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Living Bodhisattvas

But above all, Grace loved helping underwent several surgeries and
people. radiation in Hualien.

Soon after we first met each Throughout treatment,
other, Grace started telling me Grace was full of optimism.
about the charity organization She saw cancer as an
she was involved with: Tzu Chi. I opportunity to learn more
was suspicious at first. In Sweden, about life and suffering, a
“charity” has a negative ring to it; it chance to acquire experiences
is seen as something that rich people to share with others who were
do to soothe their conscience and going through difficulties. She
that often does more harm than good was grateful that her tumor was
by turning people into passive recipients slow-growing and not aggressive
instead of inspiring them to do something and that she was treated by such skilled
for themselves. But Grace patiently explained surgeons.
to me that Tzu Chi was different and that
volunteers always followed up with recipients Even as Grace went through radiation
and encouraged them to become self-reliant. therapy, she never sat still. As she rested at
home, she started sending updates about Tzu
Before long, Grace brought me along on a Chi's Typhoon Morakot relief efforts to CNN
nursing home visit with the Tzu Chi choir she iReport so that people around the world would
had started. After we sang for the residents, know what was happening. It was successful—
Grace and the others started chatting with CNN broadcast several of her reports and even
them, holding their hands, hugging them as if interviewed her over the phone about Tzu Chi.
she were their own grandchild. You could see
how happy all the grandmas and grandpas Around the same time, Grace started a
were to have us there, and I began to see the monthly e-newsletter, which now has almost
impact that Tzu Chi could have on people: not fifteen thousand subscribers. She compiled all
only recipients, but volunteers as well.

Apart from leading the choir, Grace was
in charge of translating articles for Tzu Chi’s
website. She had assembled a number of
volunteers to translate and edit articles. She
did all the final editing herself and always
provided useful feedback to the translators and
editors. She also served as host for numerous
Tzu Chi events and participated in disaster relief
distributions whenever she had a chance. It was
only much later that I realized that there was a
common denominator to these various projects:
Grace always aimed to inspire kindness and
goodness in others by using different means to
suit different people.

In February 2009, Grace discovered a small Grace participates in a relief visit to
lump under her ear. After a few doctor's visits, Mexicali in 2006. Photo: Joemei Tung
it was found to be parotid gland cancer, so she

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