20200108巧手回春願承擔Tzu Chi Doctors - Serving with a Sense of Mission
During my tour this time, when I heard our Tzu Chi members share their work, I’d always say, “You’ve truly lived out your value in life.” If one works only to make a living, one simply lives each day as it is. Only when we work for the common good can we live out our values in life.
I’ve been working hard for the common good. I thought that living in this world, instead of only taking care of my family, I should work for the greater good by living out the Dharma. The Dharma contains true principles of life. If we can understand and practice the Dharma, we will head towards the right direction in life and do all we can to help the needy and benefit all humanity.
Tzu Chu is in its 54th year, and we’ve been carrying out our medical mission for 48 years, for we first began our free clinics six years after the founding of Tzu Chi. Before that, I’d go on a tour twice a year to pay home visits to our aid recipients around Taiwan in order to understand their situations.
I once said: “While many people acquire knowledge in labs, I make trips to various place in Taiwan to pay home visits to the needy so as to understand the source of their suffering and why some of them, who are still young, have become disabled and require aid.” Through the home visits, I realized that many people became poor due to illness, or vice versa.
I realized that it was not enough to only offer material aid to the poor. So, we began to help those who were not ill stand on their own feet. Also, as there were scarce medical resources in Hualien, we initiated our medical mission by holding free clinics. Later, I thought that we should also build a hospital there. It was truly hard work to build the hospital.
It was not easy to build our hospital here in Taichung, either. It truly took much hard work to overcome the many difficulties. Looking back on the past, we see how much work we’ve carried out. Yet, time passes very quickly and waits for no one.
When we began to serve at our hospital here in Taichung, it was understaffed. As we all came from medical centers, we wished to dedicate ourselves for the hospital. During the first two months after the hospital was opened, there were only Dr. Fu Chin-hua and I in the department of neurology. So, we each had to work the night shift on alternative nights. In the third month, two doctors joined us.
So, thankfully, not only after the hospital was opened, there were four doctors in our department. We were no longer understaffed. Our department has expanded over time. Now, we see more patients than other western medicine departments. Each month, we have at least 6,000 patients. I’d like to tell everyone a secret. When I began to serve at the hospital in 2007, I was only 40 years old. Now, I’m already 54. I’m not young at all.
My appearance has changed a lot over the past ten years as I’m advanced in age and my physical fitness is in decline. No one can escape aging or death. We undergo different life phases, from childhood, the beginning of adulthood and gradually to the peak of our life. Then, we begin to experience a declined in physical fitness and pass away eventually. See how inconceivable life is.
We’ve also witnessed the medical cases Director Hsieh and Director Yu shared. With outstanding medical skills, they’ve performed complicated surgery for patients with heart, pancreas, or other problems. They carried out every single surgical step precisely, doing all they could to help their patients recover as if the surgery was a piece of artwork.
Our body is like Mother Nature. Mother Nature has mountains, rivers, land, and many other resources. Our body also consists of many body parts and is very beautiful. Yet, performing surgery is truly hard work.
The patient suffered from jaundice and abdominal pain. We found a huge tumor in the right upper part of her abdomen and suspected that the tumor had invaded her liver and pancreas. This is a CT scan image of her abdomen. We can see that there was a huge tumor here. Large blood vessels had been pushed aside. Her bile ducts had also been pressed, which resulted in jaundice.
Then, we performed a surgery on her and found that the tumor grew from her duodenum and spread to her liver and pancreas. So, apart from the Whipple procedure, we also had to perform a liver resection. As the tumor was bound by large blood vessels, the overall surgery was very complicated. Also, as the tumor had spread, many adhesions were formed. To do the surgery, I needed to be very patient.
Through the experience, I came to understand the importance of concentration. As I was focused during the surgery, I didn’t realize that twelve hours had passed until I finished it. Due to the long hours of surgery, I suffered a terrible headache the next day and had to receive an acupuncture treatment.
Today, I saw that our hospital buildings are very dignified and that our medical staff are very professional and work very hard to safeguard people’s lives and health. Our medical staff strives to save people’s lives, which is very touching. As Tzu Chi members, we all have a sense of mission, so we carry out Tzu Chi’s Four Missions more than willingly and gain joy by giving of ourselves.
The ropes for your rice dumpling formation are different from those made of cotton and can serve as a reminder for everyone. Our superintendent has been unwell and has received a minor surgery recently. When I held his hands, I felt them cold and wet with sweat. Yet, he still worked hard regardless of his health condition. I’m deeply moved and very grateful to him.
Seeing our medical staff work with one heart, I’m truly grateful. There is much to be grateful for. Our doctors not only practice medicine, but have also been practicing the Dharma. They not only provide medical care, but have also living out the Dharma by tapping into our true wisdom within.
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