A polio patient without any formal education, Shu-chi once felt that only money could bring her security. When she was a child, she was concerned about what her life would be like as an adult; when she became an adult, she worried about her twilight years. After getting involved with Tzu Chi, she became less worried and more relaxed. Now when she is not too busy, she happily does volunteer work. All her neighbors are happy to see this big change.

Tsai Shu-chi's home is so old that the walls are mottled and the doors are worn out. She lights a lamp in a dark corner of her living room and proceeds to weave a fishing net. Her hands are as fast as an electric weaving machine, and soon a large bundle of nylon thread turns into a shiny fishing net.

Shu-chi started weaving fishing nets when she was a child. She has spent all her life weaving them; she is over 40 years old now.

Born in a fishing village in Chiayi County, southern Taiwan, Shu-chi spent all her time mending fishing nets and shucking oysters to make a living. But she was still often concerned whether she would be able to financially support herself in her later years.

One day, she put down her work and rolled her wheelchair out of her home. She left town and traveled to Hualien, on the other side of the Central Mountain Range, to visit the Abode of Still Thoughts, the home of the Tzu Chi Foundation. Since then, her views have broadened and she no longer feels inferior.

Her income was very meager, based on the number of fishing nets mended and the total weight of oysters cut open. Each penny earned had to be used carefully. So her first motto was, "Money is my security."

Shu-chi contracted poliomyelitis when she was a year old. She could not walk because both of her feet had atrophied, so she used a wheelchair to get around. Her father died when she was five years old, and her mother had to labor in a salt-drying plant and in a garment factory to raise four daughters. Her mother's heavy workload affected her health. She often had to suffer until the end of the day when she would rush to an unlicensed doctor's home to get injections for her illness [it was cheaper than going to a licensed physician]. Shu-chi, being handicapped and the youngest child, was destined to stay home since nobody could carry her to school, which was quite far away.

Shu-chi recalls that since she never went to school, her "teacher" was a dictionary that her older sister gave her when she was a child; she still has it now. When Shu-chi was eight years old, she started making her own living with her hands. She was paid according to the number of fishing nets she wove or mended and the weight of oysters she cut open. Thus her income was very meager and she had to use her money carefully. Her first motto in life was, "Money is my security."

Her noble desire not to be a burden to anyone else drove her to work nonstop. But it also bolstered her to live bravely, independently, and proudly, although somewhat tediously.

Her sisters were married off one after another. In 1990, her mother died. Shu-chi didn't obey her mother's last words for her to live with her sisters; instead, she remained single and lived by herself until Tsai Wan-wen, a Tzu Chi commissioner and her third sister's colleague, became close to her.

After Shu-chi's mother died, Tsai came to see Shu-chi and gave her vegetables she had bought in the market. The same year, Shu-chi started donating money to Tzu Chi regularly, and Tsai invited her to attend a lecture by Master Cheng Yen. Shu-chi was impressed with the care and full cooperation that Tzu Chi volunteers showed in quickly cleaning up the lecture hall after the speech was over.

Shu-chi recalls, "I was invited by the volunteers with full respect. I never had the courage to go out because I was afraid to see other people. However, I believed that Tzu Chi people were so full of love that they wouldn't reject me."　

Her tedious life, strong sense of inferiority, and physical disability once made her long for death. However, her new life has completely changed her mindset. When she is not too busy, she spends time doing volunteer work.

Shu-chi explained that she once wanted to commit suicide because her life was boring and meaningless and because of her physical disability and feelings of inferiority. However, her new life after coming into Tzu Chi has completely changed her mindset. She was inspired to become a volunteer in environmental protection and at Tzu Chi hospitals.

Whenever she is not too busy, she spends time doing volunteer work. She volunteers at Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, a community health examination station, a recycling depot, and nursing homes. Her neighbors, who don't see her so often anymore, say with a smile, "Shu-chi has changed!"　

