Every morning, when I awake, the first thing that comes to my mind is gratitude—gratitude that I have another day to make a contribution and serve.
How we live our lives depends on our mindsets, on our ways of thinking. A single unwholesome thought can lead to irrevocable consequences. On a small scale, unwholesome thoughts can harm us and our families. On a larger scale, such negative thoughts can damage society, the nation, or even the whole of mankind.We have no control over the lengths of our lives, but we can decide their depths and breadths. That has to do with the values we endow our lives with. For instance, what have we done that is of benefit to society? Have we grown in wisdom? Have we helped make positive differences in the lives of others? These are things to reflect on at every moment.
Haiti has long know dire poverty. Half of her population is chronically hungry and malnourished. A series of hurricanes since last August has made people’s lives even worse. Because of the severe hardship these people have been enduring for many years, sometimes when aid distributions were held by other NGOs, chaos broke out as people pushed and shoved in the scramble for aid supplies.
They began laying the groundwork before the distribution by going door-to-door to visit people who lived and did business near the distribution site. They wanted to first extend their goodwill to these people who might be inconvenienced by the distribution, as some parts of the streets would be cordoned off during the distribution. The volunteers apologized for this and explained to the residents and shop owners how their concern for the Haitian people had brought them to Haiti to hold an aid distribution.
Local people also voluntarily joined in to help prepare aid supplies, such as rice, oil and salt, mindfully wrapping them in neat packages. Although their backs were drenched in sweat from the labor, they were all very happy to serve. Some said, “You came from so far away to help us, we should certainly do our part to help.”
Because of the respect and love that volunteers showed the local people, when the distribution ended, many locals stood on the roadside or climbed onto their roofs to see the volunteers off and wave them goodbye. The volunteers’ sincere care and respect had touched their hearts and brought forth their gratitude.
Actually, the love of the volunteers had already reached Haiti ten years earlier.
This most recent relief distribution in Haiti was actually a pilot project. While in Haiti, volunteers also took the opportunity to find out more about local medical and educational needs to see what more could do to help the country in the future.
Last year, a school in Port-au-Prince (where I´ve been twice), the capital of Haiti, collapsed due to its poor, unsound structure. The accident happened during school hours and took the lives of nearly a hundred children. When the volunteers visited the school, they found that it had been poorly built using simple materials, a common problem due to the country’s widespread poverty. To accommodate more students, more classrooms had been added on top of the older ones. The extra weight eventually led to the collapse of the building. I heard that another school collapsed sometime after this incident as well. From this, we can see how urgent the need for sturdy school buildings is.
Every one of us has wisdom and love commensurate with that possessed by the buddhas, so we are able to love others and to cherish ourselves with self-respect. Love can inspire compassion, and compassion can bring forth wisdom—this is the principle behind our work. I hope that this relief distribution will continue the connection we formed with Haiti ten years ago. I hope through our work, we can spread seeds of love in that country and help these seeds take root. In this way, the needy in Haiti can truly get the help they need to get back on their feet.
Nothing is impossible as long as we set our minds to it with the spirit of the Four Immeasurables—loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.
Carrying out humanitarian work in Haiti is not easy, but we have volunteers willingly shoulder this mission. For the volunteers, as long as people’s suffering can be relieved, no matter how tiring the work is, they will have no complaints or regrets. This comes from the loving-kindness and compassion they have. With the spirit of joy and equanimity, their minds will not be troubled and they can undertake the work selflessly, without seeking anything in return. Because of this, they are able to vigorously meet and overcome the many challenges of aid work.
Although there will always be difficulties when working in the world, as long as we can dedicate ourselves with the Four Immeasurable Minds, we will be able to smooth out even the rockiest paths. “With loving-kindness, we have no regrets; with great compassion, we have no complaints; with a joyful mind, we have no troubles; and with equanimity, we give without asking for anything in return.”
Because we (the) volunteers cannot bear to see others suffer, they willingly endure all weather conditions to visit areas of suffering and help the people there. All across the world, they are doing this in order to give love and spread seeds of goodness. It is like a relay—just as some volunteers are about to call it a day in one country, other volunteers are starting a new day of giving in another. At every single moment, touching stories are taking place. This fills me with gratitude.
Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend… when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present — love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure — the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience Heaven on earth.
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