| Master
Cheng Yen |
 |
| (Translated by Douglas Shaw) |
|
Dharma Master Cheng Yen is the founder and
president of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation.
The Master was born in Chingshui township,
Taichung county, in 1937. She was adopted and raised by an uncle
and aunt who had no children of their own. When she was twenty
years old, her uncle suddenly died of a stroke. In her search
to find out where he had gone after his death, she came in contact
with Buddhism. In 1963, Venerable Master Yin Shun accepted her
as his disciple. He gave her the Buddhist religious name, Cheng
Yen, and instructed her to work "for Buddhism and for all
living beings." Ever since then, this phrase has been the
model for the Master's religious efforts.
In 1966, the Master founded the Buddhist
Tzu Chi Merit Association (the forerunner of today's Tzu Chi Foundation)
in Hualien county. Her vow was to carry out kindness, compassion,
joy and giving; her practice was to help the suffering and those
in hardship; her mission was to help the poor and educate the
rich. She helped those who lacked material goods to make a living,
and she enriched the spiritual world of those whose spirits were
empty. Therefore, she has been venerated by many followers.
