I was once lost in the pursuit of high position and I indulged in games of intrigue with other people. Even if I got what I wanted, I wasn't happy: I was afraid I would lose what I had gotten. After I got this, my eyes were focused on that. There was no end to my lust. I had fallen into a never-ending downward spiral. At that time, the only way to escape this trap was to make a resolution to give unselfishly. Only by breaking through my former self could I have a chance to stand tall. Therefore, I urged myself to play the role of a liberated broadcaster.

--Yeh Shu-shan

Sister Yeh Shu-shan was the youngest child in her family and was doted on by her parents. She was born because her mother had prayed in a temple for another child. During Shu-shan's childhood, when piano and ballet were still not well-known, she was already outstanding in those two arts.

Being very clever, she never let her parents worry about her studies. She passed the entrance examination to the Taipei City First Girls' High School, the best in Taiwan. After graduation, she matriculated at National Taiwan University and studied in the Foreign Languages Department, where she excelled.

Opportunity Is Self-Created

During her school years, Yeh Shu-shan was already yearning to be a journalist. At NTU there was a professor, a Catholic nun named Mariette White, who always reminded her not to just shuttle between the classroom, the library and her home, but to open her mind and to accept challenges.

However, Yeh Shu-shan was always timid. She had no courage and no willingness to take the first step. In an English debating class, her opponent was a schoolmate older than her. Even before the debate started, sensitive Shu-shan had already concluded that she would not win. Of course, she lost the debate.

After class, Sr. White asked her to stay and to analyze why she had lost. Shu-shan's reply was that her English was not as good as her opponent's. Sr. White shook her head seriously and said, "You didn't lose to your opponent. You lost to yourself." Shu-shan suddenly realized that opportunity was something she had to create herself. Since she didn't give herself an opportunity, how could she win?

Hard Work Results in Outstanding Performance

Shu-shan got a job with the Broadcasting Corporation of China radio network in 1983, thus fulfilling her wish to become a broadcaster.

In 1988 she started to work for the Taiwan Television Company. She was put in charge of the morning news program, "Good Morning, How Are You?" In the thirteen years of her broadcasting career, she has won the Golden Bell Award three times.

In every phase of her life, Shu-shan has accumulated an excellent record of performance. Others describe her as being "lucky," but luck has been far less important than the effort she has made every day.

In 1991, the Graduate School of Journalism was established at NTU. Although Shu-shan was already an outstanding reporter, she decided to return to the university campus to pursue further knowledge in her field.

As a reporter, she produced a program on the subject of humanitarianism. For this project, she made contacts with several people who had serious injuries either on their faces or on their limbs. When she became acquainted with the mouth-painter Mr. Hsieh Kun-shan, she learned what it meant to have hands and feet. From her experience in interviewing those with facial injuries, she discovered that people in Taiwan had not been taught how to deal with disabled people. One's facial expression reflects what is inside one's mind. Yeh Shu-shan observed that sympathy, pity, rejection and disdain are not proper attitudes in getting along with disabled people. When one interacts with them sincerely and from the heart, one will forget their external scars, enter their hearts and see their inner beauty, made radiant by the hardships of life .

Meeting With Master Cheng Yen

On January 8, 1995, Shu-shan put on the dark blue gown of a Tzu Chi commissioner. Master Cheng Yen personally gave her the religious name of Tzu Hsuan. Shu-shan thus became the first TV broadcaster to become a Tzu Chi commissioner.

Her karmic relationship with Tzu Chi started seven years ago when she went to the Abode of Still Thoughts in Hualien to visit Master Cheng Yen, whom she had heard about for a long time. With her journalist's intuition and a microphone in her hand, she imagined the exciting interview she was going to have. Unexpectedly, Master Cheng Yen refused to grant her an interview, saying that Tzu Chi's accomplishments should be attributed to all Tzu Chi members, not herself alone.

Later on, as Shu-shan chatted with other journalists, she found that all of them had had the same experience. Some journalists even described Master Cheng Yen as being "very difficult to deal with." However, Shu-shan was very impressed by her fair treatment toward all journalists. "The Master was neither arrogant nor obsequious toward the press," she recalled.

