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Tzu Chi Train
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| (Translated by Mike Lee, Northern
CA) |
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"Tzu Chi Train" is the name fondly
given to a passenger train that is entirely filled with passengers
who are going to Tzu Chi to learn about the work of the foundation.
The final stop of this train is the birthplace of Tzu Chi Hualien.
The creation of Tzu Chi Train can be traced
back to the opening ceremony of the Tzu Chi Junior College of
Nursing and the third anniversary of the Tzu Chi General Hospital
in 1989. In order to accommodate a human tidal wave of over
twenty thousand visitors, the commissioners in charge issued
a special application to the Railroad Department beforehand,
asking for extra trains to transport Tzu Chi people to the ceremonies,
in addition to the regularly scheduled runs. At that time, because
all the passengers on the trains were Tzu Chi people traveling
to attend the ceremonies, they were called the "Tzu Chi Trains".
After the celebrations, in order to give more
foundation members the chance to smoothly come to Hualien and
visit the Abode of Still Thoughts, the Tzu Chi Hospital, the Still
Thoughts Hall, the College of Medicine and the Junior College
of Nursing, subsequent applications were accordingly submitted
to the Railroad Department to let the Tzu Chi Train continue running.
Apart from the regularly scheduled trip on
the day of the monthly provincial commissioners' meeting, other
requests can be made to the Railroad Department, as long as the
date does not coincide with a national holiday. In every car of
the Tzu Chi Train, a commissioner and a Tzu Cheng Faith Corps
member are assigned to handle matters related to that car.
The North Corridor Railway between Taipei and
Hualien is also nicknamed "Railway of Shedding Skin." This is
due to the fact that the multitudes of people who take this train
to visit Tzu Chi are often deeply moved during their visits. They
revise their philosophy of life, and even join the ranks of the
Tzu Chi movement and become Tzu Chi members. The entire tour feels
like a shedding of the skin as their lives find a new beginning
and their spirits become more fulfilled.
