On the morning of June 26th, the education team of the Tzu Chi Foundation from Singapore and Malaysia, with nine volunteers, once again visited the Buddha Gyan Niketan Residential School in Bodh Gaya in Bihar province in eastern India. This school is known for its Buddhist teachings and practice of mindfulness. While some schools took a summer vacation, the residential school continued its operation without a break. This was important because the school provided shelter for orphans and children from poor families who had nowhere else to go during the holidays.

The volunteers first met Dilchand, the administrative supervisor, to discuss the content of the Jing Si Aphorisms class scheduled for that day. Dilchand nodded repeatedly, showing his agreement and understanding. The volunteers also introduced the upcoming unit called Bamboo Bank Era, to be taught the following week. Dilchand gladly accepted the bamboo bank presented by the volunteers as a token of love and support for the school.

Poverty Does Not Limit Their Aspirations

This residential school is located above a wholesale market; it is sponsored by an NGO. It has ten classes, ten teachers, and 230 students. The classrooms where the children attend lessons do not have desks and chairs. Instead, they sit on wooden planks that serve as both tables and chairs, and they double as beds for sleeping at night.

With limited space, the students keep their school bags and notebooks on their makeshift beds. Their clothes hang on the walls; underneath the beds, there are iron boxes containing their personal belongings. In the scorching heat, they rely on electric fans and the breeze from outside to find relief. They wash their own clothes and hang them to dry on the walls of the second floor or in the courtyard on the ground floor, but often they fall down when the wind blows.

The volunteers were divided into groups and entered the classrooms of the fourth and fifth graders. The children were familiar with the volunteers, who first checked their appearance and nails to ensure they were well-groomed. Most of the children followed the guidelines, and the volunteers praised them for it.

The Jing Si Aphorisms lesson for the fourth graders was

"The more we do, the more we gain; the less we do, the more we lose out. "

It was taught in Hindi by local volunteers Aliya Rahman and Rozi Parween, with assistance from volunteer Huang Yu Tao, who provided additional explanations. Deepak Kumar, another local volunteer, taught the fifth graders the Jing Si Aphorism "Look, listen and act mindfully, and what we learn will benefit us all our life," which built upon the previous lesson.

The children listened attentively, their eyes wide open; they drew and copied the Jing Si Aphorisms using the pens and notebooks given to them by the volunteers. Finally, the volunteers taught them to recite the Jing Si Aphorisms in Mandarin Chinese; the children enthusiastically repeated after them. In the end, each child received a small card with a Jing Si Aphorism, which they could carry with them as a source of inspiration.

The challenging environment did not affect the children's learning attitude; each had their own goals. Some wanted to become police officers or soldiers, as they often saw them in their surroundings; others aspired to be doctors, scientists, or engineers. When the volunteers asked if anyone wanted to become a teacher, surprisingly, no one raised their hand, which brought laughter and some embarrassment to the teachers present. The teachers were kind and understanding. Although the scheduled class was only supposed to last thirty minutes, the volunteers went over the time, and the teachers did not mind. The volunteers took the opportunity to teach a little more, hoping to nurture the seeds of kindness in the children's hearts.

Some children in the class appeared older, resembling middle school students. The volunteers learnt they had started school at the age of nine or ten due to dropping out earlier, creating a mixed-age classroom. The volunteers reminded the children to cherish the pens and notebooks in their hands because they represented love from around the world. The children nodded with innocent and adorable faces. The volunteers believed in them and hoped for more opportunities to interact with them so that they can help them gain the strength to pursue their dreams in the future.

Using Village Activity Space As School Classroom

On the morning of June 27th, the education team arrived at the Senari Samaj Seva Ball Jagrup School in Bakraur village, supported by Ven. Rigzin Angmo. As the volunteers appeared, the polite first-grade children, sitting under the eaves of the house where they held classes, greeted them with "Good Morning" in English.

After passing the main school building, the volunteers reached the community activity center where the classes were being held. Despite its name, it was a simple structure made of bricks and cement, without any windows. Thanks to the support of Ven. Rigzin Angmo, the children had uniforms and school bags and were taught good manners and etiquette by their teachers. The male and female students wore neatly pressed uniforms, and the girls tied their hair with red ribbons. Several teachers themselves had benefited from the school when they were young and had returned to give back to their alma mater.

There were fifty-nine students in grades two to six. They sat four to a long bench, lined up in an orderly manner, with their school bags neatly placed on the nearby tables. Due to the previous influence of the volunteers, the students had arranged their flip-flops, which they had taken off, in an orderly manner outside the classroom. The volunteers felt gratified by this sight.

When the volunteers first entered this privately owned school in March to teach Jing Si Aphorisms, they discovered that the school had only two classrooms;  there were two hundred and ten students divided into seven classes. Most of the students had to study outside the classrooms, sometimes even directly under the scorching sun. The volunteers could not help but feel sorry for them, but the children did not seem to mind at all.

The volunteers noticed an unused community activity space across from the school. Except for festivals, it remained idle most of the time. The volunteers suggested to Principal Ramji Manjhi that he should apply to the government for its use, and the application was quickly approved. Ramji Manjhi was grateful to Tzu Chi for coming up with this idea and helping to solve a long-standing problem. However, the school still faced space constraints; the volunteer team continued to overcome difficulties, hoping for better circumstances in the future.

