Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation

[ Master's Teachings ]
With a heart heavy with grief and worry, Dharma Master Cheng Yen talks to Tzu Chi volunteers about the magnitude 8.9 earthquake and tsunamis that devastated Japan on March 11:

"We must truly be on guard, and live each day with a sense of piety and vigilance. The disasters happening now are not isolated events. Nature is already out of balance."

"We mustn't think, 'It happened in Japan. That's a different country. It has little to do with me.' We all live under the same sky and on the same land. Oceans may separate us, but underneath the oceans, the land is still connected. We may be situated on different tectonic plates, but each plate impacts the other—how can we really say we are separate? Everything is interlinked."

"People today are well-educated, but despite their knowledge, people remain ignorant of life's principles. Mother Earth is already overburdened; each disaster is a wake-up call showing the signs of her distress. All of us must truly awaken, reflect, and make changes in our lifestyles. At this time, we really need to pray for our world. I hope everyone will do this most sincerely by taking up the vegetarian fast and abstaining from meat which will help mitigate global warming."

Written by the Jing Si Abode English Editorial Team
Based on Dharma Master Cheng Yen's conversations in Chinese