Buddhist Nun Is Taiwan’s Master of Inspiration

TAICHUNG, Taiwan —  She is Taiwan’s version of Mother Teresa: a woman ministering to the poor and hoping to educate the rich.

And now, even the government is looking to this Buddhist nun--who shaves her head, shrouds her tiny frame in a long gray robe and speaks in the softest of voices--to raise money for temporary housing for the thousands made homeless by last month’s massive earthquake in Taiwan.

She is Master Cheng Yen, or simply “the Master,” as she is known to the 25,000 volunteers ranging from homemakers to corporate chieftains who dedicate their time and money to Tzu Chi, the Buddhist charity corps she started in 1966.

Cheng was well-known in Taiwan before the earthquake. But now, she and her Tzu Chi volunteers have been elevated to the status of heroes, with many Taiwanese thinking they were far more efficient than the government in responding to the quake.

Nearly instantly after the Sept. 20 temblor struck, hundreds--perhaps thousands--of corps members were deployed to the hardest-hit areas, doling out water and facemasks, treating the injured and stirring up fresh meals in industrial-sized woks. In many cases, Tzu Chi volunteers were on the scene long before the government--a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by bitter, grieving victims.

While the government was hamstrung by the difficulties of coordinating rescue efforts, Tzu Chi volunteers were playing on their strengths: Because they live all over the island, they could assess their own neighborhoods’ conditions and spring into action.

Arriving ready to work in their hallmark blue Tzu Chi jerseys and white pants, some volunteers brought food and water for the victims.

“Hot food is so important,” said volunteer Walter W.C. Chen, chairman of Topkey Corp., which makes about 25% of the tennis and other rackets sold worldwide. “When you provide hot food, you just feel like you’re at home.”

Also key, he said, was that each volunteer handed the food out “with love,” providing a human touch. That personal touch is a core value for the charity: Everything must be handed out personally to victims, not just stacked in a corner or sent overseas.

The gesture was noticed by those who suffered. “Tzu Chi was very kind and mentally supportive--that’s different from the rescue teams,” said victim Chou Cheng-sun, who, with hundreds of others from families with damaged homes, has been camping out under a plastic tarpaulin in a temporary outdoor government shelter.

The need for housing in Taichung is severe. Soon after the quake, Cheng Yen was busy meeting with various national, county and city officials who were offering to donate land for emergency housing. Local government officials had identified about seven possible sites but didn’t know how long it would take to get the funds to commence building.

So they turned to the 62-year-old Cheng, who they were confident could raise the $30 million required to build 5,000 units--and see that the houses are finished in two months.

“Tzu Chi helps us a lot,” said Liu Shyh-fang, deputy commissioner for the city government in Taichung, which was hit hard by the 7.6 quake. “At this point, we cooperate with Tzu Chi.”

An Established Base to Raise Money

Cheng’s plan for raising the money? Encouraging corporations and individuals to donate enough to buy one, 10 or even 100 units.

It shouldn’t be too hard for her. About 20% of the island’s citizens contribute monthly to Tzu Chi, which last year raised $300 million. One hundred percent of the money is used directly for the organization’s charitable activities in Taiwan and abroad. Who pays the overhead for the small salaried staff and the Buddhist nuns who run the organization? Some wealthy members have created a special fund that is earmarked for overhead, so other donors know that all their money is going to the needy.

In her books, including one called “Still Thoughts” that describes her gentle ways and Buddhist teachings, Cheng imparts advice such as: “One should be swift in doing good deeds, and one’s meritorious deeds should be continuous. It is like boiling a pot of water: Before the water reaches the boiling point, do not put the fire out, for it would be too much trouble to start all over again.”

Another piece of advice admonishes against speaking out: “When we think we are right, we do not stop contending until we win. If we insist too strongly, we hurt our friendships with others. . . . But this is wrong, for this is the way living beings create bad karma. Take all living beings into consideration. When we walk on the path of moral cultivation, we should also let living beings cultivate good karma. Therefore, when justice is on your side, speak softly.”

The nuns who run the charity, including Cheng, earn their living expenses by selling candles and bean paste, among other items. Prospective members must spend one day a month for two years in training to become volunteers--reading the Master’s books--and promising to lead a “clean life” free of alcohol, drugs and sexual affairs.

Last year’s contributions were used for hospitals, education and social services in Taiwan and abroad. The volunteers donate money and time to care for the sick and the poor, many of whom are elderly men who were once Chinese soldiers.

Businessman volunteer Chen says Master Cheng is able to enlist people’s help not by asking people directly to perform tasks, but by saying, “We need to think about this” or “We need to do this,” and then people volunteer to tackle the tasks themselves.

Born Wang Chin-yun, the Master became a nun at 23, shortly after her father died of a brain hemorrhage. In 1966, she was motivated to start the charity after seeing a pool of blood in a hospital left by a poor woman who had suffered a miscarriage. The woman had been turned away because she couldn’t come up with a $200 deposit fee.

Showing Compassion on Daily Basis

Soon after, Cheng asked a group of 30 homemakers who were followers to save 50 cents a day from their daily grocery money and put it in a bank, insisting that they put something away each day, not just a lump sum each month.

“If you save once a month, then you only show your compassion once a month. Even though the 50 cents you save daily is not of great value, you accumulate the spirit of helping and loving others every day,” she is quoted as saying in a charity publication.

Word spread, and soon Tzu Chi members were regularly visiting and assisting the poor and the sick. In 1986, Tzu Chi opened its first hospital, which was geared to treating anyone, regardless of ability to pay.

Now that Taiwan has prospered in recent years and so many have become wealthy, more and more Taiwanese are looking “to do something more meaningful than simply making more money that they don’t know what to do with,” said Chen, who says he spends about one-third of his time on Tzu Chi-related activities, while his wife donates about 80% of her time.

“Tzu Chi just asks people to help, to take action,” Chen said. “The Master’s words are so simple, but they are from the Buddha. Just help people and you’ll become clean, and less troubled and less worried. It’s been proven with me.”