About Tzu Chi
Introduction
For Buddhism, For all sentient beings
Just before her monastic ordination, Master Cheng Yen received a simple message from her teacher, Master Yin Shun: "to always work for the Buddhism and for all sentient beings". Since then, Master Cheng Yen has faithfully dedicated her life to living this vocation. This is how the world of Tzu Chi we know today came to be.
Master Cheng Yen founded Tzu Chi on May 14, 1966, in the east coast city of Hualien in Taiwan. With the belief that the Dharma can be applied in daily life, Master Cheng Yen hopes to nurture the spirit of sincerity, integrity, faith, and steadfastness, as well as the Buddhist values of love, compassion, joy, and giving to those in need. Under her compassionate guidance, Tzu Chi now has many volunteers around the world who are actively contributing to serve those in need, turning the power of compassion into action.
From the Lotus Sutra, Master Cheng Yen discovered that there is a lot of suffering in the Saha World (the temporary world we live in). People's suffering can be physical, mental/emotional, or a combination of both. The Lotus Sutra also discusses the Buddha who guides relentlessly to purify the minds of living beings, which is the source of all misery and suffering. Therefore, Master Cheng Yen believes that the only way to eliminate suffering in the world is to guide people and direct their minds towards goodness.
In the early days of Tzu Chi, Master Cheng Yen and her disciples lived the life of a strict Buddhist nun, faithfully practicing the traditional values of self-discipline, thrift, perseverance, and hard work. Despite living in hardship, Master Cheng Yen and her disciples are determined to raise funds for their charity work. So, each nun made an extra pair of baby shoes every day, and Master Cheng Yen invited 30 housewives (her disciples) to save 50 NT cents into their bamboo piggy bank every day, to start their contribution to alleviating suffering and poverty. Today, the "Age of the Bamboo Bank" has spread throughout the world which is the beginning of Tzu Chi's human spirit.
Starting from humble steps on Taiwan's rural east coast, Tzu Chi's traces of love have spread to more than 90 countries around the world, and have now become an international Social Society Organization (NGO) with Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). ). The Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation focuses its activities on the Four Missions: Charity, Health, Education, and Humanist Culture, which has expanded to include Bone Marrow Donation, International Aid, Environmental Conservation, and Community Volunteering.
Volunteer-based and funded by contributions from volunteers, donors, and the general public, Tzu Chi is committed to the advancement of humanity in a spirit of sincere, broad, and universal love. Its network of volunteers in various countries around the world works directly to help people in need, providing care and assistance with unconditional love that transcends racial, ethnic, national, linguistic and religious differences. This has brought a positive cycle of love and kindness around the world.
In the current era of climate change, with the increasing frequency of natural disasters, Master Cheng Yen believes that the causes of disasters are rooted in people's hearts and minds. Therefore, she hopes that more people in the world can uncover and utilize the clear spring in their own hearts. Because the more sources of water, the more water will flow. With so much water flowing out it can become a clear stream that cleanses the hearts of people all over the world.
Main Mission
Charity
Charity is the cornerstone of Tzu Chi. This mission consists of the main program of long-term treatment (care), emergency response assistance, home repairs and renovations, care visits to nursing homes, orphanages, and patients receiving Tzu Chi assistance, as well as disaster relief. In addition to helping aid recipients recover and revive their lives, Tzu Chi volunteers accompany them on their journey, providing care and support and helping them to become financially independent in order to break out of the cycle of poverty. Beneficiaries are also invited and guided to participate in helping others in need, continuing this love to expand and develop.
Health
Sickness is the greatest suffering in life. To break the cycle of disease and poverty, the Tzu Chi Health Mission started by providing free medical treatment, followed by fundraising to build the first Tzu Chi hospital in Taiwan. There is currently a comprehensive Tzu Chi medical network throughout Taiwan, including six hospitals, free clinics, and home medical care services, among others. In addition, the Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) has been present in various countries, helping to provide health services in areas that lack medical resources and personnel. The Tzu Chi Medical Team protects people's lives and health at the same time.
Education
Education is a long-term mission to guide the mind and soul. Tzu Chi education focuses on making the younger generation not only to have superior academic abilities but also to have noble character. The Education Mission covers a wide range of educational institutions, from preschools, primary schools, secondary schools to universities. Tzu Chi strives to educate the younger generation to have good character, healthy mind and body through teaching moral values and life skills, by providing comprehensive education.
Humanist Culture
The Spirit of Humanist Culture is about living the value of the greatest struggle in one's life with joy, and achieving personal growth and character perfection. Tzu Chi uses media prints, electronic, and social media to spread its news and inspiring messages around the world, hoping to clear people's hearts and minds. By preaching true and positive things about goodness, it is hoped that it can create a circle of love and virtue in society.
International Aid
In every disaster relief provision, Tzu Chi adheres to the principles of Direct, Priority, In Accordance With the Need, Respectful, and Fast. Based on these principles, Tzu Chi provides assistance in the form of food, rice, rice seeds, clothes, blankets, medical equipment, medicines, and others. For disaster-stricken countries, Tzu Chi also develops long-term relief plans, such as rebuilding houses, schools, houses of worship and others. Although the type of assistance provided may differ depending on the situation, Tzu Chi serves all those in need with the same human spirit: Soul.
Bone Marrow Donor
The donation of hematopoietic stem cells, which enable a person to save life in a harmless way, can provide new life opportunities for people with blood cancer. Tzu Chi volunteers in Taiwan actively promote this message to the public, and as a result of their tireless efforts, the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation was able to create a bone marrow donor database, which later became the largest registered marrow donor database for Chinese ethnicity in the world. Tzu Chi Stem Cell Center in Hualien, is committed to the development of Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) testing technology, medicine and other clinical research.
Environmental Protection
Tzu Chi volunteers around the world actively promote recycling to the community, and set an example for others by taking action to conserve resources and reduce carbon footprints. They also encourage and guide residents in their communities to adopt eco-friendly habits and practices in their daily lives to protect the environment. In addition, Tzu Chi actively promotes a vegetarian diet and promotes a simpler and more environmentally friendly lifestyle, which can help reduce global warming.
Community Volunteering
By building a network of volunteers in each community, Tzu Chi hopes to establish a volunteer and assistance system that is spread across various communities. Through this interaction, it is also hoped that people in the environment can pay attention to each other, practice social life and be good neighbors. In this way, not only can those without relatives be taken care of, but volunteers can also mobilize quickly to provide assistance to those in need in times of emergency, creating a community filled with warmth and love.
Tzu Chi's Flashback Videos 2020
With one heart, Tzu Chi volunteers selflessly continue to reach out to those who are suffering, taking every opportunity to serve those in need. Although human life span is limited, love knows no bounds. We would like to share with you the video, 2020 Tzu Chi Flashback, and invite you to join us in helping those who are suffering.
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