Yenliao, the Pure Land of Ou Chi-fu, is based on different life habits and values. Human beings must learn to give up some comfort and convenience in life and return to the love and simplicity of nature in order to cure this sick society. Of course, we have to begin to express this love ourselves and then invite more people to put it into practice.

What kind of spiritual pilgrimage motivated a highly educated, highly paid intellectual in his forties to resolutely abandon his worldly position and salary and come to the remote seashore of Hualien to build this Yenliao Pure Land?

Reflection and Awareness

Ou Chi-fu had worked in a well-known petrochemical company for ten years. He became aware one day that his inventions had become a destructive enemy of nature, since things made of plastic do not decompose and will become the eternal burden of the earth. This deep reflection and awareness made him choose another road of life.

Born in wartime Macao, Ou grew up during years of deprivation and instability. He has also enjoyed the richness of orderly metropolitan life. As Ou builds his dreamland of Yenliao, he has only one idea in mind * in the time to come, he wants to live a full life.

Not Harming the Earth

For the last six years, Ou has lived a simple, natural lifestyle. Those who have visited Yenliao know that people are happy not because they own a lot, but because they only need a little. Therefore, the basic principles of a simple life are to limit one's desires, give up some comfort and convenience, and care more about other people.

Without TV or air conditioning, but only enjoying the sea breezes, it is enough for Ou to be immersed in nature. Detergent, insecticide, pesticide, and chemical fertilizer are not used. Ou does his best not to produce garbage: beverage bottles and cans, things with complex wrapping, junk food, Styrofoam and plastic bottles are not welcome.

"Plastic bags endanger our environment because we don't take advantage of the fact that they are durable and reusable," Ou commented. Mother Earth provides us with vegetables and fruit, so we should love and protect her. Plastic bags can be washed and reused. When we go shopping, we could take some along with us, rather than using even more.

Ou also observed that his basic principle is not to harm Mother Earth. If everyone is motivated in his heart to voluntarily participate, then everyone will find joy and will not feel restricted or inconvenienced.

The Most Natural Lifestyle

At every moment, Ou carries out a lifestyle of receiving natural resources, making the best use of them, and eventually returning them to nature. Driftwood from the river is used for kindling. Sometimes Ou picks wild vegetables in the mountains; sometimes he goes to the wholesale market and gathers vegetables or fruit discarded because of superficial defects. These all add a natural flavor to his dinner table. Springwater is used for washing clothes and bathing, while rainwater is used to flush the toilet. Water used to wash vegetables is also used to wash dishes, and then the dishwater is used to water the flowers. Plants and trees in the forest are strong and lush because of this nourishment. Thus, every natural rasource is used as often as possible.

There is little garbage here at Yenliao, but resources are recycled and reused as much as possible. For example, fruit peels are composted and returned to nature. After paper has been used on both sides, it is collected for recycling. Used tissue paper is dried and then used for kindling. Plastic bags are washed and reused. In these ways, the amount of garbage taken out to the garbage truck is reduced to the minimum.

Love Can Cure a Sick Society

"Returning to a simple, natural life actually helps us to slow down, think things over, and make new plans for healthier, more advanced, more continuous development," Ou said. Living a simple life is not falling back. The criteria by which Ou evaluates whether or not human beings are in progress are: whether there is love between people, whether there is love between people and animals, and whether there is love between people and the environment.

Love, therefore, plays an important role in a sick society. "When the spiritual life of human beings is full of love, they will not pursue material enjoyment. Of course, if people know how to control their desires and live simply, there won't be unlimited consumption of nature's limited resources."

How Much Do You Love This Land?

Our love for the earth is not shown through our words, but through our behavior. For instance, when urban people eat at the many streetside stands or cafeterias in the city, they can take along their own dishes and utensils, so that they won't have to use disposable ones. Housewives can take their own shopping bags to the market. Students and office workers should carefully use every piece of paper. People can take public transportation instead of driving personal cars to reduce the consumption of oil. People should try not to simply throw away their garbage, but look to see what can be reused or recycled.