Tzu Chi volunteers help young Americans
Tzeng Tzu Huei from Southern California
(Translated by Lei Sheu, Pittsburgh, PA)
What do you do when you encounter a beggar?
It seems like a common scene now. Beggars can be seen everywhere
in Taiwan, the United States, Canada or Mexico. But when it
really happens to you, when someone comes toward you and asks
for money, what do you do? Simply shake your head and walk away,
or try to understand his story and perhaps try to help?
On July 12, a group of Tzu Chi volunteers
in Southern California were pumping gas at a local gas station.
A 31-year-old white man from Oregon was wondering around the
gas station area. He looked toward the volunteers and seemed
hesitant to ask for something. One of the volunteers asked him
if he needed help. The handsome young man, Chris, blushed as
he answered. "I was on my way from San Diego back to my
home in Oregon, but the cooling system in my car broke down.
I spent all my money on car repairs and have no money left to
buy gas…" Judging from his attitude, the Tzu Chi volunteers
believed he was telling the truth and helped him pay for the
gas. In addition, they raised $60 for his trip home.
The gas station owner, a Hispanic American,
thought that what the Tzu Chi volunteers did to help Chris was
unthinkable. He asked, "Why did you help him?" "We
are volunteers for Buddha," one of the sisters answered.
"Master Cheng Yen told us that we must help others promptly.
She also said that you receive more blessings when you give.
This young man hesitated to ask for help, and even when he did
he only asked for gas money. It's seven or eight hundred miles
from southern California to Oregon and it takes three or four
days to drive. I think our help was really pretty limited."
The owner, Jose, was skeptical. "Aren't
you afraid that you might have been tricked?" "Well,
if we didn't help him, he would still be hanging around your
gas station. Would you help him? Or just call the police to
make him leave?"
Jose replied, "I don't know where you
people with those uniforms come from. But when you helped that
young man, you helped me too. You showed me that there is still
care and love in this world. God bless you!"
On their way back to the free clinic center,
one of the volunteers shared an experience she had once had.
She recalled that she had gone to the airport to pick up a friend.
Since she was early, she got a cup of coffee at McDonald's and
sat down in the waiting room. Nearby a young man carrying a
traveling bag was searching for food scraps in the garbage can.
He carefully put what he found in his bag. Seeing this, the
volunteer went to buy a McDonald's meal and asked the young
man to share it with her. The young man was surprised and hesitated
until the sister said to him, "Don't worry, I just can't
finish it all. Will you help me?"
The young man sat down and told his story.
"I came to southern California from Michigan this April
to start a new job. I was notified the first day at work that
because of the bad economy, my position was terminated. I didn't
have much money in the bank, and now I have to pay the rent.
I felt that since I'd left home and was on my own, I should
try to check out the job market here. But it's been fifty days
and I still haven't made any progress. Now I have to get by
on food scraps." The volunteer told him that about twenty
minutes away from the airport there was a shelter for the homeless
where they served two meals a day. He could stay there temporarily.
Hopefully this would help him to get through the difficulty.
The young man asked, "Why are you willing
to help me? People stay away from me when they see me. Why do
you want to help me?" She replied," Master Cheng Yen
tells us that we need to take every opportunity to help people
and do it promptly. You needed help today, and I just happened
to be here. I feel grateful to have the opportunity to provide
a little assistance. If you were me, what would you do?"
The young man said right away, "I would
help the young man who was looking for food."
At different locations, at different times,
the genuine love and care that Tzu Chi provides through giving
without asking for anything in return has been acted out again
and again. Great Love and gratitude are a source of kindness
that encourages us to always look for opportunities to help
those in need and to do it promptly.
