Ladies and gentlemen, Amitabha!

Seeing the natural and man-made disasters that continue to take place fills me with grief and anxiety. As described in the Buddhist sutras, it is now the time of the Samvarta Kalpa--the period of destruction. Taiwan is situated in an active seismic zone. We should constantly stay alert and plan ahead for the bad times. Therefore, I have always called for you to activate the love within yourselves and others, and to use that great love to put an end to all disasters.

I never thought that if there had to be a great catastrophe at the turn of the century, it would strike Taiwan! The September 21 earthquake was the worst to hit Taiwan in the last century. Within seconds buildings collapsed, people were buried alive, and incalculable losses in property and human lives were suffered. The entire island of Taiwan was shaken.

Swift action

Right after the earthquake, I got in contact with Tzu Chi people in all corners of the island and inquired about the situations there. I was told many places had been badly damaged, especially in Taipei, Taichung and Nantou counties, where heavy casualties were reported. The devastated sites were too ghastly to look at and survivors were in a state of shock. After several days of search-and-rescue efforts, some victims were found and sent to hospitals, but some were still buried in the rubble. Nobody knew whether they were still alive.

My heart broke when I learned of the truly disastrous situation. No words can express the sorrow I feel. I can only pray sincerely. For the wounded, I pray that one day their fear of the terrible quake and their grief for the deaths of their loved ones will fade, and that their disquieted hearts will soon be calm. For the deceased, I pray that they may rest in peace.

I am very grateful to all the Tzu Chi people who mobilized quickly and worked around the clock at twenty-one Tzu Chi relief centers, providing victims and rescue workers with water, food, medication, clothing, tents, sleeping bags and comforters. They also kept vigil at makeshift morgues and chanted the holy name of the Amitabha Buddha for the deceased.

On the morning of September 21, I said to our members in northern Taiwan, "What the victims need most urgently is cash--relief payments must be distributed at once." Although the victims had clothes that Tzu Chi commissioners had collected for them, they still needed other daily necessities since all their belongings had been left in their collapsed houses.

The commissioners told me, "We have already given out all the cash we had at home, but it is still not enough."

I said, "We can withdraw money from the bank."

"The power is out," observed one commissioner. "None of the banks are open."

Since Taipei and Taichung had the same problem, I asked someone to withdraw NT$20 million [US$645,200] from a bank in Hualien and deliver it to Taipei and Taichung. So far, the Tzu Chi Foundation has already spent NT$160 million [US$5.2 million] on relief payments.

I am also grateful to the superintendent and the deputy superintendent of Tzu Chi Hospital for immediately organizing a medical relief team. On the afternoon of September 21, Deputy Superintendent Chien Shou-hsin led a team of twelve doctors and twenty-eight nurses to Taichung, along with necessary equipment and medicine. As soon as they arrived, they pitched in to help provide medical aid. Late that night, Dr. Chien even led a smaller group to Tungshih and Shihkang, despite the difficult road conditions.

In addition, the Tzu Chi International Medical Association organized medical stations at each of the seven most devastated districts in Nantou and Taichung counties to serve the earthquake victims in those places.

Our next steps

I was very worried about the homeless survivors, because the weather reports forecast heavy rain. Therefore we purchased a considerable number of tents, and Tzu Cheng Faith Corps members from Pingtung and Tainan [in southern Taiwan] immediately rushed them to the disaster areas. Despite poor road conditions, they managed to deliver the tents along with truckloads of relief supplies to the devastated regions.

The death toll rose by the hour. Because there was no place to put them, corpses were laid out on open ground. The Nantou County government asked us for help in obtaining refrigerated containers to use as temporary morgues. Although we did not know where to get such containers, we still managed to borrow, through various channels, ten refrigerated containers from China Shipbuilding Corporation. We also provided 1,200 body bags.

Tzu Chi people all over Taiwan were mobilized for rescue operations. More than twenty thousand commissioners and Tzu Cheng Faith Corps members and innumerable volunteers pitched in. China Petroleum Corporation lent us a helicopter to deliver relief supplies to where they were needed.

Not long ago we launched a fundraising campaign for the victims of the Turkey earthquake. Now we are doing the same for our own people. I hereby call for all my fellow countrymen to empathize with the victims and work hand in hand to help them get through this difficult time and to rebuild their homes.

Someone asked me after the earthquake, "How long will Tzu Chi help the victims?"

I said, "Until the work is finished." In the first twenty-four hours, we worked non-stop to provide necessary emergency relief supplies and services to victims and rescue workers. The work that follows will require the long-term devotion of Tzu Chi volunteers. It is really difficult to say exactly when our efforts will end.

The follow-up relief work will be conducted in four directions:

1. Sterilization, disease control and deodorization at the disaster areas are three measures that should be immediately taken to prevent epidemics.

2. The disaster areas are in extremely poor sanitary condition. We must help victims install water supply and drainage equipment and clean their surroundings.

3. With land provided by the government, Tzu Chi will build prefabricated houses to shelter victims from wind and rain.

4. We should share the suffering and sorrow of our fellow people. During the long journey to their psychological rehabilitation, we will give them care and companionship.

Great love without borders

In the aftermath of the disaster, leaders of many countries expressed their sincere condolences. On the day of the earthquake, a Japanese rescue team equipped with life detectors and rescue dogs arrived in Taiwan, followed by rescue teams from Singapore, Russia, Germany, the United States, Britain, Switzerland, Turkey and Mexico. Such manifestations of humanitarian concern brought much warmth to our society.

I always say, "In this world, there is no one I do not love." The great love of humanitarian aid does not differentiate between races, skin colors, nationalities or religions. Tzu Chi has been engaged in international relief work since 1991. Relief teams are first sent to disaster regions to conduct on-site surveys of the real needs of the victims, after which we distribute those relief items directly into the hands of the victims. Such mutual support and care is what brings hope to mankind.

I remember that during our fund-raising campaign for the Turkey earthquake, some people pointed their fingers right in the faces of our commissioners and said, "Where is Turkey? I can't see it from here. Why are you saving Turkey instead of Taiwan?"

I felt a stabbing pain in my heart when I heard such criticism. I couldn't figure out why everyone wanted to save Taiwan. Actually, to have to be saved is not something we would look forward to, since it would mean that there had been some disaster that we had to be saved from. Now a calamity really has struck, and just as they said, we have to save Taiwan. That is why I always say: "We should resolve to be people who can save others."

"Life is impermanent, and the land is fragile." In this world, there are three major calamities [fire, flood and wind] and three minor ones [war, disease and famine]. The minor calamities harm all living creatures, while the major ones damage the material world, such as mountains and rivers. When there is an earthquake and the mountains and earth slip away, there is a great deal of destruction of the material world.

How do we soothe and heal this damage to the material world? My answer is the same as always: with love. The Buddha taught us the concept of "common karma." When our evil thoughts accumulate, calamities will fall upon us. When all our good thoughts converge, then calamities can be dissolved and blessings will be bestowed upon us.

Words cannot describe the gratitude and sympathy I feel inside me. Nevertheless, I shall try to convey to you my inner feelings. I am grateful to all the members of Tzu Chi for working so hard. I am grateful to all the kind-hearted people who have extended their helping hands to the earthquake victims. And I hope all of us will maintain our good will and accompany the victims on the long, rough road that leads to their future.