When she was producing the inspirational program "Strive to Excel," she had the chance to meet with Master Cheng Yen again at the Tzu Chi Cultural Center in Taipei. During that visit, Shu-shan saw the Master's compassion and lenience. She understood that the Master didn't want to make any exceptions for the journalists. However, this time when Shu-shan took out her microphone, the Master could not bear to let her down. After a moment of hesitation, the Master finally spoke a few words with her.

From then on, Shu-shan had more opportunities to visit Tzu Chi. She tried to understand this organization objectively from different angles. She got to know more Tzu Chi members. Finally she decided to join Tzu Chi. Shu-shan and her whole family participated in Tzu Chi's missions of charity, education, bone marrow donation, etc. Interacting with Tzu Chi members and observing their behavior, Shu-shan felt the kindness and beauty within her heart emerge naturally. Happiness provided support as she walked on the Tzu Chi Path.

Glory and Fear

When she first stepped on the Path of the Bodhisattvas, cameras were focused on her and flash bulbs went off in her face. This kind of prominence made her fear that if her moral cultivation was not good enough, she might bring adverse effects on Tzu Chi.

She decided to donate the money earned from a call-in program to Tzu Chi, so that she could become a member of the Tzu Chi Honorable Board Member Association. She had to get up very early and go home very late. Several times she was so exhausted that she almost thought of quitting. However, when she recalled the words of Master Cheng Yen--"The greater your commitment, the more tremendous the power you will gain"-she found the strength to continue.

On the night she was granted the certificate as an honorable board member, Shu-shan looked back at the hardships she had endured, and she had a sense of achievement, a sense of climbing to the peak of a mountain. Just then, she looked around and caught sight of a mother and her son.

The son was a gentleman over fifty. He was carrying his silver-haired mother on his back. Shu-shan could clearly see the natural smiles on their faces. When Master Cheng Yen gave the honorable board member certificate to the mother, the old lady's eyes glowed with reverence for the Master. At that moment, tears flowed down Shu-shan's cheeks. She finally understood.

She remembered that someone had once said to her sarcastically, "Tzu Chi is a high-class world made up of public figures, big business tycoons, movie stars and other elite." Was this true? At that very moment she saw the real beauty of Tzu Chi--people from all walks of life who are modestly trying to perfect their characters and bring hope to society. Half ashamed and half enlightened, Shu-shan spoke out her feelings. "I am far behind. On the Tzu Chi road, there are always people who exert themselves much more than I do."

Gain After Giving

The first time Shu-shan understood the real meaning of "gain" and "loss" was at a charity bazaar of jewelry and paintings, sponsored jointly by the Tzu Chi Friends Association and the Tzu Chi Honorable Board Members Association in 1994. At the bazaar, many Tzu Chi people bid high prices for a certain piece of jewelry or a famous painting. But often the lucky winner would immediately donate that article for resale. Shu-shan was shocked, not only because of the rapidly increasing amount of money from the sales, but also because of the overwhelming power of love present there. Under such circumstances, one could not but ponder deeply--what is "gain" and what is "loss"?

A year ago, when Shu-shan quit her job as the producer and chief anchorperson at Taiwan Television Company, people frequently asked her, "How could you give up such a good job with handsome pay and a high public profile?"

In the world of work and business, the criteria for measuring success are nothing more than income and popularity. Wealth, power and popularity can be an index for self-affirmation, but certainly should not be the only criteria for measuring one's success. Shu-shan has seen too many people who did everything in order to fortify their positions and gain rewards, even if this meant sacrificing their own ideals.

Many times, Shu-shan carefully considered her current situation. It could be risky to leave familiar surroundings and a secure position at work; however, there could be countless other opportunities. "Why not take it as a challenge to my own capabilities?" she asked herself. She could see that if she remained in the same work environment with little opportunity for growth, she would not make much progress even after ten years. That realization really frightened her. If she decided to cling to the fame and income she already had, how would she ever find the true happiness inside her heart?

