The world of Tzu Chi (Vol.106)

2019 • 01 10 eature In the eyes of her children, Cai Kuan was strict most of the time. She acted like a spoiled child and requested for her eldest son to embrace her for this photo. Well, they were right! After those hard years, and now that my children were all grown up, I should start enjoying life! Every morning, I would go to the Baiguo Mountain at Yuanlin for morning exercise. I met many friends there. “Ah Kuan, join us for the trip to Europe!” was an invitation from one member of the folk dance group. I hesitated at first, because the trip was 34 days long and I had planned a 2-day trip to Japan for an expo after the Europe trip. I wondered if it was appropriate to be away for so long. “Everything at home is being taken care, just go and have fun!” Isn’t retirement about enjoying life? As I promised my friends, I was actually very excited. It was my first trip abroad and I felt like a child about to have a peek into the world. I remember the flight to Greece took 21 hours. It was very tiring. When we visited the ancient city of Greece, our tour guide informed that people in the city were living too good a life, and so one day, the whole city was suddenly covered by volcanic ash and disappeared. It was terrible! In addition to travelling with my friends, my daughter also brought me to the US. All my four children treated me very well, making me “the lady with a great life” in the eyes of others. In those days, I never thought about life after retirement. For over ten years, I set foot in many countries; I must have travelled the world. Vows must be put into action I must have prayed a lot in my past lives or my late husband in Heaven is watching over me. My two sons longed for me to stay with them. As my younger son, Jing Rong’s kids were still very young, I opted to stay with him so that I could help take care of his kids. I ended up staying with him for 20 years. One morning, I met Mr Jiang Jin Fa. With a copy of Tzu Chi Monthly in hand, he walked towards me with a big smile and said, “Sister Ah Kuan, there is a Dharma Master in Hualien with great cultivation. She has been doing good deeds and helping people in suffering.” I was shocked by his words. “Besides chanting, monastic practitioners can save