♪ The sea of dust and dust ♪

——Message from the Shanghai Foundation for the common good

"The afternoon of March 7, 2011"

Statement by the moderator:

Good afternoon! First of all, thank you very much for coming to the establishment, the unveiling and the press conference of the Shanghai Foundation for the Good Welfare of Mercy in Shanghai.

Yesterday, Shanghai was a drizzle, but today the sun is shining and the spring is warm, which also bodes well for what we are doing is a cause of joy, charity and love, and we hope to spread that love to all corners of society.

There's a guest today.Khenpo Sodargye I don't know. He is the Honorary President of the Shanghai Foundation for the Good Welfare of Mercy, and the Dean of the Sichuan Domang College, an internationally renowned charitable theorist, activist and translator, who is known as the Buddhist Master of Modern Monument. This time, together with the Shanghai Mercy Foundation, he created the Fund for Mental Plight for poverty alleviation and employment in poor areas. Please.Khenpo Sodargye——

Leaders, philanthropists, entrepreneurs and guests:

This afternoon we are gathered to celebrate the establishment of the Shanghai Foundation for the Good and Merciful Welfare of Shanghai, which is a great joy for many of the beneficiaries and a historic event for those who love charity. On behalf of all the sick, sick and old, I would like to extend a warm welcome to you all! On behalf of the Foundation, we would also like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to the authorities, the facilitators, the media and the people who love us.

In this society, where so many people are willing to be charitable and so many are in need of help, and where there is a lack of good platforms and bridges between them, today we have set up the Foundation for the Good of Mercy, and I am really happy to do everything in our power to do so. It is not that I have gained my own reputation, wealth, status and benefits, but that it has helped some vulnerable groups, which is the most meaningful and valuable.

Here, I sincerely pray from my heart that, while the lives of each of us are limited, it is to be hoped that the virtues and the meanings of charity will flourish and that its vitality will be unlimited. Even if one day we leave the world, it's to be hoped that the Mercy Foundation will continue to operate and help those who will.

In fact, in history, China was the first country in the world to promote and develop charity during the spring and autumn wars. Later, however, in recent times, particularly during the "Culture" period, philanthropy suffered a painful blow and for a long period of time was in shock. It was not until the present time that philanthropy began to recover and develop, with the advocacy and impetus of many wise men.

However, there are entrepreneurs and philanthropists who are eager to help others, but who are unable to find a good way; there are poor people who are eager to be loved but who are unable to help themselves. That is why we have created such a platform for both sides. There's a saying: "People collect wood and fire. " If the power of the people is brought together, the vulnerable are seen, and then the money and the strength of the people are given, everyone has the opportunity to participate, so that, working together, the moral standards of society as a whole will be raised.

For my part, my favorite is two things: reading books, including the theory of the world, books of this day and of this day, in the hands of the hand, without regard to day and night; and trying to help those who have a chance with their own modest power.

None of you here today will have great difficulty in wearing or eating. But where we do not see it, there are still countless people who live in their clothes and their food. Perhaps you could change the fate of his life by buying a brand name and a large meal, saving them $230,000 for years, and even giving poor children the money to read. The flowers in the greenhouse never see the outside wind blowing. It was therefore to be hoped that some leaders and entrepreneurs would have time to walk around and see how many more people were in need of escape.

在帮助这些人的过程中，当然，民间慈善扮演着重要的角色。民政部曾有一项统计显示，2006 年募集到的慈善捐款约 100 亿元，其中通过政府渠道募集的只有 35 亿元，其余都是民间慈善组织或个人的捐助。由此可见，非政府的社会公益组织，对慈善事业还是起到了很大作用，这对我们今后而言，也是一个极大的鼓舞。

当然，我们在做慈善时，理应秉持“一视同仁”的原则，只要有困难的就去施援，而不分国家、民族、信仰、职业、性别等。在此过程中，为了避免有些人以慈善的名义谋求个人福利、以慈善的行为来为自己造福，所有的程序都应该专业化、透明化、公开化，以高效率的方式进行运作，同时也汲取一些国际化的慈善理念。

或许有人认为：“慈善应该是有钱人才做的事，我们普通人不一定有这个责任。”这种想法不太正确。真正的慈善，并不是钱，而是心。假如每个人都有助人的理念，把慈善作为生活方式、生存目标，而不是等钱花不完时才去做慈善，这样实现社会和谐才有希望。

