Mr. Basanta Kumar Chaudhary (the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step)

Today the last immediate disaster relief volunteer team left. We had a total of nine volunteer rotations for the Nepal earthquake relief efforts. It has been over two months and the relief efforts are coming to a close. Now it is the start of the mid to long term plans for all NGO/INGOs operating in Nepal.

Last night, we were invited by Mr. Basanta Kumar Chaudhary for a thank you dinner. He was in Taiwan visiting Master Cheng Yen and said that "he had finally found the thing that fills his void in life." He had described his encounter with Master Cheng Yen as "divine" and "full of emotions." He stated that he could feel the pain Master Cheng Yen had felt for Nepal and he could literally feel "her heart was crying inside." He is such a spiritual soul and always goes by the motto " student of life, who is the best teacher."

Mr. Chaudhary gave such a heart felt speech. You could really feel him speaking from his heart, the utter most respectful emotion any human being possesses. He had conveyed his feelings so thoughtfully and completely let out his vulnerable side. It was so touching....it brought tears to my eyes....especially the part where he said "I could feel Master Cheng Yen's heart crying" that is exactly it. Her heart was crying and has been crying for a long time. She has been wanting people to see that and to understand just how urgent the matter of purifying people's minds, harmonizing society and in hopes of doing all of that, the whole world would have no more disasters. 

Two main points in his speech really touched me deeply: He talked about rebuilding Nepal and that "if we want to rebuild Nepal and really help Nepal, we need to stop thinking about "I" and "Me," but "We" and "Us." He also touched on the idea of how Nepal is the nation of Buddha and that "we need to use the Buddha way to rebuild this holy country". 

The thank you dinner included a very special session: the serving of the food! You saw it right, it wasn't the regular servers serving the dinner tonight, but it was our very own TIMA Nepal medical personnel and some of the top Nepalese entrepreneurs. This was to show Master's teaching about how we are all equal in status and must be humble in nature, no matter what our social status is. This is a great lesson for the upper class and highly educated people, because normally in society they are considered to be of a higher status than the rest of the people. Usually with higher status and a bigger bank account, the idea of power and control is very much attached. So that is why it is very important to always keep in mind that we all have something to offer and be humble in nature, because everyone has something special to offer and we can learn something new from each individual. 

Mr. Naresh Dugar: KL Dugar Group (International Business and Trade), appointed as honorary consul of Mexico in Nepal by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Executive Member of Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Director of Kumari Bank, and the Late King Birendra Bir Bikram Sahdev honored Mr. Naresh Dugar with Nepal's most prestigious award "Prabal Gorkha Dakshin Bahu" for his outstanding service in the field of trade and business. 

Mr. Dugar has been a huge part in our operations in Nepal since the very beginning. He is one of the key players on the construction side. We are very grateful for his on-going support and continued guidance in several construction projects. He has also made a trip back to Taiwan to visit Master Cheng Yen, and he was, too, super touched by the experience. Even though it was a very short trip (24 hours to be exact), he was very moved and inspired by Tzu Chi's work and the Tzu Chi spirit. 

Mr. Dugar's whole family are faithful followers of Jainism. Jainism, traditionally known as Jina Sashana or Jaindharma, is an Indian religion founded in the 6th century BC by the Jina Vardhamana Mahavira as a reaction against the teachings of orthodox Brahmanism, and still practiced there.  It prescribes a path of non-injury (ahimsa) towards all living beings (practices a vegetarian lifestyle). Practitioners believe non-injury and self-control are means to liberation from the cycle of births and deaths. The word "Jain" derives from the Sanskrit word Jina (meaning victor). A human being who has conquered all inner passions like attachment, desire, anger, pride, greed, etc. and therefore, possesses pure infinite knowledge (Kevala Jnana) is called Jina. Jainism belongs to the Sramana tradition and is one of the oldest religions in the world. Jains trace their history through a succession of twenty-four teachers and revivers of Jain teachings known as tirthankaras with Rishabha as the first and Mahavira as the last of the current era. Parasparopagraho Jivanam (Sanskrit) is a Jain aphorism from the Tattvartha Sutra. It is translated as "Souls render service to one another." It is also translated as, "All life is bound together by mutual support and interdependence. 

Dance session is ON!!!!! Such a fun time dancing with Ravi! Nepali style!

There were many hiccups during the actual thank you dinner ceremony, such as a 30 minute power outage, but Tzu Chi volunteers are experts in catching life's many curveballs. So we all sang together in the dark, while holding up our Tzu Chi LED light pens. It was such a special moment! That image was really like Master Cheng Yen had described: Tzu Chi volunteers are like the light that shines brightly in all the dark corners of the world. 

I will keep on shining on! Lighting the way for all the people who are still stuck in the shadows!