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

2021 • 02 32 society. With that, the Tamil translation of Jing Si aphorisms was restarted for the third time. With his profound language background, Dr. Nagappan soon completed the Tamil translation alone, based on the English aphorisms. However, to find an expert proficient in Chinese and Tamil to edit and proofread the translated aphorisms and to ensure that they were close to the original Chinese version was like finding a needle in a haystack! After much searching and enquiries, perhaps my sincerity had moved heaven, I finally found Cameron Wong, a retired talent proficient in Chinese and Tamil, to assist in proofreading. Teacher Wong, who once taught at a local university, said he rarely heard about Tamil translation of Chinese publications, and was more than willing to help. Interestingly, I also learned from him that Indians always shake their heads while speaking because that helps them to pronounce certain words correctly. After repeated reviews by Teacher Wong, the Tamil manuscript was finalized shortly after. However, as both the experts completed the proofreading and amendment in handwriting, I had to go to Kuala Lumpur’s Little India (Brickfields), the hub of Tamil publishing companies, to find a suitable Indian typist to type the manuscript using a computer. Only then it was deemed complete. The process of promoting the Malay and Tamil versions of Jing Si aphorisms was indeed no mean feat, but the thought that an aphorism could potentially change a person’s life spurred me on to overcome all setbacks and difficulties with persistence and time. Overcoming difficulties together With contributions from many, the manuscript for Jing Si Aphorisms in simplified Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil was finally ready to be sent to Taiwan Jing Si Publishing Co. for book design and publishing, in June 2016. However, when I showed the typeset proof to Dr. Nagappan, he said, “All wrong! This is not Tamil!” I was shocked. It turned out that a wrong position of a certain dot or stroke could render the Tamil words alien. It was later discovered that the problem lied in the Taiwan’s typesetting software that did not support and could not correctly read the Tamil characters provided by the Malaysian typist. Jing Si Publishing Co. subsequently made many attempts before finally getting the characters and typesetting right. In October 2016, ten thousand copies of the first edition of Jing Si Aphorisms in simplified Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil were finally published as scheduled. During the Tzu Chi KL & Selangor’s Happy Schooling Scheme presentation ceremony on November 27, 2016, this newly released book was presented to the beneficiaries, enabling many Indian students and parents to appreciate the essence of the Master’s teachings. The book has also become the best tool for communication and sharing with non-Chinese care recipients, as well as the best souvenir for various events, official occasions and visits by government officials. It is hoped that the Master’s wise sayings can help clear confusions and serve as guiding life principles for the recipients. Looking back on the past one year, the raging pandemic had impacted Malaysia, leaving many people physically and mentally exhausted having to cope with pecial Feature