A person's life is priceless, whereas illness is the most unbearable suffering for anyone. In light of the extreme scarcity of medical facilities in eastern Taiwan in the 1970s, I saw an urgent need for a well-equipped and well-staffed hospital. Granted, building a hospital was a tall order. However, I firmly believed that a large group of loving, like-minded people, each chipping in what he or she could, would be able to carry that weight and bring a caring and life-saving hospital into being.

I am grateful to the numerous generous people who joined forces in the pursuit of that shared goal over 20 years ago. Their devotion was built on their love, trust, and support for me. Not a single one of them questioned the feasibility of building a hospital that would require so much money.

At times, they might have been daunted by the lofty undertaking, but they never lost faith and confidence in me. They accompanied me--climbing mountains and wading across streams--to scout an area for a construction site. They worked and labored to the extent of blistering their hands in order to save every penny and nickel for the cause of building the hospital.

The members of the hospital Planning and Construction Committee gave their hearts, too, in providing their respective expert insights in medicine, engineering, etc., to guide the construction. Knowing that there would initially be few medical professionals who would be willing to relocate and work in Hualien, many still rolled up their sleeves to work toward bringing the hospital into being.

"Belief is the source of the Right Path and mother of all merits." Their belief in me helped sustain everyone, including me myself, to continue working tirelessly together. The hospital can serve and save many lives now. I can never adequately express my gratitude to those who have placed their trust in me.　

Patients are entitled to the same medical services even if they live in remote areas. The tragedy of going without medical treatment due to a lack of money should never happen again.　

I came to Hualien over four decades ago. What made the city an attractive, scenic resort--the open seas, the blue skies, and the breathtaking marble mountains--also made it inaccessible from western Taiwan, where the majority of the island's population lived. All three routes that connected eastern and western Taiwan were long, narrow, treacherous roads carved out of the mountains. It used to take eight hours to drive from Hualien to Taipei, with stretches of road limited to one-way traffic. In addition, the continuous exodus of young people for work or schooling made the aging of the local population particularly acute.

In 1966, I founded the Buddhist Tzu Chi Merit Association to engage in charitable work. Facing people at the bottom rung of the social ladder, I saw and felt the poverty and illness and the concomitant pain and agony of people living in eastern Taiwan, whose health needs were direly under-served due to the severe scarcity of medical care.

Their illnesses bankrupted their finances. A multitude of educational and social problems ensued. Poverty resulted in more illness, which in turn caused more poverty. This vicious circle, in my opinion, could only be broken by making medical care more widely accessible.

In 1972 in Hualien, Tzu Chi launched its first free clinic from the home of Mrs. Huang Ah-nai (黃阿奶), the mother of De Tzu (德慈), my first disciple. The first physician to join the effort was pediatrician Zhang Cheng-wen (張澄溫) of Taiwan Provincial Hualien Hospital, which was at that time small and inadequately equipped. Many professionals followed suit in the free clinics, which were held twice per week. All participants, whether physicians, nurses, or pharmacists, were volunteers.

Back then, poverty pervaded Taiwan. Many patients would rather save money than see a doctor. Little did they know that what they did not pay with money, they paid with their lives. The money they saved would be spent for their funerals. Such destitution-induced tragedies abounded.

With this societal backdrop, no sooner had we opened the free clinics than penurious patients--lonely, hunch-backed, elderly people walking with canes, and bread earners afflicted by budget-busting diseases--flocked into these cramped quarters. We heard their morbid stories where hardships seemed to be the only common thread.

Concerned that the sheer volume of patients might buckle the free clinic initiative, some suggested that we verify each patient's poverty status to make sure that it had indeed been certified by the government.

To that suggestion I replied that the free clinics were set up to help the sick so that they would not fall into the trap of illness and poverty. I hoped that all people could have their minor illnesses treated and cured in time so that they would not slip into major complications, which would then sink their finances into a bottomless pit. As the finances went, so did the livelihood of the patient's household. Therefore, we should treat every patient who came to the clinics, whether they were really poor or not.

I am grateful to those volunteers who pitched in to help out. They not only staffed the free clinics, but also took their services to needy communities located in remote areas. On weekends and holidays, volunteers often took a bus to poor villages in rural Hualien County, and even as far south as Taidong County.

