Malaysian entrepreneur Lin Xiao Shi learned to count his blessings after witnessing suffering during care visits to the impoverished on Indonesia’s Batam Island.
“I am grateful for having the opportunity to get connected with Tzu Chi at the age of 45, which enabled me to make a U-turn at the gates of Hell. Now, I am healthy in body and mind, and live with peace of heart,” shared Tzu Chi volunteer Lin Xiao Shi, who was once an entertainment magnate in Malaysia.
On 9th June, Tzu Chi Singapore’s entrepreneur association held a talk at the Jing Si Hall. Some 230 entrepreneurs and business executives attended the event, where they listened to the sharing by two entrepreneurs cum Tzu Chi volunteers, Lin Xiao Shi and Guo Jing De, on their life’s journey and insights on life.
Volunteers leading the audience in a lively sign language song, which sparked the joy in everyone.
Lin admitted that in the past, he loved making money and friends too, and often entertained his friends till the wee hours at night, forgetting that he had a family of wife, children and parents waiting at home. He remembered buying branded bags for his children, and always providing the best for their daily needs. But he and his children had almost zero common topics, and the latter were constantly in fear of him, because he often wore a stern and unhappy face. He also showed a poor attitude towards his parents, often rebutting them with a loud and angry demeanour, without any trace of filial piety to speak of.
He shared that although he was making more money at that time, his temper grew hotter, and it really strained his relations with his family. The stress of his high-pressured living seemed to choke all life out of him, and he constantly relied on sleeping pills to sleep at night. A bodyguard was his constant companion outside his house, and he lived in constant fear for his own life.
Despite an external display of worldly success, he was miserable and crumbling on the inside as a human being. He laughed at his former self, saying that he was heading in the wrong direction right from the beginning, as he lived an unrighteous life, couldn’t lift his head up with honour, and whittled his days away in vain pursuits of daily night-life.
Lin remembered a wise saying: “If a person focuses his effort in the right direction, he will live a beautiful life; if he puts his efforts in the wrong direction, then his life will fall into the snares of darkness.”
After becoming a Tzu Chi volunteer, it was through care visits to the impoverished in Batam, Indonesia, that he came to realize his blessings (after witnessing suffering). At the same time, he finally found his own wellspring of joy and no longer needed sleeping pills to sleep well. He shared with his audience: “Happiness does not come from wealth alone. There are things in life worth more than wealth.”
Today, Lin has turned from darkness into light, replaced evil with goodness, and lives a very fulfilling life. He constantly makes time to listen to the Dharma, puts the teachings into practice, and upholds the precepts, thus cultivating equanimity and wisdom. “We have to change ourselves first before trying to influence others,” said Lin, who hoped to walk the Bodhi Path life after life.
Everything Lies in a Single Thought
“I thought that only money could bring me happiness…” The other speaker, Guo Jing De, who hailed from Taiwan, admitted frankly in his talk. It was this delusion that affected the past few decades of his life. After leaving school, he originally wanted to live a simple life. But over time, through the influences of people, events and things around him, the notion of greed began to take root in his heart, and he began to compare his life with others around him. Although he owned a large house and cars, he soon lost his joy in heart and soul, and even gradually lost his sense of self while blindly pursuing worldly success.
Taiwanese Tzu Chi volunteer Guo Jing De shared that in his pursuit of worldly success, he gradually lost his joy in heart and soul, and also lost his sense of self.
He used to lead a wanton life of drunken revelry and spent each day indulging in worldly pleasures. At one point, he was even handcuffed by the Singapore Customs for bringing in prohibited goods, and suffered lock-up for six hours. He shared frankly that back then, he was only frightened for a while; after leaving Singapore, he thought that the experience was nothing at all, and even boasted to others how he managed to escape from the ordeal.
It wasn’t until he entered Tzu Chi and heard Master Cheng Yen speak about the Karmic Law of Cause and Effect that he began to feel frightened of his past wrongful deeds. From then on, he began to practise the precepts and constantly reminded himself that if he didn’t keep the precepts, he might not be so lucky the next time he made a mistake, and might even suffer the fate of being jailed.
Guo also affirmed Lin as his “benefactor” in this life. They first knew each other back in the 90s, when Guo was making frequent trips to Malaysia either for business or for pleasure. Then Lin began to involve himself in Tzu Chi activities, and continually led teams of entrepreneurs from Malaysia to Taiwan to attend Tzu Chi’s entrepreneurs’ camps. On many occasions, Lin invited Guo to join him, but Guo always had a ready excuse and said: “I would say that the time is not right yet. You just do what you want to do. Every religion is the same; they teach people to do good deeds, to let go and not to be attached to material things, etc. Even primary school teachers can teach these life principles; I already knew all of them!”
As a result, this dragged on for eight years, until the Christmas Eve of 2012, when Lin told Guo that it would be his final appointment as a group leader for the entrepreneurs’ camp. Thus, Guo finally relented and agreed to join the camp.
“Just go and take a look; no harm” – this was Guo’s mentality when he headed to Taiwan. He recalled that many camp participants made their aspirations known to Master Cheng Yen on the last day of the camp. Although he had lingering doubts in his heart, he still felt a need to make a wish. So he told the Master that his wish was just to eat vegetarian for three months; but never did he imagine that this would become an unstoppable practice! Today, he has been a vegetarian for more than four years. Now he feels that eating vegetarian is not difficult as it all depends on one’s mindset. “It is just that we always find too many reasons and excuses for ourselves,” he said.
Guo encouraged everyone present that since they had chosen to join such a humanitarian organization like Tzu Chi, they should not give up easily and not be easily influenced by the greed and troubles of the world. He said that people often said, “If I only knew…”, and that in fact, most people already knew many things beforehand. He further exhorted everyone to do good deeds and to practise filial piety, and said that we must not wait till the last moments of our life only to say with the dying breath: “If I only knew”.
Zhuang Han Zhen (middle), who runs a food and beverage business, spoke with contemplative understanding: “At the end of this life, we can bring nothing with us. But at the very least, the good deeds that we do now can help others.”
Qiu Lan Ying (right) has started involving herself in Tzu Chi’s recycling and blood donation activities. This talk prompted deeper thinking in her on the meaning of life: “After a person passes on, what can he/she take away? What can we do for this world?”
After the talk, twenty-two entrepreneurs and business executives were also recognized as Tzu Chi’s honorary board members (those who donate NT$1 million [est. SGD45,000] to the Foundation). They were commended and thanked for generously giving back to society to benefit those in need. Among the honored members was the owner of a construction firm, Qiu Han Chun. He humbly said he hoped that his “small contribution” could help those who were less fortunate or sick.
Tzu Chi Foundation (Singapore)’s CEO, Low Swee Seh (right), presents the “honorary board member” plaque to Qiu Han Chun, to thank him for his support for Tzu Chi’s Missions.
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