Dharma Master Cheng Yen was born in 1937 in Qingshui, a small town in Taichung County, Taiwan. As her father's brother was childless, at a young age, she was adopted by him and his wife to raise as their own, a common practice in that era. When Dharma Master Cheng Yen was around seven, she experienced the air raids that the Second World War brought upon Japanese-occupied Taiwan. What she witnessed deeply imprinted upon her young mind the cruelty of war. Throughout her growing years, she had many questions about life and its meaning.
A manager was deeply troubled by the HR issues, where he couldn't reach his senior management and couldn't motivate the people who work for him. He felt really helpless. Master Cheng Yen advised him, as a manager, apart from being mindful in your profession, you have to work on the hearts of the people too. You have to use wisdom to break the barriers between others and yourself.
![[Photo by Chou Hsing-Hung]](/images/stories/mt/2014/152.jpg "[Photo by Chou Hsing-Hung]")
How can you tell how cultured someone is? We can tell from how a person deals with his circumstances. If he loses his temper when things do not go the way he had wished for, it means his cultivation is not sufficient. He has to work harder on cultivating a gentle and broad mind, so that his actions and speech may be as soothing as the spring breeze.
The Buddha Analyzes Four Types of Life
Written by TZU CHI FOUNDATION
King Prasenajit came to hear Buddha's teachings at the Jeta Grove. The Buddha told the King that your fortunes and misfortunes are entirely determined by your actions and behavior...
![Tzu Chi volunteers listen to Dharma Master Cheng Yen's teaching in Lotus Sutra. [Photo by Chai Yee Yang]](/images/stories/rw/2014/RW_KL20130914_cyy02_006.jpg "Tzu Chi volunteers listen to Dharma Master Cheng Yen's teaching in Lotus Sutra. [Photo by Chai Yee Yang]")
Learning the Dharma takes more than just listening to talks on the teachings. Oftentimes, while listening to the Dharma talk, our hearts become very open and expansive, full of great joy, peace, and inner freedom. Yet, with the end of the talk and our return to the matters of everyday life, we easily lose this sense of joy and peace. Our encounters with people or issues can very quickly upset us, causing our mind to give rise to many afflictions. Haven't we all experienced this? Why does this happen?
![[Photo by Liu Sen-Yun]](/images/stories/rw/2013/145.jpg "[Photo by Liu Sen-Yun]")
The Buddha tells us that everyone has the Buddha nature and that it has just been obscured by his or her inner impurities and afflictions. Yet, it is often hard to see the Buddha nature in others and easy to lose faith in them, especially when it seems as if they just keep repeating their mistakes no matter how many times we have spoken to them about it. It can be very frustrating and upsetting to think that they refuse to listen.
For the first time in six months, Dharma Master Cheng Yen’s schedule finally allowed her to travel to different Tzu Chi offices around Taiwan to see the current work of Tzu Chi volunteers and talk with them in-depth to give guidance, encouragement, and direction. Though the volunteers normally keep up to date with her latest thoughts and direction by attending her daily Morning Volunteer Assembly via videoconferencing or by watching an excerpt of this daily talk on Da Ai TV’s program, “Life Wisdom”, this trip allowed Master a chance to speak more directly to them about her hopes for them as her disciples:
Guidance to Volunteers: The Strength to Rise Above All Obstacles
Written by TZU CHI FOUNDATION
For the first time in six months, Dharma Master Cheng Yen’s schedule finally allowed her to travel to different Tzu Chi offices around Taiwan to see the current work of Tzu Chi volunteers and talk with them in-depth to give guidance, encouragement, and direction. Though the volunteers normally keep up to date with her latest thoughts and direction by attending her daily Morning Volunteer Assembly via videoconferencing or by watching an excerpt of this daily talk on Da Ai TV’s program, “Life Wisdom”, this trip allowed Master a chance to speak more directly to them about her hopes for them as her disciples:
With Tzu Chi volunteers in over 50 countries, when disasters happen locally, volunteers nearby will mobilize to bring aid and comfort to people in need. It was through such disaster relief distributions by Tzu Chi volunteers that a local government official came to know more about Tzu Chi. Wanting to learn more, this official came to Taiwan and visited the foundation’s headquarters in Hualien. Touched and inspired by the spirit of selfless love that he witnessed in Tzu Chi volunteers and in the work they do, and though neither Asian nor Buddhist, this official expressed to Dharma Master Cheng Yen his wish to become her disciple. Accepting him, the Master took time to explain the following concepts to him so that as a disciple, he would have the right view toward religion and walk on the right path when he returned to his country:
With the completion of the construction on the Main Hall at the Jing Si Abode, allowing the Abode to accommodate larger numbers of Tzu Chi volunteers, many programs have been organized for volunteers to return to their spiritual home. One of these programs is a one-week spiritual retreat for a small group of volunteers, who return to work alongside the monastics of the Abode to experience the life of cultivation and gain deeper insights into the spiritual principles of the Jing Si Dharma Lineage.