The world of Tzu Chi June 2020 (Vol.123)

2020 • 06 34 Volunteer Chen Wen Yen enthusiastically invited her fellow volunteers and friends living abroad to participate in the online Buddha Bathing Ceremony, giving them the opportunity to bask in the Dharma joy with her. Connecting hearts across borders V olunteer Chen Wen Yen was keenly aware of the emotional unrest caused by the ongoing pandemic and hoped to reach out to not only her fellow volunteers and her community, but also her friends in other parts of the world by encouraging them to join her in honouring the Buddha through the virtual Buddha Bathing Ceremony broadcast live from the Jing Si Abode in Hualien. Hence, she extended an invitation to several of her friends who are residing overseas through WhatsApp messages and phone calls to participate in the online ceremony. On the dawn of May 10, 2020, she phoned them to remind them of the event. On the other side of the globe, volunteer Yen Jia Fen, who is based in Austria in Central Europe, paid her respects to the Buddha at 2:00 a.m. local time. She relocated to the country six years ago, when her husband was posted there by his company. Ever since following her husband to their new home in a foreign land, she has kept in touch with Wen Yen. She eagerly accepted Wen Yen’s invitation. As she observed the virtual ceremony, scenes of the Abode evoked in her memories of the ceremony she had attended back then at a venue in Kelana Jaya and reminded her to reconnect with the Dharma. Meanwhile, on May 9, 4:00 p.m. local time in Vancouver, Canada, Yee Seng Lan’s family of four followed the live broadcast of the ceremony. After migrating to Vancouver in 2016 with her family, Seng Lan encountered By Sia Ah Tong some obstacles in life while adjusting to a new life abroad. Wen Yen advised her to contact her local Tzu Chi chapter. Following that, she enrolled her children in the Canada Tzu Chi Academy for the Humanities. The care and concern extended to her by the local Tzu chi volunteers warmed her heart and inspired her to participate in the local food bank initiative by distributing vegetarian meal packs to low- income households. She also experienced her first Buddha Bathing Ceremony. Seng Lan sympathized with the slaughtering of animals for human consumption and resolved to adopt a diet rich in fruits and vegetables to help reduce environmental pollution and promote environmental sustainability, starting with committing to vegetarian meals one day every week before progressing to full-time vegetarianism. pecial Feature Volunteer Yen Jia Fen was reminded to reconnect with the Dharma by the positive energy exuded by the calming force of the ceremony proceedings. [Photograph courtesy of Yen Jia Fen]