Experienced volunteers (from left), Kenny Khoo, Dai Yu Mei and Shen Long Fa share personal anecdotes on how they overcame various challenges to stay on the Tzu Chi spiritual path.（Screen captured from video）
“When a person dies, should he follow the white or the blue light?” Sister Ci Lu had once been perplexed and confused, pondering over the question of birth and death in life. After she joined Tzu Chi, she finally understood that as long as one is firm in resolve, one can traverse between birth and death without fear, and walk the Bodhisattva path, life after life.
During the three-day 2014 trainee commissioner training camp, with lecturers made up of experienced commissioners and invited speaker Sister Ci Lu, CEO of the Tzu Chi Selangor and Kuala Lumpur branch, more than 200 participants gained an in-depth understanding of Dharma Master Cheng Yen’s ideology and missions. They also learned about the importance of faith and living out the Dharma in their lives.
Taking the Master’s Missions as Our Own
At the start of the camp, Deputy CEO of Tzu Chi Singapore branch Sister Ci Ting spoke eloquently about the key milestones in the life of Master Cheng Yen, saying, “Over 49 years, the Master never once wavered in her path to serve for the sake of Buddhism and mankind. As first generation disciples, how should we go about upholding and continuing the Master’s missions while keeping a Buddha’s heart?”
Sister Ci Ting mentioned how the Master took confidence from the scriptures, always believed in selfless service, and had faith that there was love in the heart of every person. Facing our circumstances with positive belief, we will have the strength to surmount adversity.
“Tzu Chi may not be a ‘100% perfect organization,’ but we are definitely forging ahead with our sights trained on ‘100% perfection.’”
Though we have different experiences and qualifications, upon entering Tzu Chi we all have that one goal to cultivate spiritually. Even as we meet with criticism and disagreement from others, we must face them with a grateful attitude. Sister Ci Ting exhorted everyone to have absolute faith that the Tzu Chi path is the right one, only then can they, like the Master, have the resolve and determination to soldier on.
In a voice choked with emotion, Sister Ci Ting explained that the Master’s greatest concern was with the development of every disciple’s wisdom. Every disciple must try their very best to work for the benefit of Buddhism and all beings, their actions in accordance with the heart of the Buddha and the aspirations of the Master. In addition, she mentioned that the disciples’ strong resolve is also a source of great motivation for the Master.
Strength Comes from Strong Vows
“How does one make a vow? On the surface, to do so appears to be relatively easy, but without sufficient faith, determination and courage, it is definitely hard to actualize one’s vow,” said guest speaker Sister Ci Lu. She stated that faith, aspiration and practice are the key to carrying out the Master’s missions. When she saw how South Africa volunteer, Zhu Jin Cai, singlehandedly managed to grow the pool of local volunteers by impressive numbers, she was both moved by his determination and ashamed of her own lack thereof, as she remembered how the Master has always hoped for Tzu Chi members to extensively recruit volunteers.
“The difference between action and inaction is only in our decision.” Sister Ci Lu’s initial emotions of feeling moved, progressed into a strong impulse to act; she vowed to lead the volunteers in Malaysia in the countrywide initiative to recruit one million donating members.
Turning the impossible into the possible—that is the power of a vow. Sister Ci Lu shared the story of a Malaysian volunteer, who though willing to take on the responsibility of a team leader, had not dared to make a vow. However after she heard what the Master had said, she was moved to do so and eventually succeeded. The audience downstage were amazed at hearing how she had managed to overcome her initial reservations and recruited more than two thousand volunteers herself, and broke into warm applause.
“We must understand the karmic causes and conditions that brought us to Tzu Chi.” Sister Ci Lu felt that Tzu Chi was established in this world for a great cause; it is Master Cheng Yen’s firm belief that her clear direction in this life is the culmination of countless lives spent in spiritual cultivation.
Taking On Challenges Willingly
“The Master tells us that we must not waste our life away in confusion and delusion.” Hearing these words from Ci Lu, attendee Lin Pei Pei could not stop the tears from rolling down her face.
Lin recalled that though she had joined as a Tzu Ching in 1998, with her personal commitments taking up her time, she began to become less involved in Tzu Chi activities. It was only five years ago, when her child signed up for the Tzu Chi Parent-Child Bonding Class, that she started to return to the fold of the organization. Reflecting on herself, she shared that though she was a part of Tzu Chi, she was still a long way from attaining the Buddha’s heart and the Master’s missions, and it seemed as though spiritually she had not made any progress. “Although I do know some of the teachings, in actual fact I had yet to put them into practice.” Seeing how the Master was getting on in years, Lin hopes that she can speed up her progress and assist the Master in spreading the Dharma and Tzu Chi’s missions.
Apart from the pressures of family and career, if one’s resolve is not firm, even if one is on the Tzu Chi path, it would be hard to avoid obstacles and end up feeling disheartened. On the third day of the training camp, experienced volunteers and leaders Kenny Khoo, Shen Long Fa and Dai Yu Mei shared with the participants via a warm and casual talk format, how they overcame various obstacles and did not deviate from the Tzu Chi path.
