Guided by Right Faith, Lin diligently prepares for the stage adaptation. (Photo by Phua Poo Toong)
Seeing how Tzu Chi volunteers set aside their time to turn up for the “Dharma as Water” stage adaptation practice sessions just so that they can do something worthwhile for their fellow beings, Lin Hua Zhen was inspired to invite those around her to be part of the Dharma assembly.
Flipping through the pages of her phonebook, Lin made calls to friends that she had not contacted in at least 15 years without any hesitation. She went straight to the point and invited them to participate in the stage adaptation. Some of her friends agreed, and while some ended up dropping out halfway, Lin was not disheartened. When she received a call from an ex-colleague whom she had not contacted in six years, Lin was quick to spot another opportunity. “Over the past month, my conversation topic only revolved around the stage adaptation,”said Lin. Her ex-colleague, Ling, eventually joined as a participant.
With her face decked in smiles and always well-prepared, Lin would explain to her friends : “We are spreading the teachings of Buddha so this is not (for) entertainment; we have to be serious to spread the teachings. The repentance teachings help in your daily life and you will only realize the happiness at the end of the day when you have successfully participated in the stage adaptation.”She would tell them if she could do it, so could they.
With slightly more than a month left to the opening of the stage adaptation, Lin had managed to convince nine friends to join her, most of which were white collar professionals. As her friends were used to conversing in English, she would accompany them for rehearsals so that they would not develop a dread of the Chinese lyrics. Lin hopes to recruit at least ten people to join her, and will follow up with any chance she gets to invite others to participate in the stage adaptation.
Learning the Teachings Despite a Language Barrier
In her daily life, Lin employs English as her medium of communication as she has been brought up in an English-speaking environment. She even has difficulty distinguishing the Chinese characters for “Male” and “Female”when filling up official forms. In the past, she had twice signed up for Tzu Chi’s sign language class, but had later dropped out halfway as she could not keep up with the class. Unable to surmount the language barrier, she had initially declined when invited to participate in the stage adaptation last year. “I cannot be part of the stage adaptation. I don’t understand what’s being said, and I can’t read the words!”
Her fellow volunteers in Tzu Chi repeatedly gave her encouragement, and coupled with an instance where she was part of a group that presented a small segment of the adaptation, Lin’s confidence grew and she finally mustered up enough courage to sign up for the event. She told herself that she had to try, because of all the encouragement from fellow volunteers as well as the help and time that the facilitator-teachers had invested in them.
From the English sharing sessions and the community study sessions, Lin gradually came to understand the important teachings of the “Dharma as Water” text. “In my daily life, I reflect on everything I do,”says Lin. She spurred herself on, memorizing the Chinese pronunciation of the lyrics with a vengeance, and requesting friends to read out the Chinese lyrics to her whenever possible. Upon receiving the stage adaptation manual with the English and Chinese versions of the lyrics, Lin was able to quickly learn both the meaning of the words as well as the Chinese pronunciation, making rapid progress along the way.
Today, Lin brims with confidence with every movement and every word she sings on stage during the practice sessions. She attributes this to two things : hard work and determination. Whether in the car or on the bus or MRT, Lin would be diligently reading the lyrics and listening to the songs of the stage adaptation to familiarize herself with the tunes and words. At home, she would face the mirror and practice her sign language as she sang the familiar tunes.
Lin always has a copy of the lyrics complete with English explanations and hanyu pinyin inside her bag. Whenever she meets up with her English-educated friends, the handbook would prove helpful in clearing up the doubts they might have.
Engaging in Self-reflection
When one reflects upon the past, inevitably the thought arises that “if I had known earlier, I would not have committed such an action.” After coming into contact with the “Water Repentance” text, Lin was reminded that years ago, she had not given her daughter the right teachings in a timely manner.
When her daughter was three, she had gotten to know a classmate who was of the Christian faith. With the innocence of a child, her daughter had told Lin that from her classmate, she had learned that before meals, one had to give thanks to the Lord Jesus. Lin’s quick rejoinder at that point in time was “The one you need to thank is me, your mother! The money used to buy our food is the result of mum’s hard work, and not given to us by the Lord.”