"Actually, I've been recycling myself too!" Shu-chi hopes to cleanse her mind of all impurities and to preserve anything good and useful.

A volunteer drives a truck of recyclable items back to a recycling station in Putai. Bags of paper, dirty cans, and bottles are dropped before Shu-chi. She flattens and sorts the metal cans, aluminum cans, plastic, glass, and plastic bottles into separate bags.

Mosquitoes fly everywhere and ants, disoriented after being thrown out of the bags, run towards Shu-chi. She pays no attention to these biting ants and continues her volunteer work while sitting on the ground.

Shu-chi started the recycling program at her home in 1995. Neighbors such as "Aunt Easy" and "Aunt Gourd" help her collect recyclable goods. They are so nicknamed because of one's easy-going personality and the other's slightly rotund figure. Shu-chi places several baskets and bags outside her home, and around six in the morning, metallic sounds are heard as these two lovely ladies come and put recyclable goods there. They both said, "She told us that Tzu Chi wants these!"

The recycling station is on an empty lot next to the parking lot at Putai town hall. With help from Tzu Chi volunteer Tsai Hsing-yueh, Shu-chi goes there to fold used newspapers. She is not afraid of hard work, but it is hard for her to tie up cardboard boxes firmly because they are large and she can't stand up to tie them. Still, she tries to tie them up to make the pile more compact.

The recyclable items are usually collected from house to house at night. After supper, Tsai often picks up Shu-chi on her motorcycle to take her to the recycling station. Tsai encourages Shu-chi to be independent, so she always steadies the motorcycle and lets Shu-chi climb onto the back seat by herself.

Shu-chi said happily that she could now get on and off the motorcycle without any problems. In the past, when she arrived at the station, she had to ask for a stool to help get off the motorcycle. But now, there is no need for it.

Suddenly becoming serious, Shu-chi said that she has been recycling herself as well. She hopes to cleanse all impurities from her mind and to preserve anything good and useful.　

When the illegal lottery "Everybody Happy" was popular, she was a bookmaker who got a commission when people came to her home to choose numbers. After she joined Tzu Chi, she asked herself one day, "Am I doing the right thing?"

About three years ago, Tzu Chi TV wanted to interview Shu-chi, but she refused. She asserted that she wasn't good enough. She felt that a part of her conduct was at variance with the good image of Tzu Chi, and that made her feel ambivalent. She said, "I just wanted to be a happy volunteer."

The illegal "Everybody Happy" lottery was quite popular throughout Taiwan at that time. Shu-chi was a bookmaker and people regularly went to her home to bet on the numbers. Each set of numbers cost NT$100 (US$3); Shu-chi would earn a NT$5-10 commission for each set that people bought. She could sit at home without any sweat and make between $15,000 and $20,000 (US$500-670) a month in commissions. Shu-chi was very attracted to this "part-time job" and continued doing it for over a decade.

Shu-chi herself never gambled because she had seen too many people leading miserable lives because of it. Their agony over losing money and their eagerness to get the money back began a chain of suffering. Even though she felt bad about people losing money, she let that bad feeling slide quickly off her shoulders. To her, the most important thing was to make more money for her twilight years.

Originally, she felt this steady income was justified because she also had to put in her time and energy. However, after she joined Tzu Chi, she asked herself one day, "Am I creating bad karma for myself?"

"If you don't do it, other people will." Her friends told her not to blame herself but continue making more money. However, there was a louder voice in her heart: she was suffering so much in this life because of her physical disability, and she should create blessings for her next life by doing more good deeds.

In July 2001, Shu-chi's conscience took over and she decided not to be a bookmaker anymore. Her friends pressured her not to quit and made her worry about what she might lose. Fortunately, her sisters supported her decision. Tzu Chi volunteers often accompanied her to the seashore at dusk, where her distractions sank into the ocean along with the setting sun. She never returned to the old path.

