Tzu
Chi USA Vol. 3 No. 2 June 2004
By
Susana Moreno
Susana receives scholarship from Tzu Chi in 2003
Nowadays our world
tends to be very bizarre, we experience and cause harm to
the people we love, we go to war because we think it is the
best solution to our problems. To make matters worse, we see
our own people die. Why do these horrible things happen in
a world we call home? Maybe it's because we say we love and
care about the people around us, when in reality we don't?
Sometimes it's very difficult to love and appreciate who we
are or what we have based on the circumstances that we are
forced to live in. Fortunately, there's a foundation that
is all about love and caring, that will eventually make a
big difference in everybody's life. This foundation not only
helps the poor, but it educates the rich. It helps each individual
spread the seeds of love to the rest of the world. This is
the Tzu Chi Foundation.
The founder, Venerable Master Cheng Yen,
formed the Tzu Chi Foundation in April 4, 1966. It was first
called Tzu Chi Merits Society since it began as a charity
fund. This fund was able to rise with the help of thirty housewives
who would save fifty cents everyday from their grocery money
to help those in need. It only took fifty cents out of these
women to provide assistance and support to the unfortunate
ones. Now the foundation has expanded all over the world and
has more than four million volunteers from different parts
of the world. As you can see, this foundation has dedicated
more than thirty years in its development in order to reach
its designated purpose, to provide us with nothing more than
love and compassion in order to accomplish our goals and ambitions.
Thanks to this foundation, we are becoming better individuals,
we can see the world differently, and we expand our love open-handedly.
The foundation here in Calexico, California
has not only contributed so much to this society, but to the
rest of the world too. In December of 2002, they delivered
a variety of winter supplies to the people of Afghanistan.
Now they are working on rebuilding the cafeterias in broken
down schools in the poor villages of Mexicali, so that the
children can eat at clean and healthy places. I'm a student
who just graduated from Imperial Valley College in spring
2003. In fall of 2002 I became familiar with this foundation.
I used to work for the Financial Aid Department in the college,
and I was in charge of scholarships. At first when I saw this
scholarship, I'll be honest, I thought it was just like any
other scholarship. However, my supervisor had the booklets
and information about the foundation that described what it
was and what their purpose was. I started reading, and found
it very interesting. That night when I got home, I did some
research on the foundation, and I realized that this would
be a very good learning experience for me, so I decided to
apply for the scholarship. This was the greatest decision
that I could have made. I was awarded the scholarship that
semester for fall of 2002.
During the spring of 2003, I was very fortunate
to participate in one of the food distributions that took
place in a very poor village outside Mexicali, where individuals
from both sides of the border (Calexico and Mexicali) got
to participate. All the members and volunteers worked very
hard to provide free food and health care for the needy, along
with fun games for the children. Before the event started,
the foundation began with a song called"Spread the Seeds
of Love," which is a song used to pray for world peace.
As a volunteer, I got to play fun games with children. This,
for me, was a great learning experience. I got to understand
more in depth Master Cheng Yen's teachings. I had a chance
to see and experience the many hardships that people face
each day, which we don't even think about. We are so involved
in our own problems that we fail to see what's really around
us. I can fully understand now why Master Cheng Yen says that
we have to experience human suffering in order to actually
do something about it. Master Cheng Yen believes that the
misery that exists in this world is not only because of poverty,
but because of people's minds, which I think is very true.
This experience made me realize how grateful
and fortunate I am to have what I have. I can truly say that
because of this experience and through the teachings of the
foundation, I am becoming a better person. Through the teachings
of Master Cheng Yen, I feel that I'm not only doing something
good for myself, but also I'm doing something good towards
my society as well. My goal is to become a teacher, so I want
my students to follow my example because progress in society
does not come from society itself but from its members. It
is through each individual that significant changes can be
obtained. I definitely feel that I want to help and contribute
something positive for my society for the rest of my life.
This foundation has been a great help to
me because not only have they helped me reach a better understanding
of my inner self and of my community, with their scholarship
aid, they have contributed greatly to my education. Like I
mentioned above, this is my second semester receiving the
scholarship, and it's been a great help. I've been able to
buy all my school supplies, along with books, gas for transportation,
food, and clothing. With their aid, I've been able to accomplish
so much. I feel very grateful to have been chosen as one of
the scholarship recipients because they definitely opened
a whole new world for me. Now I've become a daily volunteer
of the foundation. Everyday, I am always welcomed with a warm
and gentle heart by the other volunteers, which makes me feel
very comfortable. I'll never be able to repay their gratitude
and kindness, and that's why I will always be very thankful
and appreciative for all their help.
As you can see, the foundation's main
purpose is not only to help the unfortunate ones, but to purify
our minds, create peace in our society, and free the world
from disasters because they believe in the kindness in every
being. Through the hearts filled with nothing more than kindness
and compassion, we are able to understand how through a generous
heart, the fortunate ones receive blessings and happiness,
and the unfortunate ones obtain confidence and harmony. I
can definitely say that the "Three No's" by Master
Cheng Yen (there's no one in the world that I do not trust,
forgive, and love) have helped me to become a better person
and see the world in a totally different perspective. I feel
that every one of us has the potential to spread the seeds
of love to the rest of the world because kindness does heal
the world. If we share our blessings of love, our prayers,
and our care, then our lives will blossom with the beauty
of humanity; and the goodness that comes out of our hearts
will always overcome harm and evil. Now you understand why
the title of this article is "Blessing the World"because
this is what the foundation does, it blesses the world.
