Cheng Yen - Inspiration

Inspiration

During the time of the earthly stay of the Buddha, there was no written language yet. The Buddha's teachings were verbal. Later, disciples, kings, and scholars compiled his teachings. The Fourth Compilation happened approximately 700 years after the earthly stay of the Buddha ended. The foundation of Master Cheng Yen's version of Buddhism, the Sutra of Lotus, was compiled during this Compilation. Master Cheng Yen's initial exposure to the Sutra of Lotus happened when she abandoned her earthly (and reasonably wealthy) family in Fengyuan, and stayed away from the world by lodging in a small hut in Taitung County, in eastern Taiwan. While in Taitung, she accidentally found a Japanese version of the Lotus Sutra, and was pleased with what the book said. Later, she had a friend bring back a Japanese copy of the Lotus Sutra (Myoho Renge Kyo) from Japan, and was immensely enlightened by the Mu Ryo Gi Kyo, "the Sutra of U Liang Yi", or "the Sutra of Immeasurable Righteousness".) The serenity and clarity of heart derived from the book gave the Master tremendous Buddhist happiness (Fa Shi). According to the Master, the Lotus Sutra is the culmination of the Buddha's teachings, while the Sutra of Immeasurable Righteousness (U Liang Yi) is the precursor to the Lotus Sutra. The Sutra of Immesurable Righteousness deals with human problems, weather behavior, and psychiatric, psychological, and spiritual issues.

There were two watershed events that inspired Cheng Yen to take the power of Buddhism and use it to help people in the material world. The first is when she had a now-famous discussion with three Roman Catholic nuns at Pu Ming temple in 1966. While the nuns admitted the profundity of Buddhist teachings, they noted that the Catholic Church had helped people around the world by building schools and hospitals. “But what has Buddhism done for society?” Those words made Master Cheng Yen realize that Buddhism had to do more than simply encourage the private cultivate of people's souls.

The other watershed event occurred in the same year, while Cheng Yen was visiting a hospital in Fenglin. After seeing blood on the hospital floor, she learned that a Taiwanese aborigine woman had a miscarriage. They were forced to carry the pregnant woman back up the mountain after they could not afford the 8000 New Taiwan dollar deposit.

These events led Master Cheng Yen to establish the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, which is now known as the Tzu Chi Foundation, in 1966. The Foundation established its first Tzu Chi Hospital in Hualien in 1986.