Everywhere in the world,
we can observe
and be touched
by acts of kindness.
People from all walks of
life, faiths, and cultures
extend themselves
beyond the call of duty
to help others
unconditionally.
Through their noble deeds,
humanity as a whole
is elevated.
To commend
virtuous actions and
encourage more people
to be inspired
by their examples,
Supreme Master
Ching Hai
has lovingly created
a series of awards,
including the Shining
World Leadership
Award, Shining World
Compassion Award,
Shining World Hero and
Heroine Awards, Shining
World Honesty Award,
Shining World Protection
Award, Shining World
Intelligence Award,
and Shining World
Inventor Award,
to recognize some
of the most exemplary,
generous, caring,
and courageous people
who walk amongst us.
Today,
we’ll meet a recipient
of the Shining World
Honesty Award,
which was created by
Supreme Master
Ching Hai
to honor exemplary acts
of moral integrity.
Throughout the years,
Supreme Master Ching Hai
has taught the importance
of being truthful
to oneself and others,
as during a 1992 lecture
in Formosa (Taiwan).
We might hide
in a corner of the world,
but we cannot hide
from our conscience.
There is nowhere to run!
We can only hide
within our virtue
and our spirit of honesty,
then we are safe.
No matter
what people say,
we are not afraid and
we don't care because
we know ourselves.
Mr. Dave Tally
of Arizona, USA
used to be a supervisor
of a landscape firm.
But in 1999, due to
a drunk driving incident,
his driver’s license
was suspended.
Alcoholism had turned
his life upside down.
I got involved heavily
into alcohol.
I lost my career,
my house, my marriage,
due to alcoholism.
I had been so burnt out
for eight years, I’d gotten
involved with drugs. .
I decided, “I am done.
I’m just done messing
around with anything.
I just want to get on
with a good life.”
I’m the one
that ultimately has to
lay down every night
with myself
and deal with my actions.
Mr. Tally had lost a lot
in life.
But what he kept
were his moral values
and his thoughtfulness
for others, admirable assets
that would prove
to be very rewarding
after one fateful day.
It was pretty early
in the morning,
about 7 o’clock,
and I went to
the light-rail station and
discovered a backpack
sitting on the bench.
there was nobody around.
I went over to it
and I opened up and see
if there was any ID
in there.
when I opened it up,
there was a laptop,
an envelope containing
a large amount of cash,
and an iPod.
When I got a hold
of my boss here
at homeless shelter,
I told him what was
going on and he said,
“What do you want to do
with it?”
I said, “I don’t want it,
it’s not mine.”
so we brought it
down here and
they looked through it –
executive director,
general manager,
the manager
of the shelter –
they all looked through it.
They didn’t find anything
to start with,
so they kept it here
in the safe and
they kept looking to see
if there was anything.
They called the police
to see if anybody
made a report for it.
When he discovered
the backpack, Dave Tally
was homeless, in debt,
and had just spent
the last of his money
to fix his mountain bike,
his only means
for transportation.
Many have asked him
why he did not choose
to keep the US$3,300,
an amount larger
than a monthly income
for most people.
I’m human, I’m broke.
Of course I felt like
spending money,
but I didn’t.
It was kind of like God
reached down
and smacked me across
the back of the head
and said, “Be a man.”
Actually for me, it was
it was kind of like funny.
Because when I did it,
I felt good, and I also
felt really scared when
I turned the money over
because I didn’t know
if I did the right thing.
That’s a lot of money
to just hand over
to someone else, you know?
That whole week
after I handed it over,
I felt really, really bad
for even the temptation
of spending it.
Days went by,
but the shelter
received no report
for the found items.
The people at the shelter
again looked through
the backpack in hopes
of finding any signs
that would lead them
to its rightful owner.
Lo and behold,
they found a flash drive
containing the résumé
of Bryan Belanger.
An email
and four days later,
the Arizona State
University student
was gratefully reunited
with his lost backpack
and valuables within.
He was just sidetracked
and left his backpack
and I am very happy
that he got it back.
I’m very happy that
he was able to get on
with his life.
He was a nice young kid.
He just made
a simple mistake,
and luckily that mistake
didn’t cost him
a lot of hard work,
so it turned out pretty cool.
The following week,
Bryan’s parents called
“The Arizona Republic”
newspaper
to share the story.
I’d been working part-time
with one gentleman
from one of our churches
in Phoenix and
I was on my way back
to the homeless shelter,
and my boss
from the shelter
called me up and asked me
if I’d read a paper yet.
I had said at the bus stop,
“No.”
He just laughed at me.
“Well, you need
to get over to the shelter,
we need to talk to you
real quick.”
I had no idea
what was going on.
I came around the corner
to the shelter and
there were four media vans
out front.
I’m like… And my boss
was actually laughing,
“I think they want
to talk to you inside.”
At first
I couldn’t understand
why everything, all this
attention was paid to me.
I was like, “I just
turned in a backpack,
what’s the big deal?”
I hadn’t seen the news
in quite a long time.
And we were
watching the news and
it kind of dawned on me
then why so many people
kind of taking an interest
in the story.
I mean, the whole time
we were sitting here –
about 20 minutes –
not one positive thing
was on the news.
So then it kind of struck me
as why some people were
taking an interest in this,
at what I did.
Yes, I think a lot of people
were inspired by it.
Word of Mr. Tally’s
good deed spread quickly.
Many people
who were touched
by Mr. Tally’s actions
have also reached out,
offering financial aid,
housing, and jobs.
