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Day 25 - Tzu Chi USA News Update
Reported on 10/05/01 3:00 p.m.
PST
Activities News:
On the evening of October
3rd, a prayer service was held at the church located across
the Cedar Grove branch office in New Jersey. Seven religious
organizations took part that night, including Jews, Protestants,
Catholics, and Tzu Chi.
The main organizers of this gathering
emphasized that the service was purely a memorial prayer,
and there must not be any activity to promote individual faith.
Tzu Chi volunteers performed a song in sign language. Catholic
priests, Protestant pastors, and Jewish rabbis all read sermons
of prayer. Tzu Chi New York Chapter CEO, Chi Hong, then introduced
Tzu Chi as a Buddhist organization founded in Taiwan by Master
Cheng Yen. He also presented the Tzu Chi missions. While seven
sisters and six brothers performed a soft and soothing song
in sign language, Brother Chi Hong slowly read aloud the compassionate
vows pronounced annually by the Master, dedicated to the suffering
masses. Although the song was in Chinese and the performers
were Asians, this silent discourse of the Dharma was able
to shower the Master Cheng Yen's compassion and great love
upon everybody's heart. On these faces of divert ethnicity,
the volunteers saw tears of emotion; they also observed the
Catholic priest's teary eyes turning red. The assembly closed
with everyone singing prayer hand in hand. As everyone exited
the church, one of the organizers expressed gratitude to Tzu
Chi New Jersey CEO, Lui-Jong; he said that when the Tzu Chi
volunteers performed the song, the feeling that he had was
very special. He hoped that in the future, there will be opportunities
for Tzu Chi to perform in other activities.
Source: Tzu Chi USA Main
Office
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