About the author
Dharma Master Cheng Yen was born in Cingshuei Township, Taichung County, Taiwan in 1937. When she took refuge with Venerable Yin-shun in 1963, he gave her six simple words of instruction, “For Buddha’s teachings, for sentient beings.” In 1966 she established the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation. She continues to tirelessly work to help people realize the Buddha’s compassion and the joy of the Dharma in their lives.
Under Master Cheng Yen’s kind and compassionate leadership, the Tzu Chi Foundation has grown into an international Buddhist charity recognized for its compassionate relief efforts. Following the teachings of the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism and the Jing Si Dharma lineage, the foundation’s four major missions are Charity, Medicine, Education, and Humanistic Culture. These missions, along with International Relief, Environmental Protection, Community Volunteerism, and Bone Marrow Donation, comprise the Eight Great Dharma-footprints. Tzu Chi volunteers work directly with people in need, providing comfort and aid with the spirit of Great Love that transcends boundaries of race, nationality, and religion.
In this book, Dharma Master Cheng Yen’s spiritual teachings are compiled into relatively short English articles for reflection and contemplation. The collection is an eclectic one, based on talks to different audiences and from different sources. While they are loosely grouped into separate topics, each occupying one part of the book, the articles may stand on their own.
Part I offers basic teachings on Buddhism, which can serve as a foundation for understanding the Master’s wider teachings. Part II is about cultivation, or ways we can put the teachings into practice to become a better person. Part III introduces Tzu Chi, its spirit, and how Tzu Chi volunteers learn to be bodhisattvas through Tzu Chi work. Part IV shares the practice of repentance in a series of articles which teach us to look inward to find solutions to the many problems that we see in our world and encounter in life.
In giving teachings, the Master guides people to see the real truths and principles in life, and these are universal to all human beings no matter what country they are from, what religion they practice, and what language they speak.
The teachings have been compiled with care to reflect the Master's style of using simple, easy-to-understand language to help people to "understand the spiritual teachings, take them to heart, and be inspired to practice them in their daily lives"—for this is the Master's heartfelt wish.
