Exploring Humanism in Buddhism: An In-Depth Study of Humanist Values at the Indonesian Tzu Chi Buddhist Foundation

The Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, founded in 1966 by the Taiwanese bhikkhunī Shih Cheng Yen, is a global humanitarian nongovernmental organization (NGO). Tzu Chi Foundation USA is in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN-ECOSOC). Tzu Chi’s “Four Missions and Eight Footprints” comprise formidable phalanxes of volunteers and professionals in the fields of charity, relief, medicine, education, and cultural production as well as international relief, bone marrow donation, community volunteerism, and environmental protection. As of 2021, Tzu Chi has provided humanitarian aid to people in 122 countries and regions. There are Tzu Chi volunteers in sixty-six countries and regions across the continents of Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, and South America as well as Oceania. All organizations, particularly those with charismatic founders, face questions of long-term sustainability. The Tzu Chi enterprise must determine how each part will play a role, how to better coordinate Taiwan’s operations with operations overseas, how to recruit young talent as volunteers and professionals, and how to develop the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism and Jing Si Dharma Lineage as the threads that bind Tzu Chi together. Yet no matter what organizational and philosophical configuration may develop, Tzu Chi is a model for humanitarians and Buddhists alike on how to relieve suffering, nurture hope, and build community through the bodhisattva path.

This study discusses the social movement conducted by post-reform Tzu Chi organization in Medan. The theory used is theory of social movements with three main factors in social movements; 1) political opportunity structure, 2) collective action frames, and 3) resource mobilization theory. This study aims to a) looking the concept of social movements, b) analyzing the concept of religious movements and c) revealing the position of Tzu Chi in Buddhism. This research applies qualitative methods with direct observation by analyzing subjective and objective experiences in sociological approach. This study was conducted in Medan City due to the following reasons: (1) the diverse population of Medan (2) Tzu Chi has many programs and volunteers in this city. The key informant in this study is the management of structural organization Tzu Chi, as it is considered representative and experienced in the organization. Additional informants are regular volunteers. The results of this study reveals that in the post reform era, Tzu Chi was growing and getting support from the inter-faith and ethnic. Majority ethnic of Tzu Chi is Chinese and form an organization which plays role as a container in showing its identity to maintain social stability and harmony amidst the diverse city of Medan. Their funding network collected through the business network, kinship and spiritual motivation of Buddhist teachings make organizational resources increasingly move to broaden the vision and mission of the organization. In conclusion, in the socio-religious context, Tzu Chi purifications for its Buddhist followers and implements organizational management patterns with 4 in 1 systems which considered modern, minimizing organizational conflicts and able to face the challenges.

The Tzu Chi Foundation has made body gifting, such as body donation, bone marrow donation and cord blood donation, successful in Taiwan. Using Foucault’s theoretical framework of governmentality and normalisation, this article discusses how a Buddhist charity, the Tzu Chi Foundation, normalises body gifting in Taiwan through their campaigns, system and philosophy. It argues that Buddhist discourses of karma create a ‘benefit-all altruism’ in body gifting. Furthermore, the emergence of the Tzu Chi Foundation in the last five decades has been a process of discipline and norm construction. The Tzu Chi Foundation, with its comprehensive missions, builds up an extensive network to spread their philosophy in different fields, from environmental protection and humanity education to medical care. The practice-oriented and community-based volunteer system helps the ‘giving’ ideology take root in the communities in Taiwan. Finally, through the media and the Internet, the effect goes beyond the institutional boundaries and reaches the public.

