20191204有感救助身心安Soothing Suffering Igniting Hope
Whenever a disaster strikes, we must always come forth to help. Seeing how the affected are in need, we’ll feel very sad. So, we must come forth and work for their sake. Tzu Chi volunteers are always more than willing to help. Today, we give out cash aid to help those affected rebuild their homes, which is the most important. With the cash, they can buy building materials, such as zinc plates and wood materials to build houses.
We see that in the Philippines, our volunteers brought aid to disaster survivors, hoping that with the relief supplies and the cash, those affected could truly get back on their feet and regain peace of mind. We held the relief distributions this October in the aftermath of earthquakes that severely affected their villages and leveled many houses there.
Not only houses of the poor but those of the better-off were leveled as well. Having lost their houses to the strong quakes, they had no places to live. When I was in Taipei during my tour this time, I was updated on how we’d bring continued aid to those affected. With prudence and a sense of responsibility, our volunteers there always make sure that every penny of the donations to Tzu Chi is used for the common good.
In the aftermath of the strong quakes, they also made relief distribution plans. When they asked me whether we should give out 1,000 PHP (19.6 USD) or 500 PHP (9.8 USD) to each aid recipient, I thought that even 1,000 PHP was not enough as it equals a mere 600 NTD or so.
Given the great damage caused by the quakes, we truly needed to give more in order to help those affected get back on their feet. So, when our volunteers asked me the question, I said, “This is not right. We must make sure our efforts can truly help those affected.”
This way, people who had made donations to Tzu Chi would see how their donations were used for the common good and those affected could truly get back on their feet as well. We needed to offer sufficient cash aid so children in the affected areas could fill their stomachs and have places to live. If we gave out 10,000 PHP (or 196 USD), those affected could buy zinc plates, which are common building materials there, and other materials to build houses.
I truly hoped that with our cash aid, they could build simple but sturdy houses to keep out rain and wind. This is how we could help them get back on their feet. We’ve also offered portable beds and thermal blankets to those affected. They were deeply moved, saying that they’d never expected to receive such relief supplies. See how we gave out sufficient relief supplies.
Instead of offering only one or two meals, we gave out rice that was enough for those affected to sustain their lives for one month or more, for we hoped that during this period of time, they could rebuild their homes and look for jobs without worries. Take one aid recipient for example. He truly cherished Tzu Chi’s cash aid and put it into good use by buying a horse. With the horse, he can provide for his family. He even named the horse Tzu Chi.
I named this horse after Tzu Chi Foundation. When I say “Tzu Chi”, it’ll respond.
I’m truly very touched. Please accept this small donation of mine.
Thank you, this is very precious to us because you give from the bottom of your heart. What’s important is not how much you can donate but how you give with genuine sincerity.
Indeed, I wish to give back from the bottom of my heart.
I was almost moved to tears. Given their situation, they can barely afford to make a donation indeed. Yet, even so, she still wishes to give what she can to help others. We see that the locals are truly pure-hearted and more than willing to help others.
Yet, they can barely make a donation as they’ve been poor since birth. Although the affected areas are hard to access our volunteers have reached those affected thanks to good affinities. Apart from bringing them care, our volunteers have also given out sufficient relief supplies to help the affected recover quickly. This is how Tzu Chi volunteers have helped those affected.
Our volunteers pay everything out of their own pockets and have brought aid to those affected several times. I’m truly grateful to them. During the past few days, volunteers who had come back from the Philippines visited the Abode to update me on how they’d carried out their relief work by bringing care to those affected and helping them get back on their feet. Whenever our volunteers share their relief work, I always feel that although those we’ve helped are still poor, thanks to good affinities, we could reach them and hand them relief supplies personally.
In another country, we’ve also given out relief supplies and interacted with the locals recently. To give out relief supplies, our volunteers had paid home visits to the needy and brought warmth to them. Recently, I keep saying that we need to cultivate sincerity, integrity, faith, and honesty within, and practice loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity without.
Serving with loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity is like a gentle breeze that an refresh and comfort all. we all need to harbor compassion and serve with loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. This is our pure, true nature. May we all give and serve to live out our value in life.
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