I have been training to become a doctor and in 1998 I had the opportunity to visit China as part of my elective. Although the main objective of my visit was work and travel, one of the reasons I chose China is because I am interested in returning in the future to work there after I qualify.

My background is British born Chinese, but I spent part of my childhood in Hong Kong and am fluent in Cantonese. However, prior to this visit I did not speak any Mandarin, and had just a basic knowledge of written Chinese. Communication was hampered, but great effort was made by the Chinese people to speak English with me, and I was also eager to try out Mandarin. Apart from the contact in the hospital I was going to work in, I knew no one in China, it was my personal quest to see how I would fare in the face of the unknown.

I spent three weeks in Xiamen, a growing, prosperous city in the southern part of Fujian. There is a newly built eye centre there which forms part of the Mass Blindness Control programme set up in association with the Singapore National Eye Centre. I was welcomed at the airport by doctors who worked there. That was only the start of the overwhelming hospitality I experienced in China. There were many invitations to show me around, to take me to lunch, dinner and also help to plan my trip around China. During my time at the eye centre, I was allowed to accompany the mobile eye unit to rural areas, where the doctors would perform eye surgery in the large van. These were simply small towns that did not have the facilities for eye surgery. The most lingering memory is of a dim green corridor with a slow rotating overhead fan, hot and bustling with people waiting to see the visiting doctor, families pushing their elderly relatives forward, guiding them hopefully to sight by the end of the day. Not all received an operation. It was then that I perceived an acute awareness of self, a moment fixed in your mind when you realise that you were meant to be there, to witness this scene, to note exactly where you are and why you are there.

Throughout my short stay, I was infused with a strong sense of love and gratitude, not only to those around, but also to God for allowing me the privilege of such an experience. As I was about to leave Xiamen, I remember distinctly a feeling deep in my heart, a feeling that I can only describe as longing. There was such a sense of open sincerity about them, from the way they eat noisily to the way they welcome you, nothing pretentious.

After I left Xiamen, I spent two weeks travelling around the southern part of China, Huangshan, Hangzhou, Putuoshan, Nanjing and Shanghai. Luckily I met an American Chinese who spoke Mandarin well and we travelled together. Once again, I had a sense that someone was looking out for me. There were times when we were ripped off as tourists and it was evident that the Chinese were very intent on making money. I was informed that it is better for a daughter to marry a businessman than a doctor or lawyer.

The most distressing thing I found was not the taxi driver who drove us to an expensive hotel in the middle of the night despite our protestations, but a newly built statue of Guinyin on the Buddhist island of Putuoshan. On an island renowned for its spiritual history and ancient temples, they had placed a blatant tourist trap designed to exploit people’s religious beliefs for money. In general, the places I travelled to were mostly rich cities, but the main impressions were the stark contrast between rural and urban areas, and also the amazing rate of change and growth in the cities.

I do not think that I spent sufficient time there to form an adequate opinion of China or her people. I can only express what I saw and felt. This brief glimpse has helped me to understand better the interest in China. It has shown me the joys of leaving all that you find secure behind and taking on the unknown. It has also opened my eyes to the vast possibilities open to you, all you have to do is take that first step with the right motives.

Jennifer Lai Yee Yip

The Faith received a significant mention in the Western world in 1893, in Chicago, at the first Parliament of the World’s Religions. It was not until a hundred years had passed, in 1993, that the second Parliament was held, again in Chicago. On that occasion it was agreed that it should re-occur every five or six years, and thus the third Parliament came to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, on 1-8 December 1999. It consisted of presentations, including addresses by (among others) Dr Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama, concerts, symposia, worship services, meditations, lectures, workshops, a procession through Cape Town and many gifts of service from people all over the world.

The Bahá’ís had a major role to play in this Parliament, in terms of administration, making presentations and performances, holding exhibitions, showing films, offering prayer meetings, addressing the Parliament, selling Bahá’í literature, and more. The Faith was one of the "Ten Major Religions" in one of the Parliament’s main exhibitions, and there were several Bahá’ís among the Assembly of religious leaders who were at the centre of the Parliament’s activities. This Assembly of about four hundred delegates debated a document called "A Call to Our Guiding Institutions". Addressed to the institutions of religion, government, labour, education, media and science (amongst others), the document -

"calls upon the world’s guiding institutions to reassess and redefine their roles in order to assure a just, peaceful, and sustainable future."

It goes on to make "specific, particular invitations" to each institution, while avoiding "sweeping declarations or hectoring injunctions." Its foundation is the acknowledgement that

"while the world’s religious and spiritual traditions differ profoundly with respect to various beliefs and practices, they nevertheless hold in common certain ethical principles."

Thus, despite their differences, the representatives of the different religious traditions can unitedly call upon the institutions of the world to serve the needs of all, and abide by the "ethical principles" all hold in common. From a Bahá’í perspective, we can take encouragement that so many religious leaders have been able to work together, and are attempting to put the words of their collective beliefs into concrete deeds. We can also be inspired by the central place the "Call" affords to spirituality in all areas of life, when elsewhere in the world spirituality is so neglected.

Bahá’ís have been major contributors to the Parliamentary process, and it is not hard to see why: much of the thought behind the "Call" seems to be echoing the profound call made by Bahá’u’lláh to the rulers of the world and to its peoples a hundred and fifty years ago. For this reason, if for no other, we should embrace the efforts of the international religious community, and realise that as Bahá’ís, we have more to contribute to the betterment of the world than any other people. The world’s need of the remedy of the Divine Physician has never been so great.

Barry Thorne

Townshend International School had two good reasons to celebrate 9th September 1999. The school was seven years old on that day and a gathering was held in the dormitory where the youngest student, four year old Colin Shoemaker blew out the birthday cake candles (see photo).

Also on this day, permission was received to start construction work on a new school campus due to open in August 2000. These facilities, in South Bohemia, will provide the students with spacious, comfortable living accommodation allowing Townshend to grow from the present 100 to more than 360 students. During the holidays the campus will serve as a summer school and seminar centre for groups of up to 500.