Learning at a Tzu Chi Training Camp

We have participated in several local donation drives organized by the Orlando Chapter of Tzu Chi Organization, a world-wide Buddhist Compassion Relief headquartered in Taiwan, in the past years, as well as their roving tea gatherings in the homes of Tampa-based Tzu Chi volunteers. But this is our very first trip to their training camp focusing on the responsibilities and duties of Tzu Chi volunteers, and the conduct becoming and befitting of representatives of Tzu Chi in consonance with the teachings of Buddha. And that took place at the home of Brother Yang, who would later become Wify's teacher in Chinese calligraphy, on Nov 15, 2008.

Starting at 10am, it was to be an intensive 5-hour session till 3pm, under the able guidance and lucid delivery by the Orlando team headed by Brother James Huang. Using powerpoint presentation interspersed with videos and lively demonstrations, the team did a fabulous job of getting into the essence of what being a Tzu Chi Volunteer entails, subscribing indeed to a noble standard of moral conduct that is above reproach even from the standpoint of the most stringent critic, leaving no room for mis-interpretation. I had originally intended to write an account of the proceedings by referring to the snapshots of various slides that I had taken in sequence but thought that it might turn out to be wordy and dry. More important, I might have misconstrued the thoughts and intents of the dispensations in my zeal to translate verbatim. Therefore, I have decided to resort to a pictorial account instead, replete with the actual slides but with my English translations that I feel would transmit the gist of the messages by and exhortations from Master Cheng Yen, the founder of Tzu Chi. Hopefully, the clarion call encapsulated therein to help the suffering masses will motivate each one of us to join their rank, not necessarily as part of Tzu Chi, if we are not already enamored to doing so.

Meticulous preparation is the key to a successful training camp: complete presentation materials, functional computer equipment, appropriate venue lighting, friendly seating arrangement, and smooth delivery.

Neatly arranged reading materials, all are reflective of how an organization is perceived.

Brother James Huang started the ball rolling, under the watchful and yet benevolent gaze of Master Cheng Yen, not forgetting the session recording using both still photography and video taping for archiving and continuity.

Brother James Huang setting the tone by outlining the schedule of the day, covering the sequence methodologically.

A captivated audience, eager to partake of the Tzu Chi experience.


One of the many astute observations by Master Cheng Yen, going straight to the core of society's malaise, contributed in no small part by the sensationalized, while multi-faceted, reporting in the mass media, leading to the decay of cultural values and the erosion of moral standards such as the blind obsession of today's youth with hedonistic trends (hair coloring, body tatoos, etc.), ultimately resulting in a depraved lifestyle shorn of self-respect and moral character. Once the crux of the problem is identified and conditions arising discerned, Tzu Chi has developed a comprehensive suite of spiritual goals encompassing the Four Great Missions and Eight Great Footprints, Breathing in Unison with Earth/Discipling Oneself/Reviving Morality to reclaim the innate humanism in us.

Tzu Chi is action-oriented, steeped in the belief that actualizing Buddhist teachings in life is paramount to learning and discoursing on the precepts. Sutras are a way to attaining enlightenment and revealing one's Buddha Nature, and the way must be trekked, even trudged, which implies putting precepts into practice, diligently. Dharma is everywhere, therefore seeking Dharma away from our world is wishful thinking, an exercise in futility. Pureland is on Earth, so is Hell. And Tzu Chi manifests Buddhism amidst our society.

Attachment is our bane. So let go when we have given, only leaving behind the experience, the way, and gratitude, respect, and love to cherish.

It's better to respect the sanctity of life than to release life occsionally. Genuine holistic deliverance is one that bridges through all space and time, and over the schism between us to deliver us from suffering. The best holistic deliverance is exemplified through self love, humility, gratitude, and giving.

Tzu Chi promotes Disciplined Food Abstinence, and reveres life. At the same time, Master Cheng Yen admonishes all to persevere tirelessly and relentlessly. And in the smaller prints below: Being on a vegetarian diet is food abstince only, appropriate consumption is discipline. Therefore, we have to both follow a vegetarian diet and avoid consuming excessively.

This elaboration on Buddhist greetings and their parallel with western practice is self explanatory.

