Yun Hsing

Background

Hsing Yun was born Li Guoshen on August 19, 1927, in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China. Having grown up in a poor household with both parents working, Hsing Yun was left in the care of his maternal grandmother, a practicing Buddhist and meditator and a person his first exposure to Buddhism came from. After the Sino-Japanese War broke out while accompanying his mother to search for his missing father, who had most likely lost his life in the war in 1938, he was tonsured by eminent Master Zhikai in Qixia Temple, Nanjing, with Dajue Temple in Yixing, Jiangsu, as his ancestral temple.

Education

Hsing Yun never received formal school education, though after being fully ordained in 1941 he studied at Qixia Vinaya School. In 1947, Hsing Yun graduated from Jiaoshan Buddhist College, where he underwent a complete Buddhist education of Ch’an, Vinaya, doctrinal traditions.

Career

In 1947 Hsing Yun graduated from Jiaoshan Buddhist College and later became the principal of Baita Elementary School, editor-in-chief of Raging Billows Monthly and abbot of Huazang Temple in Nanjing.

Hsing Yun arrived in Taiwan in 1949 and became the dean of the Taiwan Buddhist Seminar as well as the editor-in-chief of Human Life Magazine. In 1953, he became the guiding teacher for the Buddhist Chanting Association of Yilan and subsequently established the Buddhist Cultural Service Centre in Taipei, in 1957. In 1964, he founded Shou Shan Temple and Shou Shan Buddhist College in Kaohsiung; and then founded the Fo Guang Shan (Buddha’s Light Mountain) Buddhist Order in 1967. With the objectives: to propagate the Dharma through culture; to foster talents through education; to benefit society through charity, and to purify people’s minds through spiritual cultivation, he has dedicated his efforts to propagating Humanistic Buddhism. Additionally, he integrated tradition and modernity in establishing the rules and regulations which were drafted and published into the Rules and Regulations of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order, bringing Buddhism into a new milestone of modernization.

Having been a monastic for over seventy years, Hsing Yun has successively established over three hundred temples around the world, among which Hsi Lai Temple in the United States, Nan Tien Temple in Australia, Nan Hua Temple in South Africa, and Zulai Temple in Brazil, each being the largest in the country. He also founded sixteen Buddhist Colleges, twenty-four art galleries, libraries, several publishing companies, bookstores, fifty Cloud and Water Mobile Libraries, fifty Chinese schools, as well as Chih-Kuang Commercial and Industrial Vocational High School, Pu-Men Senior High School, Jiun Tou Elementary and Junior High School, Junyi School for Innovative Learning, and several kindergartens. Other education institutes were also established in the United States, Taiwan, Australia, and the Philippines such as Hsi Lai University (now University of the West), Fo Guang University, Nanhua University, Nan Tien Institute, and Guang Ming College respectively. In 2006, the University of the West became the first university established by a Chinese organization to be accredited by WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges).

Beginning in 1970, Hsing Yun successively established a children’s home, the Fo Guang Senior Citizens Home, the Cloud and Water Mobile Clinic, the Fo Guang Clinic, helped the Kaohsiung government establish a senior citizen’s home, and together with the Fu Hui Foundation. In addition, he established multiple Fo Guang middle and elementary schools and hospitals in China. He has also donated wheelchairs and combination houses, provided emergency relief aids, educated the young, provided for the elderly, and supported the poor and needy around the world.

In 1976, with Hsing Yun's active participation the Fo Guang Academic Journal was founded. The next year, the Fo Guang Tripitaka Editing Committee was founded to repunctuate and paragraph the canons. The committee compiled the Fo Guang Buddhist Canon (totaled nearly 1,000 volumes), and the Fo Guang Buddhist Dictionary. In 1988, Fo Guang Shan Foundation for Buddhist Culture & Education was founded to hold symposiums and publish collections of dissertations, as well as journals. In 1997, the 132-volume Selected Chinese Buddhist Texts in Modern Language was published and the CD-Rom edition of Fo Guang Buddhist Dictionary was released. In the same year, Venerable Master assisted in establishing M-Radio in Taichung, and the Buddha’s Light Satellite Television Station (now Beautiful Life Television) was established. In 2000, the Merit Times Daily News was founded.

