The world of Tzu Chi July-August 2022 (Vol.142)

TZU CHI 142 23 In March this year, Tzu Chi KL & Selangor launched the Bento of Love (BOL), a year-round initiative to promote vegetarianism. The plant-based bento prepared either by volunteer teams or partner restaurants, received encouraging support. In April and May, 2,759 people signed up for the BOL and a total of 27,590 bento meals were served. I n conjunction with Mother’s Day and the Dragon Boat Festival, which fell in May, volunteers creatively designed posters to call on everyone to sow blessings for their mothers by embracing a plant-based diet, which is also an act of love for animals. In line with this, the partner restaurants thoughtfully prepared alkaline rice dumplings for the participants. After savouring the rice dumplings, many participants remarked in numerous chatgroups, “It is so heartwarming. The rice dumpling reminded me of my childhood”; “It moved my heart to receive a bento meal with a rice dumpling”; and “Today’s bento is the best!”. Actively promoting healthy eating In order to break the stereotype that vegetarian dishes are nothing but dull and bland processed food, the BOL team continued to capture the participants’ taste buds through an offering of assorted dishes that looked appetizing, smelt good and tasted fresh. In Malaysia, a vegetarian diet is less popular among the Malay ethnic group. Nonetheless, volunteer Chong Lee Hui had successfully invited her two Malay colleagues to sign up for the BOL. The plant-based meals served were an eye-opener for her colleague Sharifah, who thought that a vegetarian diet meant meals made up of only green vegetables. She commented, “The bento meals provided me a different surprise each day, and I looked forward to my lunch breaks!” Sharifah was grateful for the opportunity to experience the BOL, which changed her perception towards a vegetarian diet. She will encourage more Malay friends to take vegetarian meals. Apart from their social circles and social media platforms, volunteers also visited schools to promote the BOL. The principal of SJK(C) Lai Chee Kuala Lumpur, offered her support by signing up for two consecutive rounds along with 12 teachers. At volunteer Tan Wei Han’s suggestion, the school canteen operator agreed to prepare plant-based bentos in school so that the teachers and students could eat healthier food. He also signed up for the BOL to better understand the cooking concepts. Additionally, retired school principal Lim Choy Kim, who is a Tzu Chi volunteer, managed to convince 28 staff from four schools to support the BOL. Initially, it was stressful for him having to rush to deliver the bento boxes to four schools before meal time amidst heavy traffic and parking problems. Thankfully, the community volunteers stepped in to accomplish the mission together. He said, “I am grateful to the volunteers for sharing the delivery load. It manifested what Master Cheng Yen often says about ‘practise right faith and right mindfulness’ and ‘for the right thing, just do it’. When difficulty arises, benefactors will come forward to extend their helping hands.” In Sri Damansara, volunteers have been promoting vegetarianism by cooking vegetarian meals at the recycling centre on the first and