Introduction Tzu Chi (Fojiao Ciji Gongdehui, the Buddhist Compassion Relief Foundation) was founded in 1966 by Master Cheng Yen (Zhengyan), originally as a group of 30 laywomen and several nuns in Hualian, a town on Taiwan's eastern coast. Today Tzu Chi is one of the largest civic organizations in Taiwan, with a membership in the millions, and operates state-of-the-art hospitals, schools and mass media facilities. One of these, the Da Ai (Great Love) TV channel, stands out among public broadcasters not only for its religious focus but also for the depth and variety of its programs. These include Da Ai dramas, Buddhist teachings by Master Cheng Yen, information and educational programs, children's programs, cultural programs, medical information and news shows (in Mandarin Chinese and English). Da Ai dramas, adapted from the real-life stories of senior Tzu Chi members, are broadcast during prime time (8:00 to 9:00 PM). Despite a competitive market, they have managed to climb to a leading position, according to ACG Nielsen ratings. With their religious themes and intricate storylines, the dramas provide a rich source for examining media representations of religion and gender in a contemporary Confucian society. This chapter examines the religious themes implicit in Da Ai dramas, and how gender roles are constructed in this specific religious medium. Through an interdisciplinary analysis based on insights from gender theory, media studies and religious studies, I explore gender and religious issues from the perspective of the audience. intertextuality between the media and everyday life is also an important concern.

Information and communication technologies are often cited as one major source, if not the causal vector, for the rising intensity of transnational practices. Yet, extant literature has not examined critically how digital media appropriation affects the constitution of transnational organizations, particularly Chinese spiritual ones. To address the lack of theoretically grounded, empirical research on this question, this study investigates how the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation (Tzu Chi), one of the largest Taiwan-based civil and spiritual nonprofit organizations among the Chinese diaspora, is co-constituted by various social actors as an operationally closed system through their mediated communication. Based on an innovative theoretical framework that combines Maturana and Varela's notion of ‘autopoiesis’ with Cooren's ideas of ‘incarnation’ and ‘presentification’, we provide a rich analysis of Tzu Chi's co-constitution through organizational leaders' appropriation of digital and social media, as well as through mediated interactions between Tzu Chi's internal and external stakeholders. In so doing, our research expands upon the catalogue of common economic and relational behaviors by overseas Chinese, advances our understanding of Chinese spiritual organizing, and reveals the contingent role of digital and social media in engendering transnational spiritual ties to accomplish global humanitarian work.

Elderly people (elderly) experience a decrease in physical condition which affects the decline in activity, health and independency. Objective of this study to see an overview of the level of independency of the elderly in fulfilling the ability of daily activities (ADL). The research was conducted on the elderly at Tzu Chi Cengkareng Flat, West Jakarta during January-March 2022 with a survey method research design with a cross-sectional approach to 103 elderly people. Collecting data by direct interviews. Descriptive analysis to explain the characteristics of the independency of the elderly. The elderly in the Cengkareng Tzu Chi Love Flat are aged between 60-74 years, 97 people (94.2%), more than 75 years, 6 people (5.8%), female, 57 (55.3%) more than men. 46 (44.7%), more did not work 70 (68.0%) than those who worked 33 (32.0%) and had comorbidities, 62 people (60.2%) were elderly who had comorbidities. Of the 103 elderly, 101 (98.1%) had high independency and 2 (1.9%) had low independency. Conclusion the elderly in the Tzu Chi Love Flat, are able to meet their daily needs without the help of other family members, more than 50% of the elderly are categorized as having high independency.

In the early 1990s, two of Taiwan’s humanistic Buddhist groups—Buddhist Tzu Chi Compassionate Relief Foundation (Tzu Chi) and Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM)—began incorporating modern environmentalism as a major component in their religious teachings, practices, and behavioral norms. Neither group had been clearly pro-environmental before the 1990s, but Venerable Cheng Yen, the founding master of Tzu Chi, and Venerable Sheng Yen, the founding master of DDM, redefined and expanded Buddhist teachings and practices to include modern concepts and practices of environmental sustainability as central components of their dharmas. This comparative ethnographic study contributes to scholarship with findings regarding how and why the two groups developed and disseminated pro-environmental dharma: (1) both groups began promoting environmentalism as a moral, religious response to Taiwan’s waste management crisis of the early 1990s; (2) both groups tied their pro-environmental teachings to two of the most popular elements of Buddhist dharma among Chinese humanistic Buddhists—the bodhisattva path and pure land teachings; (3) both groups fully integrated environmental teachings, practices, and behavioral norms into all aspects of their organizations; and (4) both groups adjusted the framing of their pro-environmental messages to match specific audiences in their work in order to promote environmentalism in Taiwan’s society.

