Within just a few seconds, the powerful force of the waves transformed what were originally blissful family vacations into dreadful tragedies, leaving a few lucky survivors to live on with the unbearable sorrow of bereavement. Many of the bustling villages located along picturesque beachfronts were suddenly turned into eerie ghost towns. Millions of lives were affected by the tsunamis, forever traumatized by this terrible day.

The extent of the devastation overwhelmed me with such an extreme feeling of grief that I could not even shed a tear. The intensity of the anguish was similar to the feelings which I had experienced five years earlier, when a huge earthquake devastated central Taiwan and took over 2,000 lives. No words could describe the excruciating pain that I felt. But I knew that I must brace myself, and face up to the reality. Tzu Chi immediately formed a disaster relief center in our Guandu Compound in Taipei. Foundation members living in the affected countries continuously phoned in to tell me what the survivors needed the most.

I am grateful for the support of all Tzu Chi members. Knowing of my concern for the tsunami victims, many doctors and nurses from the Tzu Chi hospitals in Hualien, Dalin, and Xindian offered their services, telling me that they were ready to go to the disaster regions immediately and hold free clinics. Thus three days after the calamity, a Tzu Chi medical team arrived in Sri Lanka. Tzu Chi members in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand promptly traveled to disaster areas in their respective countries. They tried their best to console survivors and find out their needs in order to prepare for relief distributions.

Consoling bodies and minds

Providing help to people living in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, the two most seriously affected areas, was dangerous and difficult as both of these places have on-going civil wars.

The province of Aceh, which is located on the northern tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, is rich in petroleum and natural gas. However many of the local inhabitants still live in poverty and fear, paralyzed by the fight for independence which has raged on for over two decades now.

Tzu Chi has been engaged in charity work in Indonesia for over ten years. The solid and selfless contributions of local Tzu Chi members has won the government's trust. After the tsunami, our members in Jakarta and Medan immediately rushed to Aceh to investigate the scale of the disaster. They then held free clinics and distributed relief materials such as water, food, and tents.

Two decades of ethnic confrontations in northern Sri Lanka have crippled the country's social security system and prevented any increase in economic development. Most local people live in a miserable state of abject fear and poverty. As Tzu Chi had no branch there, members from Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia flew out to help.

Seeing so many survivors both physically and mentally traumatized from losing their beloved relatives and homes, the Tzu Chi medical team tried to focus on helping survivors heal their emotional wounds in addition to their physical ailments. In order to let victims vent their sorrow, our medical volunteers provided their shoulders to cling to as they listened to terrible ordeals. While survivors waited for medical treatment, our volunteers also tried to cheer them up by singing and performing so that the survivors could temporarily forget their agony and enjoy a short moment of relaxation.

If these Tzu Chi volunteers were not acting out of sincere love and care, how could they have had the courage and wisdom to mend broken hearts? I am grateful to these living bodhisattvas. Fully aware of the harsh weather and poor living conditions that awaited them at the disaster areas, more than 100 doctors and nurses from our hospitals still volunteered to serve the sick and injured in Sri Lanka and Indonesia. This was because in their selfless compassion they see everyone in the world as their own relatives. Their fearless love is truly moving.

As Tzu Chi volunteers continued to provide relief and medical care, they also considered long-term plans to build 3,000 houses in Indonesia and 1,000 houses in Sri Lanka. Only when survivors have a place to settle down, a base from which to rebuild their lives, can the torment within their minds and bodies be soothed. Only then will they have the strength to stand up again.

There are three points which I would like to ask our volunteers to bear in mind when they build new homes for the survivors. First of all, the houses should be near city areas. Because Banda Aceh, the capital of the province of Aceh, sustained severe damage in the tsunami, the Indonesian government decided to relocate the capital. The houses we build should be close to wherever the new capital is so that survivors can enjoy a more convenient life, find new jobs more easily, and really settle down in their new homes.

Secondly, the quality of the houses must be good. I suggest that we build duplex bungalows for the survivors. Such houses enjoy the advantages of good ventilation and ample natural light. Since our volunteers around the globe have put so much effort into soliciting donations by standing in cold wind or going from one village to another, we should give the best to the survivors so that the efforts of our volunteers will be well-spent.

Thirdly, when the houses are completed, we must show care and discretion in distributing them to prevent disputes among local victims.

Living bodhisattvas

Buddhist sutras often mention the existence of Five Realms in the universe: heaven, human, animal, hungry ghost, and hell. But if we closely scrutinize the human realm alone, we can categorize people's lives into the five realms.

For example, this unprecedented catastrophe took away many lives and tore apart countless families within just a few minutes. Although some people were lucky enough to survive, they still seemed to have plunged into hell to endure heart-wrenching bereavement from then on.

I have heard a story concerning a very lucky mother. When she saw the giant waves charging in, she fought to pull her two children to safety. She used all of her might to hold one child in her arm while tightly grasping the hand of the other child. But the waves came with such strong force that she could not help but lose her grip. The child vanished before her eyes. She and the child in her arm were saved. But having witnessed the sight of her other child being swept away by the water, and being unable to help save her, the mother's heart was completely shattered. At this moment, miraculously, she suddenly found out that her missing child had been saved by someone else on the beach.

Most people were not as fortunate as this mother. There is the dreadful account of a family of 71 people, of whom 70 lives were taken in the tsunami. The remaining person lost all of his relatives in the blink of an eye. It is easy, but heartbreaking, to imagine what kind of unbearable pain this man will live with from now on. I imagine his life would be akin to that of one living in hell.

