"In early September 1996, we went to Hopei Province in mainland China to inspect the damage caused by Typhoon Herb. We saw a ditch about ten meters [33 ft] wide. There were two villages, one on either side of the ditch. We thought those villages were too close to the ditch, so no wonder they were flooded. We never realized that it was originally one village that had been cut into two by the flood. Some houses appeared intact from the front, but when we opened a door, we saw another ditch right behind. Even a month after the disaster, many places were still filled with chesthigh mud. It was impossible to rebuild..."

"All the crops on which the local people relied for the winter had been washed away. There was no harvest to collect and no land to plant. Farmers said it would take six months to get another harvest. The local government provided some emergency supplies which could last till the end of autumn. After that..."

After ripping through Taiwan, Typhoon Herb caused serious devastation in mainland China. To farmers there, the worst disaster in 30 years broke their long hope of rising out of poverty. What was worse, fall would soon be over and they had not yet recovered from the damage. When the north wind started to blow and the snow started to fall, how could they face the piercing chill of winter?

Buddha had the broadminded desire to save all suffering beings. As Buddha's followers, we Tzu Chi members certainly could not be indifferent to the suffering of victims of the typhoon. On receiving the plea for help, Tzu Chi immediately sent teams to each of the most seriously ravaged districts in the provinces of Hopei and Fukien to inspect the damage. They decided to provide winter clothes, comforters and three months' supply of flour and rice to victims in 11 counties. As long as the victims could survive the severe winter, they would be able to help each other stand up on their own when spring came.

So, off we went to those strange, remote disaster areas.

Relief in Hopei Province

By Ho Cheng-ching

"When I was holding those coarse hands, I felt a pain in my heart. I didn't say a word, but she could read my mind from my trembling hands. She consoled me with a smile. 'It's nothing, it's nothing. We're heavy manual laborers. It's all right.' The spiritual communication and the friendly smile made me feel like crying." Thus a member of the Tzu Chi relief team related her personal experience during her trip to Hopei in October 1996. The other team members shared her emotions.

Only the Best

"Whenever we give, we give the best," is a principle of Tzu Chi's relief work. It demonstrates the respect that Tzu Chi bears towards disaster victims.

Flour in mainland China is divided into three classes: Special No. 1, Special No. 2 and Standard. Originally, Tzu Chi wanted to distribute Special No. 1, but local people said that they usually had Standard. Only during festivals did they have Special No. 2. As for Special No. 1, only rich people could afford it.

Since this was the case, we accepted their suggestion to distribute Special No. 2. On receiving the pure white refined flour, one old grandfather smiled so heartily that he couldn't close his mouth. He said, "With such nice flour, it seems like New Year's Day." Others said they would eat slowly and save some for the Chinese New Year [which falls on February 7 this year].

The cotton clothes and comforters which were still under production were of high quality. Local government officials saw the samples. They were very touched because they never expected that Tzu Chi would give them such high quality products. "The people can wear them for the rest of their lives and they will be grateful to you their whole lives," said one official with a choke in his voice.

In Pinshan County, the flour to be distributed weighed 325,000 kilograms [357.5 tons]. It was a great task to move the flour from the storage area to the distribution center 300 kilometers [186 miles] away. The local government had to mobilize more than 30 trucks from public organizations and private owners. Each truck had to run back and forth twice to finish the job. It took them one day and one night without rest to accomplish the mission.

Because the sacks were slippery and the road was very rugged, sacks frequently fell from the trucks. An empty truck followed behind just to pick up the fallen sacks. A lookout had to sit on top of the driver's cabin with a comforter wrapped around him, since the temperature was only 2 to 3 degrees Celsius [36-38 F]. Shivering with the cold, he had to watch the road carefully. When sacks fell off the trucks ahead, they stopped to pick them up. By the time they reached the destination, they had picked up 34 sacks. "We didn't want to waste even one grain," said Chang Lanching, deputy director of the Civil Service Bureau.

"Charcoal in the Snow"

At the distribution center, the strangeness of the first contact was melted away by smiles. Following the Chinese fashion of showing respect to the recipients, all Tzu Chi members stood as they distributed supplies, and they addressed older people as "grandpa" or "grandma." They chatted with the people and listened as they talked about their sufferings.

Some victims who lived far away had to leave their homes at 5:00 or 6:00 in the cold morning. The road to Shuangshihpu Village, Lingcheng County, had been cut off. Villagers had to make a detour around a mountain and walk six hours to reach the distribution center. Seeing the dust all over their bodies, we said to them, "We're sorry to see that you took so much trouble to get here." "Not at all," they replied. "You took a lot more trouble to get here since you came from a thousand miles away."

One old man from Weichou Town, Chinjin County, described the flood. "When the water was three meters [almost ten feet] high, we all climbed onto the roofs. We connected planks between roofs and later escaped to a hill. In just one night, everything was gone." However, the old man was not frustrated. He said firmly that if they could only survive the winter, there would be a harvest the next spring. "We'll never forget your help. The provisions you brought us can save our lives, just like 'charcoal in the snow.'" That phrase is a traditional Chinese idiom that describes "friends in need" providing help when it is most needed. His broad smile made people believe that there would be unlimited hope the next spring.

Starting Over Again

When we first saw the honest, smiling faces of the typhoon victims, we could not comprehend why they didn't show any sorrow when they had lost everything. On the contrary, they showed only perseverance and confidence. Later on, we realized that they had been farmers for generation after generation. Their characters were like the solid ground. The worse they were blasted by the wind and rain, the stronger the tenacity hidden in their blood would show. It was not that they didn't have tears. It was rather that they had already wiped away the tears and had started to struggle forward again.

