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 pe

Dharma Master Cheng Yen’s teachings in the Three Ways to the Pure Land: The Three Essential Principles for Cultivating Pure Causes are based on the “three blessings from pure actions” described in the Amitayurdhyana Sutra (Sutra of Contemplation of the Buddha of Infinite Life).

 

In the traditional interpretation, cultivating “pure causes” will allow us to be reborn in the Pure Land of Amita Buddha, the Buddha of Infinite Life and Infinite Light. However, the way that Master Cheng Yen teaches about pure causes is different – her focus is on how we can work to establish a pure land right here and now, in this world, in this life.

 

The teachings presented in this book can be interpreted as a graduated course of action, allowing us to first perfect our human nature and cultivate blessings through good deeds, then, to attain liberation from the suffering of birth and death, and finally, to reach the state of Buddhahood through walking the Bodhisattva-path. Still, Master Cheng Yen emphasizes that every stage in this practice is a step on the Bodhisattva-path, creating the positive affinities that will allow us to save and transform others and at the same time eliminate our afflictions and negative habitual tendencies. In this way, we can cultivate pure causes, perfect our character, and manifest our full potential as human beings.

 

In this new edition of the book, the cover and inner design, the translation, contents and organization have been updated to make it more accessible for an audience unfamiliar with Buddhist teachings. Therefore, we have avoided the use of specialized Buddhist terms as much as possible, and have added footnotes to explain specific terms that might be unknown to the reader.

證嚴上人於一九三七年，出生於臺灣省臺中縣清水鎮。在一九六三年，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。一九六六年，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，一步一步地堅實茁壯；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。

《淨因三要》一語係出自《佛說觀無量壽佛經》，意含「修淨因」得生西方極樂國土。然而，證嚴上人強調的「修淨因」是於此生、此地、此時，當下即可創造淨土。

 

此書對於如何修正習氣，透過行善、造福，乃至於解脫生死；藉由行菩薩道達到成佛的境地等，皆有次第的闡述。證嚴上人並強調每一個階段的實踐皆是菩薩道的踐履，廣結善緣、度化他人的同時，消除了自我的煩惱與習氣。經由此方法修「清淨因」、美化人格，淋漓盡致地發揮做人的潛能。

 

除了封面及內頁重新設計，為了讓不熟悉佛法的人士易於閱讀，此修訂版在內文的翻譯、目錄，及架構上皆重新編輯。同時盡可能避免使用不易