Letting Go in Midlife and Old Age Is Also the Remedy for KangAi Commune's Transformation

In middle and old age, one increasingly appreciates the value of letting go—it is more like a remedy that clears the heart. Especially after hearing many interpretations of the Diamond Sutra, I have gradually learned to release the various attachments within. This life insight offers deep inspiration when applied to KangAi Commune and the work of critical-illness mutual aid.

Running a critical-illness mutual aid platform likewise calls for a letting-go of its own, and at its core this means letting go of interests and power.

We used to think that as long as the platform did things right, that would be enough. Looking back now, behind that belief lurked a subconscious attachment: the assumption that we were the neutral platform deserving of the public's unconditional trust.

But society's perception does not follow a platform's self-perception. The public's trust is not something a platform can earn simply by proving to itself that "I am neutral and trustworthy."

The real remedy is precisely this letting go: release the attachment to self-image, release the attachment to power and personal interest. Stop clutching power in the platform's hands; devolve rights, responsibilities, and interests outward; open more entry points for participation and let more ordinary people take part deeply. Trust is not something the platform outputs unilaterally to users—it grows naturally through a process in which people participate and bear witness together.

And the platform itself must keep weakening itself. The ideal state is that people barely feel the platform's presence at all. Mutual aid is no longer a product operated by some single platform, but becomes a spontaneous, genuine way of life among people. This is, perhaps, the most precious insight that letting go has given KangAi Commune.