Having become a volunteer, Shu-chi feels more down-to-earth about everything she does. The results are also beneficial to herself and other people. Her team leader, Hsieh Hui-fen, said that she would try to find a "job" for Shu-chi. Tsai Wan-wen, a Tzu Chi volunteer, would drive Shu-chi to volunteer at Project Hope schools, tea parties, hospitals, and local communities. Hsieh said that many healthy people are greatly inspired by what Shu-chi does.　

Working as a hospital volunteer for the first time, Shu-chi was perplexed. She told herself that she had to overcome her mental barriers, especially her sense of inferiority. Now she really enjoys interacting with patients.

"Good day, watch your step!" Two years ago in November, Shu-chi's volunteer work was extended to Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital. There, she often greets people at the hospital entrance.

When Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital first opened, Shu-chi went there to see the doctor. A volunteer pushed her around in a wheelchair to tour the hospital. When they reached the volunteers' dormitory, Shu-chi said enviously, "Whoever can live here is blessed!" She never thought that two years later she would begin to stay there during her turns as hospital volunteer.

The morning after Shu-chi first came to stay in the volunteers' dormitory at Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, she joined others in the morning prayer. She sat on the ground and pushed herself forward with both hands. The distance was short but it was very hard for her, as if she had to walk through the Great Wall of China. Perplexed, she told herself that she had to overcome many things, including her sense of inferiority.

Each time she did volunteer work, she also had to overcome many challenges. Finally, she came to enjoy interacting with patients.

"Miss, what's wrong with your legs?" "You're still volunteering despite your condition?" Many people feel curious about her and such questions are often posed. But Shu-chi greets everyone with a smile now, and she is familiar to those old people who kindly show care and concern for her.

An old man once asked her, "Have you eaten yet? Make sure to wear more and keep yourself warm!" Shu-chi's heart warmed at hearing this: it reminded her of Uncle Jui-chao.

Uncle Jui-chao was an old friend who used to live across the street from her home and who used to help her family a lot. Many neighbors had moved away because of the constant flooding in the area. Before this kind neighbor moved away, he insisted on lending his two-story home to her free of charge. Thus, Shu-chi has this comfortable home now while her old home has become her workshop.

Some people ask, "Why is your hospital so nice to the patients?"

Shu-chi replies, "People come to the hospital because they are ill. In this strange environment, if someone smiles at you, you will feel better and have the courage to ask questions!"

That is true indeed. One old woman was brought by her son to see the doctor. After she picked up her medicine, she couldn't find her son and became anxious. Shu-chi smiled at her, so the old woman asked her for help. Shu-chi then phoned her son's cell phone and found out where he was. The mother and son soon went home together. The following day, the same old woman came to the hospital, and when she saw Shu-chi she greeted her with a smile: "Young lady, you are volunteering again today?"

Two years ago, Shu-chi discovered that even though she sometimes had no work for a few days, she didn't feel flustered because it meant that she had more time to do volunteer work.

She is grateful to many Tzu Chi sisters for helping her to become a Tzu Chi volunteer in the hospital. Her little home is always full of laughter. In April and October last year, volunteers and neighbors came to her home for several days to prepare food for charity bazaars. Aunt Easy and Aunt Gourd also came to help.

For over a decade, 80-year-old Aunt Easy has waited for Shu-chi to open her door every morning so she can pick up Shu-chi's clothes that were washed the night before and hang them outside to dry. When it rains, Aunt Easy takes Shu-chi's clothes back to her own home to dry. Aunt Gourd, 72, dumps Shu-chi's garbage for her and puts in new garbage bags.

The two of them visit Shu-chi's home very often and help her in many ways. When Shu-chi is busy with her work, they cook for her; and when she has finished with work, they help her clean her place. Shu-chi feels that they are as kind to her as though they were her mothers.

Shu-chi's life is now filled with love. Through her volunteer work, she also makes the world a better place. She still works industriously in life, but her hard-working hands are weaving blessings for herself.