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`Elle' magazine praises Taiwan's queen of charity

The popular French women's magazine Elle has published a four-page report on Buddhist Master Cheng Yen (証嚴法師) in its April 1 issue, crediting her with building an "empire of charity."

The article says that Master Cheng Yen founded the Buddhist Compassionate Relief Tzu Chi Foundation (慈濟功德會) to supply four major needs -- charity, medicine, education and culture -- at home and abroad.

Under Cheng Yen's leadership, the report says, Tzu Chi has achieved "brilliant accomplishments" that few other organizations can emulate.

The magazine notes that Cheng Yen was nominated in 1996 for the Nobel Peace Prize for her selfless dedication to helping others and for bringing to a troubled world a renewed vision of compassion in action.

In the July 2000 issue of Business Week, Cheng Yen was named as one of the 50 "Stars of Asia," -- leaders at the forefront of change. After 35 years of total devotion to disaster relief and charitable works in Taiwan and dozens of other countries, the report says, Cheng Yen has gained international prominence as the "Mother Teresa of the Buddhist World."

According to the report, Tzu Chi now boasts 4 million members -- about one-fifth of Taiwan's population -- and takes in a large amount of donations annually to finance disaster relief operations throughout the world, as well as building hospitals, colleges and research centers.

Elle reporter Elisabeth Inandiak traveled halfway around the world to interview Cheng Yen in Hualien and wrote that, although the 65-year-old nun weighs only 40kg, she is in high spirits.
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