Love from Taiwan

On August 25 this year, we saw the completion of the first batch of 55 five-story Tzu Chi Great Love homes in Jakarta, Indonesia. President Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia graced the grand opening with her presence. Seeing her people, who had long lived in flimsy, illegal shacks along the polluted Angke River, start new lives in the beautiful and sanitary Great Love Village, President Megawati uttered her gratitude to Tzu Chi many times.

Ten years ago, the wives of some Taiwanese businessmen in Indonesia took the seeds of Tzu Chi to Indonesia. Although they were few in number, they persisted in caring for impoverished Indonesians. Gradually, their solid contributions inspired more local Chinese to join Tzu Chi and eventually led to the establishment of a Tzu Chi branch in Jakarta. Today even though there are fewer than 50 Tzu Chi commissioners in Indonesia, they are carrying out the Tzu Chi missions of charity, medicine, education, and culture there with mutual respect, love, and unity. Because of all their charity work in the last decade, many Indonesians have changed their unfavorable impressions of Chinese people. Some locals even call out "Tzu Chi! Tzu Chi!" when they see our members wearing Tzu Chi uniforms of sky-blue shirts and cloud-white pants.

Tzu Chi volunteers can also be found in Argentina, on the opposite side of the earth from Taiwan. These volunteers often drive up to 20 or 30 hours just to bring daily necessities to the underprivileged living in remote regions. Through the years, the volunteers have raised funds locally for each relief distribution, but they always let others know they are originally from Taiwan. When children who receive Tzu Chi relief supplies are asked if they know where the goods came from, they reply, "From Taiwan!"

South Africa, a vast land with many impoverished people, also has Tzu Chi volunteers. For over ten years, volunteers have gone to faraway places to give tribal people care and daily necessities. In order to give natives some means to support themselves, our volunteers have set up 500 vocational training centers. To give native children a good education, Tzu Chi volunteers have built schools and taught youngsters appropriate good manners and sanitary habits such as proper ways to eat.

Last August, Tzu Chi volunteers prepared 30 cargo containers of rice and blankets for the poor in South Africa, Swaziland, and Lesotho. Volunteers in South Africa asked me about the possibility of dispatching some volunteers from Taiwan to help out with the relief distributions. I told them that they would have to get the manpower locally. Since they had many Zulu volunteers, they should lead them in doing charitable activities and let them experience the joy of helping others.

These Zulu volunteers were once Tzu Chi aid recipients. But when their financial situation had improved, they were encouraged by Tzu Chi volunteers to care for their own people. This time, Zulu volunteers worked with Chinese volunteers in distributing rice and blankets to their own people. The city of Durban has few Chinese and even fewer Tzu Chi volunteers. It was Zulu volunteers who climbed mountains, trekked into the vast wilderness, and personally handed bag after bag of white rice to the poor.

The natives of South Africa are very endearing. Once they received the rice from the Tzu Chi members, they danced and sang joyously while carrying their bags of rice on their heads. How easily contented they are!.

Tzu Chi volunteers living in different parts of the world always carry out the Tzu Chi missions by raising funds and acquiring resources locally. The only things they acquire from the headquarters in Taiwan are seeds of love and endless blessings. Nevertheless, all our overseas volunteers perform all kinds of charity work under the name of "Tzu Chi, Taiwan," hoping to show the world that Taiwan is an island of love.

Love is Taiwan's treasure

However, many people in Taiwan still ask, "How come Tzu Chi keeps helping other countries and not just Taiwan?"

I remember after a big earthquake hit Turkey on August 17, 1999, Tzu Chi volunteers took to the streets to solicit donations for Turkish quake victims. As I visited our offices around Taiwan, many volunteers told me that although some passersby gave them a hard time, their hearts were full of happiness, willingness, and gratitude.

There were many heartwarming and touching stories. A vendor in a marketplace saw volunteers holding donation boxes under the scorching sun. She opened up a big umbrella and warmly called to the volunteers, "Tzu Chi bodhisattvas! Come stand in the shade, it's cooler here." One vendor even stood on a chair and shouted through a microphone to the crowd, "Come everyone! Tzu Chi volunteers are raising funds for quake survivors in Turkey. Come join the good cause! I have watermelons of different sizes. You can get one for free if you make a donation to Tzu Chi."

On the other hand, there was another kind of voice in society--one that denounced and objected. It made me worry, so I reminded the public, "Helping others is more blessed than being helped." We should stop saying "save Taiwan," since that implies that Taiwan is in big trouble and needs to be saved. We should bless Taiwan instead.

