20150815天災頻傳人互助 Helping People in Times of Disaster
Since August 8 and up to now, Tzu Chi volunteers have been cleaning up the disaster areas in Sanxia, Xindian, and the mountain region of Wulai in northern Taiwan. Every day, we can see living bodhisattvas giving of themselves. They go there early in the morning to participate in the cleanup, manually cleaning up the mud and silently serving the impacted communities. No matter how heavy an object is, they all work together to move it.
See how heavy this is. It requires many people to move it, whether by pushing or pulling or both. We have to know that to get a bucket a mud up from a low lying area requires the pulling of many volunteers, each already is senior in age. The ages of these volunteers pulling on the rope to carry up the mud add up to close 1,000 years. This is made possible by the power of love among people.
As long as they are determined, there’s nothing they cannot achieve. They are willing to give without seeking anything in return. Moreover, they pay for their own expenses to carry out the cleanup work. They give unconditionally and ask for more assignments to keep cleaning up more impacted areas. Seeing this truly touches me. The buckets they use to transport the mud are their own. They took plastic buckets from home to help with the cleanup.
They also brought their own cleaning tools from home. Carrying bucket after bucket of mud is truly tiring. See. The whole street is filled with Tzu Chi volunteers. People ask, “Where is Tzu Chi?” You can see them right there in action. Tzu Chi volunteers form into lines to carry mud out of the basement. They have to clear out the mud in the basement bucket by bucket. There are goods in the basement too.
Many of these residents open stores on their ground floor with inventory goods stored in the basement. Tzu Chi volunteers had to move very heavy furniture from their basement to outdoors as well as other miscellaneous goods of various sizes, which are all muddy. Look at this volunteer. He joined because he saw a posting from Tzu Chi calling for volunteers.
I have to repay our society for the resources I take for my business. All the sweating is for a very worthy cause.
He knows this is truly not easy. However, as people use the resources provided by society, they should also repay the society by giving of themselves to help. We are making a call to the younger generation to join us in the disaster cleanup. Otherwise, the current group of volunteers are senior in their age and has been working since August 8. They’ve taken on such a heavy cleaning duty without a break and have served selflessly without asking for anything in return.
That is why right now we need more members of the society to show care by coming out to offer some help in order to know what Tzu Chi volunteers do. Most importantly, we want to help revitalize our entire society. This takes people helping people. Not only did the volunteers went to the disaster area to clean up, they also prepared boxes of hot meals in Sanchong and Xindian and delivered them to the affected mountain areas while the food was still hot.
See, such resolve is driven by the power of Great Love, uniting everyone and working with one heart. I respect these volunteers and truly love them dearly for they are such adorable living bodhisattvas to be respected. Whenever there is a disaster occurring in Taiwan, Tzu Chi volunteers always go to help. Everyone has a broad heart and pure intention. By upholding such a pure mindset and enduring a world full of temptations and dangers, our volunteers have trained to be very pure hearted both in thoughts and actions.
They seize time to give of themselves fully to serve others. They do what is right without any hesitations. That is why I really respect these living bodhisattvas. See, there are so many of them together. Look around, I can see Tzu Chi volunteers in their blue white uniforms, who are very senior in doing Tzu Chi’s relief work since the 921 earthquake in 1999 as well as the flood disaster triggered by Typhoon Morakot in Southern Taiwan dated back to 2009.
Now they appear in disaster areas again because of the damage caused by Typhoon Soudelier. This time, the damages concentrate in the hot spring tourist areas. This used to be a tourist attraction where many people go to enjoy themselves. Now after the disaster, not many people are willing to go there. Instead, Tzu Chi volunteers are there. They do not go there normally because they don’t seek after pleasures and have no time for tourism.
With this need after the disaster, volunteers go there to help. This shows their compassion. I feel our society really need more passionate people to serve the public. Mudslide also happened to Heliu Village in Taoyuan, and caused a disaster. The official notified Tzu Chi volunteers and asked for immediate counseling, aid distribution and other help. An elementary school in Tainan also called Tzu Chi for help. After the disaster, with a small student body and a very limited number of teachers, they don’t know where to ask for help.
Living bodhisattvas quickly gathered and went to clean up the school. Soon afterwards the entire school campus became clean and neat. This happens all over Taiwan from north to south. The same is true in Pingtung, too. Many cleanup are taking place. I’m truly grateful to their power of love. It’s the same with volunteers in Taichung. See. They quickly responded to the need of a school and went to clean up the school ground.
All in all, I’m grateful to their work. Typhoon Soudelor not only affected Taiwan, it also brought disasters in China as well causing flooding in Fujian province. Local Tzu Chi volunteers there also helped with disaster relief and cleanup. I hope everyone sincerely respects Mother Nature. I’m truly grateful to volunteers’ outreach to urge the public to have correct beliefs during the seventh month in the lunar calendar which started yesterday.
Do not burn paper money. However, we must be sincerely pious. The lunar seventh month is the month of auspiciousness. Starting yesterday, Tzu Chi offices around the world connected to the Abode via video conferencing to participate in the Dharma service of chanting the Ksitigarbha Pranidhana Sutra to pray sincerely for the world’s wellbeing and calm every one’s heart.
We hope everyone gives love and participates in charitable services to benefit all living beings. This is truly the highest form of sincerity. All in all, there are too many things to tell. Let us pray sincerely for those in need and take action to help them. This is truly relieving suffering and hardship.
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