Why should we cultivate our own kindness? Why, under the theme of Empower Tibet, do we correspondingly use a picture of Mount Emei in Sichuan, the Taoist site of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva in Chinese Buddhism? Different from Samantabhadra Buddha in Tibetan Buddhism, who represents the Adi Buddha (the Primordial Buddha), symbolizes the ultimate truth of all things in the universe and the pure Buddha-nature inherent in all sentient beings, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva in Chinese Buddhism embodies the Great Practice—emphasizing above all the fulfillment of vows through actions, the sincere generation of Bodhicitta (the mind of enlightenment), the earnest practice of the Bodhisattva Path, and the dedication to Bodhisattva deeds, with a focus on "practice and implementation," ultimately attaining the state of "universal virtue and goodness" as well as "pervading all, perfect and auspicious." This is highly consistent with the philosophy we advocate of cultivating kind thoughts and good deeds.
Charity, at its core, is an altruistic act rooted in human conscience, empathy, goodwill, and social responsibility. It refers to the voluntary and selfless provision of material assistance, spiritual care, and practical support to vulnerable groups and those in distress, embodying the transformation of kindness from the heart to action. In a narrow sense, charity includes material giving such as donating money and goods, relieving the poor, supporting the elderly and orphans, and providing disaster relief. In a broader sense, it encompasses all daily acts of doing good and accumulating virtue, such as being kind to others, showing tolerance and forgiveness, respecting the elderly and caring for the young, treating all life with compassion, upholding justice, and acting selflessly for the benefit of others. The English language distinguishes between two related terms: "Charity" focuses on relief, almsgiving, folk philanthropy, and doing good in a religious context, while "Philanthropy" emphasizes public welfare, fraternity, and large-scale social charitable undertakings.
There are profound reasons why humans engage in charity, spanning human nature, psychology, survival, and morality. Firstly, it originates from an inherent human instinct-empathy. As social beings, humans are born with the ability to feel compassion for the suffering of others; seeing others in distress evokes a natural sense of unease and a desire to help, which is a fundamental expression of human kindness. Secondly, doing good brings inner peace and spiritual fulfillment. Helping others grants people a sense of self-worth, happiness, and peace of mind, alleviating the anxiety, loneliness, and guilt caused by selfishness. Charity is not merely a form of giving, but also a process of settling one's own heart and perfecting one's character. Thirdly, it follows the law of survival: mutual assistance is essential for the continuation of the human race. In ancient times, human individuals were weak, and only through mutual support and help within ethnic groups could they resist disasters, diseases, and wars. Ethnic groups that prioritized self-interest and plunder inevitably perished, making mutual assistance and doing good the underlying logic of human survival. Finally, it is a practice of moral and religious beliefs. Both secular morality and major religions advocate that good deeds will be rewarded and that upholding morality is a duty. Engaging in charity is a choice to practice one’s conscience, abide by morality, respect karma, and pass on kindness.
In the course of human civilization, all orthodox religions (excluding cults) advocate goodness, and this is not accidental but a necessary result of the development of civilization. The fundamental purpose of the birth of religion was to address human suffering and establish social order. In ancient times, humans endured constant fear from famine, wars, diseases, and death. Religion emerged to comfort people's hearts, restrain selfish desires, reduce violence, and stabilize ethnic groups. If a religion taught evil, plunder, hatred, or killing, it would directly lead to internal strife and social collapse, and such a belief would be eliminated by history. Therefore, orthodox religions that have been passed down for thousands of years must take advocating goodness, tolerance, and mutual assistance as their core.
Despite their apparent differences in doctrines, all orthodox religions share a highly consistent underlying logic: altruism and coexistence are essential, while evil leads to destruction. All major religions regard doing good, compassion, almsgiving, tolerance, and loving others as fundamental principles. Buddhism advocates compassion for all beings, equality of all living things, refraining from all evil, and practicing all good deeds; it holds that giving, doing good, and tolerance lead to liberation, and that harming others is equivalent to harming oneself. Taoism advocates accumulating virtue and doing good, filial piety and serving the world, and holds that retribution for good and evil follows closely like a shadow; it teaches people to conform to the way of heaven and practice by doing good deeds to accumulate blessings and benefit others and the world. Christianity's core is to love others as oneself, fraternity and forgiveness, helping the weak, giving alms, and upholding justice and kindness. Islam emphasizes doing good and relieving the poor, respecting parents, keeping promises, being kind to others, and prohibiting harm to the innocent, holding that good deeds will surely be rewarded. Hinduism advocates non-violence, upholding dharma, treating all things with generosity, kindness, and compassion, and following the law of karma. Essentially, all these religions aim to restrain human nature's greed, selfishness, violence, and jealousy, guiding people to coexist harmoniously and maintain social stability.
Religion serves as a strengthened carrier of civilized morality. Kindness, mutual assistance, and fairness are the basic rules of human civilization, but secular morality alone has limited binding force. Through sacred beliefs, karmic retribution, and doctrinal precepts, religion strengthens moral norms into religious requirements, making people more willing to abide by the principles of goodness and promoting the continuation and development of civilization.
In sharp contrast, cults act in the opposite way. The core purpose of cults is not to comfort people's hearts or build civilization, but for cult leaders to control believers, plunder wealth, and satisfy their own selfish desires. Therefore, cults promote hatred, extremism, exclusivity, and evil, which go against the laws of human survival and the essence of civilization, and are thus rejected by human society worldwide.
In summary, charity is the practice of human kindness, an altruistic act of empathy and care for the weak. Doing good is a response to human instinct, a way to achieve self-improvement, a compliance with the law of social survival, and a practice of moral and religious beliefs. Orthodox religions advocate goodness because it is an inevitable choice for the survival of civilization; by restraining selfish desires and advocating mutual assistance, they maintain the stability of human society. Cults, on the other hand, deviate from the essence of altruism and stand opposed to civilization.
The very purpose of CRALEC is to reconcile the essence of Tibetan Buddhism and Chinese Taoism with the aesthetic temperament and spiritual way of life rooted in Confucian culture. Through handicrafts, fine ornaments and ritual vessels imbued with all such time-honored elements, it seeks to refine and reshape our daily existence. It enlightens the inner mind, guiding us with age-old Eastern wisdom to seek a serene spiritual haven amid the clamour and turmoil of the mortal world. We deeply hold the conviction that five thousand years of profound Chinese civilization enable us to stand loftier and see farther, keeping us from being confined or lost within the fleeting span of human life.
If we are willing to draw nourishment from history and delve into the enduring current of civilization to learn and reflect, we shall surely attain inner peace, spiritual blessing, and the unshakable power of faith. This spiritual attainment, in its essence, is one and the same, yet named differently by each school. Taoism calls it "abiding by the Tao of nature and attaining oneness with the true origin"; Buddhism speaks of "illuminating the mind and perceiving one's innate nature"; while the Confucian sage Wang Yangming once revealed “When you do not behold this blossom, it abides in quiet stillness with your heart. When your gaze falls upon it, its colours burst into full clarity. Thus you shall know: this flower lies not outside your mind." This timeless insight bears striking resemblance to Schrodinger's Cat, the celebrated paradox in physics, as well as the observer effect at the core of quantum theory. Therefore, we may well affirm that China's multiculture blended with the essence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism can mutually corroborate one another with the truths of modern physics, especially quantum physics.
