The World Of Tzu Chi(Vol.116)

02 2019 • 11 The medical professionals always travel long distances at their own expense to provide medical services to needy patients. They would sometimes leave their medical equipment to the local medical team so that the latter could continue to serve the patients living in places where medical facilities are relatively backward. They are always happy to give for the benefit of society. In fact, the world needs the collective kindness of everyone to ease suffering. The Vice Superintendent of the Beira General Hospital in Mozambique was invited to attend the TIMAConvention this year. In the aftermath of Cyclone Idai that hit Mozambique last March, teams of medical professionals were dispatched from Taiwan to the affected areas for medical relief. The Vice Superintendent informed that the hospital set up by the government serves as a referral hospital to four provinces, with the ratio of one medical doctor to 8,000 people. As the destructive Cyclone Idai destroyed hospital buildings, including the building that housed the operating theatres, the surgeons and other medical personnel had no choice but to perform operations on their patients in makeshift tents. Healthcare in Mozambique leaves much to be desired. While attending the TIMA Convention, Dr Allen Wen of South Africa had this to share: When Tzu Chi volunteers invited him to participate in the relief mission to Mozambique, he thought long and hard about it, as he felt that it might be better for him to donate the money that he would have to spend on the expensive airfare towards the relief efforts. But eventually, he was persuaded to fly there to serve personally and gain first-hand experience. When he reached a disaster zone in Mozambique, he discovered that the living conditions there were even more deplorable than that of the poor in South Africa. He also observed that the local residents had formed a close relationship with Tzu Chi people. Whenever he squatted down, a group of children would come over, and he could not help but carry them in his arms. Through the relief mission, he was convinced that the smiles on the children’s and patients’ faces could not be bought with money. It was indeed astonishing that these children, despite living in harsh conditions, displayed childlike innocence and beautiful smiles. Often what the suffering people have gone through is worse than what we could imagine, but we do not realize this and always take for granted the many blessings we receive, not until we see for ourselves their predicaments. As we give, we experience spiritual joy in return, more so if we serve personally in addition to contributing financially. We must walk the Bodhisattva Path in order to evoke the compassion within us and truly appreciate the Buddha’s teachings. Give love, and we will feel love in our hearts. Each passing second is “the moment” to add meaning and value to our lives. May all of us be mindful, always. aster’s Teaching * Compiled from a collection of speeches delivered by Master Cheng Yen from September 1 to 16, 2019.