Search Buddhist Channel

When earthquake survivors got a taste of the Buddha's ways

by Saibal Dasgupta,TNN, Jun 20, 2008

BEIJING, China -- Wang Youqun, a devout 60-year old woman, had a glimpse of the Buddha's ways when she emerged out after spending 196 helpless hours in a confinement of rubble caused by the earthquake in China's southwest province of Sichuan.

<< Stories of "miracle survivors" abound in China's deadliest earthquake in a hundred years

She was praying to Buddha when a falling beam hit her leaving her unconscious. The first to discover her was a barking puppy which woke Wang out of unconsciousness by licking her face.

The puppy's barking drew the attention of the personnel of Chengdu Air Force who were looking for people trapped in debris caused by the May 12 earthquake.

The tragedy has proved to be the mother of miracles. Wang's case is one of the dozens of miracle stories emerging in Sichuan as survivors struggle to shake off the trauma of the earthquake. They also include stories of those who gave their lives to save others.

Rains hampered rescue work making it difficult to save lives in some of the affected areas. But it also helped Wang and hundreds of others to escape dehydration during their hours struck in broken parts of buildings.

When tragedy came, the only food available to another woman, Cui Changhui was a piece of Pear. She struck it out an unbelievable 216 hours eating earthworm, weed and drinking her own urine. She lived those nine days in the crushed building of her workplace, which had been deserted by other workers when the quake struck.

Chi was spotted by an overflying helicopter before relief worker identified the exact location of her debris-prison and saved her.

Coma overcame Lai Pingyuan, a miner, after being dashed around by the tremors. It took 1,200-ml of blood infusion to save the miner, who had spent eight long days in coma and with injuries.

An operation was also carried out to remove blood clotting in his head. When Lai came back, it took him quite some time to reorient himself to the fact that he was alive and begin to speak.

Roof collapsed over the heads of Tang Xiong, a medical doctor, and his wife in their own home. They were trapped in separate parts of the living room with rubble in between. His wife's constant encouragement kept up the spirits for Tang, local reports say.

It took the rescuers many hours to pull out Tang even after his wife had been rescued because relief workers did not have sufficient equipment to reach him within the depth of the debris.

A miracle of different sorts surfaced in the form of a school principal, Ye Zhiping, who has been credited with saving 10,000 students. Ye has been persuading the local government to reconstruct the dilapidated building in which the school was housed.

The reconstruction did take place. Ye had also been training his students to handle emergencies. These twin efforts by Ye is seen as important reasons why as many as 10,000 students of his school went unhurt when quake struck.

We Need Your Help to Train the
Buddhist AI Chat Bot NORBU!
(Neural Operator for Responsible Buddhist Understanding)

Dear Friends in the Dharma,

We seek your generous support to help us train NORBU, the word's first Buddhist AI Chat Bot.

Here are some ways you can contribute to this noble cause:

One-time Donation or Loan: A single contribution, regardless of its size, will go a long way in helping us reach our goal and make the Buddhist LLM a beacon of wisdom for all.

How will your donation / loan be used? Download the NORBU White Paper for details.

For Malaysians and Singaporeans, please make your donation to the following account:

Account Name: Bodhi Vision
Account No:. 2122 00000 44661
Bank: RHB

The SWIFT/BIC code for RHB Bank Berhad is: RHBBMYKLXXX
Address: 11-15, Jalan SS 24/11, Taman Megah, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Phone: 603-9206 8118

Note: Please indicate your purpose of payment (loan or donation) in the payment slip. Thank you.

Once payment is banked in, please send the payment slip via email to: editor@buddhistchannel.tv. Your donation/loan will be published and publicly acknowledged on the Buddhist Channel.

Spread the Word: Share this initiative with your friends, family and fellow Dharma enthusiasts. Join "Friends of Norbu" at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/norbuchatbot. Together, we can build a stronger community and create a positive impact on a global scale.

Volunteer: If you possess expertise in AI, natural language processing, Dharma knowledge in terms of Buddhist sutras in various languages or related fields, and wish to lend your skills, please contact us. Your knowledge and passion could be invaluable to our project's success.

Your support is part of a collective effort to preserve and disseminate the profound teachings of Buddhism. By contributing to the NORBU, you become a "virtual Bodhisattva" to make Buddhist wisdom more accessible to seekers worldwide.

Thank you for helping to make NORBU a wise and compassionate Buddhist Chatbot!

May you be blessed with inner peace and wisdom,

With deepest gratitude,

Kooi F. Lim
On behalf of The Buddhist Channel Team

Note: To date, we have received the following contributions for NORBU:
US$ 75 from Gary Gach (Loan)
US$ 50 from Chong Sim Keong
MYR 300 from Wilson Tee
MYR 500 from Lim Yan Pok
MYR 50 from Oon Yeoh
MYR 200 from Ooi Poh Tin
MYR 300 from Lai Swee Pin
MYR 100 from Ong Hooi Sian
MYR 1,000 from Fam Sin Nin
MYR 500 from Oh teik Bin
MYR 300 from Yeoh Ai Guat
MYR 300 from Yong Lily
MYR 50 from Bandar Utama Buddhist Society
MYR 1,000 from Chiam Swee Ann
MYR 1,000 from Lye Veei Chiew
MYR 1,000 from Por Yong Tong
MYR 80 from Lee Wai Yee
MYR 500 from Pek Chee Hen
MYR 300 from Hor Tuck Loon
MYR 1,000 from Wise Payments Malaysia Sdn Bhd
MYR 200 from Teo Yen Hua
MYR 500 from Ng Wee Keat
MYR 10,000 from Chang Quai Hung, Jackie (Loan)
MYR 10,000 from K. C. Lim & Agnes (Loan)
MYR 10,000 from Juin & Jooky Tan (Loan)
MYR 100 from Poh Boon Fong (on behalf of SXI Buddhist Students Society)
MYR 10,000 from Fam Shan-Shan (Loan)
MYR 10,000 from John Fam (Loan)
MYR 500 from Phang Cheng Kar
MYR 100 from Lee Suat Yee
MYR 500 from Teo Chwee Hoon (on behalf of Lai Siow Kee)
MYR 200 from Mak Yuen Chau

We express our deep gratitude for the support and generosity.

If you have any enquiries, please write to: editor@buddhistchannel.tv

TOP