DHARMA MASTER CHENG YEN
Master Cheng Yen, a Buddhist nun from Taiwan, established the Tzu Chi Foundation in 1966. With its four major missions of Charity, Medicine, Education, and Culture, this organization has built hospitals, schools, and helped millions of people in need throughout the world. The Master’s compassion for human suffering has moved millions of volunteers to serve selflessly throughout the world. She was awarded the Eisenhower Medallion for her contribution to world peace, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Master Yin Shun
In February 1963, Master Cheng Yen went to Taipei to register for a 32-day “novitiate” to formally become a Buddhist nun. However, since she had shaved her head herself, she was rejected. Before returning to Hualien, she went to a lecture hall to purchase Buddhist texts, and met the Venerable Master Yin Shun, one of the most respected dharma masters in Taiwan. Venerable Master Yin Shun kindly consented to be her teacher and gave her a dharma name: Cheng Yen. Thus, Master Cheng Yen was formally ordained and became a Buddhist nun.
In the hut behind Pu Ming Temple, the Master and her followers lived in hardship. They studied together, and did not hold religious services nor give sermons. With barely enough shelter and hardly enough to eat, the Master still held firm to her decision not to accept offerings from others. Their rule was, “A day without working is a day without eating.”
They relied on their own efforts: they knitted sweaters, stitched bags to hold animal feed, sewed baby shoes and planted vegetables. Through hard work, they met the basic necessities of life.
After the establishment of the Tzu Chi Foundation, they also wove cotton gloves to raise funds for the foundation.
With the development of the Tzu Chi missions, more people can understand the true essence of Buddhism. Many members have decided to live at the Abode and carry out the Path of the bodhisattvas. The number of those preparing to be nuns is also on the rise.
The Master’s Three Vows
In her early twenties, Master Cheng Yen’s vision was forged by a series of events that were to shape her life. First, her father died suddenly of a stroke, seriously distressing her when her lack of knowledge made her unable to properly care for him. Then the Master was appalled that the poor of Taiwan could not get medical care. This, compounded with her own fragile health, moved her to give up her comfortable life to become a Buddhist nun. For her, Buddhism had to be actively involved in helping people. The Master’s active implementation of Buddhism was the seed that later sprouted to become Tzu Chi, and allowed her to work unceasingly toward her three vows:
1. Purify minds
2. Harmonize society
3. Free the world from disasters
Helping the Poor while Educating those More Prosperous
Starting with five nuns, and fifty cents of daily savings from thirty households, Master Cheng Yen pursued her mission of helping the poor and educating those more prosperous. Under the Master’s guidance, Tzu Chi works with and represents people from all walks of life. In the spirit of “There is no one I do not love, trust, or forgive,” she seeks to help make this world one of kindness, compassion, joy, and equality by relieving the material and physical suffering of the needy, and guiding the Tzu Chi volunteers toward personal and spiritual growth.
Changing Society Starting from the Individual
Improvements in society do not come from society itself but from its members. It is through personal growth that profound changes can be possible on the greater level of society. The Master sees the individual as the crucial agent for change. This awakening in a person comes from the nurturing of compassion.
When the Master first started Tzu Chi, she requested the original thirty households to drop 50 cents (US$0.02) a day in a tiny bamboo box kept in their kitchens, rather than a once a month contribution of NT$15. Although the fifty cents may not have been of great value, it served to develop and nurture the spirit of helping and caring every day. From the Master’s perspective, thirty acts of giving were more significant than a single one. The Master saw the value of developing the spirit of giving in these members as equal in importance to achieving the task at hand.
Bringing Together Many Kind Hearts
Once, when the Master was pressed for funds during the hospital construction, a philanthropist came to offer the Master a generous contribution that exceeded the amount needed to complete the hospital. Though it seemed like a godsend, she politely turned down the offer. The Master did not wish for the hospital to be only a building that saves lives, but an opportunity for countless people to give. Out of the same principle, the Master also held the conviction that each project, whether it was the establishment of hospitals, colleges, and research center, be completed through the joint efforts of many, rather than by a few generous benefactors.
Building on Faith
Building the hospital was one of the most difficult trials for the Master. How was she able to turn down such a generous offer at a time when she needed it most? Perhaps one should go back further and ask, how could the Master decide to build a hospital of millions, when she had nothing? Faith, the Master said. “Faith in myself, that my intentions were pure. And faith in others, that within the heart of every person lies love that is only waiting to be awakened.” Her certainty that those who share the same vision would join their efforts to hers has allowed the Master to take on and succeed at many difficult projects.
The Road Ahead
Since Master Cheng Yen founded the Tzu Chi Foundation, her beliefs and missions have been carried out around the world. Although Tzu Chi has become an international organization with over 4 million members, the Master doesn’t look back on Tzu Chi’s accomplishments, but continuously looks ahead. To her, there is still much to be done. In her words,
“Nothing is more valuable than life. The most important thing is to respect life and help people. The greatest tragedy in life is suffering. If there were no suffering, society would be perfect. When everyone is happy, only then am I happy. When everyone is healthy, only then am I healthy. When human suffering ends, my suffering ends.”
Master Cheng Yen’s life experiences inspired her to search for a form of Buddhism that would reflect unconditional love through action. Many past incidents shaped her vision and she felt a higher calling. When her father had died of a heart attack, she felt guilty. In his passing, she felt that she had erred in caring for him. Later, at a hospital, she witnessed a penniless, aborigine woman be denied medical attention while bleeding on the floor. Another time, a Catholic missionary said to her, “You Buddhists are a passive group and ignore the needs of others.” Master Cheng Yen was determined to serve all humanity. She envisioned a world of kindness, compassion, joy and equality.
With the support of only thirty housewives who set aside NT fifty cents (US$0.013) of their grocery money each day, Master Cheng Yen embarked on her mission of helping the poor and educating the more prosperous. She and the newly formed Tzu Chi Merits Society established a charity fund to provide relief and assistance for the poor.
Today, Master Cheng Yen’s influence in the world is
revealed through the inspiring stories of her disciples
and the acclaimed international work of Tzu Chi Foundation.
