Words From Dharma Master Cheng Yen—Giving Love Amid the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has been constantly on my mind for the past few months. To contain the disease, many countries have imposed lockdowns and closed their borders. Citizens have been ordered to stay home, and businesses have shut down. Disadvantaged people are particularly vulnerable at a time like this. Many of them scrape together a living by doing odd jobs. For them, a day without work is a day without pay, meaning their whole families might have to go hungry. Sustaining a livelihood during this crisis has become very difficult indeed.

Wealthier people have the ability to stock up on food and other supplies during this time, but the poor are unable to buy the things they need. They need a hand to pull them through this difficult time. It’s no wonder some poor people in Honduras burst into tears when they received rice that Tzu Chi sent from Taiwan. Such support meant a lot to them during this time.

Poverty, unemployment, and hunger can lead to social unrest. That concern prompted Tzu Chi volunteers in the Philippines to start distributing rice to help the needy weather the coronavirus crisis. Their goal was to help 80,000 households. Their work, however, was made difficult due to the government’s lockdown measures. Everything from purchasing the rice, to its transportation, to its distribution became more complex. In addition, the government had forbidden citizens 60 and older from leaving their homes to protect them from the virus, but many of our more experienced volunteers are in that age bracket. How could they help with the distributions? Though housebound, they were determined to do what they could to help. They knew that many people were in dire need of Tzu Chi’s aid. Instead of sitting idly by, they made phone calls to help organize the distributions, to procure resources and manpower, and to apply for movement permits for volunteers. With everyone’s help, the first distribution was launched on April 5. Many more followed in the following weeks.

The relief operation was a huge undertaking, with so many households to serve. I asked the volunteers if they were tired. They said they were indeed, but their tiredness was nothing to them because many people needed the aid. I could only imagine how daunting it must have been for them to organize this mission during this challenging time. Their dedication to helping the underserved deeply moved me.

Everyone at the distributions observed social distancing. The waiting lines were long but orderly—everyone took a step forward only when the person in front of them had done so. Each family received enough to last them for a month. Because the participants cooperated and followed instructions, our volunteers were able to successfully pull off one distribution after another. Kudos to both the aid recipients and the volunteers.

Our volunteers live in many countries around the world, but traveling abroad is challenging now. Thanks to online technology, they can still “visit” the spiritual home of all Tzu Chi volunteers—the Jing Si Abode in Taiwan. We can still connect via videoconferencing. Some days, I’m able to “meet” with volunteers from 20 countries.

Volunteers from Hong Kong shared with me in one conference that during a Tzu Chi distribution of face masks for the underserved, an older person said to them, “In a time like this, a gift of masks is better than one of gold or even a house.” People everywhere need masks to wear, especially first responders and frontline medical workers. However, many of them don’t have the proper equipment to protect themselves as they work to protect others.

Seeing the need, Tzu Chi volunteers around the world have looked everywhere for medical supplies to buy and donate to the needy and to those on the front lines of COVID-19. Purchasing masks during the pandemic has been very challenging. Some of our volunteers even waited at production lines to ensure that they could get their supplies, and once they had obtained the goods, they immediately had them shipped out. This is just what our volunteers do after a disaster—they see a need and spring into action to address it.

I feel as if I was shouldering the sky every day to prevent it from collapsing. I’m truly worried about the world and I feel every bit of the burden. I hope everyone can contribute their strength, so we can shoulder the responsibility of the world together. Let us pray piously for blessings and do good to relieve suffering. If everyone could do that, it would be like drops of water converging into the sea, and we would be able to nourish the whole world.