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Vietnamese|English Saving the World from Calamities Ven. Master Hsuan Hua
Let’s
investigate a grave problem. Every
problem falls within the scope of good and evil, cause and effect. The law of
cause and effect says that good people win and evil people lose. As it is
said, “Planting melons, one harvest melons; planting beans, one harvests
beans.” It is because of this principle that the world has not been ruined.
If good people lost and bad people won, there would be no justice. When there
is no justice, the world will be destroyed; it will be the end of the world. How do
we keep this world from being destroyed? By improving human minds. When human
minds are wholesome, there will be bright light throughout the world. Bright
light is just wisdom. Wise people
are righteous. Their actions are great, bright, and proper, not motivated by
selfishness. In everything they
do, they want to bring happiness to all humankind. Since they don’t
discriminate between races or nations, the whole world becomes one great
family. The people of today are not like the ancients. They are selfish and
often seek to benefit themselves at the cost of the sacrificing the benefit of
the whole. That
is why this world has become darker, stupider, and more dangerous with each
passing day. It is on the very brink of destruction. It is only hanging on by
a hair. If no one tries to save it, we will all perish together and no one
will survive. Well, how do we save it? As the saying goes, “Refrain from all
evil, and practice all good.” Everyone turns towards the good, and away from
evil. From the national leader down to common citizens, if everyone can use
the light of wisdom to shine through the darkness of stupidity, this dark
world will become bright and wars will turn into peace. Presently,
we are living in the long, dark night of delusion. Since the long night is
pitch black, we need some light. Darkness makes people gloomy, while light
makes people happy. Whether there
is darkness or light depends on the good and evil in our minds. The world is
destroyed because of the mind, and it is also created because of the mind. We
who study the Dharma have to get rid of the false mind and keep the true mind.
And so the Buddha dharma is the precious raft that can save the world’s
people. It is also the precious mirror that can make people’s minds more
wholesome. Everything
in this world has its advantages as well as its disadvantages. For example,
television can keep people updated on national and international affairs.
There’s a saying, “A scholar doesn’t need to go out his door to know the
affairs of the country.” This is the advantage of having a television, but
there are also disadvantages. Television
is often a bad influence on children. It
teaches them how to cheat and behave in unprincipled and harmful ways, causing
problems in the family and disturbing the peace of the society.
Such children become juvenile delinquents who make trouble everywhere
they go. If they go on to become
political leaders in the future, how can there be peace in the world?
This is the harm caused by television. For the sake of protecting the
next generation as well as the people of the future, we should not allow our
children to watch television. The best solution, which nips the problem in the
bud, is not to buy a T.V. set in the first place. The
world has now become extremely polluted and defiled. What can we do about it?
As members of the human race, we
have to begin with ourselves. We should purge ourselves of our bad habits and
faults, and purify our minds of greed, hatred, and stupidity. By setting a
good example, we can influence others to do the same.
Before we can be good models and exhort others to do good, we have to
make sure that our own conduct and thinking is completely correct.
Otherwise, everything we say will be futile and of no help to the
situation. Someone
who feels responsible for the welfare of the entire world is motivated by
compassion for all people. Shakyamuni Buddha, for example, underwent
tremendous suffering in his past lives when he was cultivating the
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