Do not relax in abiding by the ten precepts of Tzu Chi (No killing; No stealing; No sexual misconduct; No lying; No intoxicants; Obey traffic rules; No politics; Be gentle in speech and behavior; Respect your parents; and No gambling or speculations), nor indulge in image transgression. The innate beauty of Tzu Chi hinges on individuals meshing on personal conduct. May we endeavor to uphold the shared reputation of Tzu Chi. [Later, it was clarified that Tzu Chi volunteers should take heed of political developments, but not to participate in political affairs.]

Singing praise on Master Cheng Yen through hand signaling for being an exemplar and icon of delivering the humanity from suffering through Tzu Chi's action-oriented Buddhist Compassionate Relief. A translation of the lyrics appears below.

Delivering the Humanity
Your gait is like white cloud streaming across the azure sky; and your footprint, water encircling the green mountains; Sometimes concealed and sometimes manifest; sometimes near and sometimes distant; Criss-crossing with compassion and loving kindness, indefatigably delivering the humanity from suffering.

Your gait is like white cloud streaming across the azure sky; and your footprint, water encircling the green mountains; The epitome of modesty, the exemplar of ordinariness; Practicing Dharma mindfully, and doing virtuous deeds unwaveringly; Criss-crossing with compassion and loving kindness, indefatigably delivering the humanity from suffering.

Now, what did I take home with me? Yes, I'm sure most of us are ennobled by these "ideals", which seem unattainable. They are put in quotation marks here to denote in the sense that they seem out-of-step with the rat race careening toward us at such great momentum that we hardly have time to be good samaritans, defenders of the public good and role models all rolled into one. Or the world is not in short supply of such angel guardians. Let them save the world while we cling on to every aspect of our materialistic world. However, at the same time, I believe we are born with goodness in us. We may be momentarily waylaid by the amenities of earthly attachments, but given time and exposure, we will come to our senses and start on the worthy cause in our own small way, one step at a time. As Edmund Burke put it poignantly (or others may have paraphrased him), "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." In my mind, the same goes with something as simple (but no less onerous) as helping fellow human beings in need.

Let Kindness Heal the Wounds, the Tzu Chi Way

The scourge of widespread riverine flooding has hit the US Midwest region again. The weeks of torrential rains have tested the mighty Mississippi River and its many tributaries at its upstream end beyond their conveyance capacity (a jargon used in hydraulic engineering to denote the ability of a river cross-section to pass the upstream flow downstream without spilling its banks) such that the surging flood flow either erodes the river banks leading to house collapse or worse, breaches the levees resulting in extensive inundation of the low-lying built up areas abutting its banks. Thus far, flooding has affected Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin, causing untold devastation in terms of fatality and property damage.

As an immediate response, physical aid has been rushed to the affected areas to help the flood victims. At the same time, many relief organizations have initiated donation drives to provide financial aid to the flood victims to tide over these difficult times. Tzu Chi Foundation, a Buddhist Compassionate Relief headquartered in Taiwan, is one such entity. Coordinated by its US Office, many area branches have marshaled their local members and volunteers to initiate donation collection at locations frequented by people.

The Tzu Chi Relief Poster but with new background images from here.

In Florida, the efforts were led by the Orlando office, and the donation drive in Tampa was entrusted to Yu Huei who polled the Tampa volunteers pool and prepared a roster to man the donation drive scheduled on July 6, 2008 at Sam's Club located on Dale Mabry Highway. We gladly accepted the opportunity to do our bit and were assigned the shift from 12.30 pm – 2.30pm.

Armed with boxes of fried rice prepared by Wify as lunch for the volunteers (Sister Connie also prepared fried meehoon for the same purpose, which I partook of), we arrived dutifully at the scheduled time. After donning the Tzu Chi's trademark vests, we positioned ourselves at the exit end of Sam's Club and started appealing to the loving kindness of patrons. While not exactly old hands in this endeavor, we have had participated in several of these efforts previously (see here) and soon eased into our assigned role without much inhibition.

