The Taiwan-headquartered Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Society (LJM) recently launched a large-scale medical assistance program in Nepal. Headed by the LJM’s Nepal Milarepa Meditation Center in collaboration with medical institutions in Taiwan, and aimed at benefitting communities in remote areas of the Himalayan nation, LJM reported that the initiative has already benefitted more than a thousand people in Nepal.
“The program originates from the guidance of Venerable Hsin Tao, founding abbot of the LJM, aiming to spread love and compassion abroad,” the LJM said in a recent statement on the project. “Given the scarcity of medical resources in Nepal, particularly in remote areas, where residents struggle to access basic healthcare services, the center decided to initiate this assistance project. Taiwanese medical institutions such as Taipei Medical University, Tri-Service General Hospital, and National Defense Medical Center have actively responded by sending medical teams to participate.” (Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Society)
LJM reported that Taipei Medical University had played a key role in the initiative, sending a 21-member medical team to Nepal. Medical teams from Tri-Service General Hospital and National Defense Medical Center followed. The teams provided a range of medical services, including basic healthcare and dental education, to school teachers and students, Buddhist monasteries, and underprivileged elderly and children in remote areas.
“The groups benefiting from this medical service include: schools located at 2,000 meters above sea level, where seeking medical consultation is difficult; the Trungram Ghumba Shelter; Thrangu Monastery Namo Buddha; Drikung Kagyu Rinchen Ling Monastery; impoverished elderly and children in the remote city of Nuwakot; and the Tzu Hui Orphanage,” the LJM explained.
“Understanding the remote location and inconvenient transportation of the orphanage, the center staff drove [more than] 50 novice nuns to receive medical services. So far, more than a thousand people have benefited from this program.” (Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Society)
A community affiliated with the Linji school of Chan Buddhism, the Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Society was founded in 1983 by Dharma Master Hsin Tao as a platform to shared the Buddhadharma. As a tireless advocate for peace and non-violence, Master Hsin Tao holds a strong conviction of the importance of religion in manifesting genuine change in the world, and has worked fervently on many projects and initiatives aimed at promoting respect, tolerance, and love for peace among spiritual communities, and teaching about the variety of religious expressions as a basis for mutual understanding, peace, and love among the peoples of the world in order to engender greater understanding and peaceful interaction.
Master Hsin Tao was born in 1948 to ethnic Chinese family in a small village in northern Burma (now Myanmar) during a period of instability and unrest. Orphaned at the age of four, he was recruited as a child soldier by the Kuomintang guerrilla army as it retreated into Burma from China, and was later brought to Taiwan in 1961 when the army was forced to flee Burma. A chance encounter with the bodhisattva of compassion Guanyin in 1963 marked a turning point in his life, and in 1973, at the age of 25, he ordained as a monk.
In addition to providing medical services to remote communities, LJM noted that its program in Nepal had been instrumental in raising health awareness among local residents, in particular the importance of maintaining good oral hygiene. The Taiwanese medical team members were also able to deepen their perspective on working with the needs of different cultures.
“The success of this medical service [in Nepal] is not only due to the enthusiasm and proactive efforts of the medical team members but also to the [Nepal Milarepa Meditation Center’s] longstanding commitment to fostering good relations and building goodwill within the community,” LJM remarked. “This effort has garnered significant support from local government and private organizations. By gathering positive energy through goodwill, the plans were able to rally professional doctors to work together. Through meticulous planning, they brought this wonderful initiative to fruition.” (Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Society)
Taiwan is a spiritually diverse country, home to a wide range of religious and spiritual traditions, among which there is considerable overlap in terms of personal beliefs and practices, in particular between Buddhism and Daoism. According to government data for 2020, Buddhists represent the largest segment of the island’s population of some 24 million people at 35.1 percent. Daoism accounts for 33 per cent, while people with no stated religious affiliation account for 18.7 per cent. Christians represent 3.9 per cent of the population, while Chinese folk religions and other faith traditions account for the remainder.
See more
Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Society
Nepal Medical Mission Benefits Thousands: LJM Fosters Love Without Borders (Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Society)
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