Shi Cheng-Yen 釋證嚴

Ven. Cheng-Yen was born in Ching-Shuei, Taichung in 1937. She is the founder and head of Buddhist Tzu-Chi Gong-De Organization, Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu-Chi Foundation, Buddhism Tzu-Chi General Hospital, and Tzu-Chi Nursing College. 

Special Achievement

Ven. Cheng-Yen established a Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu-Chi Foundation, headquartered at Hualian, Taiwan. The number of Tzu-Chi members has continuously increased to now include over 330,000 people worldwide. Ven. Cheng-Yen has exhibited unordinary courage, determination and confidence, and she has been leading and mobilizing Tzu-Chi members in numerous international relief actions wherever large-scale disasters occurred. With generous donations from Tzu-Chi members and their fund raising drives, their relief actions started in almost every corner of the countryside in Taiwan since 1970. Now, it has extended to mainland China, South America, Southeast Asia and Africa. Tzu-Chi has been helping the poor, the refugees, and disaster victims by providing clothing and medical care based on humanitarian beliefs. Supported by Tzu-Chi members wholeheartedly and Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu-Chi Foundation, Ven. Cheng-Yen built Tzu-Chi Hospital, Tzu-Chi Nursing College and Tzu-Chi Medical School. Her dream to build Tzu-Chi Humanity University is nearly fulfilled. The society in Taiwan and overseas has benefited greatly from Ven. Cheng-Yen's spiritual guidance. She brings about a much more harmonic and caring society to Taiwan and the world and has greatly enriched and transformed the Taiwanese culture and education system.