Madam Motoko 

Nian Ting

Interviewee: Madam Motoko 
Interviewers: Teacher Yao, Zhang; Zhang, Yu-Huang; Lan, Ting-Yun; Sun, Wei-Ting; Liu, Nian-Ting; Ni, Wei-Zheng; Zhang, Heng-yao; Cheng, Yin-Xuan 
Location: Still Thoughts Hall
Date: 2008.12.24

Q: What are those ceramic lanterns in front of Gratitude Hall (Gan-An Hall)?  What do they mean?

A: There are totally 10 of them and the producer is Madam Pen, Ya-Mei, which means “mind clear and clam, aspiration humongous and immense.”

Q: Can I ask who named this ramp “Fa Hua Ramp?” Does it mean anything in particular?

A:Fa Hua Ramp is particularly designed for the disabled and is seen as the “Bodhisattva Path, which means the same as “Lotus Sutra.”  As you look on both sides of the ramp, portrayed before you are events where the “bodhisattava” (nuns) of TzuChi have helped people worldwide; therefore, it is named Fa Hua Ramp.

Q: May I ask the meaning of the pictures on the copper door?

A: They are the lifetime stories of Dharma Master Cheng Yen comprising a total of 16 tables.  From the first to the third table, you can see the stories before Dharma Master Cheng Yen became a nun; after WWII, how she acquired medicine for her mother and how she suffered while losing her father.  The other tables portray events of after she became a nun; they are stories about how she strived to learn dharma and of the time she encouraged people to to put coin in bamboo piggy bank and save money for times of need.

What is that picture on the first front of Homily Hall?

A: It is the picture of Buddha sprinkling water to sanctify;  Buddha uses wisdom to sanctify our earth by way of sprinkling water so as to release those who have suffered and allow all to evade disasters.

Q: What are those special chairs?

A: Those are lotus chairs designed by Dharma Master Cheng Yen, that had been also modified over 20 times.  The carvings are not only quite exquisite but also serve multiple functions. The most common use is that of a chair, but it can also be used as a book shelf while learning scriptures; even more intriguing is that there is also a compartment within the chair.  The whole design of the chair shows the earnestness of Dharma Master Cheng Yen in all things she does.

Q:What do those characters on the door of Homily Hall mean?

A:  That door is called “Wu Liang Yi Men .”   Those inscriptions are carefully and neatly done!  They are written by Dharma Master Cheng Yen with her own hands.  She wrote one of paragraphs from Wu Liang Yi Jing (the Innumerable Meanings Sutra.)