No matter where they went, hundreds of patients swarmed in to be treated under the red banner of the Tzu Chi Free Clinic. Reminiscing on those old days always gives me a warm feeling. The free clinics and outreach programs, made possible only with the tender loving care of so many kind doctors and nurses, ushered in a new chapter of the Tzu Chi mission of medical care.　

There is no denying that building a hospital is a long, arduous, and exhausting undertaking. But, if I don't do it, then who else will? Once I set my mind on it, I stop letting hurdles disquiet me.　

The free clinics operated on a shoestring and therefore could only help people with minor or chronic conditions. Out of necessity, the clinics referred more complicated cases to better-equipped hospitals in Taipei.

It was a major undertaking for a family member to escort a patient from Hualien to Taipei, and who could then take care of small children or the elderly left behind at home? Oftentimes, after the long and tiring journey, hospital beds were not immediately available even if the patient's hospitalization had been requested by a physician. It became the responsibility of Tzu Chi volunteers to tackle those problems.

Distance posed yet another difficulty, especially for destitute patients who lived in remote areas where roadways were primitive and treacherous. Many illnesses that started out as critical but manageable medical conditions became untreatable or fatal on arrival as precious time was wasted on transportation.

Back then, most hospitals in Taiwan demanded a security deposit before they would admit a patient. No deposit, no treatment. This disheartening rule delayed many time-sensitive treatments. Many lives were lost to this unnecessary hindrance.

When the population reached a certain level, the government would step in and build a hospital. With a net population outflow from Hualien, however, it did not seem realistic to hope that the government might build a hospital here. This same factor would also discourage private-sector investment due to a low, or even negative, expected rate of return.

All this only strengthened my resolve to do something to ease the suffering of the residents of eastern Taiwan. Therefore, the thought that Tzu Chi could build a hospital started to ferment in my mind in 1979. I hoped to build in Hualien a well-equipped general hospital so that local residents could receive timely treatments for their illnesses, even minor ones.

My mentor, Master Yin Shun, came to the Abode of Still Thoughts for a brief stay in May 1979. I reported to him about my plan for building a hospital. Out of concern for me, he asked, "Will you be able to shoulder this daunting task, given your own feeble health?"

My health was indeed in bad shape. Several times in my sleep, I had passed out due to angina pectoris. However, it was precisely because of my decrepit health that a sense of extreme urgency prodded me to get started. If I didn't do it today, would I have a chance to do it tomorrow?

It was a monumental undertaking to build a hospital. "Can a nun pull it off?" was a prevailing and pervading doubt among many. However, I only asked myself, "If I don't take on this challenge, who else will?"　

I trusted my selflessness, and I trusted my belief that all people had love. I firmly believe that, hidden in people's hearts, there is love and compassion waiting to be activated and revealed.　

Looking back, that ambitious commitment to building a hospital did seem too big for me to shoulder. Still, my followers and I were able to plug away at it and accomplish many good things with confidence.

On May 15, 1979, in a meeting of all the Tzu Chi commissioners in Taiwan, I broached the idea of building a hospital. It would be built in Hualien and could cost about NT$80 million (US$2 million). Everybody gasped and shouted, "But, how can it be done?"

At the time, the foundation had a total of 200 Tzu Chi commissioners and about 30,000 members in Taiwan. The estimated price tag did seem out of reach for such a small charity foundation. But my followers took my commitment as their own, and, though all were concerned that I might be overburdened, no one objected to my idea.

I cheered them on: "The Buddha told us, 'You shall not be poor if you come into my house, and you shall not be rich if you leave.' Keep in mind that our intent is to help the people in resource-poor eastern Taiwan. Stay true to this selfless commitment, and we will be able to activate and guide the love and compassion hidden in people's hearts to achieve our goal."

It was with my belief in my own selflessness and my belief that all people had love that I took the first bold step toward building the hospital.

Soon after that, I called on Dr. Wang Yu-ming (王欲明), vice-CEO of Cathay General Hospital in Taipei, for his advice. He told me that a 600-bed hospital as I described could easily cost about NT$800 million (US$20 million).

That--a whopping ten times my original estimate--gave me a sinking feeling. However, I immediately told myself that to save lives, the hospital needed to be built. I therefore stopped focusing on difficulties. I thought that as long as Tzu Chi could abide by the rules of sincerity, integrity, trust, and honesty, we would be able to recruit many more like-minded people to cultivate the field of blessings.　

The task of saving lives can't stop. We should find and open up the fountains of love hidden in people's hearts. The love can then be given perpetually to all those in need of help.　