Hsing Yun wrote the Biography of Sakyamuni Buddha, Essential Guides to Buddhism, Fo Guang Textbooks, Hundred Sayings Series, Between Ignorance and Enlightenment, Ten Thousand Affairs in the World, Modern Thoughts, Wise Mentality, A Record of a Discussion on Modern-day Questions, Sayings in Humanistic Buddhism, Collection of Papers on Humanistic Buddhism, Buddhist Affinities Across 100 Years, and Hear Me Out: Messages from a Humble Monk. Totaling more than 20 million words, these works were translated into over twenty languages, such as English, German, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Portuguese, and have been circulated to all corners of the world.

With over two thousand disciples from around the world and over a million devotees around the world, Hsing Yun has spread the teachings far and wide. His Dharma heirs, numbering more than a hundred, come from provinces across China, as well as Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia. These Dharma heirs include Venerable Longxiang (President of Nanjing Buddhist Association), Venerable Zhenguang (President of Baoding Buddhist Association), Venerable Daoji (President of Jinzhou Buddhist Association), and Venerable Daojian (Standing Executive Board Member of the Buddhist Association of China). In 1991, Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) was established and he was elected president of the World Headquarters. To this day, over 170 chapters have been established over the five continents, making it the largest Chinese organization around the world; allowing “the Buddha’s Light shining over three thousand realms, and the Dharma water flowing continuously through the five continents.”

BLIA General Conferences have successively been held in Los Angeles, Toronto, Sydney, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and other major cities around the world, drawing the attendance of over 5,000 delegates each time. In 2003, BLIA was officially granted Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) association status by the United Nations. Throughout the years, the themes include: Joy and Harmony; Oneness and Coexistence; Respect and Tolerance; Peace and Equality; Nature and Life; Wholeness and Freeness; One Truth For All; To Resolve and To Develop; Self-awareness and Practicing the Buddha’s way; Change the World and Benefit Humanity; Bodhisattva and Volunteer; Environmental and Spiritual Preservation; Happiness and Peace; and Future and Hope. All of these advocate the philosophy of “the global citizen,” in order for it to become the direction of modern thinking as well as the value that is universally pursued by all.

Achievements

• Hsing Yun is considered one of the most influential Buddhist leaders. Starting in 1978, due to his work in the areas of culture, education, and humanity, Hsing Yun has received honorary Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Oriental Studies in the United States, the University of the West, Chulalongkorn Buddhist University in Thailand, the University Santo Tomas in Chile, Dongguk University in Korea, Mahamakut Buddhist University in Thailand, Griffith University in Australia, Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei, Whittier College in the United States, National Sun Yat-sen University in Kaohsiung, Hong Kong University, Geumgang University in Korea, Macau University, National Chung Cheng University in Chiayi, Uiduk University in Korea, and National Pingtung University.
  
  In recent years, Hsing Yun has also been awarded honorary professor by universities across China such as: Nanjing University, Beijing University, Xiamen University, Nanchang University, Yangzhou University, Shandong University, Wuhan University, Renmin University of China, Tongji University in Shanghai, Hunan University, Shanghai Normal University, Zhejiang University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He has also received numerous awards from the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Education. In 2000, President of the Republic of China presented him the “National Civic-Service Award.” In 2002, he was listed as the ten greatest leaders in educational undertakings. In 2005, he also received the President’s Award “Bodhi Award of Culture.” These are all recognitions to Hsing Yun’s contributions to the nation, society, and Buddhism.

Works

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  • Endless Knot: Venerable Master Hsing Yun on Living, Dying, and Learning

    (We can all be bound up by life's big questions: where did...)

    2012
  • The Great Realizations: A Commentary on the Eight Realizations of a Bodhisattva Sutra

    (The Eight Realizations of a Bodhisattva Sutra allows us t...)

    2010
  • The Rabbit's Horn: A Commentary on the Platform Sutra

    (The Rabbit's Horn is a new English translation and commen...)

    2010
  • Being Good

    (The aim of this book is simple: to invite readers to cons...)

    2016
  • Sutra of the Medicine Buddha

    (The Medicine Buddha wishes that those suffering from seri...)

    2019
  • Chan Heart, Chan Art

    (This is a unique volume that pairs 100 traditional Chan (...)

    2007
  • Life: Politics, Human Rights, and What the Buddha Said About Life

    (In Life, Master Hsing Yun articulates the Buddhist view o...)

    2011
  • For All Living Beings: A Guide to Buddhist Practice

    (In For All Living Beings, Venerable Master Hsing Yun show...)

    2010
  • Infinite Compassion, Endless Wisdom: The Practice of the Bodhisattva Path

    (Infinite Compassion, Endless Wisdom introduces us to the ...)

