Cleanse the Heart, Love and Medicine Cure the Sick
Written by TZU CHI FOUNDATION
‘The light of the moon shines in the middle of the dark night, towering in the sky. It brings to us on the black earth a beacon of light. In our life, there are moments of deepest pain and suffering, when we have no hope and it is hard not to be frightened by the fear of death. This terror of the spirit and pain of the body, isn’t that great suffering? That is why in this world people need doctors, nurses, pharmacists, medical technicians and all the others in the medical team who work together to save mankind in his pain and suffering.’
Once upon a time, there was an emperor who loved to eat venison, so he often went hunting with his chancellor. The animals in the jungle all lived in fear everyday, especially the deer population as it experienced the most severe injuries and deaths compared to other animals.
At the beginning of a new year, everyone is looking forward in time and considering the future. Knowing this, Dharma Master Cheng Yen took care to give her disciples a sense of direction. Below are excerpts of her key messages:
With youth, we have more time to fulfill our wishes; with health, we have vital energy to utilize our wisdom in life; with poverty, we are more driven to succeed.
Guidance to Newly Certified Tzu Chi Volunteers
Written by TZU CHI FOUNDATION
Editor’s Introduction: When Tzu Chi volunteers from around the world traveled to Taiwan for their volunteer certification, having completed their training in their local area, Dharma Master Cheng Yen not only certified the volunteers personally, but spoke with them on several occasions to offer her guidance for walking the Tzu Chi path. The volunteers, being of different nationalities, ethnicities, and faiths, were nevertheless united in the common mission to serve and alleviate suffering in their community. Below are selections of Master’s teachings to the volunteers.
Dharma Master Cheng Yen was born in 1937 in Qingshui, a small town in Taichung County, Taiwan. As her father's brother was childless, at a young age, she was adopted by him and his wife to raise as their own, a common practice in that era. When Dharma Master Cheng Yen was around seven, she experienced the air raids that the Second World War brought upon Japanese-occupied Taiwan. What she witnessed deeply imprinted upon her young mind the cruelty of war. Throughout her growing years, she had many questions about life and its meaning.
A manager was deeply troubled by the HR issues, where he couldn't reach his senior management and couldn't motivate the people who work for him. He felt really helpless. Master Cheng Yen advised him, as a manager, apart from being mindful in your profession, you have to work on the hearts of the people too. You have to use wisdom to break the barriers between others and yourself.
![[Photo by Chou Hsing-Hung]](/images/stories/mt/2014/152.jpg "[Photo by Chou Hsing-Hung]")
How can you tell how cultured someone is? We can tell from how a person deals with his circumstances. If he loses his temper when things do not go the way he had wished for, it means his cultivation is not sufficient. He has to work harder on cultivating a gentle and broad mind, so that his actions and speech may be as soothing as the spring breeze.
The Buddha Analyzes Four Types of Life
Written by TZU CHI FOUNDATION
King Prasenajit came to hear Buddha's teachings at the Jeta Grove. The Buddha told the King that your fortunes and misfortunes are entirely determined by your actions and behavior...
![Tzu Chi volunteers listen to Dharma Master Cheng Yen's teaching in Lotus Sutra. [Photo by Chai Yee Yang]](/images/stories/rw/2014/RW_KL20130914_cyy02_006.jpg "Tzu Chi volunteers listen to Dharma Master Cheng Yen's teaching in Lotus Sutra. [Photo by Chai Yee Yang]")
Learning the Dharma takes more than just listening to talks on the teachings. Oftentimes, while listening to the Dharma talk, our hearts become very open and expansive, full of great joy, peace, and inner freedom. Yet, with the end of the talk and our return to the matters of everyday life, we easily lose this sense of joy and peace. Our encounters with people or issues can very quickly upset us, causing our mind to give rise to many afflictions. Haven't we all experienced this? Why does this happen?