One month later, at 1:47 a.m. on September 21, 1999, the island shook violently--a strong earthquake hit central Taiwan. Tzu Chi volunteers around the world immediately started holding fundraising parties and charity bazaars to "save Taiwan."

I remember back in 1994, Tzu Chi worked with Medecins du Monde (MDM) to help displaced people in Rwanda. Many humanitarian groups from different countries were stationed at the refugee camps. When they saw the Tzu Chi flag (one they had never seen before) flapping in the wind over the land of Rwanda, they were very curious and asked, "Where is this charity group from?"

A French MDM doctor replied, "It is love from Taiwan." Some people were uncertain where Taiwan was. Others had learned about Taiwan from negative reports by the international media that described Taiwan as "a country that eats tigers," "a nation that eats rhino horns," or "the island of greed."

MDM personnel, having worked with Tzu Chi before to help refugees in Ethiopia, knew Tzu Chi well. They immediately stepped forward to clarify that Taiwanese were a people full of love.

Tragedy of an era

But do people in Taiwan know that the island abounds with treasures of love and goodness?

El Salvador and Tzu Chi have a very intimate relationship. In September and October of 1998, Hurricanes Georges and Mitch devastated Central America and the Caribbean. Tzu Chi donated 60 cargo containers of clothing to these affected countries, including El Salvador.

On December 8, 2000, Salvadoran President Francisco Flores and the First Lady visited me during a trip to Taiwan to express their gratitude to Tzu Chi. Moreover, the president said that he admired the kindness and willingness of the Taiwanese people to help the less fortunate.

I clearly remember that before he left, the president asked Tzu Chi to help his country should the need arise in the future. Who could have predicted that one month later, on January 13, an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale would severely ravage El Salvador?

Less than three days after the tremor, Tzu Chi volunteers and the Search and Rescue Association of the ROC left for the stricken areas to survey the damage and to plan rescue measures. Tzu Chi volunteers in the United States fully shouldered relief projects in El Salvador. They flew there to provide medical care and daily necessities. They held five free clinics for 4,000 patients in the disaster zones and provided 20,000 people with enough food to last them for one month. Furthermore, they decided to build 1,100 Great Love houses for homeless survivors with funds raised in the United States.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Great Love houses was held on March 17, 2001. The vice president and ministers of El Salvador all attended the special event. Tzu Chi volunteers from Taiwan and the United States were there to bless the victims.

I recall it was in early April when I visited the Tzu Chi Taipei branch office, the last stop of my monthly island-wide tour. An old lady in her seventies came to see me on the night before I returned to Hualien. Later on, I was told that her name was Lee Man-mei.

The moment she saw me she said with joy, "Master, don't you recognize me? Thirty-some years ago, you asked why there was a pool of blood on the floor at a clinic in Hualien, and I was the one who answered you."

I did not recognize her at all. The truth is, if someone asked me to describe the weather of that day over thirty years ago, the exact time I saw the blood, and what the woman who gave me the answer looked like, I would not be able to answer them. The only thing etched in my mind is that pool of scarlet blood on the floor [left by a woman in labor who was turned away because she could not afford the security deposit of US$200].

Volunteers who attended the groundbreaking ceremony in El Salvador returned to Taiwan just before Tzu Chi's 35th anniversary. Hoping to give a concise report on the foundation's international relief work in the past decade and encouraging the public to end social disputes and make Taiwan an island of peace, unity, harmony, and love, Tzu Chi decided to hold a news conference on April 16, 2001. A volunteer who had just returned from El Salvador gave a briefing on the extent of the earthquake damage and the progress of our relief efforts there. Wang Tuan-cheng, vice president of the Tzu Chi Foundation, reported that we had over 130 offices in 30 countries doing charity work. Tzu Chi history was part of Taiwanese history.

Lee Man-mei, the lady who had told me about the "pool of blood" incident, was also present at the conference. When a reporter from the United Daily News asked her how she had witnessed the "pool of blood" and which clinic she used to go to, she inadvertently revealed the name of the doctor who owned the clinic. The name of the doctor appeared in the newspaper the following day. The old doctor's children, believing their father's good reputation was stained, sued Ms. Lee and me.

Who could have predicted that the recounting of history by an innocent, kindhearted old lady with heart problems would lead to a lawsuit against her and me? The litigation caused her to run back and forth between her home and the courthouse in Hualien to attend numerous court hearings for two years!

To me, the "pool of blood" incident which I witnessed at a clinic 37 years ago represented a tragedy of the times and an undesirable custom of that era [because of the security deposit required at all hospitals and clinics at that time, many poor people were unable to receive treatment]. Any unpleasant and negative consequences generated from such a tragedy should not be shouldered by any single person alone. That is why the name of the old doctor and his clinic has never been mentioned in any Tzu Chi documents or publications.

