- by Joanna Lin -
Every year, on the second Sunday of May,
Tzu Chi volunteers and members of the community from all around the world gather
together to celebrate Buddha Day, Mother’s Day& Global Tzu Chi Day. This
year, we celebrated these three meaningful occasions on 10 May 2015, reflecting
back through Tzu Chi’s 49-year journey, while moving forward towards our 50thanniversary
ahead.
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| Tzu Chi volunteers at Buddha Bathing Ceremony, regardless of race & religion |
Buddha Day ceremonies are open for anyone
to participate, no matter what race, religion or ethnicity; it is a day of
unity, gratitude, repentance and peace.
Buddha Day represents “The Field of Reverence”.
At the heart of religion, is the spirit of Great Love - a pure and boundless
love that does not discriminate and can cross through barriers. Buddha teaches
us that our suffering comes from impurities in our heart, and through
self-reflection and repentance, we begin to cleanse our hearts and minds; thus,
eliminating these impurities, so that we can return to our innate, pure nature.
Mother’s Day represents “The Field of
Gratitude”. We need to be filial towards our parents by caring for them, and
showing our love and appreciation. We show our gratitude for the unconditional
love of our parents by sharing this Great Love with others through doing good
deeds and helping one another; cultivating blessings and wisdom.
Global Tzu Chi Day represents “The Field of
Compassion”. We remind ourselves of our Tzu Chi missions to purify people’s
hearts, bring harmony to societies and free the world from disasters; only by
starting with ourselves, we can open our hearts, grow in compassion, and serve the community with gratitude, respect and great love.
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| For those who are unable to attend, volunteers mobilize the Buddha to home based care. |
Every Tzu Chi branches globally, South Africa included,
throughout the month of May, the volunteers continued to spread this spirit of
Buddha Day by carrying out small Buddha Bathing Ceremonies in rural or township
communities, to purify people’s hearts.
The predominant religion within the African
culture is Christianity; thus, it is naturally understandable that the initial
response to hearing about Buddhism is regularly one of great skepticism or
suspicion that Tzu Chi might try to “convert” their faith. As they continue to listen
to the sharings from our volunteers, (who are also mostly Christian themselves),
about Tzu Chi’s boundless Great Love, they begin to understand that the Buddha
Bathing Ceremony is one of purification and change within ourselves and the
community.
At the end of every rural area home-based
care or soup kitchen visit, our volunteers would prepare a simple table, with a
mini Buddha statue, a bowl of fragrant water, light and flowers- further
explaining what they symbolize for the Buddha Bathing Ceremony:
The light symbolizes the wisdom which
dispels all darkness; fragrance water symbolizes Buddha’s virtue and teachings,
which help to cleanse away our delusions and impurities, bringing out the love
and gratitude within our hearts; flowers represent the fruit of our good deeds
and the seeds of great love, which we will continue to sow within our
communities.
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| Every year, volunteers make 3 wishes, peace, harmony and great love for all |
Although this is called the Buddha Bathing
Ceremony, when we touch the fragrant water, we do not “bath Buddha”, instead we
remind ourselves to “bath” our own heart and mind, letting go of our suffering,
and moving forward towards a more purified self.
Even elderly or ill community members, who
our Tzu Chi volunteers take care of, can also participate in the Buddha Bathing
Ceremony when we visit their homes. Often beautiful moments are shared
together, when they hold on to the small Buddha statue, while sincerely praying
to find comfort with their pain and suffering.
Every year,during this time, when Tzu Chi volunteers
hold Buddha Day ceremonies throughout the world, we get the opportunity to
experience and witness this unity that connects all living beings. We all
strive towards a common goal, one of peace, harmony and great love, which transcends
all barriers that divide humanity; this is the spirit which we hope to spread.
Only when our hearts are joined as one, can we create a better world together.
