About fifty years ago, a girl, Mien-Yuan was born in the town af Ching-Sui in the Tai-Chung county of Taiwan. She was brought up by her aunt. When she was fifteen, her aunt had a stomach disease which required urgent surgery. At that time, such surgery was very risky. Mien Yuan prayed to Kwan Yin Bodhisattva that, should her foster mother recover, she would be willing to shorten her life by twelve years. Her aunt recovered. Five years later her uncle passed away. She was deeply saddened by this loss and decided to seek the overcoming of suffering.

She saw two Bikkhunis working in a paddy field and decided to help them with their work. She decided that she wanted to become a monastic like them. She found an abandoned temple and settled there to practise contemplation. It is the normal practice that nearby villagers support the monastics but she saw that they were all very poor and she refused to take any offerings from them. Instead, she collected wild plants which she boiled to sustain her body. She received her full ordination from a famous and respected Master, Yin Shun. who gave her the Dharma name Cheng Yen.

Following her ordination, she settled in the East Taiwan city of Hua Lien where she studied meditated and preached. In 1966, she was visiting one of her lay followers in the local hospital when, in the foyer, she noticed a pool of blood. She inquired as to why it was there and was informed that an aboriginal woman from the mountains, who was extremely ill, had been carried there but was refused admission because she had no money. The hospital had demanded an $8,000 deposit fee before surgery could be performed. The woman was carried back to the mountains without receiving any treatment. This incident deeply disturbed her. She returned to her small temple. Not long after this, she was visited by three Catholic nuns. They came originally hoping to convert her but they became aware of her deep compassion which they felt was deserving of reverence. They said to her "Buddhism does not show actual deeds that deal wlth the problems of society.

Most Buddhist disciples only seek to improve themselves, and very few care for the benevolence under heaven. If this is not so then why aren't there Buddhists who build schools and hospitals like the Christians do. We rarely see Buddhists doing what benefits society." This admonition deeply moved her. She vowed that, as long as the hells were not empty, she would postpone her attaining Buddhahood. She knew that to accomplish her wish to serve the poor, sick and needy that she required money. She set about organising her fellow monastics to make baby shoes which could be then be sold to raise the money to save lives. She cut bamboo into small saving jars and gave them to the people, instructing them to put in five cents each day. Many of the people asked if instead they could save five dollars a month. "No!" she said. "If you do this, you will only bring forth your kindness once a month. It is important that you cultivate your kindness each day."

Tzu-Chi General Hospital in Hua-Lien, Taiwan

On the 24th of March, 1966, she established an organisation called 'Compassion Relief Tzu Chi' which sought out the needy, poor and aged and rendered whatever assistance was necessary. She worked for the poor for many years with every donated cent being accounted for. She worked with her monastic followers making candles and health foods which were for their own support. She refused to allow any donated money to be used for support of the order or administration. Every cent donated must help the poor and needy.

After years of hard work and the respect and generous support of many Taiwan businessmen, her dream of a hospital for the poor was realised. In August. 1986, the Buddhist Compassion Relief General Hospital was opened in Hua-Lien. It is one of the largest and best equipped hospitals in Taiwan and the only one that never refuses treatment to any patient, irrespective of their financial situation. Many leading doctors have signed a contract to working the hospital unfil 2018. Venerable Chen Yen visits and speaks with each patient every day. Until she has done this, she does not feel at ease to do her other work. Should a patient leave the hospital before treatment is complete, the staff will go and seek them out in their home - not to seek a medical fee but to persuade them to return until their treatment is complete. Master Chen Yen has also established a large kindergarten and primary school, a nurses' college, and a medical training college.

Master Cheng Yen visits a patient - Patients in the Tzu-Chi General Hospital

During a visit to Hua Lien in 1993, whilst attending a conference in Taipei, I inspected the hospital. The doctor in charge informed me that the staff had been instructed to regard the hospital as their home and every patient a member of their family. The Tzu Chi Compassion Relief has been involved in providing medical assistance and relief for victims of disasters in Bangladesh, Philippines, Mongolia, Mainland China, Ethiopia and Former Yugoslavia. In 1993, the Compassion Relief Tzu Chi established a Bone Marrow Databank. Master Chen Yen said, " The Buddha became the Buddha because he gave up his life to save people. Donating our bone marrow does no harm to us. We can save people without hurting ourselves. So, I hope you donate. I also hope to set up a Data Bank of 20,000 donors, or 50,000 donors, or 100,000. If there is a Bank of 100,000, the opportunity for a patient to be saved will be as high as 95%." In September, 1994, as a result of publicity in Sydney's Chinese newspapers, 60 donors registered with the Red Cross Blood Bank, many donating blood at the same time. In 1993, I visited Master Chen Yen in her very humble monastery in Hua-Lien. She conveyed the feeling of my being in the presence of a saint. She is frail, gentle and full of compassion and humility. Someone suggested to her that they would like to nominate her for the Nobel Prize. Her reply was. "Fame and fortune are a burden. I want to be free to do my work."

Early February floods in Jakarta displaced more than 100,000 people. Here, Tzu Chi Indonesia distributes rice and other supplies at the Kapuk Muara neighborhood in western Jakarta. 2007.02.13

I conclude with a quotation from Shu-Chun Pen:

"From one unknown girl, to a common Bikkhuni, to a penniless Sangha Member practising asceticism, influencing people from all walks of life, going from the temples to the fields, and building a m odern hospital costing seveml millions ... The Master has created much merit and virtue in saving the poor and teaching the wealthy, and there is not a part of her story that has not become a legend. Looking back on the past, Tzu Chi people have only one exclamation: 'Today's Buddhist Compassion Relief Association will be regarded as a historical event.'

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