Tzu Chi
Overview
The organization was founded by Dharma Master Cheng Yen
Cheng Yen
Cheng Yen is a Taiwanese Buddhist nun , teacher, and philanthropist. She is often called the "Mother Teresa of Asia." In 1966, Cheng Yen founded the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, commonly known as Tzu Chi; its motto is "instructing the rich and saving the poor"...
, a Buddhist nun, on May 14, 1966 in Hualien, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
. She was inspired by her master and mentor, the late Venerable Master Yin Shun
Yin Shun
Yin Shun was a well-known Buddhist monk and scholar in the tradition of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism, particularly the Three Treatise school. Yin Shun's research helped bring forth the ideal of Humanistic Buddhism, a leading mainstream Buddhist philosophy studied and upheld by many practitioners...
(印順導師, Yìn Shùn dǎoshī), a significant proponent of Humanistic Buddhism
Humanistic Buddhism
Humanistic Buddhism is a modern Buddhist philosophy practiced mostly by Mahayana Buddhists. It is the integration of people's spiritual practice into all aspects of their daily lives...
, who exhorted her to: "work for Buddhism and for all sentient beings."
In mountainous Hualien, Master Cheng Yen was moved to act by the poverty and lack of services, and decided to set up a charity organization.
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