When I arrived at Lin Chen-ying's studio in downtown Taipei, she was talking with someone. Her clotheshite T-shirt, gray vest and pantsere plain, but they could not hide her innate sense of style. When she finished her discussion, she came up to me and said hello with a big smile on her face. We sat down at a table and she took out a pile of clippings, articles about her from several local magazines. As she talked about herself, I quickly learned that she had a clear, well-organized train of thought.

"It seems so natural for me to work in fashion," she recalled. "None of my childhood friends or classmates were surprised that I went into this business. I remember when I was in primary school, many of my classmates would crowd around me during the ten-minute breaks between classes and watch me make drawings of pretty dolls. I think that's how I found my vocation. Yes, it all started with drawing dolls."

In preparation for her career, Chen-ying majored in fashion design at Shih Chien College in Taipei. From 1979 to 1982, she was a designer for the Lei-Ni, Xi-Di and Jun clothing companies, as well as Fashion Teenagers. "I was not only a designer, but I was also put in charge of a major local fashion company when I was only in my twenties. That was no doubt an affirmation of my ability. I was successful in the eyes of the general public. I should have been happy with what I had in spite of all the demands in life. However, in the middle of the night there was always a voice inside me asking, 'Is this exactly what you want? Are you going to live this way forever?' 'Certainly not, I have to get out of this place,' I replied."

It was almost ten years before she decided to establish the LIN CHEN-YING label as the best way to express herself. What she had in mind then was to have her own studio. She thought that in this way she would have more time to take care of her personal life and would be more relaxed. "But things didn't turn out the way I had expected," she explained. "Starting a new business is never easy. The first few years were like dog years. Sometimes I was so engaged in designing new fashions that I couldn't find time to go home and get a good night's sleep. It was not at all rare to find myself sleeping on the floor of the studio for two or three nights in a row. The studio was my home away from home."

Regrets? Definitely not. Developing her own style had its cost. Although life was tough in those years, it was a golden opportunity for her to try out every possibility and put her fashion ideas into practice. She was the boss after all. Even so, to a certain degree she still had to face what every commercial fashion designer faces. "Customers always want something different, something worthy of their money. So I have to give them what they want."

I asked her what essential qualities her customers looked for in her work. After a pause, she replied that she had gone through several different stages during her career as a fashion designer. When she was younger, she was obsessed with keeping up with the latest trends. She wanted to be the advocate of fashion. She was into whatever was in vogue. Later on, she became interested in easy, simple designs using the best fabrics to represent the elegance and confidence of the successful professional woman. Now in addition to such characteristics as easy, simple, elegant and confident, she tries to bring the essence of Chinese culture into her creations as well. Indeed, recently her products have conveyed the essential qualities of the traditional Chinese woman: gentle, soft, reserved and conservative.

Apparently, there is quite a difference between her earlier works and her latest ones. What made all the transitions happen? The changes in her personality and her ways of looking at the world might account for it all. "My works reflect my philosophy of life," she said. Chen-ying was a rather cold, rigid, proud person before she came into contact with Buddhism. She pushed herself hard and at the same time she was quite demanding of her employees and the people around her. Unconsciously, she brought that coldness, rigidity and pride into her work. Cool colors such as white, black, gray and blue were once her favorite colors. Later on, she realized that she was not happy and she had to change her way. One day, a colleague of hers invited her to a speech on Buddhism, which changed her life. Of course all the changes did not happen overnight, but at least it was a beginning. She started to look at things from another angle and to be more generous and patient with people. Meeting Master Cheng Yen was another turning point in her life.

For Chen-ying, 1987 seems to have been a meaningful year: she not only opened her own fashion studio, but she also got closer to Tzu Chi. It was true that she was already a Tzu Chi member then, but before that she did not really understand what this organization was all about. She knew one thing though: it was a charity organization and being a member and donating money to it meant that at least she was doing something good. In the summer of that year a friend, who was a Tzu Chi member herself, asked if she could design the student uniform for the Tzu Chi Junior College of Nursing. Chen-ying said yes without hesitation. She thought it would be an easy job to do. She was not aware that this episode would change her life dramatically.

"The first time I was told what Master Cheng Yen was doing, I cried. I didn't even know why. The tears just kept rolling down." As she said this, I noticed a catch in her voice. She paused for a few seconds, and then she continued. "Every time I think of the Master or talk about her, I can't control myself. I always wonder where she gets all the strength to complete so many challenging tasks. She totally changed my life, that's for sure."

In retrospect, it was Master Cheng Yen who inspired Chen-ying to give serious thought to the profound meaning of life and to her responsibility in this society as well as in this world. This influence can be easily sensed in her most recent collection, which embraces the themes of tranquillity and eternity. She has finally succeeded at getting rid of the myth of "the latest fashion" and bringing new meanings into her designs.

One thing in her studio caught my eye as soon as I stepped inhe familiar photo of Master Cheng Yen. Actually it made me feel as if I were in a Tzu Chi branch office or something. I told Chen-ying what I thought. "I am deeply touched by the Master's great compassion for all," she explained. "She is so profoundly committed to Buddhism and to all living beings. But I am just an ordinary person with an ordinary person's weaknesses. I like to have fun and indulge myself once in a while. So, I keep the Master's photo in my studio to make me think of Tzu Chi. In this way, I always try to remember the Master's teachings and take the Master's commitment as my own."