In the early years, Master Cheng Yen visited the poor by herself. Today a good number of followers accompany her on her travels. During the last 30 years, the Master has overcome many difficulties in her work, but she still has the same gray robe and a pair of those sangha shoes.

In order to create a field of blessings for her followers to till, the Master has traveled to every corner of Taiwan. Her followers have been happy to accompany her and learn from her speech and example. Traveling with the Master, they could see many faces of life and learn how the Master shouldered the sufferings of people with the Buddha's wisdom and perseverance. This article gives you some examples of what happened on these travels.

Around the first day of each lunar month, various branches, usually quiet and tranquil, are suddenly stirred up with excitement. At the front gate stand brothers from the Tzu Cheng Faith Corps, holding walkie-talkies and smiling. Lined up on both sides of the entrance are Tzu Chi commissioners in blue dresses. Unable to conceal their excitement, they whisper, "Is the Master here yet?"

Occasionally, a sedan comes up to the front gate and there is some excitement. The commissioners, who again smooth their neat hair in the Tzu Chi style, find that it is only the arrival of a certain member. At the other end of the line, children carefully hold their piggy banks, eager to present their savings to their Master and to get a loving pat on their heads.

Finally, a fleet of vehicles reaches the gate. A door opens and Master Cheng Yen emerges.

This is a familiar scene now.

The Tzu Chi sisters who accompanied the Master on her visits to the poor in the early years know that those travels were closely related to the development of the Tzu Chi organization. With the rapid increase of Tzu Chi members and the establishment of branches one after another, today's travels with the Master are quite different from what they used to be.

The Origin

It would be difficult to find out how followers began to travel with Master Cheng Yen. However, it is certain that although no photographers with their flashing cameras chased after the Master in those years, Tzu Chi's footprints silently spread to all corners of Taiwan.

"One bowl collects rice from a thousand families as a lonely monk travels ten thousand miles." In the beginning, most of the Master's travels were made to visit the poor. She would walk four hours from Hualien to Taitung. On the whole road there were few people, yet the Master walked with firm, steady steps. Tzu Chi itself progressed in the same way.

During this period, Master Cheng Yen was busy visiting the poor and soliciting donations for building a hospital. Wherever she went, there were many touching stories. Unfortunately, they were not recorded. It was not until l982 that Master Te Hsuan, the Master's l2th disciple, began to write down what happened on Master Cheng Yen's travels. It's too bad that there weren't also pictures.

In l987, S.H. Hou, the host of the TV program "Formosa Island" learned about Tzu Chi. "The Master is such a great person," he said. "It would be a pity if there were no one with her to make tapes or other records."

This comment was heard by Sister Tzu Yang, who owned a mass communications company. She found that Master Te Hsuan could hardly keep up with her work of taking both pictures and notes at the same time during Master Cheng Yen's travels. So she and her husband, Brother Huang Chi-yeh, decided to travel with the Master on her monthly trips. To this day, they have never missed a single trip. During the Master's visits, you may see one holding a camera and the other carrying a heavy video camera. They mill around the crowd, looking for better angles to shoot from.

The Food

What is the Tzu Chi culture of "Box Lunch Under the Tree," the secret code of "I Love Tzu Chi," and the origin of "Master Rice"? These are terms derived from the travels with Master Cheng Yen. It is obvious that despite the hardships of accompanying the Master on her trips, there were interesting stories too."

Box Lunch Under the Tree"

The so-called "Box Lunch Culture" reveals the thoughtfulness of the Master. She held that the main purpose of meals was only to relieve hunger, so she urged people to carry box lunches with them. It was both convenient and environmentally friendly.

In the early years, eating with the Master was not as comfortable as today. Oftentimes, when everyone had finished a meal, their legs would be covered with mosquito bites.

Traveling from north to south took a long time. The group had to take breaks for meals at gas stations or rest stops. When eating at these places, there was sometimes a heavy smell of meat. In addition, people would recognize the Master and ask her to pose with them for pictures. Therefore, everyone decided to find a cool place under a tree or a nice scenic spot to eat their lunches together. "Box Lunch Under the Tree," convenient and practical, thus became part of Tzu Chi culture."

