The Abode of Still Thoughts is the birthplace of the Tzu Chi Foundation. The nuns, who have vowed to follow Master Cheng Yen, take up the Buddha's compassion as their own and the Master's commitment as their own. They practice humanized Buddhism with the spirit of the Lotus Sutra. In the sutra, the Buddha instructed his disciples to put what they learned from him into practice by helping the needy. We Buddhists refer to this kind of practice as "walking on the Path of the Bodhisattvas."

Besides nurturing the spiritual roots of Tzu Chi, the nuns must also be self-subsistent and assist with the promotion of the Tzu Chi missions. Hard work and a fast pace of life are their special characteristics. Disciplining themselves through the events of their daily lives is a major test of their spiritual cultivation.

Master Cheng Yen once said that the sutras are ways, and ways are roads. The true significance of reading the sutras is in putting them into practice: when one can carry out the Buddha's teachings in daily life, then one can carry out spiritual cultivation, attain enlightenment, and redeem other people from their suffering.