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XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Tzu Chi in the USA

1989 – 2014
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Dharma Master Cheng Yen
Translated by Colin Legerton

The aim of education is to impart principles I am also grateful to the Mission of
of propriety and instill virtue. Tzu Chi Academy— Humanistic Culture for mindfully supporting
where children are cultivated with humanistic Charity, Medicine, and Education with words,
culture—now has more than twenty campuses images, videos, and translations and for their
across the country. From preschool onwards, devotion to recording true stories of compassion
Academy teachers use Chinese to teach Jing Si into Tzu Chi’s Great Sutra Treasury. They actively
Aphorisms and cultivate pure hearts and minds, transmit the Jing Si Dharma Lineage and advance
while imparting life etiquette and humanistic the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism, whether by
principles. Children are born with innocent hearts carrying Jing Si Aphorisms into prisons to awaken
and pure love. Education is like a field, and children lost souls, through introducing these aphorisms to
are all seeds. Only when teachers mindfully and hotels across the country to bring purification
lovingly spread these seeds, cultivate, irrigate, to people’s minds, or even more recently, by
and care for them, can they grow healthy and promoting environmental, vegetarian concepts to
strong. At the Walnut campus in California, an supermarkets via Jing Si Instant Rice.
educational foundation blueprint is being drawn.
The territory of the United States is vast, its
Tzu Chi already has preschools, kindergartens,
population is over three hundred million, and it
and an elementary school. In the future, the goal
remains an exceptionally powerful nation. For over
is to establish a middle school, high school, and
a decade, it has been struck by one disaster after
university. Education must take root and flourish,
another, both natural and man-made. The United
and I am very grateful for all they do.
States must awaken; only then will the world be
“Bodhisattvas arise due to the needs of suffering at peace. For Tzu Chi volunteers, especially, the
people.” In 1998, when Hurricanes Georges and burden is heavy and the journey is long. I hope
Mitch caused severe damage throughout Central that all people can quickly seize time to cultivate
America and the Caribbean, Global Headquarters vast fields of blessings, for only then can all people
in Taiwan joined with U.S. bodhisattvas to extend be reached.
support by providing disinfecting supplies, relief
Seeing bodhisattvas in Taiwan and abroad
goods, and medical services. When six cargo
diligently walking the Bodhisattva Path without
containers full of clothing and supplies were sent
worrying about time, money, or physical strength,
later, U.S. volunteers took on sole responsibility
all I have to offer in return is the Dharma. I am
for holding distributions in each country. Because
very happy to see that, since July, volunteers have
we in Taiwan were separated by the vast ocean,
been gathering at 5:30 AM each day in offices all
U.S. volunteers continued to care for these ‘nearby’
across the country to listen to my Dharma talks.
countries, but they too had to change planes and
In this way, master and disciples can join together
endure several hours of exhausting travel. I am
for a Dharma-assembly over the internet. I hope
very grateful to U.S. bodhisattvas for courageously
that my disciples and I may have an affinity of
shouldering this responsibility. After the 2010
the Dharma-marrow that will last life after life,
Haiti earthquake, especially, they joined with
so that we may forever be family in the Dharma.
volunteers from neighboring countries to take
Moreover, I pray that Tzu Chi’s missions can
turns providing care and holding distributions.
continue operating in the United States without
In the end, they even built three sturdy, stately
end.
schools which stand as beacons of hope on the
broken land.
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