In 2013, the strength of Khoo’s bond with an old-time friend was in danger of crumbling under a debt of more than $20,000 owed to Khoo, while Dai herself related how she had been distant from her family members since she was young. Dai’s parents favoured her younger sister over her and the perceived unfairness resulted in her inflicting harm on herself through various means.
Learning about the karmic law of cause and effect from the Dharma, they began to accept their lot, changed their perceptions and learnt to let go, realizing the truth of the Jing Si Aphorism: “In favourable times, we must bring to mind the law of impermanence; in the face of adverse circumstances, we must think of karmic causes and effects.”
South Zone leader Shen is one of the pioneering volunteers in Tzu Chi’s early days in Singapore, and though he has never wavered in his path, there was a period of time when he had slowed down his pace of activities within the organization. As the number of volunteers grew, with more people inevitably came differing views and conflicts. This resulted in him deciding to give up his role as community leader for a facilitating role in the organization’s finance department. Subsequently, because he saw how other counterparts had not flinched when it came to shouldering tasks, and coupled with the arising of an opportunity, Shen gathered his confidence and took on the role of a functional team leader. He explained that doing Tzu Chi’s work is his own choice, and as the Master had said, when the responsibilities one takes on become heavier, so will the challenges one will face. In recapping the past, Shen expressed that he was grateful for the arising of these challenges in his journey.
Speeding Up the Development of Wisdom
Without adverse circumstances, how can one expect growth? During a segment of the training, Sister Ci Lu told the attendees that only with strong belief in the karmic law of cause and effect can one be firmly committed to keeping the sanctity of one’s vows. When one restrains oneself from the creation of further negative karma, one will naturally feel at ease.
Hearing these words, attendee Chen Yan Li felt relieved that she did not give up vegetarianism; her faith was shaken when her body experienced some problems and she started to be influenced by factors in her immediate surroundings. Fortunately she was able to view things from a different angle, telling herself that vegetarianism was the bottom line and she could not give up. “After listening to this sharing, I really feel the need to persevere with vegetarianism because I know the frightening result of the karma of killing.” Believing in the force of karma, one gains the willpower to restrain oneself from committing wrongdoings and thus avoids planting the seed of negative karma. Chen hoped that she could hold on to the pure motivation that galvanized her from the start and not be led astray by the negative causes and conditions that arose in her path.
As Tzu Chi volunteers cultivate themselves and work with people in society at large, how can they be like the lotus flower that remains pure despite arising from muddy soil? Sister Ci Lu told the audience that the only way is to take in the Master’s teachings; only then will we grow in wisdom, recognize our pure, innate nature and thoroughly understand our direction in life. She also mentioned about the three air disasters that occurred in the span of one week. In the face of recurring disasters resulting from living beings’ collective karma, there is great urgency in the work we do at Tzu Chi. It is not easy to guide people due to their willful, wayward habitual ways, and in these times of turmoil, we should all the more make meaningful aspirations and work to recruit more volunteers to serve as living bodhisattvas.
In addition, Sister Ci Lu encouraged everyone to give rise to positive thoughts and diligently practice the Dharma so that we may realize the source of our suffering. Only by keeping the Dharma in our hearts can we avoid being swayed by our circumstances. Seeing the numbers of young volunteers in Singapore that have aspired to greater ideals, she gave her blessings to everyone saying, “We must be very mindful, diligent and sincere in receiving the Dharma teachings from the Master. One day, we will definitely be able to attain the Buddha’s heart and the Master’s ideals. We must be firm in our resolve just like the Master.”
Every minute of the day, the candle of Master Cheng Yen’s life burns to light up the wisdom of sentient beings. Devoted to serving the suffering throughout her life, she has vowed to return to our world life after life to spread Great Love to all. At the conclusion of the session, Sister Ci Ting spoke words of encouragement to everyone, saying that everyone in his own way is a preacher of the Dharma and can help spread the teachings. We must thus aspire to inspire others to join the ranks of living bodhisattvas, show equal compassion to all living beings and work together with united hearts to achieve our goals.
Sister Ci Lu shares how touched she was when she witnessed Zhu Jin Cai leading the local volunteers in South Africa; this gave her the inspiration to lead the “one million donating members” recruitment drive back home. (Photo by Pua Poo Toong)
Sister Ci Lu’s sharing of Master Cheng Yen’s words -“we should not come into this world to live a life of delusion”- so moved Lin Pei Pei that tears welled up uncontrollably in her eyes. (Photo by Pua Poo Toong)
Deputy CEO of Singapore branch Sis Ci Ting spoke eloquently about the key milestones in the life of Master Cheng Yen, and exhorted volunteers to have faith in the Tzu Chi Path and to walk on the Bodhi path. (Photo by Pua Poo Toong)
Listening to sister Ci Lu’s speech, Chen Yan Li gained a deeper understanding of karma. She hopes that she will never give in to negative habituations nor give up vegetarianism, so that she may gain inner peace as a result. (Photo by Pua Poo Toong)
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