Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation

On March 22, more than 300 people attended a ground-breaking ceremony for the foundation’s next major project in Indonesia -- a high school and senior high school in Jakarta for 1,200 students. Due for completion in 2015, it will have 120 classrooms. It will help to spread the Tzu Chi educational philosophy of goodness and equality in this country.

The ceremony started at 9.00 a.m. at the Jing Si Hall in Jakarta. It was a beautiful clear day, with a light morning wind. Representing Master Cheng Yen were four Dharma Masters from the Abode in Hualien. They were joined by entrepreneurs, colleagues from the Tzu Chi Foundation, volunteers from Taiwan and Indonesia and students and teachers from Tzu Chi Great Love School and Tzu Chi vocational school. In total, there were more than 300 to witness this piece of history.

The Dharma Masters opened the ceremony with Buddhist chanting. They were followed by a sign language performance by 21 students from Tzu Chi Great Love School. They performed intricate hand movements in harmony with the music, creating a powerful effect of sight and sound; this dazzled the audience and left them full of praise and admiration.

Especially moved was Dharma Master De Rang; in 2002, she took part in the work to clean the Angke river in Jakarta after terrible flooding. Many of the children performing had been living in illegal homes on the banks of the river, in the midst of waste and sewage, uncertain of their future. Tzu Chi built a Great Love village, where the families living on the river were re-housed. After they were relocated, they were able to study at the Tzu Chi Great Love School in the village; there they learnt good manners and decorum and no longer looked as they had before. “At that time, I saw how the children of Angke river had lost their homes and lost their way of living,” said Master De Rang. “But, 11 years later, I see them performing ‘the 1,000 hands of Guanyin’, I am very moved and very relieved. Through them, I have seen how education brings hope to society.”

Huang Rong-nian, chief executive of the education mission of Tzu Chi in Indonesia, said in his address: “Good education is the hope of society. The education of Tzu Chi focus on knowledge, humanism and gratitude. We hope that, through the educational philosophy of Tzu Chi, we can do something for the country and the society.”

During the ceremony, there were, in addition to the performance of the children, warm blessings brought by the teachers of Tzu Chi schools in Indonesia. They sang to accompany the sign language performances, to show how education is the hope of the future. Watching this demonstration of devotion was Jaya Suprana, a famous musician and founder of the Indonesian Documentary Museum: he was very moved. He takes part in many kinds of international events where he speaks and performs. But he was rarely moved as he was on this occasion, by the respect that he saw in the eyes of people. When he saw the Tzu Chi teachers performing and singing “Give Hope for the Future”, this brought tears to his eyes. He could see the sense of mission felt by the teachers as they were singing with their clear voices. When he went on stage to speak, his heart was still shaking.

He told the guests that, after he came in touch with Tzu Chi people, it made him reflect deeply about his life and realize that the pursuit of personal happiness was not the main purpose. You have a car, you have a house and your desires rise higher and higher – it is like falling into a bottomless hole. He learnt that real happiness is to work for the happiness of others and help them. The teachings of Master Cheng Yen made him regard her as his model.

Everyone came together for the moment when they broke ground for the new school. There were teachers from the Philippines, U.K., China, Taiwan and other places, volunteers from all over Indonesia, representatives of the different missions and students from the Tzu Chi schools. They moved carefully into position, one step at a time, to the sound of a Buddhist hymn.

Taking part were four Dharma Masters who were representing Master Cheng Yen, together with politicians, businessmen, religious people, teacher and members of the media, together with honorary board memebers and volunteers from Taiwan and Indonesia. In total, there were 115 people; they formed two circles, below the blue sky and the white clouds, to witness the birth of this new hope for society.

The first shovel – May all minds be purified!
The second shovel – may society be peaceful!
The third shovel – may there be no disasters in this world!

Beneath the clear blue sky, the Tzu Chi flags bellowed in the wind. The shovels had golden tips, to mark this milestone in the foundation’s history in Indonesia and as a symbol of its volunteers to save the world through compassion.


By Tu Feng-mei, Liu Jia-yun, Li Li-ni and Yuliati in Jakarta