By Liao Zhe-min
Translated by Wu Hsiao-ting
Photos by Hsiao Yiu-hwa
Every year during Tzu Chi’s year-end blessing ceremonies, newly minted volunteers, having completed at least two years’ training, receive their certifications from Dharma Master Cheng Yen. These volunteers, both young and old, come from all walks of life. Their journeys have been varied until their paths converge in Tzu Chi and they make the same vow to give to the needy and relieve suffering in the world. Bonded by the spirit of service and giving, they are committed to helping love ripple out.
Trainee volunteers (in gray shirts and white pants) soon to receive their certifications pose with a nun and certified volunteers at the Jing Si Abode, the Buddhist convent founded by Dharma Master Cheng Yen in Hualien, eastern Taiwan.
Returning to Their Spiritual Home
Trainee volunteers from all over Taiwan visited the Jing Si Abode in three groups in mid- and late October 2021, as their training was coming to a close. The Jing Si Abode is the spiritual home of all Tzu Chi volunteers. The photos here show nuns at the Abode providing guided tours for some of the trainee volunteers. Candle-making (top) is a source of income for the nuns at the Abode, who rely on their own strength to support themselves.
Embarking on the Bodhisattva Path
Dharma Master Cheng Yen (top) conferred certifications to new volunteers during a year-end blessing ceremony in November 2021. To become a certified Tzu Chi volunteer means to undertake the pledge to emulate the Buddha’s heart and take on the Master’s missions as one’s own. Newly certified volunteers (bottom) enact a story from the Lotus Sutra during a year-end blessing ceremony.
