Dissolving the Force of Fury Through Unity and Love

By Master Cheng Yen
Date: September 16, 2001
Speech transcript, as taken from Da Ai TV's Life Wisdom program

Today is Sunday, and another typhoon strikes. According to the weather advisory, the typhoon is growing stronger. Originally, it was assessed to be a tropical storm, but it has now been upgraded to a typhoon. In Taiwan, the mere mention of a typhoon calls up fear, and heavy rains, worry. The memory of July 30th's Typhoon Toraji is still fresh in our minds. Having hearing today's typhoon alert, please do be careful.

Many disasters befall this world -- not only natural disasters, but also manmade disasters. In these few days after the September 11th tragedy in the U.S., though I have been physically here in Taiwan, my heart has been hovering over New York and in other countries as well.

My heart has been hovering over New York, because of the deep heartache I feel. With so many lives suddenly destroyed, I grieve for the many families of the victims. Some of the victims left behind elderly parents. I heard that one 92-year-old mother has been mumbling to herself and calling out to her son every day, saying, "Come home, son! If you aren't coming home, at least call." This aged mother has been calling out to her son like this continuously for the past several days. We can imagine the suffering of his wife and children. Yet this is only one of many families. With this, how can I be at peace? U.S. Tzu Chi volunteers have also been working day and night to give support to rescue workers. Just like in Taiwan, wherever there is a disaster, Tzu Chi volunteers will promptly join the relief effort.

Thus, in these days after the tragedy, my heart has been hovering over that place of suffering. Everyday, my heart has felt very empty, yet very heavy. Then, starting yesterday or the day before, my heart also drifted to the Middle East, as the U.S. prepares for war against Afghanistan. No matter which country it is that is engaged in war, wherever war takes place, innocent lives will be at stake. We know not how many innocent people will be harmed.

Recently, there was an article written by an Afghan citizen. He wrote: "We beg of America not to bring further tragedy to Afghanistan. Our people have already suffered to the extreme." A few years ago, we conducted an international relief mission to Afghanistan (with Knightsbridge International). The country had been suffering a drought as well as decades of war and fighting. Risking our lives, we entered the country to deliver medicine and food.

In Afghanistan, there are many widows to be found. Due to the ongoing fighting, even doctors and women are carrying machine guns. Many widows and children have also taken up arms to guard their homeland. Indeed, their life is most bitter; they have already undergone the utmost suffering due to manmade calamities.

The Afghan people did not ask for this. Like all of us, all they wish for is to have a prosperous and stable society, and a happy family life. But their country is neither prosperous nor stable, and theirs are broken families. They have endured misery enough. Thus, this Afghan citizen calls out to America, to say that Afghanistan cannot bear any more misery, for they have already suffered the extreme.

Why must human beings do this? I do not know. Inevitably, it comes out of a moment of anger. Unable to swallow the anger, people in their distemper start to say pointed, provocative words, and with this, the verbal battle will turn physical. This will bury seeds of enmity into the heart.

As we observe this, we really need to take it as a warning for ourselves. We need to come together with unity, love, harmony, and cooperation and protect the peaceful living environment that we have now. To be safe and well is to be blessed. We truly need to protect our peace, and to call out to everyone to treat each other with love.

A few days before the September 11 tragedy, I spoke of living beings sharing collective karma. Though there are many kind people in Taiwan, this is not enough, for there are so many people in this world. We need to appeal for all people in the world to have a kind heart, kind thoughts, and kind actions, and to interact with one another with love. With this, violence can be transformed into harmony, where people aid one another. So I must again appeal to everyone -- no matter what has happened, we must call on everyone to protect the peace we have today, so that peace and harmony can remain for tomorrow and all the days after.

It all begins with our heart. When we can look after our hearts, we will not go astray in our conduct. When every person takes care of his or her conduct, there will certainly be mutual love and gratitude. Then, the disasters in the world can be eliminated.