"I Love Tzu Chi"

Traveling with the Master was hectic, but it also had its relaxed, humorous side. Warm-hearted members at various places on the road south would thoughtfully prepare drinks and snacks for the group. Especially at the Pingtung branch, before going to bed, the resident nun would prepare some corn, sweet potatoes or mangoes as snacks for the group to relieve their tension after a day's hard work. The members looked forward to the evening "I Love Tzu Chi" party with mouth-watering anticipation. The phrase became a secret code which meant that there would be a bedtime snack.

In the beginning they used the code "I Love Tzu Chi," so that the Master would not find out about the late-night snacks. One day, the cat was finally let out of the bag. Wang Tuan-cheng, vice CEO of Tzu Chi, also accompanied the Master to the Pingtung branch. Seeing how hard he had worked, the members invited him to join the "I Love Tzu Chi" party that night. When the time came, the group waited and waited for Wang, but he was still talking to the Master. Someone finally went and said to Wang, "I Love Tzu Chi." Then the Master discovered that the code meant that everyone wanted to go get something to eat.

The Master was very considerate. When the others mentioned "I Love Tzu Chi" again, she said, "Oh, all of you want to go to 'I Love Tzu Chi.'" They realized the Master had found them out.

"Master Rice"

Many Tzu Chi people must have eaten "Master Rice." The term is derived from an episode related to Sister Chou Chao-tzu while she traveled with Master Cheng Yen on her visits in 1988-1989.

At that time, there was no branch office in Pingtung. The Master stayed at Yuan Tung Temple, but she had to go to Kaohsiung and Tainan to preach. Local members prepared lunch boxes for the traveling group. The Master told the sisters to make the lunches simple: white rice fried in soy sauce. Sister Chou thought the Master was just being polite and didn't want to bother her disciples.

At breakfast the next morning, Master Chien Hui, the abbess of Yuan Tung Temple, told Sister Chou that since Master Cheng Yen liked fried rice, a whole pot of fried rice had been prepared for her. When Sister Chou opened the lid, she was surprised to find there was indeed a whole pot of white rice fried in soy sauce.

Master Chien Hui had learned earlier that when Master Cheng Yen was first doing spiritual cultivation in Lu-yeh, she lived on wild vegetables and peanuts scattered on the ground. It was during this period that the Master got, in the traditional Chinese medical term, a "cold stomach." When white rice was fried in soy sauce and a little cooking oil, the rice would not be so "cold."

Sister Chou later mentioned this to a commissioner who had a child in kindergarten. The child had saved his pocket money in his piggy bank and wanted to donate it to the Master to build a hospital. Upon hearing the story, the child asked his mother to prepare "Master Rice" for him. When his mother asked him what that was, he said, "Didn't you hear what Auntie Chou told you? The Master likes white rice fried in soy sauce. That's 'Master Rice.'"

When the child later went to the Abode of Still Thoughts with his mother, he presented his piggy bank to the Master and told her that he also ate "Master Rice." The Master asked him what "Master Rice" was. The boy's sister replied, "The Master likes white rice fried in soy sauce, so my brother calls it 'Master Rice.'"

The Master was so delighted by this story that she mentioned it in her sermon the next day. As a result, many other children wanted to eat "Master Rice" too. Today, when members travel with the Master, their lunch boxes still have delicious "Master Rice"!

Transportation and Lodging

Transportation

During these travels, transportation played a very important role. When Master Cheng Yen traveled from Hualien to Taipei, she would take the train. For other destinations, she would ride in cars driven by Tzu Chi members.

In the early days, Brother Li Ching-po was in the driver's seat. He was later succeeded by Brother Chang Chin-ting, Brother Lin Hui-tang, and now Brother Chen Cheng-hsiung. Sister Tzu Yang and Brother Huang Ching-yeh followed, carrying their cameras.

Over time, the number of people accompanying the Master increased. The Lu brothers of Taipei donated a 20-seat bus to the Tzu Chi Foundation, enabling more people to accompany the Master on her visits.

When Brother Li drove, he would tell the Master everything he had seen and heard. The more he talked, the faster he would drive on the freeway. Since the speed limits on the freeway were from 60 to 90 km/h [35-55 mph], the Master would look at the speedometer and remind Li that he was speeding. Li would tell the Master "You mustn't drive too slow on the freeway." Pointing at the speedometer, the Master would say, "But you can drive at 60."

Whenever there was sufficient time, the group would take the old North-South Highway. While others napped, the Master seized every second to watch the changes along the way, trying to understand the progress of Taiwan and the people's living conditions.

