Cheng Yen or Shih Cheng Yen is a Taiwanese Buddhist nun, teacher, and philanthropist.
24 Facts About Cheng Yen
2.
Cheng Yen is the founder of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, ordinarily referred to as Tzu Chi, a Buddhist humanitarian organization based in Taiwan.
3.
Cheng Yen was born in Taiwan during the Japanese occupation.
4.
Cheng Yen developed an interest in Buddhism as a young adult, ordaining as a Buddhist nun in 1963 under the well known proponent of humanistic Buddhism, master Yin Shun.
5.
Cheng Yen is considered to be one of the most influential figures in the development of modern Taiwanese Buddhism.
6.
Cheng Yen was born "Chin-Yun Wong" in 1937 in Kiyomizu Town, Taiko District, Taichu Prefecture, Japanese Taiwan.
7.
Unlike most of the other prominent Taiwanese Buddhist leaders, Cheng Yen was born in Taiwan rather than mainland China.
8.
Cheng Yen's uncle was childless, so she was given to be raised by her aunt and uncle.
9.
Cheng Yen ran away from home a second time in 1961.
10.
Cheng Yen left to travel through eastern Taiwan with a friendly nun by the name of Xiudao.
11.
Cheng Yen followed a nontraditional route to becoming a nun, traveling for two years with Xiudao.
12.
Cheng Yen even shaved her own head before she had been officially ordained a nun.
13.
Cheng Yen went to the Linji Huguo Chan Temple to register for ordination, but was turned down because she did not have a master.
14.
Cheng Yen encountered Yin Shun, whom she asked to be her mentor.
15.
Cheng Yen accepted her request, an hour before the registration closed.
16.
Cheng Yen was heavily influenced by the Lotus Sutra, which she called the culmination of the Buddha's teachings.
17.
The first event occurred while Cheng Yen was visiting a hospital in Fenglin.
18.
The second event was a now-famous discussion Cheng Yen had with three Roman Catholic nuns at Pu Ming temple in 1966.
19.
The discussion is credited with having made Cheng Yen realize that Buddhism had to do more than simply encourage the private cultivation of people's souls.
20.
The organization started when Cheng Yen encouraged her followers, consisting of thirty housewives, to save fifty cents from their grocery money every day and store them in bamboo savings banks to help needy families.
21.
Tzu Chi is most well known for its work in disaster relief, Cheng Yen's philosophy includes the notion that not only are those receiving assistance benefiting materially by receiving the aid, but those delivering the aid are spiritually rewarded when they see the gratitude in the eyes and smiles of the recipients.
22.
In January 1998, Cheng Yen launched Da Ai Satellite Television a 24-hours in daily of satellite television station.
23.
Cheng Yen makes a broadcast every morning in an address known as "Wisdom at Dawn" and makes another address in the evening.
24.
Cheng Yen often makes monthly trips around the country to check in on Tzu Chi's projects and activities.