What kind of world is this world of ours today?

Venerable Master Hua describes it this way:

Everyone around the world forgets everything but money in life. You deceive me and I cheat you. Every country is short of volunteers who will serve the people for free.

When human nature is utterly warped by money and material goods, the Venerable Master goes everywhere to propagate the Dharma. His footprints reach Asia, Europe and North America. Some compare the Venerable Master Hua's strength in propagating the Dharma and atom bomb. However, the Venerable Master believes that atom bombs cannot bring about others' conviction. Only the eight traditional Chinese virtues - filiality, brotherhood, loyalty, credibility, propriety, justness, incorruptibility, and a sense of shame - can turn back the hearts people nowadays. In this contemporary society that experiences a motley of bizarre phenomenon, many people "not only lose their Buddha nature, but their human nature too. What remains is their animal-like nature that makes them do animal-like things, making their originally respectable human nature contemptible."

To avoid world chaos, national demise and the incomprehensibility of people, the Venerable Master authored Turning Back the Tides of Destiny. The motivation behind this work is similar to Confucius' writing of Spring Autumn Annals. More than 3,000 years ago, Confucius traveled to a number of countries wishing to assist these countries in their politics. However, he could not fulfill his patriotic wishes. After returning to his native country Lu, he switched occupations to education, teaching talents who will be national leaders. He was honored as the Foremost Sage and Teacher, the Role Model for All Generations by those of later generations. Confucius was always humble and claimed that he merely inherits that which is passed down from the past, but when he saw the demise of nations and chaos around the world, he was extremely hurt. Therefore he rose with spirit and force, writing down history in the Spring Autumn Annals. This text praised the patriots and criticized the crooks, rewarded the good and punished the evil so that those corrupted officials and thieves were so frightened because they seem to have no place to hide or a way to escape between heaven and earth.

Confucius wrote the Spring Autumn Annals that contained language similar to the seriousness of official history, even You Xia could not have introduced another phrase. The spirit of the text is full of concern for the country and its people, full of the great wish to save the world, which cannot be fathomed by most people. No wonder Confucius sighs: "The Spring Autumn Annals is the only one that knows me; the Spring Autumn Annals is the only one who will bring my fall!" When he wrote about Lord Ai of Lu, the section which described a hunter catching a chimera but abandoning it in the wilds. No one recognized what kind of an animal it was. When Confucius saw the chimera, he knew it was an auspicious creature. Confucius was disheartened by the decline of the Zhou Dynasty and the absence of a respectable king, so they sang sorrowfully:

A chimera and a phoenix arrive when no fine leader exists. What is sought when this is not the time?
Chimera, chimera, my heart aches so!

Confucius' ability and experience were so vast and profound. The Venerable Master's mind further embodies the universe, a capacity that accepts worlds as many as grains of sand. This is not selfish favoritism for a particular time or place, a particular family or country, but it is great kindness for those with whom you have no affinities and great compassion for all because we are one. The figures critiqued and evaluated by the Venerable Master in Turning Back the Tides of Destiny include the great figures of goodness and evil, the most intelligent to the least intelligent, men and women, young and old, a mix of ordinary beings and sages, a motley of various beings throughout the past and present, in China and elsewhere. Seeing how clearly rewards and punishments occur depending on good or evil, readers of any country will wish to emulate those who are worthy and self-reflect with those who are unworthy. In other words, Turning Back the Tides of Destiny is written like history, in the tradition of the Spring Autumn Annals. It is critical to preserving our world.

The preface to Turning Back the Tides of Destiny starts by identifying the main theme: observe the trichilocosm quietly. The pervasive evil karma and the killing between countries create world wars. Families kill each other, creating wars between towns and cities. Individuals kill one another, creating wars. One kills oneself, creating wars in the mind. Even space kills space, water kills water, creating various visible and invisible wars. It is so sad! So painful!

In the evil world of the five turbidities where evil karma permeates, the Venerable Master bases his entire life's worth "on respecting all life, changing selfishness into public spiritedness. Observe the pure precepts and contribute oneself to benefit living beings." Although living beings' karmic obstructions are deep and heavy, the Venerable Master regards them impartially. He said, "I consider both good and bad the same, without any prejudice. I hope bad people who see me will change, improve and change for the better."

There was a gang in San Francisco, United States, who was moved to change by the Venerable Master's awesome virtues. They changed for the better and quit being outlaws. Furthermore, they made the resolve to support the Buddhadharma. Influenced by the Venerable Master's teachings, some kids who had wished to murder their parents learned not only to be filial to their parents but entered famous universities based on their outstanding grades. In short, wherever the Venerable Master went, he wished for local safety and customs to improve.

Nowadays, the young, the strong, and those in their prime are all eager to make a fortune. They often could careless about, and too often ignore, elder care and children's psychological and moral influences. Consequently, many social problems occur. The Venerable Master, furthermore, promoted Respecting Elders Day and Cherishing Youth Day. The more than a dozen DRBA branch temples (at that time) throughout America and Asia organize Cherishing Youth Day every spring or summer, when all things are blossoming so that local students understand such principles. Between Autumn and Winter when the weather is neither too warm nor cold, Respecting Elders Day is organized to pay respects to the elderly's life experiences and wisdom.

Each branch temple organizes these two activities annually and treats its local elders and children. "Childless elders will be respected by the young; orphaned youngsters will be cared for by those in their prime. This way, everyone will respect and care for one another. This is common courtesy. Our goal lies in changing customs and caring for people so that mores are increasingly benign and the world is in harmony." This is Venerable Master Hua's ideal society! Everyone should know to respect their parents, take care of their elders and watch over the young ones.

This kind of ideal is difficult to achieve, just like the moon's reflections in the water, the flowers' reflections in the mirror; they are seen but untouchable. Although the Venerable Master immersed himself in hard work, hoping for the unlikely and realize the unachievable with the attitude of "universally saving out of great compassion, sweat and bleed and yet never pause!" This kind of spirit spears in Confucius' Spring Autumn Annals and Venerable Master's Turning Back the Tides of Heaven. Both are based on love for one's country, awe-inspiring righteousness that pervades the universe, practicing conducts and vows "that are impossible to do but done anyway". They hope that future students will inherit their will and utterly devote themselves to realizing a world in harmony and a blissful pureland, so that the heritage continues. Therefore the said impossibility leave us with hope still; the impossible achieve is yet to be achieved.