One day in the fund-raising phase of the project, Professor Chen Can-hui (陳燦暉), the husband of Tzu Chi commissioner Chen Jin-hua (陳錦花) of Taipei, came with a group of Rotary Club members to visit the Abode of Still Thoughts. Though Professor Chen is a devout Catholic, he is still very supportive of his wife's participation in Tzu Chi activities. He himself also donates to the foundation on a regular basis.

Professor Chen knew many people in the medical community, and he understood how daunting it could be to build and run a successful hospital. He told me that eastern Taiwan really needed a hospital and that he fully understood my determination to build one. However, he wanted to be very frank with me about how challenging this task could be.

"It takes a lot of work to build a hospital, and you are feeble and not at all sophisticated. I'm concerned that you might not be able to bear the brunt of it. You are Tzu Chi's spiritual leader. The livelihoods of numerous families in Taiwan depend on Tzu Chi's help. You really need to take good care of yourself so you can live and work longer and help many more people in the future."

I appreciated his candor, concern, and advice. I told him that life was transitory and impermanent. The Buddha lived to the age of 80, and I had passed his halfway mark. There would be a day when I would no longer be around. The work of saving lives could not halt simply because of my absence. Donations were certainly important to Tzu Chi's missions, but we could not rely wholly on them. It was vitally important to establish a "fountain" mechanism in order to sustain our perpetual and successful operations.

I used the analogy of a "fountain" to illustrate my idea. It takes a tremendous amount of human power and materials such as sand, bricks, and steel to build a huge water reservoir. However, the reservoir, no matter how huge it is, will dry up if no water continuously flows into it.

The Tzu Chi commissioners, who help me solicit donations, act to infuse new water into the reservoir. But will they continue to do so when I am gone? Many poor families rely on Tzu Chi's financial support to sustain their lives. This important work cannot stop simply because there are no more donations. I want to combine the resources and strength of all those people together to find a fountain or dig a well rather than rely solely on a water reservoir which might dry up one day. The hospital is just like that fountain, out of which pure water continuously gushes to refresh people掇 bodies and souls.

I told Professor Chen that assuming I still had 30 years to live, I would rather shorten my life to five years. I hoped I could establish a hospital within five years so that our mission of saving lives could then be carried out forever. I believed that our selfless giving would bring out people's love and desire to do good deeds. This goodwill would in turn help us build the hospital and attract medical personnel to eastern Taiwan to provide badly needed care.

After this conversation, Professor Chen donated some gold to Tzu Chi as a token of his support. In fact, it was the first donation that we received for the project.　

We consider not its economic value, but its value for saving lives. All volunteers help build the brick-and-mortar hospital with their loving hearts.

Building a hospital in eastern Taiwan in the 1970s did not make any economic sense whatsoever. However, its value for saving lives, not its economic value, was our major concern. I was determined to build in eastern Taiwan a high-class hospital where the medical professionals cared about the patients and all the staff and volunteers joined forces to save lives.

Knowing so many people who poured out their hearts for this project, I can't even begin to describe how hard the journey was and how helpful those people were. Some of them worked to raise funds, others sought to acquire land for the buildings. They worked every day in the face of countless obstacles. Predictably, they also came across many people who chipped in and offered the encouragement and assistance that we needed so badly.

On May 23, 1981, the Taiwan provincial government presented Tzu Chi an award for its exemplary charitable work. Lin Yang-gang (林洋港), then governor of Taiwan before being appointed minister of the interior, publicly announced that the government would make a tract of land available to Tzu Chi for the hospital.

This tract of eight hectares was ideally located in Hualien City, but it still presented many challenges. About one-tenth of the land was privately owned by about 40 people, and some of them did not want to sell. Some leaseholders of the publicly-owned portion of the land did not want to give up their leases. We conducted numerous negotiations, all with good faith and sincerity. Finally in January 1983--four long, hard, and eventful years after we started the process for acquiring the construction site--we secured this tract of land.

Many Tzu Chi volunteers and commissioners couldn't wait to start working. People from all walks of life came to help clear the land. There were housewives with kids in tow, spouses of successful entrepreneurs, nurses, teachers, civil servants, and even patients receiving physical therapy with restraining collars still around their necks. They all came with whatever tools they could gather from home. One Mr. Luo even drove his backhoe to the site.

The volunteers cleared out a tract that was once densely covered with trees, overgrowth, and tall grass. In two days, they finished the land-leveling work--something that would have cost NT$1 million (US$30,000) if done professionally--without costing Tzu Chi a penny.

