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Sakya Humanitarian Medical Mission 2024
CSS members and CSS Youth members recently joined a medical mission organized by Sakya Care Foundation (http://sakyacare.org) . The mission to serve Vietnamese in Viet Nam from June 26 to July 7, 2024. The areas served are: Vinh Cuu - Dong Nai, Dai Ninh - Lam Dong and Mui Ne - Binh Thuan.
With 90 volunteers from the US and 40 volunteers in Vietnam, the group provided medical check up, did ultrasounds (OBGYN), EKG tests as needed, provided eyes exams, dental exam and treatments, gave gifts and donated prescription glasses, sunglasses and all kinds of medications to 3,000 people in the above mentioned areas (including orphans raised by the temple and some blind people). The group provided check-ups and make offerings to 1500 monks and nuns.
In the group of volunteers coming from the United States, there were 9 members of the Compassionate Service Society and 8 youth from the CSS Youth group along with 5 of their parents.
I had the opportunity to meet a few volunteers in the California area who were first time volunteer with Sakya and one who participate for the second time. The article below comes from short stories that were briefly shared by them.
The delegation stayed in luxurious 5-star hotels and was travelling in fifty-seat passenger buses, while medicine and supplies were transported in trucks. At first, the volunteers wondered why they have to stay in such luxurious lodgings and waste money, but after they started working, they knew the reason was because the organizing monks worried that the American delegation flew in from a different time zone and was not familiar with the hot and humid wheather there. The day starts at 6:00 a.m. with breakfast at the hotel and usually finishes at 6:00 p.m., when it is time to go back to the hotel for dinner, wash the uniformed t-shirt, and then rest. If volunteers do not sleep well, they will almost certainly not be strong and alert enough to work the next day. The location for the clinics are either at a temple or a borrowed empty space. Most of the time it's just a large empty room with very few or no window. The room only had fans. It was very hot, crowded and noisy. Each group arriving at the new location immediately choose a space for their group then set up to receive and treat patients. Because they have to wear facial mask and in the case of the dental team, they have to wear nylon gowns and face shield, it’s very stuffy and hot. After lunch, most started to feel tired. The flow of patients is continuous, and the volunteers had to take turn having break for lunch, returning right after it. The clinic for the orphans and for the blinds are the most chaotic and challenging.
With such working conditions, the entire volunteer group works harmoniously and in sync, always be gentle and calm, most probably because they share the same mindset of doing their best to help people. So much so that several volunteers said that they felt very lucky to have joined this volunteer group and that this trip was truly memorable. One volunteer told me that she saw other volunteers sweating profusely, looked very tired but still trying hard, still acting gently and flexibly. It was admirable, she said.
Another volunteer recounted:
‘Looking at the people who came to the cliníc, I felt that they have a hard life, struggling to make a living, to support their families. Weariness and suffering were written all over their faces. There are people who got the same age as me or even younger but they look very old. They can not afford visits to the doctor for regular check-ups, especially dental check-ups, so most of the time, we have to treat many of their teeth, or their teeth only have roots left. Maybe they don't have toothbrushes and toothpaste for daily use. There are some cases where nearly ten teeth have to be extracted at the same time (something that cannot happen in America). Some people have serious eye infections that can easily lead to blindness. The orphans raised by the temple clearly show signs of psychological damage. Most of the children are under developed, some don't even know their name.
Witnessing those, I suddenly realized that I have many blessings. Living in a country with enough material resources, even with the level of minimal health care insurance, I would still be in a better position than those poor and unfortunate people. Master Heng Chang teaches us the model of ‘Transcend worldliness and Engage with the world,’ to open our heart and mind, be a conduit of love, and nurture the ideal of ‘engage in helping others’. That motivated me to participate in this trip so that I could do something in appreciation of the blessings I received. Now I don't dare to complain anymore because I feel that I am luckier than many.’
The sharing of this voluteer reminded me of a person I met by chance last month. This American young person got pregnant at the age of 17 and had to drop out of school. She also got caught in a cycle of addiction. She was not allowed to keep her child and she went for rehab several times but each time she failed to remain clean. Two years ago she became homeless. Her teeth were also very damaged and painful, causing her to cry and ask for medicine to relieve the pain. The dentist friend checked her and prescribed antibiotics because the teeth are so damaged and painful that the dentist will have to wait until the pain subsides to extract or fix them. I felt sorry for her and suspected that she didn't brush her teeth. I gave her a toothbrush and toothpaste. She was extremely happy. After that, I gave her a bottle of multivitamins because I suspected she wasn't eating enough nutrition. She was very happy and accepted it. She is only 27 years old but her face looks like a 40 year old person.
Although she is in a rich country, she is also in the same situation as the people in Vietnam, even though some of us can criticize that this situation is of her own making. I also read in the newspaper that there are many people in America whose families are not well off, and have to work as waiter/waitress with very little salary. These people do not have a car, they have to use public transportation (buses) and the money they earn is only sufficient to pay rent, so they must be very frugal and calculate carefully. Of course, these people do not have health care.
As you see, suffering is everywhere and exists in many different forms. When we do charity work and clearly recognize people's hardship, we ‘sense' people’s sufferings. Readers may think they understand, but only when we meet people in their context that we will understanding that knowledge become ‘a perception’ because it shocks us and gives us a new perspective. As I now have a new perspective on homelessness and I volunteered to cook for them (cook vegan meals), as well as cook delicious vegan hot meals for foster children. The experience could get deeper. More than understanding or sensing, we can deeply feel other people's emotions as if we are in their situation, then we have 'empathy'. Empathy and forgiveness / acceptance are two foundations that lead to compassion.
‘Transcend Wordliness and Engage in the World’ is a very good model: on the one hand, we meditate and practice the Dharma for spiritual evolution, broaden our vision, be clear minded and on the other hand, we live an active life helping others. In the process of helping others we expand our heart and mind, change our perspective, establish good relationships, accumulate blessings, cultivate virtue, and try to apply the philosophical concepts. If we only do good deeds without the aspect of cultivating spiritually (meditation and Dharma practice), it will be difficult for us to change our perspective, recognize our blind spots, or evolve spiritually even though we accumulate many blessings.
I hope that this simple report can inspire those of you who want to practice, who want to learn and want to help others be happy. We can always start with the simplest and easiest act.
If you would like to contact or donate to Sakya Care Foundation, their website is: sakyacare.org