Due to the rapid climate change in recent years, global communities have seen an increased frequency of large-scale natural and man-made disasters. These disasters have caused extensive damage, destroying thousands of homes, scattering families, and leading to the loss of many human lives. These disasters have been especially severe in the Asia-Pacific region. In response to this great challenge, environmental protection alliances formed by nonprofit organizations, governmental institutions, emergency response systems, and social service agencies across nations have sought to provide collective interventions and resources to address the immediate needs of disaster survivors and assist them during the recovery process. Featuring more than 10 million members in more than 50 countries, the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation (Tzu Chi) is a faith-based nonprofit organization formed in 1966 (InterAction, 2016; Tzu Chi USA, 2016). In recent years, Tzu Chi has adopted preventive environmental protection approaches to reduce the likelihood of future natural disasters by promoting environmental sustainability and has been recognized for its sustainability stewardship in international disaster relief service. Tzu Chi has held a special consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 2010 and was selected as member of the year at the 21st National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster Conference in 2013 (Tzu Chi Foundation, 2013b).

This study aims to (1) Know why teachers must form a pluralism attitude in students in West Jakarta's Tzu Chi Loving Middle School? (2) How do teachers shape pluralism in the Tzu Chi Loving Middle School? provide an overview of the teacher in forming a pluralism attitude at the Cinta Tzu Chi Middle School, West Jakarta. The research method used is descriptive, with data collection techniques through closed questionnaires (questionnaires), observation, interviews and documentation. The subject of this study was the Tzu Chi love junior high school teacher and the Tzu Chi Loving Middle School Student. The results showed that (1) the Tzu Chi Loving Middle School is a school that has religion, as the spearhead in the world of education, teachers have a significant role in the process of developing, directing, and motivating students to become useful human beings for the nation and state . (2) How the teacher in forming the pluralism attitude of students can be seen from how the teacher makes planning and learning processes in the classroom, such as at the beginning the teacher gives advice and motivational sentences to students, then by using the learning method. However, both schools play an important role in the formation of pluralism in the Tzu Chi Loving Middle School so that the process of forming pluralism in diverse schools can work well.
 Keywords: Pluralism, Tzu Chi Loving Middle School, Tolerance

This chapter introduces the interview participants and follows the stories of six who were introductory meditation students at Friends of the Heart and Chandrakirti Centre. It focuses on their answers to questions such as: how did you become interested in Buddhist practice or in meditation? Why did you enrol in a meditation class? The stories express some of the very first encounters with Buddhist teachings and practices that participants had, describing some of their earliest learning about the tradition. The chapter also explores respondents' perspectives on religion, and on participating in a religious or spiritual community. Through these stories, the chapter establishes participants' motivations for attending the classes and thus their earliest learning objectives.

Results from the recent growing trend in using mindfulness training to deal with depression report an evident decrease in depressive symptoms. The present idiographic case study explores the lived experience of how a woman with depression recovered through Buddhist teachings and practices. This single case adopted multiple data sources, including interviews, autobiographies, a genogram, and an autobiographical timeline. Member-checking and peer analysis are employed to enhance the trustworthiness. The first-hand data, analyzed through interpretative phenomenological analysis, reveal the perceived factors causing the informant’s depression, as well as benefits gained from Buddhist practices, and the insight learned from experiencing depression; by which insight self-benefiting altruism can accomplish personal growth by converting suffering into assets that help others. This exploratory research offers an alternative view through which to understand depression and non-medication treatments through Buddhist ideas, and also proposes future research directions.

