The Power of Faith 信仰的力量

The Power of Faith 信仰的力量

By Jennifer 
Ji Chu Zhong Shu Toronto Ming Hwa Temple

First of all, I would like to thank Ivy for allowing me to share her story. I tell her story as an eyewitness to a powerful journey of hope and miracle rooted in faith and hard work.

首先，後學要感謝多倫多講堂Ivy（季鉦）學長允許後學分享她的故事。後學以一個見證者的身分來分享這個充滿希望與奇蹟的動人旅程，而這一切都源於Ivy對道的信念與努力。

I begin by saying that faith becomes more significant in our lives when we face extreme life challenges. Extreme challenges are life altering and impactful obstacles. This is a true story of a wife, mother and woman who did everything in her own capacity to stay hopeful and positive when her husband was battling with cancer.

後學想說，當人生遇到巨大考驗時，信仰在我們生命中變得更加重要。巨大的考驗是指足以改變人生的重大難關。後學分享這個關於一位妻子、母親和女性的真實故事：當Ivy學長的丈夫與癌症搏鬥時，她仍竭盡所能地保持希望與樂觀。

Anyone who has been touched by cancer knows the physical, emotional and spiritual challenges not only the person with cancer faces but also the person caring for them. Despite the busy hospital appointments, taking care of her household and her husband, Ivy made time for temple duties, friends and family. Her demeanor was uplifting, neither happy nor sad, it was brave.

任何一位曾被癌症擾動過的人都知道，無論是患者還是照顧者，都會面臨身體、情感和精神上的挑戰。儘管忙碌於幫丈夫作醫院的預約、照顧家庭和丈夫， Ivy學長仍然擠出時間來佛堂服務、並騰出時間與朋友和家人相處和互動。她的一切舉止有一種積極向上的感染力，既不是快樂也不是悲傷，而是充滿勇氣。

She made plenty of self-sacrifices like allowing her hair to turn white and not dye it because she was conscious that chemicals in hair coloring treatments may be harmful to her husband’s weak immune system. She stood by her husband and kept watch of his diet, making sure it was as natural as possible and plant-based. Among other things were the moodiness of a cancer patient which she kept private (irritability and moodiness are manifested by most cancer patients according to doctors, so this we know for a fact).

她做了許多自我犧牲，比如頭髮變白了也不去染髮，因為她擔心染髮劑中的化學物質可能對丈夫虛弱的免疫系統有害。她陪伴在丈夫身邊，關照他的飲食，確保食物盡可能是自然且以植物為主。此外，她還獨自承受癌症患者的情緒波動（根據醫生的說法，大多數癌症患者都會表現出易怒和情緒化，這也是我們確知的事實）。

How is Ivy as a mother? Nothing says it better than her own daughter’s remark that she is the most forgiving mom. Claire, Ivy’s daughter, shared that Ivy always forgave her for her mistakes and shortcomings. This is one of the virtues of a Tao cultivator that is sometimes hard to come by amidst all the stress and frustration surrounding life challenges. Her faith…ah…this is the most inspiring of all. Ivy stepped up her role in serving our Toronto I-Kuan Tao temple from being a regular attendee to an influential devotee. She is generous with her time to serve at the temple doing ceremonial and monetary donation. In March, she took her Purification vow.

Ivy是怎樣的一位母親呢？沒有比女兒的話更能說明的，在女兒Claire眼裡：媽媽是最寬容的，無論她犯了什麼錯、有什麼缺點，媽媽總是原諒她。這種包容和寬恕，是修道人的一種美德，尤其在面對生活中的壓力和挫折時，這種美德往往很難修持。最令人敬佩的是Ivy學長對於道的信仰與投入。在一貫道明華道院多倫多講堂裡，她從參班道親的角色成長為用心投入道場的護持者與幹部。她付出時間在佛堂學習服務（包括禮節、天廚、打掃衛生等），也捐獻金錢護持佛堂。西元2025年3月，她還立了清口愿。

Ivy’s strength to withstand the stress in her life is anchored on her faith in the Buddhas. Her hope for her husband to beat cancer kept her demeanor kind and positive. Like everyone else, she and her family prayed harder than anyone else for a hopeful prognosis of her husband’s cancer. The day came for Ivy’s husband to be screened and rendered a decision on his health. I received a voice message from Ivy while I was in the Philippines. Ivy was excited to tell me her husband’s cancer has disappeared!!! The doctor could not find it. A miracle I concluded!!

由於對佛、菩薩的信仰與信心，讓Ivy 能夠承受生活中的壓力，面對先生的抗癌歷程，她始終保持著良善與積極正向的心態，像其他人一樣，她與家人比任何人都更加虔誠地叩求，希望先生的癌症能夠有樂觀的發展。當Ivy學長的丈夫在醫生詳細檢查後，要判定病情的那一天，當時後學在菲律賓，收到Ivy的語音訊息。Ivy興奮地告訴我，她丈夫的癌細胞「消失了」！醫生找不到癌細胞。我得到結論：這是一個「奇蹟」！

But, miracles do not just happen if the people receiving them do not have faith in God, the Buddhas or the saints. We continue to pray that her husband will be cancer free in the years to come. We hope their story will inspire others to stay on path and deepen their faith starting now (even when life is easy, free of extreme challenges) and not wait until the arrival of life altering challenges to recognize the presence of God amidst us. There will be miracles if we believe in the Divine and we consciously make an effort to walk the upright path. Afterwards, we remember to give reverence to God and gratitude for the blessings received.

然而，如果人們對於上帝、諸佛菩薩或聖人沒有信仰與信心，奇蹟是不會發生的。我們持續叩求：她的丈夫在未來的歲月裡，能夠徹底擺脫癌症。希望他們的故事能鼓勵其他人：即使生活輕鬆、沒有遇到困境挑戰，也能夠堅持信仰之路並更加精進，而不是等到改變人生的挑戰或困境來臨時，才意識到上帝就在我們身邊。只要我們相信神，並努力走在正道上，奇蹟就會出現。從此以後，我們也要記得對上天表達敬意與感恩，感謝上天所賜予的祝福。