Mei Lin Chen was born on October 12, 1949, in Taipei, Taiwan, to Wei-Ming and Shu-Fen Chen. She grew up in a household where Buddhist practice was woven into the fabric of daily life — morning offerings, evening chanting, and the quiet understanding that every action carries consequence. Mei Lin absorbed these teachings naturally and spent her life embodying them. She immigrated to the United States in 1975, settling in San Francisco's Richmond District, where she built a life of quiet purpose. She worked as a licensed acupuncturist for over thirty years, treating patients with a combination of clinical skill and genuine compassion that kept many of them returning for decades. She believed that healing was not only physical, and she listened to her patients with the full attention that is the rarest of gifts. Mei Lin was a devoted practitioner at the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association in the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, where she participated in meditation retreats, volunteered in the kitchen during community meals, and helped translate dharma texts from Chinese to English. She took the Bodhisattva precepts in 1990 and lived them with consistency and grace. She raised her daughter, Lily, as a single mother after her husband's early death, working long hours while still finding time to cook elaborate Sunday dinners, tend her rooftop garden, and take long walks in Golden Gate Park. Her daughter describes a mother who was calm in every storm, who never raised her voice, and who taught by example that equanimity is not indifference — it is the deepest form of strength. Mei Lin Chen passed peacefully on August 6, 2026, at the age of 76. May she rest in the light of the dharma.

Hobbies & interests

Practicing acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine; tending her rooftop garden of herbs and vegetables; taking long walks in Golden Gate Park; translating dharma texts from Chinese to English; cooking elaborate Sunday dinners for her daughter and grandchildren; participating in meditation retreats

Survived by

Her daughter, Lily Chen-Morrison (James) of Oakland, CA; three grandchildren; her brother, Wei-Cheng Chen of Taipei, Taiwan; and the many patients and dharma friends whose lives she touched.

Preceded in death by

Her husband, Robert Tsung-Han Chen; her parents, Wei-Ming and Shu-Fen Chen; and her sister, Mei-Hua Chen-Lin.