Compassion in Action: Finding Light in Difficult Times - Venerable Chang Xing Shares International Disaster Relief Experiences at Dharma Drum Mountain Toronto Centre

In the face of natural disasters, displacement, and life’s many challenges, how can the Buddhist spirit of compassion be transformed into meaningful action to help those who are suffering rediscover hope? On October 17, 2026, Dharma Drum Mountain Toronto Centre hosted a lecture and Q&A session titled “Compassion in Action — Finding Light in Difficult Times” at the William Doo Auditorium in Toronto, Canada. Venerable Chang Xing, Secretary General of the Dharma Drum Mountain Social Welfare and Charity Foundation, was invited to share his firsthand experiences in international disaster relief. Drawing on years of humanitarian work and Buddhist practice, he explored how to maintain inner peace amid suffering, face adversity with wisdom, and become a light of hope for others. The lecture was conducted entirely in English and attracted approximately 70 participants.

During the lecture, Venerable Chang Xing emphasized that helping disaster survivors involves much more than providing food, financial assistance, shelter, and support for rebuilding homes. It also requires attention to their mental well-being, helping them regain hope, ensuring access to education, and supporting communities in restoring stability and a sense of security.

Using relief efforts in northern Thailand, Myanmar, and Nepal as examples, Venerable Chang Xing illustrated how compassion can be put into practice across different cultures and challenging circumstances. In northern Thailand, typhoons and landslides damaged schools in mountainous areas. This caused existing challenges faced by local children to worsen, including limited educational resources and a shortage of qualified teachers. Relief efforts included helping repair school facilities and establish libraries, as well as implementing a three-year teacher support program and organizing activities for more than 200 children and adolescents to improve their learning environments over time. Venerable Chang Xing stressed that education plays a vital role in helping children affected by disasters regain a sense of direction in their lives. He also emphasized that outside assistance should respect local cultures, listen to the needs of teachers and communities, and work alongside local residents to identify appropriate solutions.

Reflecting on the 2025 earthquake in Myanmar, Venerable Chang Xing described the many challenges faced by relief teams, including armed conflict, transportation disruptions, extreme heat, and damaged infrastructure. In addition to providing food, medical assistance, and emergency supplies to affected communities, relief workers addressed the psychological trauma experienced by children, teachers, and other survivors through psychological assessments and counseling services. Notably, these humanitarian efforts crossed religious and ethnic boundaries, thereby ensuring that communities of different faiths could receive support. Venerable Chang Xing also shared how some Buddhist monasteries opened their doors to displaced families, sharing their limited supplies of food and drinking water. Their actions demonstrated the important role that religious communities can play in offering shelter, comfort, and spiritual support during times of crisis.

Drawing on relief work in Nepal, Venerable Chang Xing described collaborations with Tibetan Buddhist lamas, local Chinese Buddhist temples, and community volunteers. Their efforts included distributing essential supplies, clearing damaged homes, supporting temporary shelters, and caring for children who had lost their parents. Through cooperation among different organizations and community members, he witnessed how people could support one another through kindness even amid devastation and grief, helping affected families feel that they were not alone.

Venerable Chang Xing further connected these experiences with Chan practice and the teachings of Master Sheng Yen. He explained that compassion should not remain merely an emotion; it must be translated into concrete action. Both favorable and adverse circumstances can become opportunities to cultivate wisdom, compassion, and blessings through wholesome deeds. By setting aside preconceptions and genuinely listening to the needs of others, we can offer care that more closely responds to their actual circumstances.

Through real-world international relief examples and reflections on Buddhist teachings, the lecture “Compassion in Action — Finding Light in Difficult Times” demonstrated how compassion, wisdom, and mindfulness can work together in everyday life. Venerable Chang Xing encouraged participants to first cultivate peace and clarity within themselves, then share that strength with others. Religious organizations, he noted, have a responsibility not only to share Buddhist teachings in times of peace but also to step forward when disasters strike, offering care and helping people regain their dignity, rediscover hope, and gradually rebuild their lives.

The lecture invited participants to cherish every encounter and regard every opportunity to help others as part of their own spiritual practice. Guided by wisdom, mindfulness, and compassion, each of us can become a small light in the world. Even a modest light can continue to illuminate our own path and that of others amid a world filled with suffering and uncertainty.

◎ Text and photos: Dharma Drum Mountain Toronto Centre 

◎ Editing: Keith Brown