Whenever I am swamped with problems, I try to cheer myself up by thinking of the phrase, "Just do it!"　

The ground was broken for Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital on February 5, 1983, only days after the land acquisition. People attended the ceremony in a light drizzle. The dirt ground was covered with scattered rice husks. Bathed in the husks' golden hue, the ceremony venue smacked of the depiction that we often read in many Buddhist sutras of the Amitabha Buddha's Pure Land: the ground is paved with gold.

As I watched the VIPs pushing in their shovels to break the ground, I felt a gust of ambivalence. It was wonderful to have acquired the land. After three years of intensive fundraising, however, it was disheartening to see that the NT$30 million that had been raised still fell far short of the needed NT$800 million.

Once the construction got underway, we would need to pay workers twice a month. With the construction looming on the one hand and insufficient money on the other, I felt like a short candle burning on both ends.

Soon after the groundbreaking ceremony, the Defense Ministry blocked the construction of the hospital on the grounds that the tract had been designated for military use. This news hit me like a thunderbolt. I was totally devastated. I could not eat or sleep. I even thought about returning all the donations because the project could no longer proceed.

Minister Lin Yang-gang called me to offer solace. "The bodhisattva does not like this tract of land and is testing your mettle by taking the land back. Show your determination to the bodhisattva. I am sure you will be blessed with a better plot of land." The minister kindly called Defense Minister Song Zhang-zhi (宋長志), and asked him to find a suitable replacement parcel for me.

Those were truly dark days with suffering beyond description. I could not bear to break the bad news to my supporters. Outwardly I only showed confidence and smiles, but inwardly I swallowed the hurt and worries.

Through the help of Minister Lin and Governor Li Deng-hui (李登輝) and others, Tzu Chi eventually obtained a plot from the farm of the Taiwan Provincial Hualien Agricultural School. The hospital finally had land to build on.

On April 24, 1984, ground for Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital was broken for the second time. This extra journey to obtain the land set the construction schedule back by more than a year, during which time we saw a silver lining to the delay: many more people got to know about the Tzu Chi hospital, more funds had been raised, and many touching stories in connection with the hospital had unfolded.　

A field of blessings awaits cultivation by all benevolent people in the world; ten thousand lotus hearts of compassion create the world of Tzu Chi. An ocean that collects drops of water from various sources will never dry up.　

A successful businessman in Japan wanted to pay back his "second hometown," Hualien, where he had been born. Being a Buddhist, he asked a local architect to relay his willingness to donate US$200 million to Tzu Chi for the construction of the hospital.

Many Tzu Chi commissioners were overjoyed. However, I told them that, while I admired the donor's kindness and appreciated his benevolence, I had compelling reasons to decline his offer. They were all shocked. "But, Master, that's US$200 million, which equals NT$8 billion!"

I told them that the total cost of the hospital was estimated at US$20 million. If we were to accept this donation of US$200 million, then all they and I had left to do was sit here and wait for the hospital to be built. This meant that only the Japanese donor would have the chance to cultivate his blessings.

This would have deprived everybody else's opportunity to open up their hearts to love and to do good deeds. What I hoped was for each and every one of us to have an opportunity to be beneficent and to cultivate his or her own blessings. Therefore, I would rather have a broad-based campaign of small donations of $5 or $10. If many people chipped in according to their ability, the accumulated small donations would be just as adequate for building the whole hospital.

I hoped to build a hospital which people in Taiwan would care about. It would be a hospital that was not stiff and cold, but rather a hospital that was enthusiastic, caring, and human-oriented. What better way to achieve this goal than to have many people work hard at building it?

This is what I meant by "A field of blessings awaits cultivation by all benevolent people in the world; ten thousand lotus hearts of compassion create the world of Tzu Chi." If you put in a speck of sand, then the hospital has your sand. If you leave a drop of water, then Tzu Chi's sea of merits will have your water. Each individual drop may not amount to much. However, if it falls into an ocean, that same drop of water will never dry up!　

Many drops of water flowing together make a river, and many grains of sand piled up will make a pagoda. All this comes from the sincere, loving hearts in each one of us.

Every grain of sand, every brick in the Hualien hospital represents immeasurable Great Love. It was built with the love and sweat of numerous ordinary but extraordinarily loving people.