As I have said before, greeting strangers and appealing for donations for whatever reason in public is a humbling experience. As long as we believe in the good cause we are doing and put ourselves as just one human trying to help another, driven by compassion that is inborn in each of us, then we would not be bothered by the perceived humiliation of being ignored, which from our limited experience is rare indeed. Most people who for one reason or another did not donate on the spot would invariably decline politely and apologetically. We then offer them the alternative of making the donation online by passing out pamphlets. I reproduce here the website for those who wish to do likewise: Tzu Chi Foundation, USA.

Thanks to the Management of Sam's Club, all the patrons that came our way, the Tampa volunteers (listed in the images below), and the Tzu Chi Volunteers Corps from Orlando for making all these possible.

From left to right: Brian Low, Connie Low, Yu Huei (Tampa area organizer), Wify and Yours Truly, standing at the exit of Sam's Club. Not in the pic are Julie Huang and Celia Fan who were in the morning shift and Viky who stood at the entrance to hand out the pamphlets. Thanks to all for all your kind efforts.

Yu Huei (second from left) and Wify posing with the Tzu Chi Volunteers Corps from Orlando dressed in blue shirt and white pants, the assigned dress code for the Corps.

Tea Gathering, a la Tzu Chi

We attended a tea gathering (the literally translated version of “party” sounds a wee bit convivial while “meeting”, on the other hand, borders on matter-of-fact. “Gathering” then reflects both congeniality and informality) organized by the Orlando Chapter of Tzu Chi Organization, a Buddhist Compassionate Relief based in Taiwan and founded by Master Cheng Yen in 1966, at a Tampa venue today. This was the very first of its kind held in Tampa this year, having been held in abeyance for some time. The idea is to hold the tea gathering here in Tampa on a roving basis, rotating among the different residences, both to disseminate the dispensations from its founder on the Foundation's four great missions of charity, medicine, education, and culture, and to galvanize the local community into answering the clarion call for compassionate relief.

It was raining when we arrived at the residence of John and Adina, the hosts for the evening, their front yard filled with cars that spilled onto the road side, a tell-tale sign of identification for first-time visitors like us.

The meeting began with a video presentation on the dispensations from Master Cheng Yin, focusing on environmental protection and rallying the troop to help alleviate the ills that has befallen Mother Earth. The video highlighted the selfless actions of a Vietnamese lady who has moved permanently to Taiwan and an Israeli couple on a sojourn to the island. Both were undaunted by the language barrier, the physical exertion, and the sacrifice of time and effort, to become part of the Buddhist Compassionate Relief, signifying that compassionate relief transcends national borders and man-made boundaries.

Mr. James Huang, the head of the Orlando Chapter, then introduced the green bag and the bamboo piggybank as resolute symbols of compassionate relief and environmental protection. Actually the piggybank is of thin metallic construction, a replica of its bamboo precursor of yore. The video showed some old film snippets of how pennies and cents were saved in the bamboo piggybank, which was sawn open when full to provide funds for immediate relief, besides promoting the saving habit. It's like reliving the age of the bamboo piggybank, going back to the basics of compassionate relief.

The green bag and the symbolic bamboo piggybank (the small print of English translation of the two vertical lines of verse reads: Good deeds Everyday. Happiness and wisdom on your way.)

Mr Huang showing off the green bag. Ain't the background picture on the screen to the side, that of a dozing young monk, serenity inspiring?

Mr. Huang conveyed the concern of Master Cheng Yen that time is running out as disasters, epidemics, and famine continue to plague the Earth, casting a morbid pall on the once verdant Mother Earth made fragile by man's intransigence, systematically chipping away her lifeline out of greed. Therefore, it's high time to create merits, to plough back to the community, instead of exhausting our blessings.

The second video, 50 minutes long, captured the Bodhi essence, as part of the series on Bodhi on Earth that epitomizes the Dharma Path of the Still Thought, featuring perennial affection and great love. The main bulk of the video, which was made on the occasion of the 41th anniversary of Tzu Chi Foundation last year, focused on the translation of the Sutra of Measureless Meaning into a hand sign musical. The Sutra of Measureless Meaning is considered a prequel to Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra, first learned by Master Cheng Yen early on in her monastic career when she hand-copied the latter. It has now become the Dharma essence of the Still Thought School as embodied in the Making the Vow Verse that was sprinkled throughout the video. You can listen to it here while an English translation together with the full text of the Verse appears below:

Our hearts and mind interweaved, we pass on the Dharma core
Our determination steadfast, we propagate our tradition
We cherish the conditions that help spawn Tzu Chi
The Sutra of Measureless Meaning as the core of the Still Thought School
Shall underpin our ethos as disciples
We sincerely beseech you our beloved Master to worry not.

