Sun Jo-nan was undoubtedly a woman of good fortune. As a military general's second daughter, she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. At university she met Wu Tung-hsien, a member of one of the most powerful families in Taiwan, and after graduation they were married.

Beauty, elegance, intelligence, an able husband, two sons and one daughter, a wealthy family, a carefree life... Jo-nan had everything a woman dreams about. "But I never appreciated what I had. What was worse, I was afraid of losing it all." She secretly knew that time would pass and that she could not keep what she had forever.

The approach of suffering

Wu Ho-shih, head of the Wu family and founder of the Shinkong syndicate, passed away in 1986. His death was a great shock to the couple. How could such a giant figure collapse? "The first time I went out after my father-in-law passed away, I couldn't understand why people outside still looked so happy," recalled Jo-nan. "Why didn't the world change just as our family had?" His death was the first portent that indeed things would not last forever.

Three years later, the couple met a harsher trial: Tung-hsien was stricken with a brain tumor. The pathology report was sent to hospitals all over the world, but none of them could offer any help. The whole family was overcome by a terror that they had never felt before.

"According to the Buddha, there are 84,000 ways to approach Buddhism, and I did it through the Approach of Suffering," said Jo-nan. She was in agony over her husband's critical illness, and tried her best to look after him in every possible way. Since modern medical treatment could not offer any cure for Tung-hsien, she turned to superstitious ways, including fortune-telling, to save her husband's life, but it was all in vain. One day Sister Yi-hui, a Tzu Chi commissioner, invited Jo-nan to meet Master Cheng Yen. "A dharma master? Then she must have supernatural powers!" Overcome with worry over her husband's illness, Jo-nan hoped the Master's supernatural powers could save him.

"When I saw the Master, I couldn't keep from crying. I don't know why. It was like I'd just met a relative that I hadn't heard from in a long time." Though the Master had no curative powers, her words soothed Jo-nan's anxiety and worry. Later on, she also introduced her husband to the Master. The Master said to him, "Mr. Wu, you are a blessed man." Jo-nan had her doubts: "He is? He's seriously sick!" The Master told them that if they kept on thinking pessimistically, they would be cursing themselves. "You have to bless yourselves more," she advised them.

Eventually, they went to the United States for an operation. Every time Jo-nan felt nervous or distressed, she would call up the Master. The Master always told her not to worry, but to pray for her husband. Hearing her words, Jo-nan came to believe that Tung-hsien really would recover. She didn't know if it actually worked, but she didn't feel so helpless anymore and she gained more courage to help her husband fight his disease. In the end, they succeeded!

A commissioner by mistake

The couple went back to Taiwan in 1993 and Jo-nan enthusiastically joined Tzu Chi activities. She became a Tzu Chi commissioner and joined the Tzu Cheng/Yi Te Association to advise students at the Tzu Chi College of Medicine. In the Children's Achievement Class, she was not only a class mother, but also a charming actress. The children's play, "The Frog That Walked on Two Legs," in which she played the leading role of Frog Hoppian, even went on the stage of the National Theater. Tzu Chi gave her a colorful new life.

Actually, Jo-nan never thought that she would one day become a pious Buddhist. "I became a Tzu Chi commissioner by mistake," Jo-nan confessed with clear laughter. She had thought that the position of commissioner was too hard for her to achieve. What she originally wanted was to be a Tzu Chi Honorary Board member, which has fewer duties and less pressure. But when she talked to Sister Yi-hui, she got mixed up and committed herself to becoming a commissioner instead. "Since I made the commitment in public, I thought I'd better go through with it," said Jo-nan. "Thanks to Sister Yi-hui, who taught me and helped me a lot, I finally made good on my commitment."

One time, when she went to a beauty salon wearing the simply-styled Tzu Chi uniform, a hairdresser asked her where she had bought this beautiful dress. "Is it really so beautiful?" Jo-nan asked herself. Only at that moment did she realize that simplicity was beauty.

Another time, a shop owner recognized the uniform. "Oh, you're a Tzu Chi member. You people do a lot of good work, so I won't take your money this time." In Jo-nan's life, she had received too many presents from her friends or relatives, but this time the gift was from a stranger. At that time, Jo-nan shared the glory of many other Tzu Chi people's efforts. "Now I'm proud of this uniform and of being a Tzu Chi commissioner."

A frog in a well

Commenting on her donations to Tzu Chi charity bazaars, Jo-nan laughed with embarrassment. "At first, I didn't understand the happiness of giving." She only donated second-rate jewelry or items she disliked to the auctions. She even took pictures of them as souvenirs! "But when I saw the smiles of people in need, I realized that to give is actually to receive. Because of my help, they are happy and I am happy too." Now she donates even her most favorite things without hesitation.