I am most grateful to the commissioners who donated their money and time to spread the Tzu Chi ideals throughout society. Many ordinary people joined the cause. They were not well-to-do by any means. Some of them just do menial work for a living. They were just scraping up money to help.

Many worked second jobs and donated the additional pay to the hospital construction fund. They were street vendors, hairdressers, housewives, domestic helpers, street cleaners, dishwashers, and laborers. Many lepers at the Lesheng Sanatorium (樂生療養院) donated their life savings to the cause. Some donations were in the form of coins saved since the Japanese occupation of Taiwan more than 50 years before. They were ordinary folks with the most extraordinary capacity for love. They were not rich monetarily, but they all led a spiritually rich life. There were also donors who had command over many more resources. I am grateful to them for their more substantial, but equally loving, donations.

Even the contractors did their best to shorten the construction time since they were fully aware that the sooner the hospital was completed, the sooner it could start saving people's lives. The contractors kept close tabs on quality, budget, and schedules. They saved nine months out of a three-year construction period, and spent only US$14 million, or 70 percent of the original US$20 million budget. They had assured me that they would get the most bang for the buck while spending money for the project, and they came through with flying colors. I am grateful to all of these folks. They are all bodhisattvas.

Finally, the hospital opened its doors to patients on August 17, 1986. It was a remarkable event in the history of Buddhism. With the love of so many who had helped build it, the hospital will serve the needs of patients for eons.　

Only when doctors treat all patients with love and respect can they be called conscientious, life-saving doctors.　

Building the hospital was no easy task, but recruiting medical professionals turned out to be even harder. Many people asked me how we could attract doctors to work at our hospital. If no doctors were willing to come to work in eastern Taiwan, how could I face all those who had contributed so much to make the construction of the hospital possible? Moreover, I did not want just any doctors to come and serve. I wanted to recruit conscientious doctors who would not only care for patients' illnesses, but also for their bodies, minds, and souls.

The construction of the hospital was completed nine months ahead of schedule, making recruitment even more urgent. The nervousness that we might not get enough doctors before the hospital opening was so indescribably overwhelming. Hualien was seen as a remote and backward city, even though there were railways running between it and Taipei. Recruiting doctors was not an easy task to do. Therefore, we begged National Taiwan University Hospital, the best hospital in Taiwan, to dispatch some of its doctors to us.

Governor Lin Yang-kang reassured me that the government would give us support since this hospital was built for people in eastern Taiwan. Thanks to his support and negotiations, the superintendent and department chiefs of National Taiwan University Hospital all promised to help out. Additionally, Superintendent Chen Jun-ming (陳炯明), Vice Superintendent Wang Yu-ming of Cathay General Hospital, and many others helped me with hospital planning. From then on, many doctors from big hospitals in Taipei came to serve in our hospital in Hualien, enabling our mission of saving lives to be realized soon after the grand opening.

Dr. Du Shi-mian (杜詩綿), then vice superintendent of National Taiwan University Hospital, was a person who tried to live his life to the fullest. Even after he was diagnosed with liver cancer and told that he had just three more months to live, he still lived and worked optimistically. I decided to ask him to be the superintendent of our Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital.

Before he accepted my offer, he asked me, "Master, don't you know that there's a ticking time bomb inside me?" I replied, "My heart disease is also a time bomb that could blow at any time. So we must cherish time all the more. If we have one more day to live, we should use it to the fullest."

He finally accepted my offer and miraculously headed Tzu Chi Hospital for six years, much longer than the predicted three months.

The first two superintendents of Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Dr. Du Shi-mian and Dr. Tseng Wen-bing (曾文賓), joined the hospital planning committee and started their work by reviewing the first blueprints of the hospital. They also helped me find doctors who were willing to serve people in eastern Taiwan. I encountered many challenges and worries during that period of time. Fortunately, these kind people stayed beside me, and gave me confidence, strength, and courage.

Dr. Tseng Wen-bing, the second superintendent, is 83 years old now. Even after he passed on the baton, he continued to serve at the Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital cardiology department. He always personally takes every patient's blood pressure and makes patients feel at ease. Because he is so sincere and kind, he is much trusted by patients. Dr. Chen Ying-he (陳英和), our third superintendent, has given me much strength as well. Dr. Chen was the first doctor to be transferred to Tzu Chi from National Taiwan University Hospital. He cares so much about patients. I have great confidence in him.