I can also imagine how the affected areas must have looked after the tsunami hit: the dead, bloated bodies lying everywhere, and amidst these scenes of carnage the poor survivors who had lost their families as well as everything they had ever owned. Some needed to endure the anguish of losing their beloved ones. Others had to face a life of difficulty and hardship with physical injuries and even the loss of their limbs... All this provokes a vivid picture of hell.

This terrible catastrophe shocked the whole world, but did it wake us up to face the impermanence and fragility of life? When the disaster happened, it immediately captured many people's attention. However, will people's concern soon be distracted by other matters in a month or two? Then are we being humane enough?

The tsunami-stricken areas are not the only examples of living hells in our world. In many other places, people have to endure horrendous suffering from constant hunger and cold, leading an existence similar to that of a hungry ghost.

The disasters that have inflicted hellish pain on so many people have indeed motivated many others to offer help with the love of the bodhisattvas. I am truly grateful to the Tzu Chi medical teams as they have often overcome numerous difficulties to treat wounded bodies and console traumatized minds both in Taiwan and abroad--a real sublimation of their normal human character. The medical workers are not just mundane living beings; they act as noble human beings should. As I often say, once you perfect your human nature, you will have attained the buddha-nature." These doctors and nurses are living bodhisattvas indeed.

Our lives are intertwined

Suffering is often a precious life lesson. We should seize every chance to help and console the less fortunate. Please do bear in mind, and do not forget, these horrible scenes of devastation caused by the tsunami. We must be alert to Mother Nature's power and fully aware of the impermanence of life.

The earth's crust is made up of seven large plates that all interrelate with one another. A jolt in one region will trigger a chain reaction in numerous other places. Since all of us human beings live together under the same sky and are all citizens of the global village, we are thus a collective living entity. Our lives are interdependent and intertwined. It is vital that we love one another. Those who are safe and well should help those in danger. In recent years, disasters have frequently occurred and the world is slowly heading toward a phase of destruction and decay. However, most people seem unaware of this and continue to hasten the deterioration of our environment by cutting down trees and polluting water.

The Lotus Sutra tells us: "There is no safety in the Threefold Realms of Lust, Form, and Formlessness (our universe) since they are like a burning house and are replete with a multitude of sufferings. It is truly fearful to live in these three realms as the residents are constantly beset with the grief and pains of birth, aging, sickness and death, which are like fires raging fiercely without cease."

In the Parable of the Burning House Chapter in the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha compared the world to a big, old mansion which was owned by a senior gentleman (the Buddha himself) who had many children (us common people). Unfortunately, his children did nothing but indulge themselves in all kinds of games all day long inside the mansion. They were so engrossed in these games that they were unaware that the ramshackle house could fall apart at any minute.

One day the naughty children were playing with fire. They were so completely fascinated by the glorious flames that they failed to notice that the fire was spreading and their lives were in danger. When the old gentleman saw that the mansion was on fire, he nervously shouted to his children to get out as the mansion was in danger of collapsing. However, none of the children listened to his words and instead continued playing inside.

Knowing how much the children liked toys, the old gentleman was brilliant enough to think of a way to lure them out. He called to them, "Children, I've prepared three kinds of carriages for you in the front square of the mansion. When you get to the square, you are free to choose among carriages drawn by oxen, deer, or goats." Upon hearing this wonderful news, the children, afraid to lag behind, all dashed out eager to be the first to get to the square. No sooner had they arrived at the square than the mansion fell down.

The Buddha compared the world to the house on fire, and us people to the ignorant children who were completely unaware of danger and continued committing mischievous deeds. This metaphor accurately reflects the reality of the world today.

Let us learn from this shocking tragedy of the tsunami and wake up to the vulnerability of human life. How can the world be free from disasters? How can the land be full of blessings? The answer lies in the purification of our hearts. We must fill up the world with gratitude and Great Love.

If we want peace, we must all mindfully do good deeds because as the sutras teach us, "An act of kindness dispels a thousand disasters." I trust everyone has compassion in their hearts. But unless we actually share this compassion and earnestly help those in suffering, how will they ever be able to have the hope and the strength to continue on?

The world is like one big family. No matter how far apart we live from each other, we are all still siblings. A Chinese proverb says, "Blessings come to the family that constantly does good deeds." Only by spreading kindness from more and more people can the members of this big family help one another keep disasters at bay.

Let us not forget those who are struggling to survive. We must open up our arms and give them heartwarming care. It is imperative that we continue to give our love to the tsunami victims. Let us keep on entering their lives and bringing them out of their misery so that smiles will return to their faces someday.

I am full of gratitude to all Tzu Chi members for raising funds for the tsunami-stricken regions in South Asia. May all people open up their hearts to help the suffering with visible actions of love. May they also light up their own minds with invisible thoughts of kindness.

The world is impermanent and the land is fragile. If we are able to enjoy a day of peace, we should be grateful throughout the day. People who can offer help to others are truly blessed. The more we give, the happier we should be. Do not let your love run dry. We must spread the network of bodhisattvas and envelop the world with compassion. Please console the less fortunate with love and shelter them from wind and rain.

We hope that in our boats of compassion we can ferry the suffering from a shore of agony and pain to another shore of joy and happiness. Let us prepare our boats and navigate them towards all places of suffering and anguish so that we can give joy and help relieve people from their sorrow. May each of you spread the seeds of Great Love to the whole world!