Sparing Pocket Money To Help The Poor

On June 27, the theme was "Bamboo Bank Era," accompanied by the Jing Si Aphorism

"Save up money on snacks and you can help the poor."

The teachers, Deepak, Aliya, and Rozi, began with a short play using small biscuit packets that the children often loved to buy. They guided the children to understand the meaningful and healthy act of saving money in a bamboo bank and using it to assist others.

The children obediently copied the Jing Si Aphorism "Save up money on snacks and you can help the poor" in Chinese, English, and Hindi in their notebooks, and even the teachers diligently followed suit. Some children wrote very neatly, and one could not tell that they had not learned Chinese before. The volunteers admired the children's adaptability and realized that they should not limit themselves in future teaching efforts because "people have infinite potential," especially innocent children.

At that moment, Malaysian volunteer Huang Shi Yu (黃釋玉) noticed that a trash bin donated to the school earlier was filled with packaging from snacks. Picking up the bin, she took the opportunity to educate the children, asking them: "Are you willing to save up money to help others?" The children enthusiastically raised their hands and replied: "Yes, we are!" Huang then taught them to say the mindfulness phrase in Chinese, and they pronounced it perfectly on their first try. This surprised and delighted the volunteers, who could not stop discussing it even after class.

Deepak led the children in chanting the slogan in Hindi "50-50 money is enough. 50-50 money will be enough. Little-Little will be enough. Live long bamboo bank. Live long good luck. Live long TZU-CHI." Both teachers and students enthusiastically joined in the chanting. After the class ended with the sign language expression of "Gratitude, gratitude, infinite gratitude!" everyone felt a sense of closure.

"We want to contribute to the bamboo bank." The children ran up to the volunteers, took out the few rupees they had, and joyfully put them in. It was all they had, yet they did not hesitate to offer it. "Giving is not the privilege of the rich; it is the privilege of the sincere," as Master Cheng Yen, founder of Tzu Chi, often says. "Everyone possesses the Buddha nature." In the village of Bakraur, there were so many little bodhisattvas.

"I feel a deep connection with them, and I hope we can replicate this model here and extend it to Bodh Gaya, spreading the seeds of love throughout India." Huang Shi Yu, who had been in Bodh Gaya since April, felt a strong humanistic atmosphere from the students. When she arrived at the school, the activity center was just about to be inaugurated; the teachers and students warmly welcomed the volunteers in an Indian-style ceremony, leaving a lasting impression.

At that time, the school had prepared biscuits and fruits for the volunteers, but they politely declined and instead requested the students to offer them to their teachers. This act of expressing gratitude to their teachers was unexpected but deeply impressed the volunteers; it fostered a good relationship, creating harmonious cooperation from that point onward.

Tzu Chi Brings Change

To deepen the children's understanding of the Bamboo Bank Era concept, Seed volunteers from Silaunja village specially arrived to perform a play. Gaina Manjhi and his good friend Jaydish Manjhi, who takes care of the household, also participated. Jaydish's grandson, Vikram, is a third-grade student at the school. Previously, he had a 90% recovery from an ear infection; but, recently, his ear started oozing pus again. On June 26, medical volunteers took him for treatment, but his ear was still discharging pus that day. Perhaps due to the ear issue, Vikram's smile disappeared. He also struggled with learning difficulties, especially with writing, so Huang Shi Yu asked the teachers to provide him with additional support.

Vikram's mother passed away; his father remarried, taking his new wife and daughter with him and leaving Vikram and his sister with their grandfather. Their grandfather is unable to provide proper care as he is preoccupied with his own survival. Vikram used to engage in fights and struggled academically. Since the volunteers arrived, they have been continuously counseling him, and his behavior has improved. He also takes his medication obediently. The grandfather is grateful for Tzu Chi's assistance; whenever he has free time, he joins Gaina Manjhi in participating in volunteer activities.

Jaydish Manjhi, who is not expressive, told the volunteers: "The supplies you have provided, the drinks, and the food, are all very good. I feel very happy and warm. I hope that, in the future, if I have the ability, I can also help poor people."

Ramji Manjhi, the principal who frequently assists during Tzu Chi's activities in the village, said that, since Tzu Chi arrived four months ago, the students have become more energetic and grown significantly. Even the village of Bakraur has undergone many changes, which makes him very happy. He said: "I hope the Tzu Chi Foundation can come here often. No matter how long you stay here, you are always welcome. In the future, if I have time, I will participate in Tzu Chi's activities and contribute my efforts."

The principal had previously tried to persuade the villagers with heartfelt words; but, unfortunately, his words fell on deaf ears, which left him very discouraged. Tzu Chi has created a change, giving him a more optimistic outlook. He hopes that he can accomplish the things he wants to do together with the volunteers.

Principal Ramji Manjhi highly appreciates the teaching method of Jing Si Aphorisms. He said: "Previously, we also taught in a similar way, talking to the children a lot, but they didn't pay much attention. However, since you came and introduced new approaches, the children find it easier to understand, and their learning attitudes have become more positive."

Change is happening in the village of Bakraur, and all eyes are eagerly anticipating the transformation of the birthplace of Buddha into a pure land, a beautiful new realm on Earth.

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Story by Chu Hsiu-Lien