Tzu Chi Master Cheng Yen will be awarded Rotary International’s highest honor award

Tzu Chi Master Cheng Yen will be awarded Rotary International’s highest honor award (Central News Agency reporter Xu Zhiwei, Taipei, 2nd) Tzu Chi Master Cheng Yen...

(Central News Agency reporter Xu Zhiwei, Taipei, 2nd) Tzu Chi Master Cheng Yen will be awarded Rotary International’s highest honor award. Tzu Chi spokesperson He Risheng said that the Master believed that the award should be given to Tzu Chi people, and he did not dare to accept it.

The Rotary International Global Council awards the "Highest Honor Award" every year to commend the recipients for their humanitarian spirit and contribution to world peace. Previous recipients of the award include Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, former U.S. Presidents Reagan and Clinton, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, etc.

This year, the Rotary International Global Council awarded the highest honor award to the founder of Tzu Chi Foundation, Master Cheng Yen, recognizing Tzu Chi’s leadership role in charity all over the world. Master Cheng Yen is also the first Chinese recipient of the award. The awards ceremony is expected to be held at the Guandu Tzu Chi Zhiye Campus on the afternoon of the 4th, and Master Cheng Yen will also attend in person.

Tzu Chi Foundation spokesperson He Risheng said that after receiving the notification from Rotary International a week ago, he conveyed the message to Master Cheng Yen, but the Master always said that he did not deserve it and did not want to accept this award. He believed that this award should not be awarded to her personally, but should be awarded to all Tzu Chi people.

He Risheng said that Rotary International’s award of the highest honor to Master Cheng Yen is an affirmation of Master Cheng Yen and Tzu Chi’s spirit of great love around the world. He also hopes to use this platform to convey the Master’s wish to “purify people’s hearts, harmonize society, and pray for a world free from disasters,” and to allow Rotary International clubs around the world to have a wider understanding of Tzu Chi’s philosophy.