Born in Chingshui, Taiwan in 1937. Was ordained as a Buddhist nun at the age of twenty-six years (1963). She established the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation (1966), then the Tzu Chi Merits Society, and for over three decades Tzu Chi has concentrated its activities in the four major missions of charity, medicine, education and culture.

Tzu Chi has become an international organization with over 5 million supporters and over 30,000 certified members who carry out its missions globally. The foundation provides disaster relief throughout the world, sending supplies to disaster victims and volunteers to help them rebuild their lives. Tzu Chi has built hospitals, colleges, and research centers as well as developed educational, social, and cultural programs for its local communities.

She was awarded the Eisenhower Medallion for her contributions to world peace. She has been nominated in 1996 for the Nobel Peace Prize for her selfless dedication to bringing to a troubled world a renewed vision of compassion in action. She was named as one of the fifty "Stars of Asia" leaders at the forefront of change in the July 2000 issue of Business Week. In 1991 she received the Philippine Magsaysay Award, the ‘Asian Nobel Prize.’

Most of her written works are in a Mandarin and her voice and beliefs are manifested in the quarterly international publication Tzu Chi: Buddhism in Action.