Making Our Planet Healthy Again
On May 27, a major earthquake hit Java
in Indonesia. Every report of an earthquake is frightening
and a real cause for concern to us. At the same time every
disaster brings with it a message.
Our planet is ill. What can we do to make our planet healthy
again?
We are only at the start of a new millennium
and already the world has suffered so many major natural disasters.
The Iran quake and the South Asia Tsunami wreaked massive
destruction. Before that, the world had seen devastating earthquakes
in Turkey, Taiwan, and other countries.
For our planet to be healthy, first, the hearts of mankind
must be healthy. We must love our planet. We must also be
in touch with the suffering in the world. Suffering brings
us to Truth. Indeed, to awaken to Truth, we must first understand
the suffering that is happening around the world and the reality
of impermanence.
For the recent earthquake in Indonesia,
we learned that many of the injured had been operated on without
anesthesia. There were no anesthesiologists in the disaster's
immediate aftermath. Only emergency treatment could be provided,
and no anesthesia was available for surgery.
Can we truly appreciate that kind of suffering?
Those who can appreciate it gain insight into Truth.
Why is there such suffering? Is it enough
to observe suffering? No, it is not. When we feel the suffering
of others and thus raise the compassion within us---that is
our Buddha-nature. Within each of us, there is a most profound
and wondrous goodness, a goodness no less than that of the
Buddha. Each of us is capable of the same pure, selfless,
all-embracing love that the Buddha has. This love is Truth.
When we can give our love, we can do wonders
to improve the lives of others. We can alleviate their hardship
and help them attain happiness and well being.
We must seize time to do good and make
the most of what we are given-all the opportunities we have
to help and truly cherish our fellow human beings.
Some take the Buddhist teaching on the
truth of emptiness to mean "Everything is emptiness,"
that nothing is real or true. There is both emptiness and
wondrous existence---truth and realness. When we care for
others unconditionally, that absence of self and of ego we
come to achieve is Truth. Emptiness is when we let go of attachments,
let go of afflictions, let go of interpersonal disputes. We
are "empty" of turmoil and troubles. What is instead
important are true realities of the world, such as suffering.
Of course, one person alone cannot accomplish much. It takes
you, me, and others awakening that most pure and wondrous
love within and working together to help others. That is a
wondrous truth. What we do is wondrous dharma. Just claiming
to have a compassionate heart yet taking no action at all
is as good as having no heart at all.
The fact that we are safe and well is something we must truly
cherish. Being safe and well is a blessing in itself. In our
daily life, we must be cautious and disciplined, and live
with an attitude of earnestness and piety. As the Buddha tells
us, whether the world is safe and peaceful all depends on
human beings. If people are caring and do good, then the world
will be peaceful. If people are not loving and do not live
in harmony, there will be calamities.
Living on this planet, we are all interconnected.
As we are told, "living beings share collective karma."
The so-called "collective karma" means that if we
have sown blessings, the combined strength of our good karma
will ward off disasters. But, if much evil is done, this will
bring about calamities and disasters. Hence, we must not discount
the importance of our thoughts. Every person's thoughts and
state of mind are very important. Be it doing good or bad,
it all starts from a thought, the mind. Every one of us needs
to live cautiously and wisely. We must nurture a spirit of
love and kindness. That is most important and it makes our
planet a healthy and peaceful place to live on.
If we can live everyday in such a way so that our conscience
is at rest, this in itself is a blessed life. We should treat
each other sincerely with gratitude, respect, and love. Be
grateful for one another and be grateful that we are safe
and well today. Let us respect one another and together let
us weave a net of love across our society.
Compiled and adapted from speeches given
by Master Cheng Yen after the Java Earthquake.
