Good at getting along with others: Charity and Education since the Ming and Qing Dynasties

Author: You Zian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: When we see others doing good deeds, we must definitely cultivate a heart of joy and respect, and absolutely not give rise to jealousy! Cultivating a heart of joy is to bring blessings, while jealousy is to create karma. When we see others practicing goodness, we must do our best to help them and sincerely praise their good actions and strengths. Especially for the poor who lack money, it is even more important to diligently learn this method. Since the poor have very little money to give in charity, they should be even more diligent in cultivating a heart of joy when they see others giving. As the saying goes, "The wealthy give money, the poor give effort." Even if they have no physical strength to contribute, as long as they offer a heart of joy, it can still generate a great deal of merit. We should often visualize (imagine) ourselves giving material help to others. Because if the visualization is vivid, the happiness we feel is no different from actually helping others. Therefore, those who practice goodness through imagination or in dreams naturally accumulate blessings. Practicing goodness without seeking merit will naturally bring even greater merit. Whenever we do any good deed, we should vow to share the merit with others and dedicate it to all living beings. We should also dedicate the merit of our active efforts to supreme wisdom. At the same time, we hope everyone will quickly realize the pure nature of their mind and practice goodness without attachment to the self or the act of goodness. In this book, Dr. Zian dedicates a certain amount of space to introducing the Tao halls and benevolent halls in South China. He provides a serious review and evaluation of the charitable work in the Pearl River Delta and Hong Kong and Macau over the past century. In reality, this also supplements an indispensable aspect of social history research in South China and is truly invaluable.