Buddhism teaches that suffering is inescapable but that everyone has the potential to overcome it.

Taiwan's Dharma Master Cheng Yen is the embodiment of such a soul. As a spiritual guru, Cheng Yen,

73, has an ethereal quality. Yet the Buddhist nun is also the well-grounded, no-nonsense head of a

non-profit humanitarian machine with divisions in 50 countries and nearly 10 million supporters and

volunteers. The Tzu Chi Foundation (tzu chi means compassionate relief) is known for the astonishing

speed and efficiency with which it brings aid to victims of natural disasters. Wherever calamities occur,

Tzu Chi volunteers and experts arrive promptly, dispensing food, medicine, blankets and warm clothing

(as they did recently in Japan) and, in the long term, rebuilding homes, clinics and schools. Countless

numbers have drawn succor from Tzu Chi's beneficence.

Buddhism also teaches that beings with good karma (deeds and thoughts) can be reborn into a higher

state. The hereafter is the realm of the unknown but, in this life, Cheng Yen is already a saint.