Written by Ida Eva Zielinska
The Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation’s missions are possible thanks to Tzu Chi volunteers who offer their time and effort to accomplish them. The volunteers serve society while upholding the Buddhist ideals of compassion and spiritual cultivation. The Tzu Chi School of Buddhism, established by Dharma Master Cheng Yen, regards each volunteer as a living bodhisattva [One who strives to attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. The Sanskrit term combines bodhi (enlightenment) and sattva (living being)].
Tzu Chi volunteers’ altruistic activities lift a beacon of hope and kindness, inspiring others to undertake good deeds and create positive social change. Moreover, since documentation of these modern bodhisattvas’ benevolent activities can spread their influence more widely, media volunteers record their footsteps of care.
As one volunteer, Austin Yao, described, the media volunteers typically work in three-in-one teams. “One person is responsible for doing the interview, writing the news report or the blog. The other person is the photographer. And the third person is the videographer. All three have specific roles and responsibilities. And when everything goes right, and we all collaborate, amazing things can happen.” Tzu Chi then shares such media teams’ output via its websites, publications, and social media.
Tzu Chi’s media volunteers constantly strive to improve and expand their knowledge, skills, and expertise. Many attend an annual summer retreat in the United States at the Tzu Chi USA National Headquarters campus in San Dimas, California.
We invite the media volunteers from all over the country to come back here to get together to learn from each other, and also learn some new skills, new knowledge and then bring this back to their offices to carry on the Tzu Chi documentation mission.
On June 27, around 80 media volunteers from across the United States gathered for the 2024 Tzu Chi USA Media Team Retreat. With great interest and enthusiasm, they would take part in over 20 diverse hands-on courses over the next few days, actively honing their videography, photography, and writing skills, gaining insight into the power of social media, and learning about copyright laws and other relevant issues.
Our local team couldn’t come. So, I will learn first and bring this learning back to our area and conduct a training session so our members can grow together in sync.
At the same time, the retreat attendees would deepen their understanding of Tzu Chi’s humanistic culture, of which they are an integral part. Since documentation by media volunteers allows more people to discover the world and spirit of Tzu Chi, the attendees were eager to learn as much as possible to empower their efforts.
I expect everyone to leave the retreat excited and more confident about their skills. When I think about expectations, one is the technical skills, details of how to use a camera, or write better. But there's also that other aspect, which is less visible: the approach, the mindset, and why we're doing this.
After registration, the retreat started with a group dinner, followed by an opening ceremony during which everyone watched Master Cheng Yen’s message from Taiwan on video. Then, there was an ice-breaker session for attendees to warm up and get to know each other. The extended weekend program, beginning the next day and ending on June 30, would be packed with learning opportunities, and everyone was thrilled to be here.
A Packed Program
Starting bright and early on June 28, a succession of courses catering to various interests were on the day’s program: Tzu Chi Culture and Communications, Photography Concepts, DSLR Photography, Mobile Photography, Introduction to Event Photography, Introduction to Videography, Video Editing Techniques, Going Live with Multi-Camera, and Social Media Engagement / Creating Short-Form Videos.
Yet before the courses began, each retreat day opened with a group breakfast followed by a few minutes of exercise to awaken the mind, body, and spirit to total capacity. Then, it was time for the learning to start.
Anik Ghose, who co-taught a class on social media with Dilber Shatursun, was pleased with the day. “Our social media class was very interactive,” he said. “People took a lot from it, and we wanted to showcase how powerful social media can be.”
Between them, Jamie Puerta, Hector Muniente, Dennis Lee, Victor Rocha, and Pohan Chen taught various aspects of videography, video editing, photography, and event coverage. The retreat attendees were delighted with the chance to gain new skills.
The courses offered plenty of technical information but also valuable creative advice. “One of the main things that I like to share with anyone starting photography is to focus on your composition, focus on your creativity, and not so much on just how the camera works,” Chen explained.
The final sessions of the day introduced a bit about Tzu Chi’s history. They began with a class by Tzu Chi USA’s Culture & Communications Department Director, Ting Fan, who introduced the Tzu Chi USA Family Tree project. The endeavor aims to record Tzu Chi’s journey over 35 years in the United States as an oral history.
We want to interview all the senior volunteers around the country, the nine regions, and all the offices around the U.S. who might have joined Tzu Chi 30 years ago, 35 years ago. Tzu Chi is part of their lives and their stories are remarkable and very inspirational.
