The World Of Tzu Chi(Vol.115).

TZU CHI 115 21 the delivery rounds on our motorcycles. We could only carry six packages to two households per trip, hence we would take several days to distribute all the supplies. Our faces nearly always appeared dry and chapped due to prolonged exposure to the elements while on the road. Lessons on compassion During the early years, my wife and I held day jobs, so we were only free to deliver supplies for the winter distribution during the weekends. One year, I was concerned that we would fail to deliver all the winter relief supplies in time for the eve of the Lunar New Year. Hence, I wrote in advance to our care recipients, asking them to collect their supplies from my father-in-law. But I witnessed a scene that made me regret my decision: Two elderly women who had taken a taxi together from Budai Township, Chiayi County, threw up the minute they arrived at my father-in-law’s place. They had become carsick on the trip. I was pained by the ladies’ suffering, so I resumed personally delivering packages to every family. Although the task was taxing and time-consuming, its underlying intention was in accordance with the Master’s teaching: One should prioritize putting oneself in the shoes of the suffering over taking action based on one’s subjective ways of thinking. That is the most precious lesson I have ever learned. My family has maintained close ties with Tzu Chi over five generations, from my grandmother Wang Mian to my grandchildren. My eldest daughter, Wang Ling-yi and her husband, Zhang Huai-ren work at the Hualien Tzu Chi Medical Centre, one in the research department and the other as a cardiologist. Two of my grandchildren study at Tzu Chi elementary school and kindergarten respectively, besides volunteering at Tzu Chi bookstores on weekends. I am 66 this year; I have devoted myself to Tzu Chi for 40 years. Over the decades I have witnessed how thoughtful the Master has always been in providing help and care for the needy, in the spirit of a loving mother and a compassionate bodhisattva. I am grateful that my parents led me to Tzu Chi and for the opportunity to take part in such meaningful social work. It is indeed a blessed life to be able to reap the fruits of the positive karma I have accumulated over several lifetimes. Wang Shou-rong and his wife, Yan Yu-zhen conducted home visits out of genuine concern towards the care recipients and documented their observations. [Photograph courtesy of Wang Shou-rong] Fifty Years of Tzu Chi in Taitung