Master Cheng Yin was put under the tutelage of Venerable Yin Shun from whom she took to heart the following teaching:

For Buddhism; For all sentient beings.

Providing the narrative, Master Cheng Yen spoke with an inspiring tone, a diction rich with compassion and empathetic of the human suffering. I thought I heard a few sniffles and saw several hand-wiping-off-the face motions. It was that moving.

Next up was a hand signal demonstration of the theme song of the 2007 Year End Appreciation and Blessing Dinner. In the span of a few minutes, we were taught the rudiments of hand language, for gratitude, for respect, for love, and for others that make up the lyrics shown below with its English translation.

Gratitude, Respect, Love
Love yourself well, then give in gratitude
Loving yourself is repaying our blessings, giving is displaying gratitude.
Respect others, for there is no they, you, or we
Harmony accumulates small love, respect spawns great love
Gratitude is water, respect is river of water, love is the wide expanse of ocean into which rivers debouch
Nurturing life, vitiating darkness
Gratitude is water, respect is river
Gratitude and respect, together shower the world with love.

The gathering concluded with a free sharing of experience in volunteerism among the attendees. An attendee put it best as a three-stage sequence of intention, vow, and actualization. Some were initially put off by the wrongful notion that Tzu Chi is for those who have the wherewithal and the luxury of time on their hands but realized later that at least they do it while others only act as armchair critics. Still others may be overwhelmed by the enormous scale of it all and feel inadequate. The take home message is no good deed is too small. One can always start from the immediate environs, dispensing loving kindness and selfless care for those close at hand, the purpose being to inculcate this noble act of volunteerism into our collective psyche so that the spirit of volunteerism becomes an integral part of our ethos.

Last but not the least, we were treated to a sumptuous collection of finger food and tidbits that would satisfy the most fastidious palate. Kudos to the Orlando Chapter and our gracious hosts, John and Adina, not forgetting those who made it happen by being in attendance, for a tea gathering, ala Tzu Chi, well-planned and superbly executed. That's a baby, but a necessary first, step for imbibing a sense of volunteerism into the local community.

An Afternoon of Compassion and Appreciation

We attended the 2007 Year End Appreciation and Blessing Dinner (well, perhaps a misnomer of sort since the event was held in the afternoon) organized by Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation U.S.A, Orlando Chapter held at USF today. This is our second time, the first being in 2005, a dinner held in the evening.

Themed Gratitude, Respect, and Love and Reverence to Heaven and Earth for Merit Accumulation, the event included dispensation of Words of Wisdom from Master Cheng Yen, the founder, the Review of 2007 Community Service and Tzu Chi Events, both as documentary films, and live performance of the sign language troupe, culminating in the Light Up Your Heart Ceremony.

The Themes in Chinese, with the bylines: Use the eyes of compassion to contemplate the various forms of all sentient beings; Use the ears of wisdom to discern the voices of all sentient beings.

Abiding by their motto “First to arrive, last to leave”, Tzu Chi volunteers have been over in 47 countries, rendering assistance, both medical, mental and physical, wherever and whenever calamities hit: earthquakes, fires, floods, droughts, hurricanes, tornadoes, as documented in the films. Their first priority is to provide personal assistance, through physical presence and demonstration of great love.

Seeing them in action, selfless and expecting nothing in return, the documentary nearly brought tears to my eyes. And here I am, lamenting about the inconveniences in life in relative affluence, mouthing compassion and yet staying within my comfort zone. One can pray and transfer merits as much as one so wishes, but nothing is more welcome to the victims of misfortunes than personal care and immediate relief. The Tzu Chi Foundation is deservedly a movement of compassionate relief, actualizing and propagating the Buddha's teachings in saving humanity from hardship, especially those who are least able to fend for themselves, transcending creed, ethnicity, and status.

