About the Author

Dharma Master Cheng Yen was born in 1937 in a small town in Taichung County, Taiwan. When she was twenty-three years old, she left home to become a Buddhist nun, and was instructed by her mentor, Venerable Master Yin Shun, to work “for Buddha’s teachings, for sentient beings.” In 1966, she founded a charity, which later turned into the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, to “help the poor and educate the rich”—to give material aid to the needy and inspire love and humanity in both givers and recipients.

In recent years, Master Cheng Yen’s contributions have been increasingly recognized by the global community. In 2011, she was recognized with the Roosevelt Institute’s FDR Distinguished Public Service Award and was named to the 2011 TIME 100 list of the world’s most influential people. In 2014, she was presented with Rotary International’s Award of Honor in recognition of her humanitarian efforts and contributions to world peace.

Introduction

Since the publication of the first two volumes of Dharma Master Cheng Yen’s Still Thoughts in English (“Jing Si” in Chinese) in 1996, many people have been touched by her wise and compassionate words.

Still Thoughts Volume I and II were followed by an additional volume called Jing Si Aphorisms Volume 3 in 2010, as well as several other aphorism collections in books and other formats. These Still Thoughts and Jing Si Aphorisms have been translated from the original Chinese into as many as eighteen languages, making their concise wisdom accessible to people the world over.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Tzu Chi, the organization Dharma Master Chen Yen founded in 1966, we are honored and grateful for the opportunity to offer a revised translation of these short teachings.

This volume includes a total of 365 short teachings, which makes it particularly suitable for daily reading and reflection over the course of a year. The second part of the book includes a Q&A with Dharma Master Cheng Yen, where she answers questions from visitors regarding love and relationships, life and death, religion and everyday living, and much more. We sincerely hope that you will find wisdom and inspiration in these pages and that they will benefit your life and the lives of those around you.

作者簡介

證嚴上人於1937年出生於臺灣臺中清水。在1963年，證嚴上人依印順導師為親教師出家，師訓「為佛教，為眾生」，證嚴上人奉持不懈。1966年，證嚴上人創辦佛教克難慈濟功德會。慈濟世界在法師慈悲呵護下，數十年來，一步一步堅實茁壯，逐步發展為慈善、醫療、教育、人文四大志業，以及國際賑災、環保、社區志工、骨髓捐贈八大腳印，透過親手拔除眾生的苦痛，以善與大愛膚慰人間。

近年來，證嚴上人的貢獻獲得國際間一致推崇；於2011年獲美國羅斯福基金會頒贈「傑出公共服務獎」， 並被《時代雜誌》列為2011年全球百大最具影響力人物。2014年獲頒國際扶輪社「最高榮譽獎」，肯定證嚴上人對於人道主義精神與世界和平的貢獻。

內容簡介

靜思語第一集及第二集英文版(Still Thoughts)於1996年出版後，證嚴上人睿智的話語感動了很多讀者。 繼2010年出版靜思語第三集英文版(Jing Si Aphorisms)之後，還陸續出版了其他靜思語多國語對照等版本。簡短又充滿智慧的靜思語已被翻譯成18種語言，讓智慧法語跨越語言國界，傳到世界各地。

今年適逢慈濟五十週年，編輯出版團隊很榮幸且很感恩能夠重新編輯翻譯，希冀讓靜思語第二集修訂版更貼近證嚴上人的法，更準確傳遞靜思法脈精神。

本書集結了365句靜思語，剛好能讓讀者每日讀，於一年內細細品味，足以作為現代人生活的指引。書中的第二部，則集結證嚴上人隨緣開示的問答，包含情愛、人際關係、生死、宗教等生活中的煩惱與疑慮，都可以善用上人的智慧妙解。誠心期盼讀者在閱讀此書時心靈獲得滋潤與啟發，豐富讀者的生活。