Making a lifetime vow is no easy task to do, and neither is starting an establishment from the very beginning. How hard and rare it is to find a person who lives up to his vow and perseveres in his endeavor. How fortunate we are to have so many good doctors who have persisted in serving the patients in our hospitals for such a long time. I believe that if we have more such good doctors, the Tzu Chi hospitals will be able to safeguard lives for hundreds of years to come.　

We are healing the body and the mind simultaneously--treating illnesses with medicine and healing psychological problems with love.　

I am not an entrepreneur; I am a religious practitioner. Respecting and loving all lives is my religious belief. My aim in building hospitals is not to make profits, but to save lives. Nothing in the world is more valuable than life itself. Only when people have access to good medical care can their lives be protected. To lessen patients' pain, a fully equipped medical establishment is a must.

Tzu Chi hospitals aim to cure patients' physical illnesses and also their mental suffering. Physical illnesses can be cured with medicine, while psychological and mental problems must be healed with love.

All Tzu Chi hospitals are built with the conviction of "work for Buddhism and all living beings." We respect the right of all people to live, and we give all lives the respect they deserve. Therefore, the Tzu Chi hospitals put much emphasis on social services. For example, we have free clinics, community medical services, medical aid to low-income families, and counseling for patients and their families. I hope that in this way, we are putting the Buddhist principles of kindness, compassion, joy, and unselfish giving into practice.

All five of our hospitals were built with donations. For many years, our commissioners had knocked on many doors and approached different people to solicit contributions. After the hospitals were erected, the commissioners did not stop and rest. They volunteered in hospitals to do whatever they could to support both the medical staff and the patients. With their gentle words and sincere attitude, they are the bridge between the medical staff and the patients.

When patients go to the hospital, they often feel uneasy because they might not know where to register, see doctors, or receive medication. Hospital volunteers act as guides by helping patients get directions and taking them where they need to go.

I remember shortly after Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital was opened, I met a patient paralyzed from the neck down. When this young man was hospitalized, he was in a very bad mood. Our medical staff took good care of him, volunteers kept him company, and I often visited him to give him encouragement. He finally regained his spirit and optimism, and worked hard at his rehabilitation. In order to give support to people with spinal injuries, he even formed the Tzu Chi Hospital Spinal Injury Patient Association.

One day, I met him in the hospital. He told me that he was there to make a donation. "I remember that you, Master, said that every handful of sand makes a wall. So I come here every month to make a donation. It might only be worth a handful of sand, but I know I am in fact participating in the construction of the hospital."

Although he has become physically challenged, he is spiritually happy with the medical staff and volunteers' encouragement. He also blessed himself to have the ability to help others. Where did his willpower come from? It came from Great Love that was inspired by Tzu Chi volunteers.　

Pure love is like the most precious stone that we can find in a quarry; it is the momentum that prompts us to move forward on a rugged road.

I made up my mind to build Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital solely because of one simple intention--to save lives and to uplift the quality of medical services in eastern Taiwan. During the whole process, I encountered numerous difficulties and challenges. But at the toughest moment, I could also sense the warmth of human nature, and I discovered that in every person there lies purest love. People's pure love is like the most precious stone that we can find in a quarry, and it is the momentum that prompts us to stride forward regardless of how rugged and bumpy the road may be.

The construction site where Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital was built was originally a large patch of grassland used for cows and fishponds. Today the site has been transformed into a medical center. Over the last two decades, many people have put their hearts and minds to continuously improving medical skills and service quality. My heart is always full of joy and gratitude whenever I learn that our hospital has brought a person back from the verge of death.

When the hospital was opened 20 years ago, we only had 10 doctors and 80 nurses. Today we have hospitals in Hualien, Yuli, Guanshan, Dalin, and Xindian. Altogether we have 3,000 medical professionals. Every day we serve 8,000 outpatients and 2,000 inpatients. Every minute, every second, our doctors, nurses, and volunteers are rescuing lives.

Moreover, I am happy and grateful to see that our medical professionals are working with the spirit of volunteers. On their days off, they go to remote mountain areas and even travel abroad to conduct free clinics in medically neglected villages. When it is difficult for patients to travel, our doctors even make home visits to provide them with follow-up treatment. They call on people in the darkest corners of society.

Considering how our hospitals can save lives, I feel it was not a bad idea for us to audaciously do something which was beyond our capability and to undertake the task of building our first hospital.

