THE ABODE
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The Jing Si Abode, or Still Thoughts Abode, is the residence of
Dharma Master Cheng Yen and her monastic disciples, the spiritual
home of Tzu Chi volunteers around the world, and the birthplace
of the Tzu Chi Foundation. "Jing" and "Si" are
two Chinese words that are roughly translated to "Still Thoughts",
yet the two words encompass much more, including a place of quiet
contemplation and peaceful reflection. Life at the Still Thoughts Abode is considerably different from other places of spiritual cultivation in that all the residents are kept busy with work and the pace of life is quick. Yet there sustains a Zen-like "serenity amidst the busy lifestyle." Why is this so? Let us take a brief look into a day in the life at the Abode. |
The Meaning of "Jing" and "Si"
The rhythmic clapping of wooden sticks breaks the stillness of the night at 3:40 AM. The sound echoes throughout the Abode, arousing residents from sleep and awakening their minds. In the Great Hall, the prayer leader poignantly strikes a bell and chants a deep prayer for all sentient beings in hopes of nurturing their joy and wisdom and eliminating their suffering.
The drum continuously pounds, hurrying people to line up for Morning Recitation. The volume gradually increases, and then slowly decreases. It is said, "The drum's reverberation impacts everyone differently according to one's mental state." The drum's rhythmic cadence stirs all to intensify their diligent efforts in spiritual practice.
After everyone has entered the Guan Yin Hall, the combination of chanting and reverent prostration commences. Master Cheng Yen teaches that chanting directs one to self-reflection. The solemn chanting transforms the chaos of the mind, and people begin to feel serene, introspective, and clear.
Spiritual practitioners view the compassionate and dignified image of buddhas and bodhisattvasas as their own parents, who embrace all sentient beings and hope that all living beings can cultivate kindness and wisdom.
A short meditation session follows the chanting. Here, everyone silently recites Buddha's name or contemplates Buddhist teachings. After the meditation, the Master briefly addresses the gathering with 'Still Thoughts Morning Words'. Her firm, yet gentle words stay with the listeners the whole day, allowing them to be more mindful in spiritual practice. Many have been transformed by these words of wisdom.
Cooking as Spiritual Practice
All the daily tasks are rotated every 10 days. When monastic residents are assigned to kitchen duty, they insure that the kitchen and all utensils are kept clean, the food is healthy and tasty, and nothing is wasted. They prepare meals for all Abode residents, as well as the numerous summer and winter camp participants, people on the "Tzu Chi Tours" and various visitors from all over the world. There are normally a hundred people at twenty tables for every meal. For large events, the Abode can serve more than a thousand people.
Cooking and serving food is an excellent way to build good karmic relationships with others. Kitchen staffs select suitable vegetables and prepare just enough food for all occasions. Furthermore, regulating the vegetable colors, the seasoning, and most importantly, the nutritional value, requires great care and detail. Thus, the kitchen staff must be very attentive to the culinary arts.
The Abode has many elderly volunteers who are always available to wash and cut the vegetables. This frees the kitchen staff, and allows them to prepare the nutritious, colorful, fragrant, and tasty vegetarian meals. Out of necessity, all of the meals at the Abode utilize firewood for cooking. Chopping firewood and neatly storing can also be a form of spiritual practice. The wood fires are used to boil and fry vegetables in a large two-foot diameter wok. Even the most petite nun, standing on a cinder block and wielding a long spatula, can practice the Buddhist principle of "Pick it up, put it down."
Time for Farm Duties
After breakfast, the monastic lifestyle shifts into high gear. Residents attend to farming duties, and sometimes they package bean powder. The farm duties also include uprooting weeds, planting vegetables, gathering firewood, tidying the environment, cleaning the gutters and the garbage zone, etc.
The nuns at the Abode have always worked to earn their living. The work does not hinder their spiritual practice, nor does their spiritual practice hinder their work. Those who mindfully remember, at every moment, "Hauling firewood and toting water are all forms of Zen practice." are diligently cultivating kindness and wisdom.
The garbage zone is more of a Recycling Area, which transforms garbage into gold. When the garbage zone is full, monastic residents carry sacks of compost over their shoulders to the vegetable garden for use as fertilizer. Through Mother Nature's mysterious ways, tender verdant greens will sprout. These beautiful and harmonious transformations from nothingness to existence are truly a miracle. See "A Lifestyle That Works To Protect The Environment".
Volunteer Morning Assembly
The period from 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM is Master Cheng Yen's "Volunteer Morning Assembly." Coming from different parts of Taiwan, the Tzu Chi volunteers stay in the Abode and work at the Tzu Chi Hospital. Here at the assembly, they share their experiences from hospital service and patient interaction.
