20141124人才輩出守護愛To Safeguard Enlightened Love
Tzu Chi’s Education Mission. Think about it, our education mission started with a nursing school. Yesterday, at the school sports day, we saw five women marching with the school flags.
Time flies by very quickly, The celebration for this 25th anniversary, reminds us that in a few months, Tzu Chi will mark its 49th anniversary. Tzu Chi started with in coin banks to star charity work. Form our charity work we saw that. Hualien really lacked quality medical care, so we hoped to build a hospital Hualien to meet the medical needs instead of sending patients to western Taiwan for treatment.
Therefore, at that time, we stared to plan for building a hospital. It wasn’t until 1983 that we broke the ground for the hospital, and the hospital was completed in 1986. I am very grateful to the doctors at National Taiwan University Hospital, including the supt., professors, and dept. heads for supporting Tzu Chi by sending their personnel to Hualien.
There is also Dr. Chen lhg-ho, who came to serve at Tzu Chi’s hospital on his own initiative. He said, “After I come to serve in Hualien, I will never leave” He has stayed true to his word and his commitment and dedication have encouraged me.
Through all these years, there have been many touching stories about people and events in our history. Even more touching was the support from so many Tzu Chi volunteers.
They helped raise funds for the construction making possible every of cement or steel bar as well as donated money and gave of themselves. With very limited capacities, the hospital finally opened. But, that was after was went through a very tough period to realize this goal. After the hospital opened, we discovered that it was not easy to recruit medical professionals to serve in Hualien , as it was a remote area.
Since it was hard to recruit medical professionals to come, we though to nurture talents locally. Only education can stabilize the medical care in Hualien and enable us to hold firm our mission of safeguarding patients’ lives. So, we started our education mission with a nursing school in eastern Taiwan. We saw footage from the school’s first anniversary.
The celebration date was set on the 19th day of 9th lunar month, which is the birthday of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, because we hoped that the
Nurses would have the same pure love at the Bodhisattva of Compassion.
As the school expanded, this school tradition has continued even till today. I am very grateful to Prof. Chang for talking on the president’s position. Before she assumed the post, the first president was Prof. Yang Sze-Piao, a retired superintendent of the National Taiwan University Hospital.
Right after he retired, I invited him ti take on this responsibility before Prof. Chang took over. This was the making of our history.
These people that we see in the footage participating in the sports day then were great supporters in building the school. Look at them celebrating the first anniversary. They were so young and happy participating. Holding a sports day for the school’s first anniversary was really a simple and endearing celebration. Volunteer moms, honorary board members, and donating members all joined in the celebration to make it a great event.
Now, 25 years later, in a similar celebration, we see the kindergarteners earning thunderous applauses when they made their appearance. They are truly adorable, They are only 4 or 5 years old, but they follow instructions and behave well in their presentation. The same was true for their appearance two days ago at the sutra adaptation, on stage with college students, professors, and others.
Their part, including movements and sing of verses, was no different from the adults’ part. Their voices rang especially loud and clear, louder than that of older students and professors. When I walked toward the stage…, Due to my age, I cannot walk steadily walk slowly. Before I began the walk down the center aisle, I told these young children who held my hands, to hold on tightly and to support me well.
They promised me they would. They indeed held my hands with strength and supported me, enabling me to walk steadily and smoothly for every step. When I needed to move my hands up a little, they still held on very tightly, but I raised my hands anyway. Their support, even when my hands were raised, still helped me to walk very steadily.
They are so young and petite. When I arrived at the front, they returned to their seats and sat down. I talked for about 20 minutes. While I spoke, I glanced at them where they sat. They sat very still and didn’t move at all. They did not even blink their eyes. They sat stalwartly like a mountain, very still. When I see that children of such young age can be educated behave like this, this is truly not an easy accomplishment.
Meanwhile, the students, principal, and teachers of Tzu Chi’s school in Thailand were also present. In their dance, the group of warriors showed a tug-of war between good and evil. Of course, in their struggle, the good side won. In their presentation, they aim to convey that only when we have kindness and do good deeds can we bring peace to society. This presentation also carried their blessings.
After listening to their explanation, I finally understood its full meaning. It showed their utmost sincerity and piety. These are students from our school in Thailand. Seeing all this makes us very happy. Where education is provided, there’s hope. Truly, the journey of establishing these schools is full of very touching and inspiring stories.
Time has passed so quickly. Already, 25 years have passed. We see how our students in Taiwan from kindergarten up to university are all so disciplined and orderly. Teachers and students of our school in Thailand also came expressly to attend this celebration. The principal of our school in Tainan also brought over 100 people to attend including teachers, parents and students.
We also saw alumni of our schools being successful in their respective fields, which testifies to the impact of education and how important it is to be mindful in education.
In a word, that day, so much moved me, leading to many thoughts and feelings, and brought me back in time with many memories. In conclusion, Tzu Chi volunteers for all their contributions and mindful dedication all through the years. Many volunteers still serve as Tzu Chi moms and dads now at the schools to support the students. It is truly very moving.
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