For the past 10 months, my understanding of Tzu Chi was limited to the seemingly simple events that my local Tzu Ching chapter does, as well as the very nice, warm and friendly people in it (including the SG/SB’s who constantly surround and give us so much support in all the ways that they can). That understanding has now deepened with my participation in the New Jersey Tzu Ching conference.
As an international student coming to the US, the first few months of my arrival were tough. I was time zones away from my family for the very first time, in a country that I have never set foot on before in my life. Just two weeks after my arrival, I had been fortunate enough to bump into this group of blue angels. Very quickly, I was accepted into this family of initially random strangers, and soon enough, I found my home away from home. Half a year later, I received my uniform.
Being in Tzu Chi(ng) for barely a year, this conference was my first exposure to what I now call a “Tzu Chi spirited” environment. Despite it lasting only a mere four days, the things I learned from it was more than I had imagined.
One of the more memorable activities that really caught my interest was the etiquette class. I had been exposed to Tzu Chi’s many etiquettes during a training session I attended prior to receiving my uniform. However, it never occurred to me to question them or understand them any deeper. It was good knowledge to have, as all these gestures and protocols, physically embodied Tzu Chi and its core beliefs.
This conference amazed me in the sense that it could bring people – more specifically, Tzu Chings and SG/SBs – together. The people who attended the conference were people I have never met before. Each person came from a different corner of the US, and individually, each brought with them their perspective, their stories, and their understanding of the organization as a whole. But, what made it unique was how everyone could come together and almost immediately, connect with one another through this vast yet all-embracing common ground called Tzu Chi. To be able to witness and be a part of such a group, was truly an awe-inspiring moment for me. Such is the power of the Tzu Chi spirit.
The things I’ve learned from the conference were way too many to list down individually. To be able to hear the stories from other Tzu Chings and Tzu Shaos have moved me countless times. They’ve inspired me to want to “up my ante” with my understanding and contributions to the organization. My love for Tzu Chi and what it stood for was evidently maximized when I came back from the conference randomly deciding to eat at least one vegetarian meal a day, not counting breakfast. Then, there was the feeling of disappointment when I came back and started going back to my ‘pre-conference’ life. This stemmed from seeing how my friends were ‘left out’ in a sense that they were not able to learn the things I learned in the conference and share the experience I had then.
With that, I am very grateful to have been able to attend the conference – to have gone through such an enlightening experience; to have met my fellow Tzu Chings around the US, but most of all, to have been able to share the stories and the memories with them. My understanding of Tzu Chi has changed me for the better and hopefully, I’ll be able to impart and apply all that I’ve learned to not only my local chapter but also the people around me.
P.S. The camp songs were stuck in my head for more than a week after I got back from NJ!
Written by Syn Dee Chua
Photo by Yuru Yang
