April 22, 2025
Walking meditation celebrates Tzu Chi’s 59th year, Master Cheng Yen’s birthday
By Joy Rojas
Solemnity and joy marked Tzu Chi Philippines’ commemoration of the foundation’s 59th year and Dharma Master Cheng Yen’s birthday on April 21 at the Buddhist Tzu Chi Campus in Sta. Mesa, Manila.
The auspicious events saw 123 commissioners, volunteers, volunteers in training, staff members, and guests gather just before sunrise outside the Jing Si Abode to honor Master Cheng Yen and her humanitarian organization with a walking meditation. Regarded as a spiritual journey, the practice of taking three short steps then a bow represents humility, devotion, and cleansing from the wrongdoings of the past.
“We also do it in gratitude for Master Cheng Yen and Tzu Chi. We are the first generation of Master’s disciples,” says Ophelia Sy, who guided those in attendance before the start of the walk. “Because of Master Cheng Yen, we have Tzu Chi, and because of Tzu Chi, many people have found relief.”
After slowly making their way from the garden to the front of the Jing Si Abode, the participants, with their heads bowed and their palms joined in prayer, broke into a cheerful birthday greeting for the Tzu Chi founder then waved their hands in the air. The celebratory mood continued inside Harmony Hall, where a breakfast of noodle soup (misua) and steamed birthday buns dusted in peach color awaited them. After a brief rest, it was off to the Jing Si Hall for a sutra chanting ceremony.
“We wish her good health,” says Sy of what Filipino volunteers want for Master Cheng Yen on her special day. “The most important thing is that she will be able to speak for us for a long time, so that the world will be filled with hope.”
An aerial view of the garden where participants in the walking meditation slowly make their way to the front of the Jing Si Abode.
An aerial view of the garden where participants in the walking meditation slowly make their way to the front of the Jing Si Abode.
In the walking meditation, participants take three measured steps before bowing.
An orderly formation is achieved from the start to the finish of the walking meditation.
Tzu Chi Philippines CEO Henry Yuñez (left) and Tzu Chi Philippines’ first CEO Linda Chua lead participants in this year’s walking meditation.
No one is ever too young or old to join the walking meditation.
No one is ever too young or old to join the walking meditation.
While previous walking meditations have seen participants bowing in full prostration, simple bowing is just as reverent.
Participants cheerfully greet Master Cheng Yen on her birthday.
Tzu Chi Philippines CEO Henry Yuñez encouraged volunteers to “continue to move forward” and “work hard.”
“Because of Master Cheng Yen, we have Tzu Chi, and because of Tzu Chi, many people have found relief,” said volunteer Ophelia Sy, who briefed participants before the walking meditation.
Volunteers spend the rest of the morning at the Jing Si Hall for a sutra chanting ceremony.
Volunteers spend the rest of the morning at the Jing Si Hall for a sutra chanting ceremony.
Volunteers spend the rest of the morning at the Jing Si Hall for a sutra chanting ceremony.