Today, Lin often thinks back upon that particular scene whenever she sings, “May we not have thoughts of killing other beings, and help all beings co-exist in harmony.”
“I was ignorant then, being so self-opinionated and arrogant. I should have told her that all beings live in mutual co-existence, and we must be grateful to all of them; and that includes being grateful to my boss for giving me a job and a salary, being grateful to the farmer who grows the rice, and to the driver who delivers the vegetables to the market. They are all interrelated and interdependent.”
Lin had been part of other Buddhist organizations in the past, however in her case, she did not actualize the teachings in her daily life. She would listen to the Dharma on one hand, and on the other, continue to consume meat at gatherings with her friends. Since she started being part of Tzu Chi however, she had started adopting a vegetarian diet.
Lamb used to be Lin’s favourite type of meat, and she would not touch any greens. She recalls with remorse, an instance whereby she had visited some relatives in Hainan Island. Eager to extend their warm hospitality, they had slaughtered a goat for her consumption in front of her, upon learning that she loved lamb meat. At that time, Lin had even felt smug, thinking that she must be an important person in their eyes in order to deserve such hospitality. It is a different Lin that speaks with regret today as she muses how she could even eat a goat that had been killed for her sake.
When Lin was young, she would assist her family in the slaughter of chickens during festive seasons. As she was not very skilled, the chicken would struggle wildly in the pail as she tried to club it to death, then leap out in a desperate attempt to escape. These scenes from the past are still vivid in her mind’s eye.
“In the past, it was my ignorance showing when I talked about slaughtering chickens in front of friends and felt proud of my actions. I’m not at all proud of it now; it has become a blot in my life and I feel really regretful for what I had done.”When Lin walks past a chicken rice stall today, she cannot bear to take a second look and every day after she returns home, she will dedicate all her merits accrued from her good deeds to all sentient beings.
Forsaking a Heavy Load for Lightness of Being
When Lin was beseiged by a debt crisis at one point in her life, family members had told her that she had to accept the fact as it was her fate. Saddled with debts and having to manage the daily chores left Lin short-tempered, and she would often flare up, rebuking her daughter harshly in the process.
Last June, her husband suffered a stroke and was bed-ridden for a long period. Lin understands the law of cause and effect and has accepted the challenges that come her way with willing grace. She says simply, “I still have to walk on in life and I will accept the curves that life throws me. Despite the hustle and bustle of our lives, we can still solve these problems. Once we solve them, we can then put them down.”
Lin admits that life used to be meaningless. For the sake of making a living, she would bury herself in work the entire day, and her life did not have a clear direction. Her life now is different as she passes her days very meaningfully.
Last year, Lin made the decision to sell off the office space that she had purchased and instead rented an office unit. Sanguinely, she explains that selling off the space allowed her to regain her freedom as she no longer felt she had to stay in the office to work the whole day. She is now free to devote her time on Tzu Chi activities, engaging herself in more meaningful endeavours.
“The Law of Karma never fails
For the karma created, we must repent.”
Lin says, “I absolutely agree with this stanza. Cause and effect is fair. If you understand this you will be able to accept (what happens in life), and your faith will be strengthened.”
With the teachings of Buddhism like a guiding light as she crosses hurdle after hurdle no matter how difficult, Lin is focused on gearing herself up to spread the Dharma through her participation in the stage adaptation on 14 December 2013.
After becoming a volunteer, Lin has been involving herself actively in various Tzu Chi activities. Here, she is seen making a house visit. (Photo by Pua Poo Toong)
Lin always has a copy of the “Dharma as Water” handbook with her. With the English explanations and the hanyu pinyin, she is able to easily convince others to join her in participating in the stage adaptation. (Photo by Kwek Jing Yi)
In order that the teachings be ingrained in her heart, Lin Hua Zhen would often spend time memorizing the lyrics of the stage adaptation at home and practice sign language in front of the mirror. (Photo by Kwek Jing Yi)
Lin has been attending the “Dharma as Water” study sessions for some time, and now upholds a vegetarian diet. She often prepares vegetarian food for her family and maid. (Photo by Kwek Jing Yi)
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