Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation

The Tzu Chi (Ciji) Foundation is a large and multifaceted Buddhist organization based in Taiwan, best known for its charitable activities and altruistic ethos. Tzu Chi represents the fastest growing humanistic or this-worldly lay Buddhist movement in the Chinese cultural sphere in the 21st century, and it is one of the world's largest nonprofit relief and charity organizations. Worldwide, this lay Buddhist organization claims more than 5 million followers, with branches in 39 countries; it has implemented rescue and relief work in more than 61 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, El Salvador, and South Africa.

Its extraordinary growth is among the notable features of the Taiwanese Buddhist revival of the late 20th century. It is also intertwined with the social and political changes that marked Taiwan's transition ...