"Excited as I am, I still feel sleepy," said Chiu Yi-chun, a student of the National Taipei Teachers College. At four o'clock in the morning of August 20, 1998, when we set off on our cultural exchange mission to mainland China, the moon was still visible in the sky. The team consisted of fifty Tzu Chi Collegiate Youth Association members from more than ten colleges in Taiwan and twenty Tzu Chi commissioners.

Origin

The Tzu Chi Collegiate Youth Association was founded on May 31,1992, and there are now chapters at fifty colleges and universities in Taiwan, with members at over a hundred schools. College students spend their free time doing volunteer work in such areas as environmental protection, charity bazaars, bone marrow donation drives or community volunteer work, in order to cultivate kindness in their hearts and learn to deal with different people and situations. Not only do they serve others, but they also search for spiritual enlightenment, study religious teachings, form study groups and hold vacation camps.

Like the Tzu Chi Foundation, the Tzu Chi Youth Association has become established worldwide. Members of this organization have set up branches in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. All members follow in the footsteps of Master Cheng Yen.

In August 1996, the Tzu Chi honorary board members choir, the Tzu Chi Youth Association choir and PKU students held a joint concert in Beijing. The performance was quite successful and plans were made to get together again to celebrate PKU's centennial.

An uneasy journey

"Why do you want to participate in this activity?" This was the first question on the application form for students wanting to go on this tour. All the members of the team were chosen through a tough selection process. Once selected, members were required to take a series of training courses. As a member of this mission, I felt very proud, but also somewhat nervous.

"In three days, I slept only six hours. All for this terrific PowerPoint presentation," said Chang Chi-li, one of the creators of the presentation which we prepared to introduce PKU students to our foundation. PowerPoint is a computer software program originally designed by Microsoft for presentations used in sales, training, etc. The program creates slides which can be projected on a screen when the computer is connected to a certain kind of projector.

Frankly speaking, preparing the presentation was a formidable job, full of challenges. No one in the group was familiar with this computer program. Those who took charge of making the introduction had to learn how to operate the program from scratch. Their production had glitches and had to be modified three times. Even when we arrived in mainland China, they were still working on their notebook computer. We hoped that their hard work would have outstanding results.

Cultural interaction does not mean imposing one's own culture onto other people. A cultural exchange mission should be a positive means of sharing. In addition to presenting our PowerPoint introduction, we sang Tzu Chi songs, played games and performed three short plays. Through these activities, we shared our culture with the PKU students.

"Culture lies in life," said Master Cheng Yen. We were instructed to strictly obey the rules of the mission and to maintain discipline. When eating, we should keep quiet, finish everything on our plates and clean off our tables afterwards. We always walked in orderly rows. We could not leave the team without permission. Every morning after we got up, we had to clean our dormitory rooms. These rules were not limitations. Instead, they were ways of showing our respect for everything and everyone around us.

During our tour, we abided by the principles of no preaching, no politics and no advertising. The Tzu Chi Foundation is based on Buddhist beliefs, but we do not overemphasize the religious aspect of our work. Instead, we practice our religion in our daily life and we respect all other religions. Furthermore, Tzu Chi is a non-governmental organization. We may care about politics, but we try our best to avoid getting into political disputes. Finally, we should be modest and unassuming. There is no need to deliberately advertise the merits of our foundation. All we are concerned about is respecting all living creatures and helping the needy.

Leaving

We had already gathered in Taipei the night before we were to leave on our mission. We spent several hours packing presents for PKU students. According to Chinese tradition, it is customary for a guest to bring presents for the host. So we prepared a lot of books, magazines, pens, teapots and Tzu Chi "heart lamp" candle holders. Our bags were only medium-sized for the sake of convenience, and in addition to our own clothes, each bag was stuffed with those presents. Carrying those heart lamps was especially problematic, though. The glass candle holders were in the shape of lotus flowers, and they could easily break if we did not pack them properly. At last, we decided to wrap them up in our clothes in the hope that they would make it to Beijing intact.

We were extremely excited about this tour. Most of us had flown on airplanes before. However, due to the political tensions between Taiwan and mainland China, none of us had ever had any opportunity to interact with students across the Taiwan Straits. This was everyone's first visit to the Chinese mainland.

A strange team

The Hong Kong airport is a large, bustling place full of travelers, and normally no one would be especially noticed. However, when we passed through on the afternoon of August 20, we caught everyone's attention. Two rows of seventy persons dressed in blue shirts and white pants proceeding silently through the terminal made a magnificent scene! I overheard one conversation:

"They must be Japanese. Only the Japanese are so orderly."
"No, they are from Taiwanzu Chi."

