Early life and career
Hsing Yun was born on the 22nd day of the seventh
lunar month (August 30 in Western standards), 1927 in
Jiangsu province in
China under the name Li Guoshen (李國深). He was the third of four children, with an older brother, an older sister, and a younger brother. His father left home to do business and was never heard from again. When his mother, who was a faithful Buddhist herself, was desperately searching for her husband, he went to
Nanjing. By chance, he came across a monk at Qixia Monastery. The host monastic asked young Li if he wanted to become a monastic, to which Li immediately answered "yes". At that time during Li's childhood, a civil war was ensuing and living conditions were harsh, which may have been a cursor for Li's tonsure at a young age.
[2] The host monastic requested that Li could be tonsured under Zhi Kai, the abbot of the monastery, therefore, Zhi Kai would be his master. At the age of twelve, young Li was
tonsured. He was ordained under two
dharma names, one to be used publicly and another for lineage purposes;
Jinjue (今覺,
to be enlightened today), and
Wuche (悟徹,
thorough realization of enlightenment).
In 1941, Jinjue was fully ordained and went on to formal monastic training at Qixia
Vinaya School and transferred to Chiao-Shan Buddhist College in 1945. One day, when Jinjue was still a student at Jiao-Shan Buddhist College, he happened to stumble onto the word "
Nebula" in the
dictionary, read as
Xīngyún in Chinese. Jinjue admired the infiniteness and boundlessness of these nebulas and wished that he could shed light on darkness and be as free and unbound as clouds and stars. Out of necessity and for safety issues, when Jinjue needed a new
identification card after China's victory over Japan, he gave himself the dharma name of
Hsing Yun (spelled in
Wade Giles pinyin).
He left the college at the age of twenty to become a principal at an elementary school in Yixing, a small town not far from Nanjing, where he learned about administration and interpersonal coordination skills. As mainland China was enmeshed in
civil war, he left his home in 1949 to head for
Taiwan. He began to propagate Buddhism around the age of 31 to 40 at
Ilan, thus beginning his writing and missionary career. In 1949, Hsing Yun wrote his first book, "Singing in Silence". In later years, he founded several Buddhist publications, was promoted as
editor-in-chief for many Buddhist periodicals and newsletters for various temples, wrote articles for major Taiwanese newsletters, and composed scripts for radio broadcast stations. In 1955, he published one of the first hardback biographies of the Buddha.
Sometime later during the
Cultural Revolution, his master Zhi Kai was killed and the monastery and college he attended was nearly destroyed by the
Red Guards. After his success in founding Fo Guang Shan, Hsing Yun would return to the Mainland in the 1980s to help fund for the college and monastery.
When Hsing Yun was a writer for local Taiwanese newsletters, magazines, and radio stations, he chose the
pseudonym of
Mo Jia (摩迦), the Chinese name for
Mahakasyapa, a senior disciple of the Buddha. He called himself this because he made a strenuous effort in promoting the Dharma and writing. Some time later, he called himself
Jiao Fu (腳夫), meaning
porter. He called himself this because he served people, carried loads and labored. Jiao Fu was also the pen name for a
romantic novel Hsing Yun wrote called "National Master Yulin" (玉琳國師), which was later turned into a television soap opera,
Continued Fate of Love.
In the 1950s, Hsing Yun taught numerous classes, built many schools for children, recorded the first Buddhist hymns, and was promoted as an executive in many Buddhist associations. In 1957, Hsing Yun established a Buddhist cultural center in which a variety of Buddhist books are published with training tools such as audio and visual aids. In 1959, Hsing Yun also supported the
Tibetan movement against
communist suppression, and organized the first float parade in celebration of
the Buddha's birthday in Taiwan. Hsing Yun was instrumental in building the
Buddha Memorial Center in Kaohsiung, housing a tooth relic of the Buddha that was presented to him by Kunga Dorje Rinpoche in 2001. The facilities were opened in 2011.