其实，我们的生命非常短暂，这几十年应当好好利用起来，做一些真正有意义的事。尤其是腰缠万贯的富翁，在自己有限的生命中，倘若没有将财富分配好，一旦离开这个人间，到时候可能后悔莫及。今天早上我跟一位宁波的企业家交谈时，他就说，去年有个企业家身家 74 亿，后来他得了严重疾病，却仍对自己抱有希望，不愿安排任何后事。结果有一天他突然去世了，那个时候，连董事长的接班人也找不到。对没有无常观念、天天忙于求财的人来讲，这无疑也是一记警告。所以不管你有多少钱，都应提前安排好、分配好，最好能拿出一部分做慈善。

喜欢做慈善的人，内心是非常快乐的。当看到受助人依

靠自己的帮助，摆脱了困境，重拾生活的希望，这种感觉无法言表，只能说“如人饮水，冷暖自知”。而对受助人来说，在自己最困难的时候，有人伸出援助之手，感恩之情也很难用语言表达。

但可惜的是，现在的这个社会，好多人都只顾自己，只想自己获得幸福、快乐、财富，根本没想过要怎样付出，让

别人也同样得到快乐。这一点跟教育也有很大关系，许多人由于在孩童时代，没有受过慈善的教育，从小就不懂 得 无 私 奉

献，只想着从别人那里一味索取，那他一旦长大之后，所作所为就会全是自私自利；由这种人构成的社会、家庭、组织，也不会有很好的服务大众的理念。

对我们每个人来讲，谁都希望得到快乐，可大多数人并不知道，痛苦来自于自私自利，快乐来自于帮助他人。其实你想快乐的话，做慈善是最好的一种途径。“慈”是心怀慈悲，“善”是无我利他，若能真正做到这一点，不管是官员、富翁还是乞丐，内心都会非常充实，前途也会非常光明。

在汉地，慈善思想历来就源远流长，儒教讲“仁爱”，佛教讲“慈悲”，道教讲“积德”，各教各派表述虽不相同，但都蕴含着救人济世、福利为民的理念。可是到了如今 21世纪，人们的目光紧紧盯在经济发展上，完全忽略了内在的精神文明。其实，一个社会的道德若是日益下滑、倒退，那物质上再怎么发展、再怎么进步，也始终无法达到真正的安乐。因此，我们现在最需要的是什么？就是内在的综合素质要得以提升，要学会利他、付出，并且不求回报。

对一个企业来说，慈善实际上可以成为企业文化。有些企业把产品出售给他人，只是为了自己得到经济效益；而你若能在兼顾赚钱的同时，积极参与各种公益慈善，最后得到的不仅仅是经济效益，而且还有社会效益。因此，希望大家在合理合法的条件下，以开放、包容的心态参与慈善。在此过程中，不管你遇到什么困难，只要想到目标是为了帮助别人，那一切的违缘都会显得微不足道。

我曾在自己的家乡，看到很多孩子因为穷而上不起学，当我走进他们一个个的家中，看到他们的生活状况、一年的收入，确实感到非常心酸。与之形成强烈对比的是，如今城市里许多人的浪费令人发指，不说其他的，仅仅是餐桌上的浪费，若能节省下来，帮助这些贫困的孩子读书，他们的一生也会因此而改变。

于是我后来跟政府经过多次协商，决定对原有的学校进行扩建，无偿招收这些贫困学生。当时有个企业家听到这个消息后，当即发心要帮我一起建学校。今天他也在这里，但他不喜欢出名，只想默默无闻、真真切切地帮助别人，因此，他的名字我就不提了。

在这个世间上，不计其数的人都想发财，但发财后会做什么呢？给自己买车、买房。对周围熟悉的亲戚朋友，最多可以提供一点帮助；至于素不相识的陌生人，就算是贫困的大学生、常年的病患、孤寡的老人，也不闻不问、漠不关心，从没有想过无条件去利益他们。所以，今天各位的到来，对慈善事业的未来非常有意义。

当代中国慈善起步比较晚，很多地方都不成熟，我们在摸索的过程中，今后一定要合理合法，只有这样才有发展的前途，同时，还需要大众的监督和大家的配合。“路遥知马力，日久见人心”，我们若能一直坚持利他的目标，最终定会赢得社会的信任与支持。

总而言之，慈善是具有意义的，做慈善是最快乐的，慈善公益对社会是有帮助的。最后，祝大家身体健康、心想事成！谢谢！