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The Tzu Chi Scholarship
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| (Translated by Mike Lee, Northern
CA) |
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Because Master Cheng Yen wanted students from
low-income families in Taiwan to receive quality education, in
1982 the Medical Low-Income Scholarship was officially established,
and it was transferred to the management of the Wisdom Flame Trust
Foundation. The scholarship was to be given once per semester,
under the hope of helping society discover and nurture quality
doctors who aspired to practice medicine and aid the world.
In 1986, the Tzu Chi Foundation set up the
Tzu Chi Cultural Center, which began handling the scholarship.
In the second semester of the same year, scholarships for Buddhist
Studies and Art were added.
One virtuous judge of the scholarship interpreted
it this way: "The Tzu Chi Scholarship is the most perfect survey
and interpretation of human life as a whole. Medicine represents
the pursuit of truth, Buddhist studies represents the anticipated
fulfillment of goodness, and art emphasizes the expression of
beauty."
To emphasize the honor and meaningfulness of
the Tzu Chi scholarships, Master Cheng Yen herself hands them
out personally every semester. The Master has stressed again and
again that Tzu Chi does not expect anything in return from the
students receiving the awards, but it is hoped that the students
will one-day exercise their benevolent knowledge and skills to
serve society. In this way, the compassion of virtuous donors
everywhere will come back to every corner of society as an even
greater compassion, which will circulate endlessly.
The qualifications for applying for the Tzu
Chi scholarships are as follows. The Medical Group is open to
anyone enrolled in any major within the medical school of any
university. The Buddhist Studies Group covers the three ranks
of Buddhist institutions, colleges and graduate schools of any
level. The Art Group is open to students enrolled in related majors
of any college or high school who have a passion for art or music.
Since 1999, the scholarship has been awarded once per school year.
