Thoughts on Charity
The Fourth “International Charity Forum” Speech
(June 20, 2010 PM)
Good afternoon to all great masters and philanthropists. I am very pleased to be here today with so many wonderful people, to talk about the topic of charity.
Just as the aim of charity is to help others, the fundamental basis of all the philosophies of Mahayana Buddhism is to benefit all human beings, and even all living beings. As a Buddhist, I am therefore honored to be here to discuss this important concept with everyone.
Charity Is Heart
Charity is actually the unconditional care of and love for all living beings. In this regard, the rich are able to offer economic support, while those who have no money can still generate a loving heart toward others. While it is impossible for everyone in the world to become Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, it is possible for us to imitate Mother Teresa, beginning with the care of and love for living beings around us.
Mother Teresa was an ordinary Catholic nun. When she encountered the plight of the poor outside her convent, she resolutely abandoned the comfortable heavenly life, using her entire lifetime to undertake the important tasks of rescuing the poor, helping leprosy patients, and inspiring millions by her example. On the surface, she may have appeared to be just an ordinary woman, but, in fact, what she accomplished is far more than anything we can imagine. To mention only one of her achievements, in just six years she founded and established shelters for more than 60,000 abandoned babies. These heroic charities have received worldwide recognition. In 1979, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Last year, the Nobel Foundation acknowledged that, in the hundred-year history of the Nobel Prize, she was one of the three most respected winners. (The other two were Albert Einstein, who won the prize for physics in 1921, and Martin Luther King, the peace prize winner in 1964.) Therefore, we can see that, whether coming from Buddhist, Catholic, or other religious beliefs, acts of charity to help others and put others before ourselves are vital to the social well being of everyone and worthy of praise.
Nowadays, the objectives of human life are different for each inpidual. However, whatever we long for, without a proper motivation, is meaningless. If we seek solely external, material things, our heart fills with a selfish motivation, and no matter how good our living conditions are, and no matter how beautiful our personal lives seem, none of it will have true meaning. On the other hand, if we use the Buddhist concept of altruism to transform our mind, and set a proper motivation, whatever we do will become meaningful. Likewise, only by giving everything, without asking for anything in return, can charity reach its fullest potential.
Today, many people think that charity is simply something the rich do for leisure, and that it has little to do with the ordinary population. Therefore, in this respect, many people have no interest in and are never concerned about it. This thinking is completely wrong. There is a very memorable story I often think about in this regard. On February 16, 2007, the then departing UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan held a charity dinner in his own mansion to raise money for the poor children in Africa. Among those who participated were the very wealthy and celebrities. Before the banquet started, an old woman came to the entrance of the mansion leading a little girl. The little girl was holding a delicate porcelain jar. Seeing this, the security guard stopped the old woman and the young girl, and asked them to show their invitation cards, failing which they would not be allowed to enter.
The little girl said that she had learnt from television that there was to be a charity …
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