Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1993

CITATIONS NT$1,170. It was not a lot of money, but words soon spread that a young nun had set out to help the poor and needy o f this world and that she had chose n to do it not by asking for large sums of money and huge donations bu t by asking for a pittance, and a pittance only. The idea that every 50 cents helped soon captured the imagination of Hualien's basket carriers, o r housewives, and with their modest but cumulative donations , the Tz'u-chi Contribution Society cam e into being in 1966. Wi t h the money raised by such humble means, the Society proceeded to help the sick and i n f i rm of the land. In the first year of operation, 31 people received help f r om the Contribution Society but the numbers soon increased by leaps and bounds, so much so that in 1979, the Reverend Cheng-yen believed she needed awhole hospital i f she were to f u l f i l her dream. When she brought up the subject with Dr. Tseng Wen-ping, then deputy director o f the National Taiwan University teaching hospital, Dr. Tseng said to her, 'But you have no idea how difficult it is to build a hospital and how much trouble w i l l follow after it is built!' The Reverend Cheng-yen persisted, however, and i n 1986 ， at a cost of NT$700 million, all donated by the faithful and the caring, the Tz'u-chi Buddhist General Hospital opened its doors to its first patients. The Reverend Cheng- yen now wants to build a university in Hualie n and whil e many woul d want to warn her about the trouble whic h might follow, none would be so foolish as to underrate her chance of success. Mr . Chancellor, in a little over 27 years, the Reverend Cheng-yen's Tz'u-chi Contribution Society has helped over 1.3 million people across si x continents. It is the most respected and trusted charit y in Taiwan with a following of 2.6 million people. But the work o f the Society extends beyond Taiwan to China, Japan, North America, South America, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia and ou r city here, Hong Kong. The massive relief work which the Tz'u-chi Contribution Society undertook in China and Bangladesh when these two countries were ravaged by floods was truly phenomenal. Every year, the organizatio n raises over NT$3 billion and every penny is spent on helping the poor, the needy, the sick and the infirm. The Reverend Cheng-yen lives simply and to this day refuses to eat without firs t having worked. By her example, she has, in the words of an article in the Reader's Digest, 'awakened modem Taiwan to the ancient Buddhist teachings o f compassion and charity lost in the headlong rush to prosperity.' Mr . Chancellor, the work of one person has made an enormous, major differenc e to the worl d we live in. The Reverend Cheng-yen, b y the inspiration of her own efforts and example, has brought to the world j oy, and love, and light, and certitude, and peace, and help for pain. For this and for the humble holiness in her heart, I present Shih Cheng- yen for the award of Doctor of Social Science, honoris causa. 46th Congregation 17