Honouring Eminent Asian Buddhist Women in the Modern Era
C. Buddhism Beyong Borders: Engaged Buddhism - Compassion in Action
1. Taiwan - Ven Master Cheng Yan (1937 - )
Contact with Buddhism
Master Cheng Yen was born in Taiwan and was raised by
her aunt and uncle. She experienced the devastating effects of war, which
taught her the truth about impermanence and suffering. At the age of 8, she
also looked after her sick brother in a hospital for eight months. When she was
23, Master first came into contact with Buddhism when her father passed away. She
was in search for a burial place for him and the encounter inspired her to be a
nun.
She ran away from
home three times, due to objections by her mother for her to be a nun. She subsequently
followed a nun and after experiencing difficulty in getting a master to ordain
her, she shaved her own head. Subsequently, Ven Master Yin-shun accepted her
request and she vowed to commit herself to the Lotus Sutra, the Sutra of
Immeasurable Righteousness, which dealt with human psychological, spiritual
problems and ecological issues, and to take the “Bodhisattva Path.”
It was also after
a discussion in 1966 with three Catholic nuns who pointed out that Buddhists
had not helped society unlike the Church in building schools and hospitals,
Master Cheng Yen realised that
Buddhism had to do more than just encouraging private cultivation. After all,
the Buddha did send out His disciples to spread the Dhamma, which is the greatest gift to humanity.
Founding of Tzu Chi
That
same year, while visiting a hospital in Fenglin,
she saw blood on the hospital floor and learned that an aboriginal woman
suffered a miscarriage but was not attended to as she could not pay a deposit.
These events led Master to establish the Tzu Chi (Compassionate Relief) Foundation in April 1966.
She and her five
disciples supported themselves and operated their services by farming, weaving
gloves, making diapers, baby shoes and electrical circuit breakers. Her thirty
followers saved fifty cents from their grocery money every day.
Medical
Mission
The Master started the following:
1972 - First medical outreach free
clinic in Hualien
which has done more than 140,000 consultations.
1986 - 600-bed general hospital at the underserved eastern Taiwan. Tzu Chi
has since built six hospitals in different parts of the country.
1989 - College of Nursing in Hualien. It is the first private nursing
college in Taiwan to waive tuition for selected courses.
1992 - Bone marrow registry now under the Stem Cell Research Centre. By 2005, it had registered more than
274,000 marrow donors and matched almost 1000 recipients with compatible donors
around the world.
1994 - College of Medicine which became a University in 2000. She also
appealed for the donation of bodies for medical training which resulted in one
body for every four students. She stressed to them that the bodies were their
teachers, and thus should be handled with great respect. In all the courses
offered, students are imbued with the spirit of loving kindness, compassion and
humanitarian outlook.
1996 - Athletic Drug Testing Center was also set up.
International Relief Work
In
1991, Tzu Chi began its first flood
relief work in central and eastern China.
This help was extended to other phenomenon like typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis
and refugee assistance in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia
and Sri Lanka Pakistan,
Mongolia,
Ethiopia,
Nepal, Thailand,
Rwanda, Cambodia,
Myanmar, North Korea,
Azerbaijan,
Turkey, Vietnam,
USA, Brazil, Argentina,
Japan and Taiwan.
The help given was
in form of meals, drinking water, financial assistance, and rebuilding of homes
and schools. Volunteers observed the principle of not discussing business,
politics or religion. Master’s philosophy was that those who received
assistance and those who delivered the aid were rewarded, one materially and
the other spiritually.
This
relief work has earned them the reputation of being the ‘first to arrive and
the last to leave.’ Tzu Chi International Medical
Association has now more than 5,000 medical professionals worldwide. Tzu Chi
also set up homes in North America, Europe and Australia for alcohol
dependents, homeless and people living with AIDS. The organisation now has
about 5 million members in 45 countries.
Da Ai Television
Master Cheng Yen
launched 'Da Ai Satellite Television' which is a 24-hour, commercial-free
station in 1998. It broadcasts non-political news
generally free of negativity and violence; serial programmes designed to extol
good values and virtues; and inspirational teachings every week-day in “Morning
at Dawn.” It is partially funded by a nationwide recycling effort. She also encourages vegetarianism.
Recognition
Master was
honoured internationally with numerous awards, some of which are as follows:
- 1991: Ramon Magsaysay Award, Philippines for Community Leadership
- 1993: Honorary
Doctorate Degree by Chinese University of Hong Kong
- 1998: International
Human Rights Award by the Unrepresented
Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO)
- 2001: One of 26 ‘Heroes
from Around the World’ and featured on the ‘Wall of Honour’ in Philadelphia’s National Liberty Museum.
- 2002: ‘Outstanding
Women in Buddhism Award’ by World
Buddhist University in Thailand
- 2008: WFB
Merit Medal from World Fellowship of Buddhists
- 2011: Named
by the Times, New York as one of the world's 100 most influential people
- 2014, nominated
for Nobel Peace Prize by Dr.
Harald zur Hausen, director of the German Cancer Research Center who was one of the former prize winners
“Doing all for Buddhism and for all beings"
is the highest ideal for Master Cheng
Yen in her belief, teaching and practice.
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