..續本文上一頁ise people started to correct the misunderstanding and prejudice regarding charitable acts.

　　Nevertheless, the concept and practice of charity, due to this historical influence, has not yet been widely recognized by the public. Existing Chinese “Sources of Words” and “Sea of Words” (dictionaries) don”t have an entry for “philanthropist.” The Great Encyclopedia of China, published a few years ago, explains a “charitable act” as: “With strong religious and superstitious beliefs, the intention is to perform a good deed in order to receive good fortune later. Charitable people often view charity as an act of giving. However, it only targets a small group of people on a temporary basis, and is pessimistic.” In contrast, inside the Encyclopedia Americana from the United States, “charity” is defined as: “One of the oldest social traditions, through donations of money and other services to improve human well-being.” Therefore, in order to promote the development of charity and clarify the vague understanding and prejudice toward it, it is necessary to redefine “philanthropy” and other related words, and strengthen an awareness of charity in all its aspects.

　　Future Prospects of Charity

　　As a Buddhist, helping less fortunate living beings and even giving ourselves up for others are our mandatory responsibilities. I hope that even those of you here who are not Buddhist will agree that giving a helping hand to people who cannot afford medical care, education fees, food, or even clothing are the basic moral values of an ethical person. So, how can we accelerate the pace of this charity and improve the current shortcomings in order to benefit all sentient beings as much as possible

　　 In this regard, I would like to present a few of my views.

　　Firstly, the future of charity is inseparable from the power of private charitable groups: it needs the encouragement and support of government policies. Take, for example, the Yushu earthquake. At that time, more than a thousand monks from our Buddhist Institute were there to help. Everyone was risking their lives, facing hunger and cold, and rescuing the victims day and night. Eventually, we rescued some of the people who had been buried in the rubble and dug out some of the victims” belongings. As we learned, when we are facing a major disaster, relying exclusively on government organizations and our leaders to solve various kinds of problems is very difficult. Therefore, the government should actively mobilize its various resources and capacities to enhance the concept of charity, and, on the basis of this, further speed up the legislative process of philanthropic law, making the charitable legal system robust and complete, so that more people can take on this social responsibility.

　　Secondly, everyone should enhance their own awareness of charity and endeavor to transform their previous incorrect ideas about charity. Besides that, we also need to reform our education system, which plays an important role as an architect of our future generations. At present, our schools don”t emphasize moral education. As a result, many people lack character and moral values. As for the knowledge that our schools emphasize and teach us, many people are barely able to use it. Brought up in this education system, many people are constantly striving for money and status only, making no room for their inner spiritual growth. What are the results of this

　　 The only sure one is tormented suffering. Therefore, all types of schools should fulfill their educational role and function so that young people learn the concepts of love and benevolence, beginning in childhood, and constantly cultivate an altruistic mindset, as well as learn how to carry out charitable acts with compassion.

　　The background of today”s charity forum is the big word: “kindness”. If everyone had developed a kind heart early in their childhood, they would not do anything against the law as an adult. Hence, what the present society needs most is not external monies and materials, but the heart of morality.

　　As we are all aware, in the 20th century and thus far in the 21st century, the economic development of humanity as a whole has reached an unprecedented level. However, stemming from the idea of acquiring still more, moral values continue to decline every day, confusion and misunderstandings increase, and natural and man-made disasters are happening more frequently. As we can see, if there is no kind heart, no matter how rich the external material world may seem, we cannot obtain true happiness, joy, and comfort. As such, it is very important for everyone to change their mindsets.

　　Thirdly, we need to perfect charitable organizations” management mechanisms. Lack of transparency in the use of funds in these institutions and imperfect operating procedures will diminish their credibility, causing lower public support and trust. With this, they will not last long.

　　All in all, there is a world of difference between the concept, management, and influence of charity in China or other eastern countries, as compared to that in western developed countries. Therefore, the question of how we can make the effort to seriously push our future development of charity is worthy of consideration by every conscientious person.

　　Finally, let”s pray that we can use bodhicitta, or love, in our treatment of all human beings, and even all living beings. Thank you.

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