This old lady is a Buddhist nun who goes by the name of Zheng Yan( 證嚴). In 1966 she started a charity with some housewives in Hua Lien, Taiwan. The charity is called Tzu Chi (慈濟), and it is now apparently the biggest charity in Asia. You can read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzu_Chi.
Zheng Yan appears on TV and speaks slowly and clearly, ideal for foreigners trying to learn Chinese. She has been described as the Mother Theresa of Asia, but there are two schools of thought about Mother T, one of which is not very complimentary. I mentioned Tzu Chi to a (European) friend in Taiwan once: “I don’t trust any organisation that is built so much around a single figurehead” was the gist of her reply. That made me think twice.
Zheng Yan appears on TV and speaks slowly and clearly, ideal for foreigners trying to learn Chinese. She has been described as the Mother Theresa of Asia, but there are two schools of thought about Mother T, one of which is not very complimentary. I mentioned Tzu Chi to a (European) friend in Taiwan once: “I don’t trust any organisation that is built so much around a single figurehead” was the gist of her reply. That made me think twice.
I know there comes a point where we cannot or do not want to find out the reality of an issue and prefer to believe a simple explanation, usually personified. Kennedy was good, Hitler was bad, Lenny Henry is funny, whatever.
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| Taiwan has 67,000 慈濟 recycling volunteers |
All the same, in this case, I am going to believe on the basis of the evidence that Tzu Chi is a force for Good, and so long as Cheng Yan inspires so many people to do good things, I am happy for her to be an icon.
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