The world of Tzu Chi February 2021(Vol.131)

TZU CHI 131 31 version; their feedbacks had contributed to the final adjustments. At the same time, the translation team also sought support from some experts in Malay translation. The Association of Translation and Creative Writings Malaysia, which had translated the famous Chinese classic, Dream of the Red Chamber into Malay, offered suggestions. With the assistance of its president, Goh Hin San, experts were invited to read the Malay aphorisms and give their valuable feedbacks. Moreover, to ensure that the translation was fluent even for the non-Chinese speaking target readers, the translation team sought Ghalib bin Yunus, a Malay grammar researcher specially appointed and recognized by the Institute of Language and Literature Malaysia to promote the Malay language (Munsyi Dewan), to do the final review. It was not until September 14, 2015, that the translation was finalized, after consolidating the opinions of all and going through rounds of revisions. The translation work that was expected to be completed in three months had taken nearly a year! Compared with the Malay version, the translation toTamil was evenmore challenging. The initial team, made up of three university professors and academic staff, plus two Tamil primary school teachers, had a meeting on November 5, 2014, and reached preliminary consensus. It was expected that the translation task would be completed in half a year. However, the translation progress was very slow and fell behind schedule. In the end, the key translator bowed out on grounds of work commitments. The translator who subsequently took over also chose to leave due to family factors. Time ticked away, and only less than ten aphorisms were translated to Tamil after nearly a year. The translation work stopped completely and the Tamil translation team was almost dissolved. Faced with such a predicament and as the coordinator, I was dispirited. Just when I was about to give up, I saw this aphorism: “Let us not seek for everything to go our way, only the courage and strength to persevere. Let us not wish for lesser responsibilities, only the ability to shoulder more.” It was a wake-up call that motivated me to pick myself up. I used all available resources and asked everyone for a Tamil translator, but only to reach a dead end. I then recalled the Indian cultural activities that I had participated in, and Teacher Tang Ah Chai, who was familiar with Indian culture. With Teacher Tang’s referral, and multiple referrals thereafter, I finally met Dr. Nagappan Arumugam, who was proficient in English and Tamil, through the recommendation of the Tamil Foundation Malaysia. Hopes rekindled During our first meeting, Dr. Nagappan was dressed in white Indian national costume. He looked scholarly with his pair of glasses and elegant speech. He was a well-known representative of Shaivism faith and had written many related books. I stated my purpose of the visit and briefly introduced Master Cheng Yen and her philosophy. I also shared about Tzu Chi’s missions and the intention of coming up with the Malaysian version of Jing Si Aphorism . After understanding the cause, Dr. Nagappan agreed to take on the heavy responsibility. He believed that despite the religious differences, it was a good thing to contribute to other religions, to purify the mind and create a harmonious Jing Si Aphorisms – Universal Language for a Good Life