[eBook] The Path to Awakening Teachings on the Adapted Verses of the Thirty-Seven Practices to Enlightenment

Introduction

“Creating a life of happiness must start from the mind. If we can all work to purify our minds and strive to do good every day, this world can become a pure land filled with happiness.”

The Thirty-Seven Practices to Enlightenment are thirty-seven practices through which we can attain wisdom and reach the state of Nirvana. In this book, Dharma Master Cheng Yen uses the Adapted Verses of the Thirty-Seven Practices to Enlightenment as an outline to explain these essential practices, guiding practitioners onto the Bodhisattva-path.

About 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.