In the first decade of Tzu Chi's medical mission, we worked hard to make Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital a human-oriented hospital. In the second decade, we started establishing more hospitals to make medical care accessible to many more people. I hope in the third decade, our hospitals can work together with our medical schools to nurture conscientious and skilled doctors. Also, medical professionals must not just be professionals; they must embody our spirit of humanitarianism, foster harmonious doctor-patient relations with love, and become good examples of conscientious doctors for other physicians to follow. This is the goal we need to realize in the future.

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Steps to Building a Hospital

September 10, 1972
Establishment of the free clinic

At first, the clinic was only open one day a week. But many patients couldn't wait a whole week between visits. Therefore, it became two days per week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Some doctors even traveled with the Master and commissioners throughout Taiwan to visit those who were receiving assistance from Tzu Chi and to offer free clinical services.

(Photo by Lin Ying-ju)

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May 10, 1979
Planning the Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital

Master Cheng Yen announced her plans for building the hospital in a meeting of Tzu Chi commissioners. Prior to this announcement, the Master used to make semi-annual visits to the needy in western Taiwan who were receiving Tzu Chi's long-term assistance. After the announcement, the Master made monthly trips out of Hualien to promote the hospital. This photograph was taken at the home of a Tzu Chi commissioner during one such trip in 1982.

　
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October 1980
Searching for a building site

The first hurdle to be surmounted was securing a plot of land for the buildings, which remained tantalizingly elusive even after much hard work over a long period of time. Officials in the central government, like Taiwan Governor Lin Yang-gang (left photo, facing the Master) and President Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國, right photo) came to visit the Master. Their substantive help eventually brought the land acquisition task to a happy conclusion.

　
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September 27, 1981
Appointing the Planning and
construction committee

The committee (upper photo), which included specialists in medicine, Buddhism, and architecture, met more than 200 times from its inception until July 28, 1984. Their wise guidance led to the successful completion of the construction ahead of schedule and under budget.

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April 29, 1982
Evaluating architectural designs and proposals

At the same time that Tzu Chi was searching for land, the foundation was also searching for a design for the hospital. On October 15, 1981, the steering committee issued a request for proposals for the design. Of the 13 proposals received, three remained in the running after the first cut.　

After much scrutiny, the proposal from architect Xu Chang-ji (bottom, second from left at a 1986 steering committee meeting) eventually got the nod. Xu’s idea that he would "build the hospital as if it were his child" resonated with the Master.

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February 5, 1983
The first groundbreaking

After much effort and many good-faith negotiations, Tzu Chi finally obtained a plot of land for building the hospital. Supporters rushed in to level and prepare the land for construction. Despite a light drizzle, many could not hold back their joy and smiles during the groundbreaking ceremony.

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April 4, 1984
The second groundbreaking

Soon after the first groundbreaking, the defense ministry revoked Tzu Chi's license to build on the first parcel. After another six months of searching and more negotiations, another plot was secured (below left). Volunteers filled the ponds and prepared the land for the second groundbreaking by Interior Minister Lin Yang-kang (right photo, at left) and Dharma Master Yin Shun.

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August 1, 1986
Recruiting loving medical personnel

In early 1985, the hospital started its recruiting campaign, but it was not well received. Physicians were reluctant to join the hospital mainly because of its location in remote, undeveloped eastern Taiwan. The lack of interest was made worse by a lack of confidence in the new hospital's ability to stay in business and a misplaced concern that a Buddhist hospital might require its staff to become monks or nuns.　

To ensure a steady supply of qualified physicians, the steering committee worked toward a cooperation agreement between the medical school at National Taiwan University and the hospital. On August 25, 1985, Tzu Chi invited the dean and the department heads of the medical school to visit the hospital and learn about its mission. On August 1, 1986, the education ministry approved the cooperation agreement. On December 1, 1986, the hospital signed a three-year administrative cooperation agreement with Cathay Hospital.

　
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August 17, 1986
Official opening

The hospital was officially opened with thousands of people attending the ceremony. The Master remarked that the hospital was really a combination of commitment and strength. "Every grain of sand and every brick in the hospital was the result of unlimited Great Love!"　

On the day before the opening, the Master presented the first batch of letters appointing Honorary Board members as a token of her appreciation to kind-hearted people who had donated at least NT$1 million (US$25,000) to help build the hospital. Master Xiu Guan donated one million dollars she had inherited from her parents to help build the hospital. This was a great encouragement to Master Cheng Yen. Master Xiu Guan was made the first Honorary Board member.