Never having to go to work or make money, Jo-nan used to spend her time in art classes or window-shopping before she joined Tzu Chi. "Being at the top of society, I was like a frog living at the bottom of a well--I thought that what I saw was the whole world. But now my eyes have been opened, and everything is different." When she wiped the noses of poor children or washed hardened excrement off the floor for a sick old woman, her world was broadened. Now, her mind can accept the impermanence and tragedy of human life. "If I lost everything right at this moment, I think I could accept the fact peacefully," she said.

Jo-nan's father once told her that it is better to have inner beauty than outer beauty, and it is better to have self-esteem than beauty. "If I kept being my old self, I would have nothing meaningful to leave my children after my death." She would rather teach her children with her behavior than merely with words. "Helping others cultivates my character and makes me a good example for my children to follow."

The true meaning of helping others

As for Tung-hsien, he had no particular ideas about Tzu Chi before he became more involved with the organization. It was Jo-nan's transformation that led him into this new world.

"My wife used to be rather bad-tempered and she would grumble a lot. Every time I went to dinner with customers or friends, I had to get her permission." Sometimes when Tung-hsien got home late at night, he had to sneak in like a thief. He didn't even dare to turn on the light.

But after Jo-nan entered Tzu Chi, she became different. She wouldn't get upset when Tung-hsien went home late or forgot to tell her where he was. She even prepared his bath for him after he returned home. "I wondered what made her change so much. She said that she drank 'Four-Magic Soup,' which is made of contentment, gratitude, understanding and accommodation." Seeing his wife smiling every day, Tung-hsien could not help thinking, "If Tzu Chi is really everything she says, I'll tell my friends to have their wives trained there!"

The change in his wife's attitude roused Tung-hsien's interest in this organization, but it was not until he started participating in international relief activities and free clinics that he realized the true meaning of helping others. "I used to think that doing charity only meant donating money. But when you have been to some of the poorest areas in the world, you realize that merely donating money is not enough."

Taking off their Rolexes and jewelry and leaving behind their usual entourage of secretaries and bodyguards, Tung-hsien and Jo-nan go together to participate in Tzu Chi disaster relief activities in places like mainland China and Cambodia. They put away their social status and serve disaster victims like every other team member does. There are no upper or lower classes in Tzu Chi--everyone is equal. Even when he acts as leader of a relief team, Tung-hsien also has to carry bags of rice or do other chores.

Why is he willing to put his business aside and go to remote, forsaken areas to help the needy? "What if those cold, hungry old people and children were your own relatives, what would you do? You would help them, of course, no matter how much it cost you. Since all people are created equal, these victims have the right to get help and to survive." Having grown up in a rich, influential family, the couple had never been so close to suffering people. "The hardest heart will be softened at seeing their misfortune."

Tung-hsien was also impressed by doctors in the free clinics. In the Philippines, for example, as soon as they got to the school building where the clinic was to be held, the doctors started to convert two classrooms into operation rooms. They cleaned and sterilized the two rooms and installed air conditioners. Moreover, they were as polite and thoughtful as they could be. One time, a patient woke up during his operation and gradually began to feel the pain. What did the doctor do? He sang songs! Listening to the doctor singing, the patient didn't feel so bad and the operation was eventually completed.

Transformation

Sister Yi-hui, who has accompanied the couple on the path of Tzu Chi from the beginning, is a witness to their transformation. "Jo-nan used to be a weak, fragile beauty who cared so much about her appearance," she remembers. Several years ago, they went together to Cambodia to assess the needs of drought victims. Jo-nan was afraid of getting a sunburn, so she held a parasol while other members only wore caps for the sake of convenience. "She is a sympathetic person, though," said Sister Yi-hui. "She can't bear to see people suffer, and so she concentrates completely on her Tzu Chi work."

Yi-hui also praised Tung-hsien as "not only a responsible leader, but also a humble assistant." With smiles on his face, Tung-hsien is often seen hard at work at weekend Still Thoughts Life Camps. He donates his money, time and strength. Without any pride in his social status or putting on airs, he serves as a capable camp leader or a modest team member.

"Nothing in the world is more valuable than a couple going through difficulties hand in hand," said Ting Nai-chu. In her opinion, Tung-hsien's illness was also a turning point of their life. "Unless you experience it personally, you can't understand the feeling of gaining new life, or the supportive power of Master Cheng Yen."

Lighting up the darkness

Buddhists believe that everyone is born with the karma he created in his previous lives. If a person doesn't do good deeds to create blessings and good karma, he will be dragged down by his bad karma. Jo-nan explains that it is like taking a train. "If someone is going to Kaohsiung but only buys a ticket to Taichung, what should he do? He has to get off at Taichung, or he has to pay the difference. Everything that belongs to me, whether it's time or life itself, comes and goes according to my karma. But doing good deeds lets me gain more joy and peace."

In his book From Messenger to Manager, Stanley Yen, president of the Ritz Hotel and a friend of the couple, divided people into two kinds: the Light and the Reflector. The latter only shines because of the reflection of his accessories. Once the accessories are removed, he will fade. But the former shines from within, like a lamp. "We expect ourselves and our children to be lamps that light up the dark corners of the world," concluded the couple.