In Tzanhuang County, we asked a 17-year-old boy why he didn't take the opportunity to leave his home, since there was nothing left there, and go somewhere else to create his own future. "No," he said unhesitatingly. "I want to stay home to till the land. I want to make my hometown better." His eyes showed the burden of the changes in his world, but they also showed his self-confidence.

Staying a lifetime in a small village, that young man may not be able to see the outside world and his vision may not be very broad. However, living in a practical, down-to-earth way shows the greatest respect for life and is also the root for all hope. So his mind may actually be broader than anyone else's.

Warmth From a Thousand Miles Away

If you want to know why people do such kind deeds , selfless compassion would be the only answer. "I feel I am very lucky to have been brought up in a happy family. I would like to share my happiness with suffering people as long as I can." All the Tzu Chi members in the relief team shared this attitude. Their selflessness was demonstrated by the fact that they paid their own traveling expenses to make this trip.

Living in a poor, unproductive land, the people are destined to fight against heaven and earth to scratch a living from the soil. If we can give them a hand at the time when they need help the most, they will never forget the people who brought them "charcoal in the snow."

Relief in Fukien Province

By Hu ang Hsiu-hua

"During the night of August 8, 1996, the rain poured and poured. At about 3 or 4 a.m., water gushed into the house. The lights suddenly went out. I heard someone outside beating a pan and yelling 'Run for your lives!' I grabbed my three-year-old son and followed my husband, my mother and another child. We waded through the water, which came up to our waists, and got out of the house." Still trembling at the fearful memory, a woman from Shiayang Town in Yungting County described the night of the typhoon.

When that family ran into the dark streets, they heard the crying and wailing of children and women, and they dimly saw a whole row of houses knocked down by the flood. In their panic, they could not think of anything except running and crawling toward high ground. They didn't realize that people had been buried alive or washed away by the flood.

When the long night was finally over, even the dawn did not drive away the woman's gloom. It was a blessing that her whole family was safe, but their three-story apartment had been reduced to rubble. The garment business she had run for decades was also lost. The pain in her heart was indescribable.

With Life, There Is Hope

From checking name lists to distributing rice, Tzu Chi members always wore smiles on their faces to show their care for the victims.

A 17-year-old girl from Shiayang Town, Yungting County, lost her parents and grandmother in the typhoon, and her house was destroyed. Now she had to shoulder the responsibility of supporting the family so that her younger brother and sister could go to school. In the weeks after the typhoon, she dropped out of nursing school and went to her aunt's farm to learn farming. She didn't even know how to use a hoe. She had to learn from the very beginning. She got up very early every morning to work in the fields.

Seeing her eyes brimming with tears, I felt as if I had been hit by a truck. The loss of her house and possessions was already difficult to accept, but as long as she was alive, she still had hope. However, after losing her family, the terror and the deep wounds in her heart might take a long time to heal.

Good Examples

The people treasured the affection shown by the Tzu Chi members. When grains of rice fell to the ground from bag seams, Tzu Chi people would bend down to pick them up. Seeing this, the local people would also bend down and help pick up the rice. This concept of cherishing our blessings was just what Master Cheng Yen has always taught us.

As the emergency supplies were distributed, there was less and less; but as our love was distributed, there was more and more. Shu Wen-pin, deputy mayor of Futing City, accompanied the relief team for three days. She commended the carefulness, the friendliness and the hardworking spirit of the team members. She particularly noticed that at the distribution center, team members would pick up any fruit peels and plastic bags left on the ground. She thought that their environmental protection concept was something worth emulating.

Learning the Tzu Chi Spirit

In 11 days, the Tzu Chi relief team traveled through more than half of Fukien Province. It was really a hard job. The distance from Fuchou to Yungting County in west Fukien is 540 kilometers [335 miles]. The team members rode 11 hours overnight and reached the destination early in the morning. Immediately they pitched in with the relief work.

At the distribution center in Shiayang Town, Yungting County, the weather was very warm. The Tzu Chi members had to work under the hot sun and everyone was soaked with sweat. On that particular day, over 7,000 people came to receive relief supplies. Furthermore, part of the supplies did not arrive on time, so Tzu Chi members themselves had to unload the rice from the trucks. It was already past noon, and the crowds were becoming impatient after waiting for such a long time. However, when they found out that the Tzu Chi people who were distributing the rice also hadn't had anything to eat, they applauded, "Your spirit is a good example for us."

The distribution of relief supplies did not finish until 3:30 p.m. All the Tzu Chi members refused to take any rest until every recipient had gotten his or her portion. Even government officials were touched by their determination, and they insisted on not eating anything until almost 4, when the distribution work was done. Their spirit in turn moved the Tzu Chi members.

When the team members arrived at the distribution center in Changting County, they saw that victims had been respectfully provided with chairs and drinking water. The relief team members admired the loving hearts and mindfulness of the local government leaders.

Love Will Always Shine

"Helping others is actually helping our own hearts ." The team members brought out their own compassion and kindness when they gave care to others.

"The material was limited, but the care was limitless." When we saw tractors loaded with sacks of rice driving away and victims waving good-bye to us with gratified, heartfelt smiles, we were really touched. The rice would be used up one day, but the sincere blessings would never end.