I still remember one day in March 1995 when I went to visit and encourage patients at the Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Sister Yen Hui-mei came out from a ward and informed me that a patient surnamed Yu wanted to see me.

As soon as I walked into the ward, Mr. Yu, who was sitting on the bed, exclaimed, "Wow! Master, it's been nearly 30 years since I last saw you, and you haven't changed a bit."

"You met me almost 30 years ago? Where did we meet?" I asked.

"Do you remember... when inquiring about a pool of blood at a clinic in Hualien? I happened to be there when you asked." He then explained that he had had an operation at that clinic and the doctor had told him to get out of bed and walk around. As he was strolling about, he saw an aboriginal woman carried to the clinic by four men, but later carried away because she had no money.

A Tzu Chi commissioner who heard the story interviewed Mr. Yu. He confirmed that he saw the pool of blood, that aboriginal woman, and me. But little did he expect that this event would trigger my determination to create the Tzu Chi World. The interview had been written as an article entitled Eyewitnessing a Pool of Blood and was published in the May 1995 issue of the Tzu Chi Monthly. Although we knew the name of the clinic, in order to protect the doctor concerned, the article did not reveal the names of the clinic or the doctor.

Mutual understanding and love

Years later, this senior doctor came to Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital for treatment for a stroke. After being discharged from the hospital, he made a special trip to the Abode to see me and make a donation to our foundation. I was very grateful to him. Although he had studied medicine in Japan, he had willingly stayed in a little town to take care of the townspeople. I highly admired his spirit. This is the friendship between us.

I fully understand his children's lawsuit against me in order to protect their father's good reputation.

In the two years of litigation, the names of all the people concerned kept surfacing, which was something I did not want to see. My heart goes out to the frail doctor, to Ms. Lee, who was sued for a slip of the tongue, and to Chen Wen-chien, who was one of the four men that carried the woman to the clinic. The passing years have turned Mr. Chen from a sturdy young man to an old, stooping one, but each time he recounted this unfortunate event, tears came to his eyes.

On August 23 of this year, President Francisco Flores of El Salvador, accompanied by President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan, came to Hualien to thank Tzu Chi for helping quake survivors in his nation. All major newspaper and TV stations intensively reported on the court ruling on the "pool of blood" case that had been handed down on the previous day, but none covered the visit made by two heads of states to Hualien. This peculiar phenomenon really saddened me. Taiwan exported love to El Salvador. The president of El Salvador made two special trips to Tzu Chi to express his appreciation. What an honor it was for Taiwan. The media should have covered it so that more people would know the goodness that is Taiwan's treasure.

I believe people need peace of mind and society needs harmony. Social resources should be utilized to benefit the public. Thus, I was willing to accept the court's ruling and decided not to appeal to a higher court.

Social turmoil is often caused by disharmony among people. We are inclined to fight against each other to see who is right and who is wrong. But shouldn't we cherish the fact that we are living in the same space at the same time and therefore love and accommodate one another?

I sincerely thank everyone who has cared and worried about me for the past two years. I know my decision not to appeal might contradict your wishes. But I hope all of us in society can be mutually understanding, caring, and at peace with each other. If every family, every society, and every country in the world can cooperate with unity, harmony, and love, then natural and man-made disasters in the world will decrease and all difficulties in life can be overcome.

As always, my heart is full of gratitude every moment of every single day. I want to express my gratitude to everyone right now at this moment. I also want to thank the doctor's children for letting this case end without further ado.

Let bygones be bygones. There are many more important things that Tzu Chi needs to do. Let us be ever more diligent and united in relieving suffering and giving joy to all beings in the world.

A secure and blessed life

During the last 37 years, Tzu Chi has grown from the initial 30 people to millions of members now, and our perspective in doing charity has extended from Taiwan to the whole world. What remains unchanged is Tzu Chi's initial intention to purify the minds of all people. I place sincerity, uprightness, trust, and integrity above my life. I see kindness, compassion, joy, and unselfish giving as the objectives of my duties. The path has never been easy, but I have no regrets for what I have been doing and I have peace of mind.

All disasters in the world, be they natural or man-made, are caused by people's delusions and ignorance. Look around the world and you will see endless droughts, floods, famines, and wars. I feel that the pure stream of spiritual purification is hardly a match for the turbulent, foul torrent of this world. That is why we need to work harder.

How can we wisely lead the stream of purity to flow into all people's minds? I earnestly pray that everyone can work with one heart and one mind to bring together all goodness in the world. Let us appreciate, bless, and care for one another. Only peace and love can bring harmony and good fortune to society. Only then will we truly live a secure and blessed life!