A strong tremor shook Chang Pi-chu awake from her dreams in the early morning of September 21. She got up to call her daughter, who had gone from their home in Houli, central Taiwan, to Hualien, located on the east coast of Taiwan, to register at the Tzu Chi College of Medicine. Learning that her daughter was safe and sound, Pi-chu set off towards Tungshih at around 2 a.m. Along the way, she met other Tzu Chi members and they walked or hitchhiked to the disaster areas. When they reached Putzu community, they heard someone crying for help. With their bare hands, they dug into the rubble and pulled out the survivor. Passing through Fengshih Road, where the active fault line began to swell up, their group often had to wade hand-in-hand through deep floodwaters.

Within an hour after the quake, Tzu Chi members all over Taiwan set out from their homes to help in the disaster areas, just like Chang Pi-chu.

"Be the first to arrive, and work till the very end." Master Cheng Yen's instruction is their golden rule in relief work. Emergency relief work in the worst hit areas receives top priority, after which comes caring for and comforting the victims. These are the guiding principles that Tzu Chi volunteers remember by heart. Therefore, although the scale of this disaster was larger than any that Tzu Chi members had ever experienced, they were able to operate as a self-mobilizing volunteer organization even without a general command center. Amidst the chaos, they managed to bring about order and give comfort and relief to survivors.

Take for instance the case at Tungshih Junior High School: after Tzu Chi volunteers from everywhere arrived at the site, they quickly contributed their expertise, took up their assignments and worked as a team. Cooking team volunteers brought utensils and food supplies. Those with cars provided transportation. Local volunteers took charge of coordination and communication. What was available was fully utilized, and what was lacking they tried to obtain from various resources. When something really could not be accomplished, they accepted the fact with equanimity.

The residents of Hsinshe were not so fortunate as to receive such swift and generous help. Due to disrupted transportation and telecommunications, Wang Jui-chih, the only local Tzu Chi member, and another volunteer shouldered the responsibility of chanting prayers for the 117 deceased and comforting the bereaved families. Help did not arrive until that evening. Wang burst into tears on the shoulder of one of the latecomers, finally able to relieve the enormous pressure she had been under.

Many Tzu Chi members in central Taiwan suffered losses from the earthquake, yet they devoted themselves to helping others who were in even greater need. Together with members who had been mobilized from northern and southern Taiwan, there were often workers from all over Taiwan at one disaster site. Experienced volunteers could judge what matters had not yet been tended to, and after double-checking with other members, they would roll up their sleeves and start working. If everything was taken care of, those left with nothing to do went to see where else they could help. If someone was no longer able to stay on the job, he looked for someone else to take over. In this way, manpower could be utilized most effectively.

As for the distribution of relief supplies, it was a matter of trust and respect. Victims were first asked to register for the quantity of goods that they needed, and when the supplies were delivered, volunteers called out the names of applicants and distributed the goods. One young volunteer complained in private how some victims repeatedly applied to receive the same supplies. "Don't mind them," another volunteer quickly remarked. "They don't even have homes anymore. How greedy is it to take one extra sleeping bag? Besides, they must already feel bad to have to receive daily supplies from others. You must take care not to make them feel that you don't respect them."

Tzu Chi members reminded each other not to use condescending terms such as "donations" to avoid hurting the self-esteem of the survivors. In their work, they sometimes still came across dissatisfied people. No matter how unreasonable the complaint, the volunteers always explained with comforting words and a friendly attitude. They used language that reflected both their consideration for the victims' feelings and the standpoint of the foundation. Such gentle, modest wisdom could only have been nurtured from constant exposure in the Tzu Chi spirit of contentment, gratitude, understanding and accommodation.

As a private volunteer organization, Tzu Chi has demonstrated great efficiency in the quake relief efforts. This is primarily due to the Tzu Chi culture, in which everything is done with the spirit of "put your heart into it," "learn by doing" and "foster good relationships." The humility, respect and prudence shown in the behavior of Tzu Chi members truly reflect Master Cheng Yen's teaching and practice of "Great mercy even to strangers, great compassion for all."