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Concept
Tzu Chi
Summary
The Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation (), is a Taiwanese international humanitarian and nongovernmental organization. Its work includes medical aid, disaster relief, and environmental work.
The foundation was founded in 1966 by Cheng Yen, a Taiwanese Buddhist nun, as a Buddhist humanitarian organization, initially funded by housewives. Tzu Chi expanded its services over time, opening a free medical clinic in 1972 and building its first hospital in 1986. The organization underwent rapid expansion in the late 1980s and early 1990s, coinciding with a surge of popularity in Humanistic Buddhism in Taiwan. In the 1990s, the organization started major international disaster relief efforts, including the construction of new homes, schools, hospitals, and places of worship.
Today, Tzu Chi has a policy of being secular in its humanitarian work, with some Buddhist teachings being integrated into its practices for volunteers. Cheng Yen is also considered to be one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Taiwanese Buddhism, with Tzu Chi itself being considered to be one of the "Four Great Mountains", of Taiwanese Buddhist organizations, along with Fo Guang Shan, Dharma Drum Mountain, and Chung Tai Shan.
Tzu Chi has a special consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It is also a co-chair of the UN Inter-agency Task Force on Religion and Sustainable Development Multi-Faith Advisory Council for 2022-2023. The foundation has several sub-organizations, such as the Tzu Chi International Medical Association and the Tzu Chi Collegiate Youth Association (Tzu Ching). Tzu Chi volunteers and relief workers are known for their blue and white uniforms, which are known as "blue sky, white clouds" in . As of 2013, the organization had over 10 million members worldwide across 47 countries.
The Tzu Chi Foundation was founded as a charity organization with Buddhist origins by the Buddhist nun Cheng Yen in 1966 in Hualien, Taiwan after Cheng Yen saw the humanitarian work of Christian missionaries in Taiwan in the post World War II period.
Official source
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