Context: Master Cheng Yen recalled the instructions Master Yin Shun gave her upon taking refuge in 1963.
Time, space, and interpersonal relationships are all a matter of causes and conditions. As I stood behind the lecture hall, speaking with Master Hui Yin about the idea of taking refuge, Master Yin Shun walked out of the reception room in front of the hall.
When Master Hui Yin went to him to relay my request to take refuge, Master Yin Shun looked at me, smiled and nodded. Master Hui Yin waved me over, so I quickly complied. Master Yin Shun said, “We are running out of time. We can just do the ceremony right here!”
It was almost noon and the ordination hall was about to close. I immediately went forward to offer incense and pay respect to the Buddha, then prostrated to Master Yin Shun. He simply said, “Our karmic affinity is extraordinary. Since you wish to become a monastic, you must vow to work ‘for Buddha’s teachings, for sentient beings.’ I will give you a Dharma name; hurry before it is too late!” Master Yin Shun immediately gave me the Dharma name “Cheng Yen,” and the courtesy name “Hui Zhang.” Since I was running late, Master Yin Shun wrote a letter for me to bring to the ordination hall to register.
There were many serendipitous causes and conditions that connected my master and I.
I was able to take refuge with my master at the Light of Wisdom Dharma Hall because of the passing rain shower and a sudden thought. Coincidentally, my master slowly walked out of the meeting room at that moment. The combination of the right person, right time, and right place created these wondrous causes and conditions. I often say we must “sustain the moment forever”; what we must sustain is the aspiration we form in that moment. I also say that we must “seize the moment,” which is the time when we formed that aspiration.
The moment when we form such an aspiration is very important! I was there to purchase “The Complete Works of Venerable Taixu” and planned to head back to Hualien right after. Yet, it just so happened to rain at that very moment. As a result of the rain, a single thought arose in my mind—I wanted to take refuge with Master Yin Shun.
The succinct advice that my Master gave me in the span of a second influenced me for a lifetime.
One second can determine the course of a lifetime. When we seize the present moment to form aspirations, then in that present moment we are on the right path. When we practice sincerity, integrity, faith, and steadfastness, we can sustain our aspiration forever.
From that point on, as I have continued on this path, no matter how difficult the obstacles I meet are, the six words, “for Buddha’s teachings, for sentient beings,” always appear in my mind.
Now, it has been over forty years since the Tzu Chi Merit Association has been established.