The Desire to Relieve All Suffering:
A Meeting with Dharma Master Cheng Yen

Dharma Master Cheng Yen (né Chin–Yun Wong) is the guiding light of the Tzu Chi Foundation, whose many volunteers, as per their website, share the goal to “cultivate sincerity, integrity, faith, and honesty within while exercising kindness, compassion, joy, and selflessness to humanity through concrete actions.”

We bring you this short excerpt from Diane’s article about Master Cheng Yen — from the Fall 2010 issue (“Desire”) of Parabola Magazine — which relates the events in her life that led to the creation of Tzu Chi.

In 1963, Chin–Yun was reading Buddhist texts and living in Hualien [Taiwan] when she heard that a Buddhist ordination ceremony was taking place in Taipei. Having already shaved her own head, she went to Taipei to find a master who would ordain her as a nun. But she could not find a teacher of her liking. Intent on pursuing her own studies, she went to a Temple bookstore to buy the books of Master Tai Xu that were not available in Hualien. It began to rain. As she was waiting for the rain to stop, she told a nun that although she knew he rarely took new disciples, she would like to take refuge with Master Yi–Shun, the famous Buddhist monk and author who believed in Humanitarian Buddhism and lived at the Temple. Yi–Shun was so taken by the sincerity and devotion of this shy young woman, who was carrying a large pile of books written by his Master, that when she asked him to be his Mentor, he agreed. He ordained her that day with the promise that she commit herself to Buddhism and all living beings. He gave her the name Cheng Yen and remained her guide and inspiration until his death. After thirty–two days of learning the basic rule for nuns, Cheng Yen returned to live in a small hut in Hualien. The neighbors soon asked her to teach them about Buddhism. By 1964, five disciples came to live, work, and study with her in her small hut. They grew vegetables, knit sweaters, and sewed babies’ shoes to support themselves and help the poor.

Word of Cheng Yen’s wisdom spread. When she was invited to become an abbess in another town, the neighboring women begged her not to leave. As she looked at the women, another vision came to her, of the Bodhisattva Gwan Yin with many helping hands, whose mission in life was to hear and respond to all suffering. Cheng Yen made a proposal to the women. If they would give two cents each day to help a poor person, she would not leave. “Why can’t we give once a week?” the women asked. She answered, “Because giving is a practice and we need to give every day. If we have a yearning or a positive desire in us, we must nourish it and bring it to fulfillment. Just as Buddha was guided by a noble desire to help others, we too can listen to those who are sad or help those who are in pain.”

The women agreed and that day, March 26, 1966, marked the beginning of the Tzu (love, kindness, mercy) Chi (relief), or Compassionate Relief, movement, a great sangha (community) that forty–four years later has ten million volunteers in forty–seven countries and has offered care and aid in emergencies to people in sixty–nine countries. The Master envisioned a four–fold program of charity, medicine, education, and humanities, all of which included environmental protection.

The full article can be found in the Fall 2010 issue (“Desire”) of Parabola Magazine, available for sale on their website.

Visit the Tzu Chi Foundation website