October
01, 2003
Chinese
Version
I became a volunteer for the
Tzu Chi publications group after visiting the foundation's
construction site for its hospital in Xindian in mid-August.
I remember telling a Tzu Chi volunteer then, "I hope
I can contribute to Tzu Chi one day." I am happy to say
that my vow has been fulfilled.
Receiving encouragement and gratitude
I left my job seven years ago and I never
learned about computer processing; I was uncertain of how
much I could contribute to the publications group as a volunteer.
But after a sister volunteer sincerely encouraged me and gave
me confidence, I started practicing typing after my kids went
to school and I finished the household chores.
The second day after I started to volunteer
at the construction site, a brother volunteer asked me to
type up a schedule. Since my typing speed was so slow, I told
him with great embarrassment, "I hope it's not too urgent,
because I won't be able to finish it until 3 p.m." The
brother answered me with a big smile, "It's all right,
please take your time." After I completed the task, the
brother thanked me deeply twice. My contribution was very
little, and yet he gave me much gratitude and recognition.
Warmth of giving selflessly
On September 9 at the construction site,
I had lunch with two volunteers from the culinary group who
were from Tao-yuan. Out of curiosity I asked them, "What
time did you leave the house today?" One of them answered
me, "We started driving this morning at 5:58" The
other sister said that she was so excited she couldn't sleep
the night before, and woke up at 4:00.
Listening to them and looking into their
shining eyes, I couldn't help but feel so touched that I got
goose bumps on my arms. When I showed them my goose bumps,
they laughed and said, "It's not that moving!" Later
when I shared my feelings with another volunteer, she responded
with a warm smile, "Actually all Tzu Chi people are like
this. You're just not familiar with it yet because you're
new."
At that moment I finally understood. Before
entering Tzu Chi, I admired how Tzu Chi volunteers viewed
giving as something matter-of-fact. After joining Tzu Chi,
I saw how they made selfless giving a natural part of themselves.