Preserving this historical Tzu Chi USA Family Tree in the form of a book will permit its easy passage across generations. “We plan to publish nine books by the end of this year. Hopefully, we can interview 365 volunteers around the country and then put everything together to celebrate Tzu Chi USA’s 35th anniversary [this year],” Fan shared.
To complete the day, Master De Chen taught a class via Zoom from the Jing Si Abode in Hualien, Taiwan, describing an impactful media project she led during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I combined the key points of Master Cheng Yen’s teaching excerpts in French daily with beautiful photos of the monastery I took to create cards that share the essence of Dharma every day,” she shared. “So far, we have made 1,800 cards. Through group sharing, many French cards have been translated into English, Japanese, Indonesian, and other languages, influencing people in many countries.” She encouraged all the media volunteers to continue in their documentation mission.
On June 29, the sessions were Interviews and Writing, Equipment Q&A, Practical Fieldwork, Post-Event Documentation, and Aerial Imaging. There were ample opportunities to put learning into practice and ask the media professionals teaching the courses detailed questions. The students branched into more than ten groups, each responsible for a specific interview topic. The team’s video recordings, photographs, and writing were to demonstrate what they had learned.
Despite the Southern California heat that day, all the students actively practiced the skills learned in class and completed their fieldwork. They fanned out across the large campus, seeking to capture engaging video footage, find just the right angle and composition for their photos, and ask the best interview questions.
It’s more about telling the story of the other person instead of just getting the camera in front of them and getting the footage and leaving. That was what resonated with me.
The most important thing is preparation and warm-up, that it's not just about being there at that moment. We look at these videos, they look so beautiful, look so easy, but it's really hard, and there's a lot of effort that goes on behind the scenes.
Singly or in pairs, the retreat attendees are ever studious. Photos/Wendy Tsai
The highlight of the day was the address by the 2024 Tzu Chi USA Media Team Retreat’s keynote speaker, Ringo Chiu. A member of the Associated Press staff awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography, Chiu shared his experience over more than two decades in professional photojournalism.
Sometimes it’s difficult to think on-site. Just keep changing positions, try different angles, and take more photos. For a large event, I usually take more than 1,000 photos and then select the 15 photos that I think are the best.
The day concluded with time for feedback from all attendees, which continued at the start of the final day of the retreat.
Ready to Bring the Lessons Home
June 30 opened with a course on Copyright SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) and Legal Forms taught by Jennifer Chien. This was followed by the 2024 Tzu Chi USA Media Team Retreat closing ceremony, which officially concluded the four days of team camaraderie and learning.
I hope you will use what you have learned after you go back and record the activities and events in your area.
During the ceremony, the host applauded the efforts of over 200 Tzu Chi volunteers from Southern California who came together to serve during the multi-day event. Divided into teams, they handled accommodation preparations, venue layout, catering, session sound control, transportation, cleaning, and more.
The retreat attendees felt empowered and inspired as they looked back at the intense weekend.
It was very informative. We had classes learning about different types of media. It's just amazing how things come together.
I learned a lot of skills in the camp, which further strengthened my determination to follow the bodhisattva path. What we’re doing with media is meaningful and will allow future generations to encounter good teachers and positive energy.
It’s not just sharing what we’re doing; it’s about touching lives and it’s about drawing more people into the organization also, using this media to be a positive force.
The instructors were also pleased with the turnout and outcome. They acknowledged the importance of media team volunteers documenting Tzu Chi activities.
I think our volunteers are the face of the organization. They empower us. They give us the content we need to succeed. So we really need them to focus and be our benefactors so we can create more content.
It’s a powerful way to show what people are doing. We’re doing good stuff, but it's more like showing people, ‘Hey, there are nice things that you can do to help people around the world. Look at the volunteers. They're having fun. Look at the people being helped.’ Hopefully, we can inspire more people to join the efforts and bring more positivity to the world.
In her concluding remarks, Ting Fan, Tzu Chi USA’s Culture & Communications Department Director, who was instrumental in bringing this event together, humbly said, “We hope to see you all again next year.”
Tzu Chi is all about volunteerism and teamwork. Would you like to learn more? We welcome your interest and invite you to register and volunteer with Tzu Chi USA in your area!