I know some people
on the streets,
they came up to me
and said people are
looking at them
in a different light
due to my actions.
That’s totally cool.
I mean, that to me
it’s really important.
People just need not
judge everybody
just because of
their outside appearance.
Then I actually
got to meet Bryan
He was a working student
and the money was
to be used to buy his car.
He was able to get his car.
So that’s when I actually
was at ease with everything.
People call me a hero.
I’m like,
“No, I’m not a hero;
I didn’t jump in
a burning building.”
But, I had some good
people talk to me, “Well,
you saved a guy’s life
because that was the money
he worked hard for
to buy his car.”
Apparently,
like everybody else now,
they keep their entire life
on a laptop.
Yes, and the fact
you put somebody’s life
in front of your own,
that’s what I think of
as a hero.
I don’t know about all that.
You’re very humble.
For his noble action,
Supreme Master Ching Hai
honored
Mr. Dave Tally
with the Shining World
Honesty Award,
along with US$1,500
for any needs.
Dear Mr. Tally,
It is with much pleasure
and gratitude
that we present to you
the “Shining World
Honesty Award.”
This Award is presented
in recognition of your
exemplary principles,
excellence and nobility
of the highest order
that brightens our world,
leaving a glittering
example of goodness
for others to emulate.
As a wanderer
without a proper home
you found a backpack
at the railway station and
with the purest intention,
you opened it,
hoping to trace
the identity of the owner.
To your surprise you
found a laptop computer
and cash worth $3,300.
“Temptation soon
entered your thoughts
as the money could be
of great use to you, but
due to your strong ethics
and nobility
you had no problem
in deciding what to do.
You reported the find
to the authorities
who located the owner
Mr. Belanger,
who was so overwhelmed
with gratitude
that he was lost for words.
He had given up hope
after losing the bag
for 5 days.
Indeed miracles
do happen and
we sincerely thank you,
Mr. Tally, for your
thoughtful demonstration
of integrity and kindness!
You are a shining
inspiration to our world
and truly deserve
all the praises and gifts
sent by well-wishers!
May Heaven’s
immense blessings
be showered upon you
enabling you
to find peace, happiness
and all the things
that you wish for!”
For your utmost sincerity
to uphold the highest
moral standards
of humanity,
for your love and strength,
and for being a dedicated
and noble role model,
we hereby applaud
and celebrate
the shining honest deeds
of Mr. Dave Tally –
model citizen of Tempe!
With Great Honor, Love
and Blessings,
Supreme Master
Ching Hai
Cool, thank you.
Now we would like
to present to you
the Shining World
Honesty Award.
From
Supreme Master Ching Hai,
for Mr. Dave Tally.
In recognition of
highest moral integrity and
noble hearted goodness,
providing the purest
example of right action,
putting another’s need
before your own.
With greatest respect
and admiration for your
magnificent altruism
and model citizenship.
Presented by
the Supreme Master
Ching Hai
International Association.
Congratulations!
Thank you. It’s beautiful.
And it weighs a ton!
On his new path
of auspicious beginnings,
the humble Shining World
Honesty Award
laureate commented.
I’m being given
a second chance in life to
manage my life properly
now and I’ve got a great
support team behind me.
We asked
how Dave Tally’s life
has changed.
So many things, my smile.
I have a wonderful smile
now, which I haven’t had
in years and years.
It’s taken me a lot
to learn to smile,
but it’s cool.
I have my own apartment,
I have a wonderful job
and my job is coordinating
a community garden here
at the senior center.
We have a great core
of volunteers that
come out every weekend
and put their heart
and soul into our garden.
I literally wake up
every day
looking forward to
coming here and going out
and being a part of it.
I made some
valuable friends
who helped me make
some right decisions,
how to handle
some of the finances.
I furnished my apartment
very nicely.
I love my apartment.
I found a beautiful
little place and
couldn’t be happier with it.
Ah good.
And the cool thing is that
I’m right down the street
from one of the churches
I slept outside at.
So every day
on my way to work
I can look over my shoulder
and it reminds me
of where I was,
at one point in my life
and where I’m not going
to be again.
Indeed, Dave Tally is
an admirable proof that
good deeds do pay off.
I know
that too many things have
been going good for me,
being able to
work part-time;
I have been almost a year
now sober, or clean, rather.
Since the day I made that
final commitment for that,
it’s just everything has
just rapidly progressed.
And this happening is
just a phenomenal thing;
all the media attention,
going from a quiet person
that I was,
to having their life put on
the international media,
it was pretty staggering.
The rewards
that have come too have
just been phenomenal,
it’s unbelievable.
Meeting people like you,
meeting people like in
our gardening volunteers
today, now I wouldn’t
have been able to
meet these people
if it hadn’t have been
for the actions
that happened.
I can’t explain it,
but I definitely think
there’s some form
of connection though.
How things can happen
like that?
They’re not just by chance.
Mr. Dave Tally
took the opportunity
to express
his thankfulness to
Supreme Master Ching Hai.
Thank you very much
for everything.
I’m very touched,
very touched. Thank you.
Our appreciation
and congratulations,
Mr. Dave Tally,
for maintaining
your upright morals and
being a fine role model
to other citizens.
May you be blessed
with evermore joy
and abundance in
your new chapter of life.
Wonderful viewers,
it was a pleasure
having your company
on today’s program.
Up next is
Words of Wisdom,
after Noteworthy News,
here on
Supreme Master Television.
May benevolence
and virtue
be your cherished guides.