Welcome to the first issue of the Tzu Chi USA Journal in 2023. We wish everyone all the best for the new year ahead. Our Issue 68 theme revolves around the Golden Rule, which upholds the principle of treating others as we want to be treated.

The Golden Rule appears across all religions, as shown in our table on page 58. From Hinduism to Buddhism to Christianity and beyond, you’ll find guidance to hold others as dear as we do ourselves and treat them accordingly.

Within a Buddhist faith-based organization such as Tzu Chi, its vision and missions embody the Golden Rule and apply it on a global scale. Concurrently, Tzu Chi emphasizes a neighborly, community activity level, expressed through its adage, “Think big and act local.” Each of the stories in this issue touches on these themes.

Our cover story, “Following The Golden Rule in Peekskill: Aid After a Condo Building Fire,” showcases the efforts of a Tzu Chi volunteer in Westchester County, New York, and chronicles how she took it upon herself to bring disaster aid to her neighbors after an apartment building fire reduced their homes to ash.

“A Lotus Blooms in Las Vegas: Celebrating 20 Years of Relief” brings us along on a two-decade-long journey of responsive and caring community service by volunteers from Tzu Chi USA’s Las Vegas Service Center.

“Cheer Abounds at Magalia’s ‘Moving Forward Holiday Celebration’” reveals how Tzu Chi volunteers keep care recipients close to heart even years after the disaster that first brought them together, in this case, the destructive 2018 Camp Fire in California.

Staying on the West Coast, “Survivors Not Victims: Revving Up Recovery in Storm-Battered California” presents our recent emergency relief mission serving those affected by a devastating series of winter storms that brought flooding and upheaval to the residents of Merced County.

Finally, “BBC’s 100 Women of 2022 Features Dharma Master Cheng Yen” honors recent accolades for Tzu Chi’s founder, who was recognized as an inspiring and influential Buddhist philanthropist, encouraging us all to participate and do our part on the path of neighborly care for one another in this world.