Some tourists even took pictures of us. Perhaps our contingent was strange or interesting to other foreigners. But I believe our behavior already more or less changed their opinion of the Taiwanese. I was so glad that I could do something for my country.

"What a big peach! How crisp!" As soon as we stepped out of Beijing Airport, Tzu Chi commissioners in Beijing welcomed each of us with two peaches, a bottle of mineral water and a map of Beijing. It goes without saying that the peaches and water were to quench our thirst, but why did they offer us maps? Yes, they were afraid that we might get lost in an unfamiliar city. We were grateful for their thoughtfulness.

Peking University

The following two days, we visited several spots, including Tsinghua University. On August 24, we went to Peking University.

It was a rainy morning. Outside the PKU campus, a flood of bicycles poured through the streets. Inside, the campus was quiet and empty of people. We were worried that the bad weather might keep the students away from our activities. Shi Xiao-dan, head of the Love Society, pointed out that the students were still on vacation and that flooding on the Yangtze River would also keep many away. Nevertheless, many students had returned early to attend this activity.

The Love Society, the PKU Student Association and the Hope Construction Society participated in this cultural exchange. The Love Society was praised by the government as one of the best ten societies at PKU. Members of this society provide many daily services on campus, such as posting weather forecasts on campus bulletin boards, standing up bicycles lying on the road, cleaning blackboards, and taking care of retired professors. For the past three years, they have held an activity called "Love Travels for Thousands of Miles." They go hiking in places thousands of miles away from Beijing, such as Guangdong, Sichuan and Qinghai. Along the way, they do good deeds and propagate the idea of love.

The PKU Hope Construction Society was founded on the belief that education is the foundation of a country. Its members help collect donations for elementary schools in remote villages in China, where children are unable to receive a complete education.

A successful interaction

We started with a visit to the PKU Centennial Exhibition Hall, located in the newly built Guanghua Business Building, where a photo exhibit displayed the role of PKU in the history of China. The university was a cradle of the reformation of the modern Chinese language, the birthplace of the May Fourth patriotic movement, an initial base for the dissemination of Marxism and democratic and scientific thought in China, and a center for education and scientific research for the modernization of China. No university can compare with PKU in the influence it has had on Chinese history and culture.

The school year had not yet started, but I saw many students reading in the classrooms. Jia Chao, a member of the Love Society, told me that PKU students read for eight to ten hours each day on average. Students in Taiwan, including myself, should emulate the diligent and active attitude of PKU students toward study, I think. No wonder PKU is listed as China's top university!

After lunch, Tzu Chi members and PKU representatives held a meeting in the Shao Garden Restaurant. There our members presented our PowerPoint introduction, "Let's Bring Great Love to the World," which was the only occasion on which we formally introduced the Tzu Chi Foundation. Tzu Chi members work in the missions of charity, medicine, education, culture, bone marrow donation, international relief, community volunteer activities and environmental protection. Each mission was displayed through vivid photos. The scenes and animations shown on the screen really appealed to the PKU representatives. They were very interested in our work and asked many questions.

We found that the PKU students had many misconceptions about Taiwan. "I used to think that the Taiwanese were selfish," said one PKU student, "but your actions have changed my impression of Taiwan." I was happy that our interaction with these students helped to clear up some of these misunderstandings.

After that we performed "Great Love," a play about Lee Ho-cheng, a cancer patient who donated his body to the Tzu Chi College of Medicine. In order to leave a complete body to be dissected for medical study, he refused any medical treatment for his cancer. The disease tortured him physically, but it could not break his spirit. In the end, he passed away peacefully and succeeded in donating a complete body to the medical college. Lee's courage moved the entire audience to tears. I felt confident that the spirit of great love must have touched them.

After the play, there was a time for discussion. Actually, there was no specific subject, so we could talk about all kinds of things. We were afraid that the students might ask difficult questions. After all, PKU was the best school in China and many famous people had graduated from it. Much to our surprise, the subjects that concerned the youth on both sides of the Taiwan Straits were similar. We talked about academic studies, finding jobs after graduation, plans to go abroad and even the trivialities of daily life. Our accents were different, but our words and viewpoints were mutually exchanged, understood and appreciated by one another.

"We often feel frustrated," said Jia Ro (no relation to Jia Chao), a member of the Hope Construction Society. "It is difficult to develop charity organizations in China. Most people have no extra money to help others. Collecting funds is a problem. Even if enough donations are gathered, some officials may embezzle the funds or materials. Therefore, donations never reach the recipients in full."

"That's why we insist on our three principles of international relief," I replied. "Priority" means that we first help the people who need help the most. "Respect" reminds us to respect the recipients and be grateful that they are willing to accept our donations. "Directness" means that Tzu Chi members directly deliver relief supplies into the hands of disaster victims. This way, not a single penny of the donations is lost.