The relationship between the features of bone marrow donor and the quality of marrow harvest has been unclear because most of bone marrow registries have multiple collection centers with somewhat different harvest procedures. We are able to address this issue for Tzu Chi General Hospital is the only collection center affiliated with Tzu Chi Taiwan Bone Marrow Registry. Between November 1997 and March 2002, data of 286 healthy unrelated donors was analyzed to correlate with the cell density of total nucleated cell in bone marrow harvests. The harvest procedure was standardized by single-hole harvest needle under general anesthesia. The operation staffs were restricted within the members of Oncology-Hematology division. The results showed that the cell density of bone marrow harvest was positively correlated with donor body weight and peripheral white blood cell count P = 0.0475, P < 0.0001, but negatively correlated with the total volume of bone marrow harvest P < 0.0001. We recommend that if multiple human leukocyte antigen-matched donors are available, donor with higher body weight and/or higher white blood cell count be selected for allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.

Servant leadership transforms the relationship between leaders and followers through a conscious choice to focus on the followers: understanding their motivations, capabilities, and development potentials. It emphasizes a genuine care of common interest and shared vision. While there is ample research on what is servant leadership, further research is required to illustrate how servant leadership could be implemented and sustained. This chapter offers a Buddhist perspective on servant leadership. It first expounds the Buddhist teachings on the doctrine of dependent arising (paṭiccasamuppāda) and selflessness (anatta) through which the nature and identity of the leader and the servant, and hence servant leadership could be understood through different lens. These teachings could contribute to the philosophical foundations required to dismantle the barriers between these identities and resolve the dilemma of a servant leader—being both a servant and a leader, allowing for the full manifestation of the servant leadership ideals. This chapter further looks into the exemplary servant leaders in Mahāyāna Buddhism, the Buddha-s and Bodhisattva-s, who are the embodiment of profound compassion and wisdom in their selfless mission and unrelenting effort to teach and heal all sentient beings. The chapter draws upon some critical insights from the Heart Sūtra and the Diamond Sūtra to inspire a possible enhanced and sustainable servant leadership model of ‘Interdependent Leadership’ based on Buddhist philosophies, teachings, and practices. In particular, this enhanced model could help sustain servant leadership in social entrepreneurship and other professions demanding persistent and deep emotional and intellectual strengths. The chapter concludes with further discussions on how servant leaders could benefit from Buddhist teachings by going beyond any fixation on identities of the leader and the follower.

West Jakarta is part of the special area of Jakarta which has developed for a long time as an old city and a metropolitan city. West Jakarta is a dense area that triggers the growth of slums. Slums are areas that do not have basic facilities such as electricity, drinking water, drainage systems, health facilities and public facilities, characterized by buildings that are physically and healthily unsuitable. Slums cause social problems such as poverty, and social problems are out of control. This research is a descriptive research with a Quantitative approach using data tabulation With the aim of this study, it discusses the Social Conditions in the Heavy Slum Settlement Community in Kapuk Village, Cengkareng District, West Jakarta. The result of this study is that there is a comparison of social conditions between slum RW areas in Kapuk Village The Kapuk region has a high immigrant population, which leads to inadequate educational facilities and limited access to clean water, sanitation, and education. Slums in this area can develop due to spatial planning, land status, and economic factors

Is there a place for Heidegger's philosophy and the Buddha's teachings (dhamma) in contemporary psychotherapy? The simple answer is yes. This article explores how the ideas of Being-in-the-world, Openness, Being-With, anticipatory care, letting be and letting go, cultivating a meditative attitude and a beginner's mind—promoted in Heidegger's philosophy, daseinsanalysis, and the Buddha's teachings—inform my approach to therapy and ground my Being as a therapist, and how this embodiment has been received by clients. Some important parallels and differences between Heideggerian and Buddhist ideas and practices are also discussed. Heidegger's philosophy, the Buddha's teachings, and daseinsanalysis provide therapists with important foundations for understanding their roles as cojourneyers with their clients, and embracing this attitude in therapy can make therapy truly a healing, rather than a curing, process.