Hsing Yun was one of eight venerables who proposed the semiannual
World Buddhist Forum in China in 2004, a suggestion that won support from Buddhist circles in countries like Japan and the Republic of Korea.
[edit] Health
In recent years, Hsing Yun has been confined to a wheelchair and had not made extensive public appearances, contrasting to previous years when he made several trips to his chapter temple branches. On December 26, a day after the opening of the Buddha Memorial Center in
Kaohsiung, Hsing Yun suffered a minor stroke and was in stable condition when he was rushed to the hospital.
[8]
[edit] Interreligious Exchange
[edit] Roman Catholic Church
In 1997, Hsing Yun was invited to a Cross-century Religious Dialogue with
Pope John Paul II. Under the invitation of the
Roman Catholic Church at the
Vatican, Hsing Yun met with the Pope to promote inter-religious exchange between the two parties and to pray for
world peace. On June 21, 2006, Hsing Yun met John Paul II's successor,
Pope Benedict XVI, in a general audience at
St. Peter's Basilica. During the meeting, Benedict XVI expressed his best regards for the Taiwanese and said he will pray for them. The
Pope also expressed the hope of meeting the Taiwanese people.
[edit] Fo Guang Shan
In 1967, Hsing Yun purchased more than 30 hectares in
Ta Shu Township,
Kaohsiung County as the site for the construction of a monastery. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 16. He began by building the colleges and their dormitories, and working slowly towards building the shrines.
[edit] Branch Temples
Soon after the building of Fo Guang Shan, many countries, including most parts of Taiwan, each had their own Fo Guang Shan branch temple.
Hsi Lai Temple (USA),
Nan Tien Temple (Australia), and
Nan Hua Temple (South Africa) are among the biggest branch temples. Fo Guang Shan branch temples can be found in the
United States,
Canada,
Brazil,
Japan,
Hong Kong,
Thailand,
Malaysia,
Australia (
Sydney,
Brisbane,
Melbourne,
Perth and
Wollongong),
France, the
Netherlands,
South Africa,
New Zealand (
Auckland and
Christchurch) and the
United Kingdom.
[edit] Abbotship: 1967-1985
Beginning in 1967, Hsing Yun served as the abbot of Fo Guang Shan for the first three terms, working to promote Humanistic Buddhism. Master Hsing Yun announced his
abdication on September 22, 1985. He handed not only the abbotship, but also gave
dharma transmission to his most senior disciple,
Hsin Ping.
[edit] Closing Fo Guang Shan
In May 1997, Master Hsing Yun announced that he would close the mountain gate of Fo Guang Shan to the general public, in part of his wish for himself and his disciples (lay and monastic) the cloistered atmosphere they need for their Buddhist practice. In Chinese Buddhism, it is common for most mountain monasteries to remain in retreat periodically for months, and sometimes years. At the end of 2000, ROC President
Chen Shui-bian and government officials from
Kaohsiung visited Fo Guang Shan bringing with them the wish from their constituents that Fo Guang Shan reopen its gates. Fo Guang Shan acceded and partially reopened the monastery a year later.
[edit] Involvement in Politics
Unlike most prominent Buddhist leaders in Taiwan who have withdrawn from making political statements or have kept them private, Hsing Yun is notable in openly involving himself with Taiwanese and Chinese politics, and is a prominent supporter of the
One China policy. For example, in 2009 Hsing Yun exclaimed that there are "no Taiwanese" and that Taiwanese "are Chinese."
[9] during the second
World Buddhist Forum, causing a rift between himself and those on the
Pan-Green coalition. He has also encouraged reconciliation between China and the Dalai Lama
[10], though he has distanced himself from the Dalai Lama in the past for fears of causing rifts between him and his organisation and the Chinese government.
[11] During the
2008 presidential election, Hsing Yun publicly endorsed Kuomintang candidate
Ma Ying-jeou.
[12]
