Even though the Medicine Buddha Sutra is simple in its presentation and language, I still found it challenging to attempt to convey the essence of the Buddha's 12 great vows and other important passages within two hours to over a hundred Tzu Chi commissioners who might not be familiar with the sutra. An idea suddenly came to mind, inspired by an experience I had during a meeting at Tzu Chi headquarters in Hualien. At the meeting, several volunteers talked about their visit to the Tzu Chi Great Love Village built for Muslim flood victims who once lived illegally along the banks of the Angke River in Jakarta.

Dr. Chien Sou-hsin, vice-superintendent of the Tzu Chi Dalin Hospital in central Taiwan, had also returned from this journey. Using a computer program to create a visual presentation of the trip, Dr. Chien projected over fifty pictures that vividly illustrated how happy the Great Love Village residents were when they were officially given the keys to their new homes on July 18. Dr. Chien also used the program to show how he and other surgeons performed operations for various conditions such as cleft lips, cataracts, and hernias at the free clinic held during the two days after the grand opening of the village. "Why don't I follow suit by using a similar format to present the Medicine Buddha Sutra?" I asked myself.

With the help of Jo Wang, who works in our Religious Affairs Department in Hualien, I was able to incorporate all of Dr. Chien's pictures into my own presentation of the sutra. I surmised it was well received by my audience since no one fell asleep during my speech. For example, I projected on the screen the Buddha's sixth great vow for the audience to read:

I vow that in the next life when I attain Bodhi, I will cause living beings whose bodies are inferior and whose faculties are imperfect, who are ugly, dull, blind, deaf, dumb, mute, paralyzed, crippled, hunchbacked, leprous, insane, or have various other kinds of sicknesses and sufferings, to become upright and intelligent upon hearing my name. May they all possess perfect faculties and be free of sickness and suffering.

Then I showed a picture [facing page] of Dr. Chien treating a little girl's cleft lip followed by a close-up of her before her treatment. I could hear many people lament when they saw the little girl's fissured face, and I could also hear their sighs of relief when they saw how well she was being treated by Dr. Chien.

I was quite sure at that moment that everyone present could comprehend the important message that the Medicine Buddha wanted to convey in the sutra: that we must help the poor and sick by bringing forth compassion through concrete actions. I trust that these Tzu Chi commissioners will do so whenever possible.

Many people mistakenly believe that their bodies will be blessed and their health will be guaranteed if they devoutly chant the Medicine Buddha Sutra every day. Actually, the Buddha hopes that everyone will become Great Healers and offer help to those who are tormented by physical and mental illnesses.

Our foundation members in Indonesia have managed to build a Great Love Village of over 1,100 households. Furthermore, a permanent free clinic, elementary school, junior high school, and even a traditional Muslim funeral parlor have been established inside the village compound. The Angke River will soon flow through the city of Jakarta at its original depth of seven meters [23 ft] and width of seventy-five meters [248 ft] thanks to Tzu Chi members who have undertaken the task of dredging silt from the river.

I am so proud of the wonderful achievements made by our foundation members in Indonesia. Tzu Chi people in both Indonesia and Taiwan have truly abided by the Medicine Buddha's teachings and have grasped the opportunity to transform themselves into true Great Healers by reaching out to help those in need. Kudos to them!