One day, some of our volunteers were entertaining the Heart Lotus patients with singing and dancing. After watching for a little while, Sun suddenly spoke up: "It drives me crazy to see you dancing so awkwardly!"

The volunteers, taken aback by Sun's abrupt comments, asked him, "How should we dance then?" In response, Sun climbed gingerly out of bed and began to demonstrate the proper dance steps. He swayed his hands and body while giving instructions to the volunteers: "Move your hands up as if you were taking in the good things; move your hands down as if throwing away the bad stuff." In no time, he had the volunteers singing and dancing alongside him.

It took dancing to bridge the gulf between us and Sun. After that, he no longer shunned our overtures, and he even began to open up to us. As we became more familiar with him, we learned that he had once been a truck driver with a happy family. Sadly, his life began to unravel when his wife abandoned him and their infant son. He was forced to single-handedly take care of his baby son while continuing to drive his truck full time. When it was time to hit the road, he would strap the baby into the seat beside him. When necessary, he had to pull off the road to bottle-feed him or change his diaper. And yet, despite the challenges, Sun continued to be the best father he could to his little son.

When his son was in elementary school, Sun found himself getting thinner day by day. Unable to account for his weight loss, he went to a hospital for an examination. Soon he got the news he feared the most: he had been diagnosed with gastric cancer.

Sun could not accept the grim facts. He was still young and his child was so small. He began to close himself off, and he grew more and more withdrawn. That was how we came to know him in the Heart Lotus Ward.

Knowing that he was a Christian, our volunteers tried to encourage him. "Didn't you teach us to take in the good things (and put them in our hearts) and throw away the bad (let go of our worries and unhappiness)? Come on, let's sing some hymns to praise the Lord." He smiled brightly at this suggestion, and he began to sing and dance with us. We were all happy to see him in such good spirits.

Before long, his condition stabilized and he was discharged from the hospital. Before he left, he kept telling our volunteers, "You must come and visit me."

One day, we paid him a visit as promised. Sun's mother and sister thanked us for our care and concern and told us he had been a more cheerful person since his return from the hospital. Sun took us through one photo album after another as he shared with us his cherished memories. His face beaming with pride, he also showed us a certificate which stated that he had been ordained as a Presbyterian elder.

Some time later, Sun was admitted into the Heart Lotus Ward again. He was obviously much weaker than the last time we had seen him. He knew that he didn't have long to live, and he expressed his wish to donate his body for medical research after he died. A few days later, he decided to check out of the hospital. He wanted to spend the rest of his days at home.

When we went to his home to visit him, we met some medical personnel from the Tzu Chi hospital coming out of his room. They had stopped by to check on him. All of them looked very sad. Clearly, the end was drawing near. We entered his room, gathered around him, and began to pray and sing hymns for him. There was a calm, peaceful expression on his face.

We received a phone call on our way back to the hospital, telling us that Sun had passed away.

His body, as he had wished, was donated to the medical school at Tzu Chi University. As he had taught us in his life, so his body would teach others after his death. "Take in the good things and throw away the bad" was the message he left with all of us. Although Sun may be gone, his wise words will live on in me forever.