A surprise

At sunset, we took a leisurely walk on the park-like campus. According to the information we were given, the campus measures 230 hectares [568 acres]. To the north of the university are the remains of the Yuan Ming Gardens. During the Ching Dynasty, Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi built this garden by usurping the budget allocated to modernize the navy. In 1900, European forces putting down the Boxer Rebellion ravaged this area, and most buildings and property were burnt or plundered. Looking now at the restored grandeur of the gardens, we had a sense of how luxuriously the dowager had lived.

Near No-Name Lake, we discovered to our surprise the remaining facade of a temple, which bore the inscription, "Tzu Chi Temple." We felt very excited about such a coincidence. No one knew when and why the temple had been built, but its existence was like an auspicious omen.

It was so difficult for students like us to get together, let alone have dinner at the same table. In the evening, we went back again to the Shao Garden Restaurant, the best on campus, and treated our hosts to a meal as a token of our gratitude for showing us around. The students found it strange that we finished all the food on the table. In mainland China, a guest customarily leaves some food on the table, because finishing all the food would mean that there was not enough. The host would think that the guest was not satisfied with what was offered. However, the Tzu Chi commissioners taught the PKU representatives to appreciate what they have now. "Love is eating up all of the food." If we did not finish the food, it would go to waste. "We should appreciate, cherish and cultivate blessings."

Impressed by the well-behaved, disciplined Tzu Chi members, the PKU representatives not only finished all of the food but also helped to clean off the table. Perhaps this could be viewed as another kind of cultural exchange. Our presence could be compared to dropping a pebble into a pond and watching the ripples spread outward. Our pure, comfortable "Blue Sky and White Clouds" uniform contrasted with the gray sky. Our incessant smiles and energy brought a different feeling to the campus.

Happy birthday

After dinner, we walked back to the Tzu Chi Temple again. On the way, Jia Chao asked, "Why do you call the uniform 'Blue Sky and White Clouds?'" "Master Cheng Yen expects every person in this association to be a peacemaker," I answered. "The uniform reminds us to be as clear and broad-minded as the blue sky and to behave as purely as the white clouds."

"Why do your members always smile so warmly and joyfully?" he asked. "Do you like our smiles?" I asked in return. He nodded. Smiles not only make oneself happy, but also put others around you at ease. "We call a smile 'Tzu Chi Face Cream,' and we remember to put it on our faces all the time."

Jia Chao did not respond. He seemed to be deep in thought. In the dim moonlight, we arrived at our destination in silence.

On seeing the Tzu Chi Temple, Jia Chao suddenly cried out, "Wow! I've never seen the campus look so splendid." We had created a miracle for PKU's anniversary by decorating the temple with strings of bright lightbulbs. Curious passersby surrounded the square in front of the temple.

We held a garden party that night. The PKU students played the guitar and sang their folk songs. Those songs were very similar in style to the folk songs that I sang when I was a girl. I was filled with nostalgia.

Taiwanese aborigines are famous for their fascinating songs and dances, which can be viewed as one branch of Taiwanese culture. There was an aborigine girl on the mission, Hu Yu-lin, whose singing voice quickly captivated all of us. She invited everyone to perform aboriginal dances with her, although we had to push the teachers and officials to perform. This might have been because this sort of situation is rare in mainland China.

The party culminated when everyone lit their "heart lamps," a Tzu Chi symbol of peace. Soon more than two hundred candles were burning. We sat in circles and prayed for peace in the world. "Let's light up the world with great love."

It was time to say goodbye. The cool autumn wind increased our reluctance to depart. On our way back to the hotel, Jia Chao said something I'll never forget: "I haven't laughed so hard in a very long time, let alone cry. In the past, I just wanted to conceal my emotions and make myself numb in our closed, undemocratic society. The events of today have moved me to be aware of myself as a living person. I hope I can pursue my ideals to serve society as you do."

I felt sad when I heard him say these words. I was incapable of helping him, except by encouraging him with my words. At the end of the activity, I suddenly realized how lucky I was. I can follow in the footsteps of Master Chen Yen, but whom can they follow? How can charity activities be organized under such difficult conditions? Compared to PKU students, we are fortunate to have been born in Taiwan, aren't we? At least we have the liberty and the right to pursue our goals. I was really grateful to my motherland, and I sincerely prayed that this cultural exchange could bring a ray of hope to the youth across the straits.

Returning home

The airplane finally landed at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport at two in the afternoon. After ten days of travelling abroad, I was tired but my mind was full of gratitude. Everything at home seemed so beautiful. Even the traffic jams had become more acceptable. I was really glad to be home.