A good number of interesting stories took place along the way. One day when the vehicles approached a freeway toll booth, the toll collector saw the Tzu Chi insignia on the cars. She immediately asked, "Is Master Cheng Yen in one of these cars?" A member answered, "She's in the car behind us." The happy toll collector herself paid the tolls for all the cars. Her kindness was really touching.

Another time, a highway patrolman saw the vehicles bearing the Tzu Chi insignia. He rolled down his window and asked, "Is Master Cheng Yen in the first car?" When he saw the group nod happily, the patrolman drove his car to the first gas station. When the Master's car entered the station, he folded his palms and said "Amitabha" in greeting to the Master, who also folded her palms in return.

Lodging

Lodging also posed a problem on these travels. In the early years, there were no liaison offices. Wherever the Master went, she would stay in members' homes. Some houses were quite small, and bathing was done in washrooms with no hot water. Members had to boil large kettles of hot water and bring them to the washroom for bathing.

In Pingtung, most people living in the neighborhood of Yuan Tung Temple raised pigs. The wastewater ran into ditches and smelled awful. Despite the smell, the followers still felt fortunate to be with the Master and learn from her words and example.

Master Te Hsuan recalled that the Master's physical condition was not stable and that her blood pressure would go up and down. At times, she could not walk steadily. At times, she would have a fever for several days and would continually vomit. However, whenever she got out of the car, what everyone always saw was a kind, loving master.

With her voice hoarse from talking and her feet swollen from walking, the Master still preached to the multitude in high spirits. One sister who was traveling with the Master for the first time said tearfully, "Just watching and listening to her, we are already so fatigued, yet the Master keeps on giving sermon after sermon. She has such superhuman strength!" Master Te Hsuan corrected her, "It's not superhuman strength, but superhuman perseverance."

Episodes

If you keep your eyes and ears open, you will get a lot out of traveling with Master Cheng Yen, because you will see people and events that you normally would not get to see. Moreover, you will have fond memories of those warm, meaningful episodes that take place along the way.

In the early years, there were only a few people who followed the Master on these trips, so Tzu Chi's operations were not as diverse as they are now. At that time, people followed the Master to some rare spots, such as Grand Master Yin Shun's Miao Yung Buddhist Site in Chiayi. At the beginning, Master Yin Shun had invited the Master to stay there, but more than 30 commissioners asked her to stay in Hualien, so the Tzu Chi Association was established there. Other significant visits included a visit to Master Hsiu Tao, a visit to the Master's mother, and the Master's inspection tour to the disaster area during the flooding in south-central Taiwan in l994.

According to Sister Chou Chao-tse, accompanying the Master on her travels is like accompanying a bodhisattva taking a trip to this mundane world. On their normal travels, people do not have to do anything. But when you are on a Tzu Chi assignment, you have to learn everything that may be used for future reference. The most important thing is that you are close to the Master and can learn from the Master's words and actions.

Sister Chou recalled that the Tzu Chi members would prepare rich dishes for the Master wherever she went. When the Master was preaching, some members would still be busy cooking in the kitchen. Once the Master told them, "From now on, rice noodle soup and salted rice porridge are good enough. Don't spend all your time in the kitchen or else my efforts to come such a long way from Hualien will be wasted."

The next month, the sisters did prepare rice noodle soup and salted rice porridge for the Master. But in order to show their respect for the Master, they still prepared some other dishes for her, too.

Without a word, the Master ate up the soup and the porridge, but didn't touch the other dishes at all, hoping to teach the sisters by her actions. She hoped they would understand that although they had meant to be courteous, they had not heard her persistence. Later, the sisters began to prepare box lunches as they were told.

In the early days, there were not many members, so there were no specialized teams. At that time, the Master's monthly program was to visit the poor and to preach to the commissioners. She wanted to let people know more about Tzu Chi and bring them closer to each other.

The individual cases of aid in the early days were decided by the Master herself after her personal inspection. By her actions, she taught the senior commissioners to respect low-income families and to provide aid with open, fair measures. These experiences of visiting the poor have been handed down from generation to generation and remain unchanged today.

There were also unhappy occurrences that took place in the course of these trips. People who didn't understand Tzu Chi would sometimes heckle the Master, but she would take it with tolerance. Dr. Chien Hsi-lin, a physician at the Tzu Chi Hospital, said emotionally that he was greatly moved by the Master's tolerance and humility and learned what it really meant to be a great dharma master.

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