suffering but has also brought in many Living Bodhisattvas. They often share on stage about their past lives of confusion and ignorance, and how the Tzu Chi volunteers they encountered guided them in the right direction. Not only have they found liberation in body and mind, but they have also led others to walk the Bodhisattva Path.
For almost sixty years, Tzu Chi has witnessed countless suffering but has also brought in many Living Bodhisattvas. They often share on stage about their past lives of confusion and ignorance, and how the Tzu Chi volunteers they encountered guided them in the right direction. Not only have they found liberation in body and mind, but they have also led others to walk the Bodhisattva Path.
Now that all of you have settled the direction of your mind and decided to take refuge—to turn from the darkness to the light—you must completely let go of past grievances. Not only should you let go of all your grudges against others, but you must extend your hands to guide them onto the Bodhisattva Path and help them “return to the light.”
The worldly Dharma is nothing extraordinary. We must seek to understand worldly matters and cleanse ourselves of afflictions and ignorance. A fresh future starts with cherishing our own wisdom life. We must not entangle ourselves again with ignorance and afflictions. By incorporating each new person’s strengths, causes and conditions, we can even more broadly and expansively bring purity to people’s hearts.
Only by doing can we attain blessings. We must take action on this broad and open path to benefit the world. We must take the first step forward, for a journey of a thousand miles begins with our first step. We may be ordinary beings, but we can become enlightened and attain Buddhahood in the future, and in between lies the crucial Bodhisattva Path. To learn to become Bodhisattvas, as long as we are willing to take the first step, we will certainly be able to travel thousands of miles.
Compiled from Master Cheng Yen’s teachings during the closing ceremony of the spiritual homecoming for volunteers in training from central and southern Taiwan on October 15, 2023; during the Overseas Commissioners and Faith Corps Third Cohort Certification and Year-End Blessing on December 2, 2023; and during a conservation with volunteers from Australia and Sri Lanka on December 5, 2023