I joined an activity, which was held by WanFo Temple in Taichung
last year. This activity was meaningful and interesting. The temple
chose some university students as volunteers to guide and play with
high-school students. It is my honor to have this opportunity to
serve there.

I took a bus to Taiwan Provincial Consultative Council in Wufeng.
The only information I had was that the temple was just behind
Provincial Council. Although the scenery there was beautiful and the
air was fresh, I had walked for a long time and could not find any
building like temple there. After asking a resident, I finally
understood that the temple had already collapsed due to the 921
earthquake. The people of the temple used the only undamaged building
of Tzu Ming High School to be their temporary shelter.

Although the physical situation was really poor, the monks and nuns
there led a joyful and religious life. I felt peaceful and serene
there. Every problem and difficulty in my school or my life seemed to
be nothing serious. Monks and nuns were nice people. They told us
some interesting stories about Buddhism. They also taught me lots of
things useful to real life. For example, we must do alms, avoid evil,
and help others. I trusted them and it was the first time I would
like to share my feelings and secrets to others.

I also made lots of friends there. They were outgoing, optimistic,
and righteous. We slept, ate, played, and worked together. When the
activity was over, I even did not want to leave them. We made a
promise to come back together. It will be my pleasure to see them and
to serve other children. It is nice to have a religion. However, I
hope every religion can live with others peacefully. I really hate
wars, especially by the name of religion.

I led a regular life there. Compared to a busy and complicated city
life, the beautiful days there were quite simple and easy. I wondered
what my goal was. Sometimes, I have too many desires. It will make me
sad or angry if I cannot fulfill every desire. However, if I can
control my evil in my heart and reduce unnecessary desire, I still
can live happily and simply. Furthermore, helping others is joyful.

From childhood to now, I have “taken” lots of things from
others in many forms. Now, I feel like a rich man because I could
give something back to the society. I feel proud because I have the
ability to feedback. It is delightful to clean the environment, led
and played with the high-school students, and help monks. It was the
most valuable winter vacation of my life.

Listen to Renata's remark

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Created March 13, 2004, Copyright 2004 Aiden Yeh