Kata bijaksana master cheng yen biography
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As she refused to accept any offerings from the laity, life was extremely difficult.
In October 1963, the Master moved to Tzu Shan Temple in Hualien, where she taught the Sutra of the Past Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva for about eight months. He accepted, but as registration for ordination at the Lin Chi Temple would soon come to a close, there was little time for more than a simple instruction to the young novice, "Now that you are a Buddhist monastic, remember always to work for Buddhism and for all living beings." He gave her the Dharma name, Cheng Yen.
The Founding of Tzu Chi
In 1966, at the age of 29, Dharma Master Cheng Yen founded Tzu Chi. At the time, the east coast of Taiwan, where Dharma Master Cheng Yen first settled, was undeveloped and impoverished. Thus in May 1966, she set up Tzu Chi in Hualien, with the support and assistance of her monastic disciples, and 30 lay followers, most of whom were local housewives.
Humble Beginnings ─ Starting from Scratch
Though living a simple and austere lifestyle themselves, Master Cheng Yen and her disciples were determined to help the poor.
By personally collecting donations from people, the commissioners were in fact nurturing the seed of love in every donor. Dharma Master Cheng Yen was told that the blood was from an indigenous woman suffering from labor complications. Gradually, the committed volunteers joined the ranks of Tzu Chi commissioners, who would travel to the homes of the donating members, to personally collect their donations.
Being the eldest daughter in the family, she began helping to look after her younger siblings when she was barely a child herself.
When she was around seven years old, she experienced the air raids that the Second World War brought upon the then Japanese-occupied Taiwan, and the cruelties of war deeply imprinted on her young mind. The Venerable said to her: “Karmic affinities have brought us together.
Master Cheng Yen, however, replied that giving people an opportunity to participate in a good cause was just as important as the donation itself. Having great respect for him, she asked if he would accept her as his disciple. Dharma Master Cheng Yen, however, replied that giving people an opportunity to participate was as important as the donation itself.
At the age of just 11 months, she was adopted by her uncle and aunt. One follower thought that it would be easier to just donate NT$15 every month. She thought to herself: as an impoverished monastic barely supporting herself, what could she do to help these poor people?
A short time later, three Catholic nuns visited Dharma Master Cheng Yen, and they had a discussion on the teachings of their respective religions.
When Dharma Master Cheng Yen was seven, the Second World War brought air raids upon Japanese-occupied Taiwan. In autumn that year, she shaved her own head, determined to become a Buddhist nun.
In February 1963, Chin-yun travelled to a temple in Taipei to attend an initiation ceremony for those entering Buddhist monastic life, only to be told that she could not be ordained as she did not have a refuge master.
In 1962, she arrived in Hualien, an impoverished rural town in the east coast of Taiwan, and took residence in Pu Ming Temple, living a spartan life as she devoted herself to the study of Buddhism. Dharma Master Cheng Yen considered: What if her disciples sold one extra pair of baby shoes per day? That year, she was 24.
Hearing this, Dharma Master Cheng Yen was overwhelmed with sorrow.