Dharma Master Cheng Yen was born in 1937 in a small town in Taichung County, Taiwan. When she was twenty-three years old, she left home to become a Buddhist nun, and was instructed by her mentor, Venerable Master Yin Shun, to work “for Buddha’s teachings, for sentient beings.” In 1966, she founded a charity, which later turned into the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, to “help the poor and educate the rich”—to give material aid to the needy and inspire love and humanity in both givers and recipients.

 

In recent years, Master Cheng Yen’s contributions have been increasingly recognized by the global community. In 2011, she was recognized with the Roosevelt Institute’s FDR Distinguished Public Service Award and was named to the 2011 TIME 100 list of the world’s most influential people. In 2014, she was presented with Rotary International’s Award of Honor in recognition of her humanitarian efforts and contributions to world peace.

This is another book from the series, “Master Cheng Yen Tells Stories.” It contains three short stories: “The Merchants and the Guide,” “The Father-and-Son Magicians,” and “The Greatest Wealth.” Involving diverse characters and different cultures. These stories explain profound Buddhist teachings in succinct and easy-to-

understand language. Some of these teachings include the following:

 

1.The way to wisdom is to abandon evil and do good. It is when we help others that we purify our hearts and minds.

2.Nothing in the mundane world exists forever. Hence, it is imperative that we set aside our egos and play our roles dutifully and t the best of our abilities.

3.The greatest wealth one can leave for others is to give without expecting anything in return. We are to encourage each of our children to be a blessing, strive for improvement, and take joy in helping others.

 

Filled with interesting and colorful illustrations that appeal to children, the stories seek to inculcate wholesome values and virtues in the young. With easy-to- understand bilingual text (Traditional Chinese with pinyin and English), this book is ideal for non-Chinese readers to learn Chinese and Chinese readers to learn English.

A scholar left his hometown to teach in a faraway city. After many years, he set off for home in the hopes of using his hard-earned money to provide a good life for his family. On his way home, the scholar met a woman crying sadly, “My husband is very ill, but I have no money for a doctor.” The scholar could not bear to hear this and wanted to help her. But how would he explain to his family that he had given away his money?

證嚴上人於1937年出生於臺灣省臺中縣清水鎮。在1963年，證嚴上人依印順導師為親教師出家，師訓「為佛教，為眾生」，證嚴上人奉持不懈。1966年，證嚴上人創辦佛教克難慈濟功德會。慈濟世界在法師慈悲呵護下，數十年來，一步一步堅實茁壯，逐步發展為慈善、醫療、教育、人文四大志業，以及國際賑災、環保、社區志工、骨髓捐贈八大腳印，透過親手拔除眾生的苦痛，以善與大愛膚慰人間。

 

近年來，證嚴上人的貢獻獲得國際間一致推崇；於2011年獲美國羅斯福基金會頒贈「傑出公共服務獎」， 並被《時代雜誌》列為2011年全球百大最具影響力人物。2014年獲頒國際扶輪社「最高榮譽獎」，肯定證嚴上人對於人道主義精神與世界和平的貢獻。