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Cheng Yen

Taiwanese Buddhist nun (born 1937)

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Cheng Yen was born in Taiwan during the Japanese occupation. She 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. After an encounter with a poor woman who had a miscarriage, and a conversation with Catholic nuns who talked about the various charity work of the Catholic Church, Cheng Yen founded the Tzu Chi Foundation in 1966 as a Buddhist humanitarian organization. The organization began as a group of thirty housewives who saved money for needy families. Tzu Chi gradually grew in popularity and expanded its services over time to include medical, environmental, and disaster relief work, eventually becoming one of the largest humanitarian organizations in the world, and the largest Buddhist organization in Taiwan.

Cheng Yen is considered to be one of the most influential figures in the development of modern Taiwanese Buddhism. In Taiwan, she is popularly referred to and is the last surviving of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Taiwanese Buddhism, along with her contemporaries Sheng-yen of Dharma Drum Mountain, Hsing Yun of Fo Guang Shan and Wei Chueh of Chung Tai Shan.

Early life

Cheng Yen was born "Chin-Yun Wong" (Chinese: 王錦雲; pinyin: Wáng Jǐnyún; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ông Kím-hûn) in 1937 in Kiyomizu Town, Taikō District, Taichū Prefecture, Japanese Taiwan (modern-day Qingshui, Taichung City, Taiwan). Unlike most of the other prominent Taiwanese Buddhist leaders, Cheng Yen was born in Taiwan rather than mainland China. Her uncle was childless, so she was given to be raised by her aunt and uncle. Cheng-Yen grew up during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan during World War II, where she witnessed the devastating effects of war and experienced the bombings in Taiwan. These experiences were credited as contributing to what she regarded as the truth behind the concept of impermanence. In 1945, when she was eight years old, she looked after her sick brother in a hospital for eight months, and so learned more closely about people's pain and helplessness. At the age of 21 in 1958, her father died suddenly from brain blood vessel disorder that brought about hemorrhaging and stroke. It was in searching for a burial place for him that Cheng Yen first came into close contact with the Buddhist Dharma, associated doctrines, and Buddhist scriptures (sutras). After her father's death, Cheng Yen took over managing her father's theaters and became financially responsible for her family.

Bhikṣuṇī ordination

Upon deciding to become a nun, Cheng Yen ran away to a temple in 1960, fearing that if she were to ask for permission in advance, she might not be permitted to go. After her first attempt at running away, her mother found her three days later and brought her back home. She ran away from home a second time in 1961 and travelled through eastern Taiwan with a friendly nun by the name of Xiūdào (修道法師; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Siu-tō Hoat-su). Cheng Yen followed a non-traditional route to becoming a nun, traveling for two years with Xiūdào. Cheng Yen even shaved her own head before she had been officially ordained a nun. After traveling for two years, Cheng Yen decided that she needed to become an ordained nun in order to continue her lifestyle. She went to the Linji Huguo Chan Temple to register for ordination, but was turned down because she did not have a master. Typically, to become a nun in Taiwan, one must be the disciple of a master for two years before ordination. Cheng Yen encountered Yin Shun, whom she asked to be her mentor. He accepted her request, an hour before the registration closed. In February 1963, she became the disciple of her mentor, Yin Shun, who gave her the dharma name of Cheng Yen and the courtesy name of Huìzhāng (慧璋; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Hūi-chiong). Yin Shun also gave her the expectation of working "for Buddha's teachings and for all sentient beings", which is written with six characters in Chinese. These six characters became the highest ideals for Cheng Yen in belief, teaching, and practice.

In May 1963, shortly after receiving her ordination as a nun, she went to Pu Ming Temple (普明寺; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Phó͘-bêng-sī) in Hualien County to continue her spiritual formation. As a part of that formation, she recited the Lotus Sutra, which she revered, every day and transcribed every month. It was during her six months there that she vowed to commit herself to the Lotus Sutra and the "Path of the Bodhisattvas".

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