20170206延續渡眾啟慈航Continuing to Inspire and Help Others with Love and Compassion
On February 6th of last year, an earthquake struck Taiwan before dawn. The situation was very chaotic with people wailing while rescue work was going on. This was what happened on this day last year.
As time passed by, there is still a sense of loss in people’s minds. Some people died, while family members and survivors have to go on living with their injuries and their loss.
Last year, when I went to Tainan for (the Year-End Blessing Ceremony,) there was a quake survivor who had just been discharged from the hospital. Both of his legs were completely amputated because of severe injuries.
Seeing this makes my heart very heavy. (Unfortunately, impermanence struck.) Such is life. It’s been a year since the disaster. The trauma and the sense of loss are still in people’s minds that make them suffer a lot.
For those who lost their families, what can we do to alleviate the pain in their hearts?
It is heartbreaking. This is the outline of my younger daughter’s hand. She wrote, “Happy Father’s Day. Sincerely, Jiexi.” There are her fingerprints. Here my older daughter wrote, “Papa, thank you for working hard every day, so Jiexi and I can eat well, sleep well go to school, and live every day peacefully and happily.”
Mr. Tsai was working a night shift when the earthquake hit. Before he set off for work, his family waved him goodbye happily. However, before dawn, the earthquake struck and separated him from his family forever. He lost his wife and two daughters, as well as the family of his wife’s sister.
Nine. Nine of them. Yup, they’re my mother-in-law, my wife and two daughters, my co-brother-in-law, my wife’s second eldest sister, my eldest niece, my third eldest niece, and my youngest nephew. There are nine of them.
When I visited Tainan, Mr. Tsai was there to talk his experiences. There were also some families talking about (how the quake affected them.) It is really hard for them to overcome their painful experiences.
Some of them have been inspired to become Tzu Chi volunteers. Mr. Tsai went with our volunteers to pay visits to people in suffering. During these visits, Mr. Tsai saw the lives of many different people, which allowed him to understand how truly impermanent life is and delivered him from his pain.
This is the suffering in life. He’s willing to go everywhere to share with others his suffering in life. This is how life is. Every day, we see natural disasters occurring due to the imbalance of the four elements.
This is why earthquakes, floods, fires and storms are occurring in many countries. It is very difficult to deal with these disasters. What can we do to let the Earth’s ecology become balanced again?
Only when the ecology is balanced can people live a safe and peaceful life. Do not think that what’s happening in other countries is far away from us. In reality, the Earth is not big. Everyone is living on the same Earth.
All humans are living under the same sky and on the same land. Thus, we must truly pay attention to what’s happening in the world. The refugees in Serbia have to endure freezing cold weather.
They are stranded in Serbia and cannot leave due to closed borders. Tzu Chi volunteers provided aid to the refugees in March and December last year.
And now, this year, Tzu Chi volunteers from several countries In Europe have gone to aid the refugees in Serbia again. They know that the refugees suffer great hardship, and with so many refugees in the camps, there are many issues with personal hygiene, including fleabites.
The refugees also have other needs, including showers, change of clothing, and laundry facilities. The Serbian government hopes that Tzu Chi can provide the refugees with food for several more months.
Thus, I thought of Mr. Anthoni Salim from Indonesia. Mr. Salim owns the (Salim Group) which has food companies all over the world, so I thought of him and wondered if he has a food factory in Serbia.
We soon made a phone call (to Mr. Salim). Over the phone, Mr. Salim promised to do all he can to help. After the deputy GM of the Salim Group’s instant noodle factory in Serbia received Mr. Salim’s message, he took the initiative to contact Tzu Chi volunteers in Serbia.
I feel that there are truly many people willing to help us. Whenever we want to help those in need, there are always people we haven’t thought about who are willing to help us (in relief effort.)
Last year, when we went to provide aid in Serbia, it didn’t occur to us that Mr. Salim could help. This time, he came to the Abode to wish me a happy Chinese New Year, so I remembered him.
Thinking of him, I wondered if he has a food factory in Serbia. Coincidentally, he said he built an instant noodle factory there last August and it was already in operation. This karmic affinity is truly amazing.
I am grateful to the deputy GM of Mr. Salim’s instant noodle factory in Serbia. He said that they could help us with whatever purchase we needed. This is a great help to us.
I’m grateful to our local volunteers in Europe for working very hard to understand the needs of refugees in Serbia and buying the things they need.
They also need to communicate with the local commission for refugees. There is so much relief work to do but what we can do is seize our time to help people however we can and just do it.
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