It's patently clear that their relief efforts harbor no religious overtones nor overtures, with compassion as the sole driving force, as evidenced by their universal acceptance wherever their footprints cover. While its dedication to helping the aggrieved is beyond question, the Tzu Chi Foundation, led by its far-sighted leader, Master Cheng Yen, has also recognized the potential disasters that await the Earth in the not-so-distance future, a rather warm and wet one as projected by the International Panel on Climate Change, in the form of sea level rise and extreme meteorological events.

Mother Earth's inhabitants, the supposedly thinking ones, are spewing greenhouse gases, chief among which is carbon dioxide, in unprecedented amounts, thus setting off a chain of events that start from global warming, to ice sheet melting, to sea level rising, and to the loss of the coastal fringes, even entire islands. One of the messages in Master Cheng Yen's dispensation has to do with carbon reduction, and that it's everyone's responsibility. Everyone matters in this bid to save the world, and there is no better place to start than right from the very home of each and everyone.

Saving electricity by switching off unused lights, electrical appliances, and computers. And yes, those computers in sleep mode are still consuming electrical power as we speak, or I write to be specific about it. An attendee informed that merely by switching off the water heaters when not in use and having them turned on just half and hour before shower time saves his household electricity bill by $50 a month. And to think that the hot water in our home is always on demand, the electricity that is, I realize that I have played my part in contributing to the rise in energy consumption, and by extension, carbon loading.

Carpooling or even bicycling. Human energy is the most environmentally friendly, not to mention the health benefits accrued from pedaling. The majority of us are indeed pampered so much by technological advancement that we have to resort to indoor gyms to exercise, a classic case of using technological fixes to shed the extra pounds gained from eating gourmet food, again made possible by advances in amenities.

Using washable utensils. Tzu Chi volunteers always carry metal/porcelain chopsticks, spoons, and containers wherever they go. Even when they are not, they do not use disposal items.

Indeed as lamented by Master Cheng Yin, we have neglected the wellbeing of Mother Earth, abdicating our duties as responsible children of Mother Earth by sucking out every last ounce of her resources, and succumbing to greed, to grandeur that blinds us to the injuries inflicted on Mother Earth. Hence, the exhortations to cherish the treasure that we have, and to use the resources wisely.

Another message is that doing good and doing filial piety are two things in life that cannot wait. We must be grateful, respectful, and loving to our parents, our elders, and our teachers. We must curb our personal cravings, and reinstate/revive the filial way, observing decorum.

The performance by the sign language troupe was well executed, exuding warmth and softness of touch. This was followed by the lighting the candle and transmitting the light ceremony as a symbolic act of Lighting Up the Heart. The day's event ended with the making the vow ceremony and gift giving, after which the attendees adjourned to savor refreshments comprising various tidbits.

The sign language troup performing, transmitting the universal language of love and compassion.

The Song of Great Love: Thank you for the warm embrace, helping me to tide over the ebbs in my life. A heart filled with love to the brim, is not swayed by forceful wind. Learn to lend a shoulder for support. Smile with sincerity and understanding, and solve your worries by your side. Seeing the halt in your crying, even for a fleeting second, when you raise your head, envelops me in warm feeling through and through. I believe there is love in this world worth bidding. A heart long sealed is bound to open up. Understanding and forgiving will undo hurt. And loving kindness will remove suspicion. The most moving kind of love is trust.

The gift giving ceremony.

And these are our gifts: healthy non-meat powder food and packets and coins with inscriptions of wisdom gems, the former to ingest and the latter, to digest.

Drum roll ... the Tzu Chi volunteers, in the same resplendent and distinctive wear that is the hallmark of the Tzu Chi troupe.

Seeing is believing, we came home deeply moved by the experience, and at the same time thankful that there are such noble people amongst us who brave the elements, who traverse the uncharted territory far and wide, and who render assistance in far flung corners of the Earth just at a moment's notice. While wify and I have not committed ourselves to following their peerless paths, we do resolve to help out in their local assignments any way we can, both financially and in kind.