Volunteers may request the Master to direct them with a counseling method for patients experiencing physical or emotional problems. At this time, the Master's wisdom and humor in her insightful teachings richly benefit them. The wisdom that the Master shares with the volunteers awakens the altruistic thoughts in most patients. It is not unusual to find patients also kindly helping fellow patients. After full recovery, some even choose to come back and join the ranks of Tzu Chi volunteers.
Receiving Curious Visitors from All Around
"Amitabha! Welcome to the Still Thoughts Abode!" Numerous visitors come to the Abode on a daily basis. Tzu Chi Commissioners leading large groups regularly arrive from all parts of the island to Hualien on the "Tzu Chi Train" to introduce Tzu Chi.
Currently, there are five to six nuns as well as several novices responsible for receiving visitors. They introduce the Tzu Chi Missions and the Abode's lifestyle, lead visitors around the bean powder and candle machines, and show them the cultural gallery and the fields. Whether the visitors are individuals or in groups, government officials or schoolchildren, they are always greeted whole-heartedly by the monastic residents responsible for visitor reception. The Still Thoughts Abode is a spiritual training ground where residents maintain "a world transcendent spirit while working in a mundane world.
A Lifestyle That Works To Protect The Environment
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Tzu Chi volunteers around the world follow the teachings of Master Cheng Yen. Grateful to nature, they cherish natural resources, and emphasize the protection of the environment. At the Abode, the nuns live simply and implement the spirit of cherishing their natural surroundings. The nuns have developed a life ethic, in which their lives are carried out with concern for the earth. |
Turning Garbage Into Gold
All living creatures in this world live interdependently with each other. Recognizing this, the nuns do not use pesticide on the vegetable garden at the Abode, but instead nourish the plants with natural fertilizer. Kitchen wastes are composted for organic fertilizer. The garden creates its own compost as well: the leaves and stems of the garden's beans are edible, and the roots decompose, returning their organic components to nature as fertilizer.
The nuns at the Abode also make a practice of reusing waste materials. In the early days of the Abode, resident nuns collected wood blocks from the mountains, wood chips from wood shops and peanut shells from cooking oil shops as fuel for cooking. More recently, they have helped collect waste paper from the trash, wood chips from wood shops, wooden molds from construction sites, and wooden boxes for the Tzu Chi environmental protection volunteers.
Following ancient wisdom, the nuns make the best use of everything. Fully utilizing resources is a motto for environmental protection at the Abode. For example, they use grapefruit peel as fertilizer and mosquito repellant. They also use natural detergents such as soybean powder for dishwashing to avoid harmful residues from chemical detergents. The powder sediments are used as fertilizer and the water used to water the crops. Every part is used and nothing is wasted.
To Cherish the Life of Things is to Protect Them
"To treasure the life of objects is protecting life and cherishing blessings." This is the root of Master Cheng Yen's principles of environmental protection. For instance, the Master uses each paper four times. She will use other people's used paper, then write on the backside once with pencil, once with pen, and finally with Chinese brush.
The nuns' clothes are all made from recycled cloth. To reduce the use of strong chemical products, they hand wash their clothes using soap and dry them in the sunshine. This not only saves energy, but also sterilizes the clothes.
The monastic residents at the Abode have continued
to pursue Master Cheng Yen's principles of environmental protection through
mindful fourfold garbage sorting:
1. Decomposable: fruit rinds, leafage, food remnants, vegetable tops,
etc.
2. Non-decomposable and burnable: toilet paper, cloth remnants, timber,
etc.
3. Non-recyclable: Styrofoam, plastic bags, nylon ropes, etc.
4. Recyclable: plastic bottles, yogurt drink bottles, aluminum and iron
cans, glass, etc.
Environmental Protection in the Office
To save trees, the office uses both sides of
recycled papers and uses the margins or blank parts of computer forms
and receipts as note papers. To reduce the use of fax papers, the office
only faxes the section with the message. Reusable stationary items such
as paper clips are often used instead of staples. New envelopes are used
only for mailing letters. Otherwise, envelopes are reused until they are
seriously torn. Empty bottles are used as decoration. The office exemplifies
the concept of beautifying life simply and naturally. There is mutual
understanding among the Abode's residents about reusing paper resources.
The Master calls upon the public to plant more trees, protect plants,
recycle resources and reduce garbage as much as possible. She reminds
everyone to be always mindful of Mother Earth, to cherish good fortune
and all living creatures, and to purify both the environment and the minds.