At that turning point, her heart was opened. She decided to renounce the bottomless desires, the deceptive concepts of value, and the pursuit of fame and power. She found true peace and happiness in her heart. She gained the contentment of pushing herself to excel in new ways. She urged herself to be a liberated broadcaster and to seek truth, kindness and beauty in life.

Boundless Happiness as a Volunteer

As a Tzu Chi commissioner, Shu-shan spoke out loudly on television or in newspapers and magazines, calling for the public to help with fundraising for the construction of the Tzu Chi Disabled Children's Rehabilitation Center. She also did volunteer work on Frog Cards. For two days in a row, she took her own daughter to the Tzu Chi Taipei branch office to join others in folding the cards. One week later, her daughter asked her, "Mama, can I go fold cards today?" From this, Shu-shan realized the importance of teaching children by example.

Nowadays, many parents have nothing to talk about with their children or they have difficulties in communicating with them. Doing volunteer work together is a sure way to improve their relationships, and it is also a kind of self-education. The happiness they gain from giving of themselves is boundless.

A Mindful Broadcaster

Sister Shu-shan is now the chief news anchorperson on the program "Tzu Chi World." She is doing her best to teach and help the junior broadcasters. She said, "Let's have more people join Tzu Chi activities, where they can see the beauty of the Tzu Chi organization." Everyone who has worked with her says that it is a wonderful experience to learn from her what it means to be a broadcaster.

Despite her tight schedule, Shu-shan volunteered without hesitation to take the job of chief reporter for Tzu Chi's 30th anniversary. On that particular day, Shu-shan and Mr. Chen Kai-lun were in charge of on-the-spot reporting. With more than ten years' experience in TV broadcasting, she had every detail under perfect control, so that those Tzu Chi members unable to sit inside the Still Thoughts Hall could share in the memorable moment through closed-circuit TV. All the Tzu Chi members who worked together with her on that day commended her for her wit, prudence and modesty. All the commendation and applause from her co-workers reflect her working philosophy-- mindfulness, and nothing but mindfulness.

TV Broadcasting and Team Work

Being engaged in TV broadcasting, Shu-shan stresses the importance of esprit de corps. Although it is her face on the screen, she clearly understands that it is the teamwork behind the scenes that makes her successful. A tiny detail will affect the whole presentation. Therefore, when anyone praises her for her success, she always reminds herself that the success should not be attributed to herself alone. She never forgets those who quietly work hard behind her.

Making Her Nature More Gentle

Shu-shan feels that her former self was a frank, outspoken person who was impulsive, irritable and never compromised with anyone. It is very difficult to identify the present Shu-shan with the person she describes. She says that it was Master Cheng Yen's teachings that changed her.

When some people misunderstood the real meaning of Tzu Chi's international relief work and questioned why Master Cheng Yen advocated it, Shu-shan personally saw the Master tell Tzu Chi members with a peaceful expression and a quiet tone, "We do what we should do." The Master's compassion and lenience melted the sternness of Shu-shan's original character.

In working with people, conflicts are unavoidable. Comparing her own situation with the pressure Master Cheng Yen receives in running large organization, Shu-shan immediately opened her heart. Once the knot in her heart was untied and she stopped being self-centered, Shu-shan saw even more clearly the direction she should be heading. Walking on the Path of the Bodhisattvas, she has found that anywhere can be a place to study Buddhist teachings and that she should work harder all the time. Under Master Cheng Yen's influence, Shu-shan, who already played the proper roles in her job and family, absorbed the moderating influence of Tzu Chi culture. From her temperament, we can see that she has already been transformed from an overbearing person into a plain, cordial, self-possessed person.

Talking about Master Cheng Yen's expectations for her, she said thoughtfully, "Tzu Chi has given me so much, whereas I have given Tzu Chi so little." She emphasized that it was the duty of a broadcaster to spread the seeds of kindness, but that the glory bestowed on her was too much. She only drives herself harder in order to be worthy of this praise.

Seeking Truth, Kindness and Beauty