    2010
  • The Carefree Life

    (Venerable Master Hsing Yun offers guidance in this book f...)

    2004
  • The Biography of Sakyamuni Buddha

    (Drawn from ancient textual sources, the Biography of Saky...)

    2013
  • Traveling to the Other Shore: Buddha's Stories on the Six Perfections

    (Drawn from the Buddhist scriptures, Traveling to the othe...)

    2008
  • Essence of Buddhism

    (The latest in Buddha's Light Publishing's ongoing series ...)

    2012
  • Keys to Living Well: Dharma Words 1

    (With Keys to Living Well, Venerable Master Hsing Yun has ...)

    2005
  • Describing the Indescribable

    (The Diamond Sutra is revered throughout Asia as one of th...)

    2001
  • 365 Days For Travelers

    (A daybook of readings from the Chinese and Buddhist tradi...)

    2015
  • A Moment, A Lifetime

    (Buddhist practice is about cultivating each moment so tha...)

    2006
  • Only a Great Rain: A Guide to Chinese Buddhist Meditation

    (Very little has been published to date on China's rich tr...)

    1999
  • Seeking Happiness

    (People in all walks of life are actively pursuing happine...)

    2008
  • Listen to Hsing Yun

    (This book selects about two hundred essays written by Mas...)

    2011
  • The Awakening Life

    (The life of a Buddhist is a life dedicated to awakening. ...)

    2002
  • Ten Paths to Happiness

    (We all want to be happy. Twenty-six hundred years ago a y...)

    2014
  • Humanistic Buddhism: Holding True to the Original Intents of Buddha 2016

• Calligraphy

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Religion

Hsing Yun has been credited by Buddhist scholars as one of the forefront leaders in the modern reformation of Buddhism by opening monasteries, universities, and schools all around the world, as well as engaging in religious dialogue with other Buddhist sects and orders. He famously twice visited successive Popes in Rome to promote inter-religious exchange and pray for world peace. Hsing Yun's Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order is a proponent of Humanistic Buddhism being originally a follower of the Linji school of Chan Buddhism.

Politics

In Taiwan, Hsing Yun is notable for his activity in political affairs, particularly as a supporter of the One-China policy as well as government legislation supported by the Kuomintang, and has been criticized for his views by those in favor of Taiwan independence and by religious figures, as being overtly political and "considerably far afield from traditional monastic concerns". During the 2008 presidential election, Hsing Yun publicly endorsed Kuomintang candidate Ma Ying-jeou.

Views

To promote world peace over the years Hsing Yun has met with leaders of different countries including King Bhumibol of Thailand, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, President Diosdado Macapagal of the Philippines, President of Dominica Sir Clarence Seignoret, Vice President of the United States Al Gore and three Prime Ministers of Malaysia Mahathir, Abdullah Badawi and Najib. Besides, Venerable Master has also had religious dialogues with other religious leaders such as President of the World Fellowship of Buddhists HSH Princess Poon Pismai Diskul, Roman Catholic Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.

Hsing Yun has also held cultural exchange forums with Swedish Academy Nobel Committee member Professor Goran Malmqvist, Swedish Sinologist Professor Torbjorn Loden, Harvard University’s Professor Ezra Vogel, and Winner of Nobel Prize in Literature Mo Yan. In 2013, his meeting with three successive Presidents of Mainland China, Xi Jinping, Hu Jintao, and Jiang Zemin has written a new page in the Buddhism history.

Throughout his lifetime of propagating Humanistic Buddhism, Venerable Master Hsing Yun has indeed contributed tremendously to the systematization, modernization, humanization, and internationalization of Buddhism development.

Membership

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  Fo Guang Shan , Taiwan

  1967 - 1985

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  Buddha's Light International Association

  1985 - present

Personality

Physical Characteristics: On 26 December 2011, Hsing Yun suffered a minor ischemic stroke, his second in that year. In his older years, Hsing Yun began suffering from numerous health issues, including diabetes and near blindness.

Interests

• art, calligraphy

• Philosophers & Thinkers

  Linji Yixuan

• Politicians

  Ma Ying-jeou

Connections

As a Buddhist monk, Hsing Yun is not married and has no children.

mentor:

Zhikai

Acquaintance:

Pope John Paul II

Acquaintance:

Joseph Ratzinger

References

• Eating with Grand Master Hsing Yun
  2014