The world of Tzu Chi May 2021 (Vol.134)

2021 • 05 42 remained healthy—they did not have any extra money to spare on more doctors’ visits. Please save my child U Sai Tun, a devout Buddhist, performed his morning and evening rituals without fail. The only things on the altar in his home, besides the photos of his late parents, were three Buddhist scriptures. His devotion to Buddhism was obvious. Following his example, his children prostrated themselves before the statue of the Buddha on their altar every day, and recited the Three Refuges. When asked if he harboured any hatred after experiencing so much pain in his life, U Sai Tun said, “I left my hometown with hatred in my heart over ten years ago. Throughout that arduous journey away from home, I told myself never to forget the reason why I left. When I arrived in Malaysia, I started practising Buddhism to find an answer to the doubts I had about life. Through Buddhism, I came to realize that instead of embracing hatred, I should cleanse myself from inner impurities. My parents and siblings have all left the world. The welfare of my children is my only concern now. Nothing else matters to me.” In late August 2020, Sai Sai began to experience one health issue after another. First, he was diagnosed with peritonitis. Even after treatment in the hospital, he was not completely healed, which resulted in even more frequent visits to the hospital. Then his peritoneal dialysis catheter became dislocated, making it difficult for him to undergo dialysis. The boy’s doctor informed his parents that if they could not fix the problem, they would have to stop giving him dialysis, meaning that death would get closer and closer to their boy. In November, he suffered a minor stroke and required brain surgery. When it came to his health, it never rained but poured. Sai Sai’s routine visits to the hospital became routine visits to the intensive care unit. Every time he was admitted, his parents would prepare themselves for the worst. However, their boy surprised them time and again by repeatedly making it through. Every medical crisis he survived rekindled the couple’s hope. Even so, the doctor reminded U Sai Tun and his wife not to get their hopes up. That message was hard for them to take, as it would be for any parent. They begged and implored Sai Sai’s doctor to do everything in his power to save their child, to do everything possible to not let their child be taken away from them. Tzu Chi volunteers did their best to soothe the parents. They pleaded with them to trust the doctor, and stood by them with love. After that, U Sai Tun became more diligent in studying Buddhism. Volunteers arranged for him to talk on the phone with Daw Thida Khin, a Tzu Chi volunteer in Myanmar. U Sai Tun poured out his heart to her, saying that he felt he was experiencing the Four Noble Truths in Buddhism: “suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, and the path to freedom from suffering”. Even though he loved his son very much, his attachment to him felt like a burning coal. As much as he wanted to hold on to it, he could lobal Presence