20131124服務人間為貴人To Be There For People in Need
When I arrived in the morning, the first thing I went to see was a sample temporary shelter which our Tzu Cheng members devised and delivered from Hualien after considerable effort. This sample temporary shelter has great implications for our disaster relief.
The Philippines has been hit by disasters one after another. So, we need to quickly devise suitable temporary shelters which, after preassembling in Taiwan, can be shipped to the disaster area to be erected to shelter the survivors from the natural elements.
Everyone, doctors and Bodhisattvas, we really need to be grateful for the conditions we have in Taiwan. We already have a good life. We should be very satisfied and content. I myself am very grateful every day.
This morning, I heard our doctors’ reports, Asst. Supt. Chien was very humorous and lively as the emcee for the session. We saw the case of a patient of Asst. Supt. Chen’s. On appearance, the illness doesn’t seem severe, but it caused considerable suffering to the patient. With our doctor’s wondrous medical skills, the patient’s live was improved.
It’s the same with Asst. Supt. Lai’s patient. Blessings lie in the joy we gain from helping others. harboring a sincere heart to help people who are in suffering---though the work is very busy and difficult, you still gain so much joy from doing it.
For the Philippine typhoon disaster, right now, millions of survivors are waiting for us to give them our love and care. This time, we’ve assembled a team of medical personnel from four Tzu Chi hospitals to go to the Philippines for free clinics. In the disaster area, every day, the survivors see their destroyed homes and grieve the loss of loved ones.
Their loved ones are gone and they cannot even identify the bodies. We can empathize with their loss and sense of hopelessness. So, to help them recover from the trauma and mobilize them both in body and spirit, we’re quickly encouraging them to participate in our cash-for-work program.
So, we have begun our program. For the first day, we gathered the survivors together. Of course, before this, we had first made an announcement about the program so people could come willingly. We mustn’t force them. We have to be very gentle and tender to help comfort them by treating them very respectfully and lovingly.
We talked to them in gentle, caring tones, and led them to their spots where we had everyone sit down. They were very cooperative and sat on the ground. Then, in a caring manner, our volunteers shared with them the love and care they’re bringing from people around the world. Then, they held a prayer and asked everyone to pray sincerely for their family and for all affected by this devastating disaster.
We saw that during the prayer, tears flowed down many people’s faces. Then, we comforted them and encouraged them some more. We encouraged them to begin the path to recovery and revitalize their community by cleaning up their surrounding environment first. Then, naturally businesses can reopen and things can get back on track.
After that, the survivors, including both men and women, stood up energetically with uplifted spirits. They picked up the tools for-cleanup and started cleaning the community. The CEO of Tzu Chi Philippines called and asked me: “Master, can we distribute aid to the police?” I replied, ”Of course.” As they were also victims of disaster.
The fact that they still came forward to carry out their duties is really admirable. We should give them relief aid to boost their morale. And for those civil servants who’ve survived but haven’t returned to work, we hope the aid can encourage them to gather themselves together so that they can help restore the function of the government and help their community to recover. So, earlier I told them to be prepared for very rudimentary accommodations.
The night before, our relief team had been bitten all over by mosquitoes. Given current conditions, one must avoid getting bitten. But because the windows in the building had been broken by the storm, there were many mosquitoes. When it rained in the middle of the night, they got sprayed by the rain which woke them up.
They found themselves all wet with the floor all wet too. That’s been their living conditions the past few days. The conditions really are hard and they have to overcome many challenges in their daily living. Those going to help others have many issues they have to overcome by themselves.
But, seeing those they help break out in a genuine smile, as I often say, the most beautiful smile in the world is the smile of a patient. That’s the most beautiful. In disaster areas, when we see survivors who face hardships start to smile, that smile makes everyone so happy. In that moment, the survivors can forget the nearly two weeks of suffering and hardship that they’ve gone through.
Truly, the joy we gain from helping others makes us very blessed. Though helping others allows us to experience joy, we reap blessings and wisdom only because we’ve sown the seeds by helping others. I am truly very grateful.
All of you hospital personnel, as you serve in the medical field, you have the most direct chance to help people in suffering. I truly envy you all for having the capacity to relieve suffering with your skills and take care of patients. Indeed, what you do for patients is something I’m grateful for at every moment and I am moved by every single day.
We see the shortage of nurses nowadays. Yet, our nurses at Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital remain very committed to serving at our hospital with a very genuine and loving heart.
I’m most thankful for our younger nurses who mentor the newer nurses so they can smoothly adjust to their work and stay on. With enough staff now, I’m very happy our ward can reopen.
Seeing how happy our nurses are to be able to serve more patients, I am truly touched by their spirit. Indeed, life’s value and meaning lies in service.
As for our Philippine relief mission, I am very grateful that our entire Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital has mobilized to hold a charity bazaar to raise funds. The happiest thing in the world is to do all you can for patients and then to see them smile because of it.
In the same way, seeing the disaster survivors get the help they need is the happiest. These are the fruits of our charitable and medical missions. This is the joy we gain from fulfilling the objective of helping people with their needs. That’s the happiest thing.
In conclusion, much happiness comes from taking hold of the present to do what is right.
首頁 
