The illustration volunteers labor over every picture to intensify the visual effect of the typeface, so that the readers, while contemplating the words, can also gain an aesthetic experience.

Have you ever been so attracted by an illustration that you decided to read the whole article? I remember a chapter in an elementary school textbook, "Look at the Pictures and Tell a Story." Even now, most people think that "a picture is worth a thousand words." Actually, there is something in the pictures that draws you to the article.

Intellectual challenge

Pan Ching-jui was brought up in a Buddhist family. Although he was the last in his family to become involved with Tzu Chi, he is by no means the least committed.

In 1996, he was a fine arts instructor at the Tung Kuang Middle School in his hometown of Ilan. He saw an ad for illustration volunteers in the Tzu Chi Monthly magazine. He thought that if an article was accompanied with a good illustration, it might be more readable. So he contacted the editor and became a volunteer illustrator.

"Each time the editor faxes me an article, it challenges my intellect, because I have to comprehend the writer's feelings and then think about how I should present the picture. The whole process is very deliberate." The articles describe many valuable life experiences from which he can learn. He pays a lot of attention to each article. Even if it is only one page long, he tries very hard to present the artistry of the text in the picture.

Pan's studio is located in the crowded attic of his home. All the illustrations for the Tzu Chi Monthly and the Tzu Chi Companion biweekly newspaper are completed there. The sound of the rain falling on the sheet metal roof drowns out the noise from the city, isolating the studio from the world.

Seeing drawings of various styles posted on the walls, we can tell that the artist himself is fond of using his imagination. Pan is a creator who knows how to use different materials in his works. Whenever he receives an article from Tzu Chi, he always reads it carefully to grasp what the writer wants to say. Then he lets his inspiration ferment in his mind. After that he starts to paint.

Regarding the illustrations for the special reports on Teachers' Day, he said that before he started drawing, he first recalled people's general impressions of teachers. Then he sketched out the pictures in his mind. For example, he painted some plants growing from a person's head to symbolize the development of a person's wisdom. Such a composition makes reality come alive with imagination. It attracts people's attention and makes them want to keep on reading.

Pan always wants to first develop feelings for a given article before he forms an idea. He wants his creation to transmit something instinctive, but not artificial. Thus, his attitude is very serious. Although he graduated from the prestigious National Institute of Art, he still sticks to his own ideas in creating, never influenced by fashion or anti-fashion.

Painter and teacher

Pan thought a long time before becoming a Tzu Chi volunteer. In the summer of 1992, he was in his senior year in the art institute. With his parents' encouragement, he and his younger brother, Ching-chen, joined the Tzu Chi Collegiate Youth volunteer team to serve in the Tzu Chi Hospital. After observing the cycle of birth, aging, sickness and death, he understood the great compassion of Master Cheng Yen and her disciples. He also gained new insight into the value and the purpose of life.

After graduation, Pan got a teaching job in Changhua, in central Taiwan. He also joined the central Taiwan division of the Tzu Chi Teachers' Association, where he came into contact with many other enthusiastic teachers, and where he was able to establish his goals in life. During his three-year stay in Changhua, local Tzu Chi members took good care of him. They always invited him whenever there was some activity. In 1996, he went back to his hometown of Ilan to teach, and Tzu Chi members held a farewell party for him before he left. In addition to that, two Tzu Chi members even drove a truck to deliver all his belongings to Ilan, far off in northeastern Taiwan. He was very touched and decided to contribute more to Tzu Chi.

Pan is now teaching fine arts to classes of especially gifted students at the Tung Kuang Middle School. Although teaching art has never received much attention and art teachers find it difficult to do what they want to do, he doesn't soften his persistence.

He does not seem to move forward in his field, but actually he is tilling deeper and deeper. He is delighted to accompany his students, helping them on their journey to adulthood. Talking about his teaching experiences in the first year, he said that one day he had a chat with one of his colleagues who said to him, "I was just as enthusiastic as you are when I was young, but a few years from now you will be just like me." He felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on him.

That colleague's comment was a heavy blow. However, it made Pan more persistent with his ideas and eagerness to teach. Not only does he teach his students the skills of painting, but he also improves their appreciation of fine art. At the same time, he helps his students in their personal growth.

Pan's role as a volunteer is not restricted to painting for Tzu Chi publications. He also extends this role to his teaching by incorporating into his classes the teachings of Still Thoughts that he learned in the Tzu Chi Teachers' Association. He says that good painting skills are important, but the aesthetic experience of the mind is even more important. For example, cultivating gratitude, contentment, understanding and accommodation have positive influences in the study of fine art.

In addition, he takes his students to charity activities such as bone marrow donation registration drives or charity sales, and his students have painted at charity auctions. He leads his students from the classroom out into the world, from drawing on paper to creating acts of love. His students donate a little money each day, and he shares articles from Tzu Chi Monthly with his students so that they can understand life on different levels.

The greatest creation

It is a good thing in life if you can benefit others with a small contribution. Pan Ching-jui receives a great deal of joy in return for his giving. Perhaps that is why he likes to combine the role of volunteer illustrator with the profession of a fine arts teacher.