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NEWS
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| 2008
Letter from Master Hsing Yun
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Dear
Dharma Protectors and Friends,
Happy
New Year to you all!
Ever since I announced the scaling down of my public
appearances, I have not stopped my progress in propagating the
Dharma. I have nevertheless continued to promote education, kept
writing, restored my ancestral temple and propagated Humanistic
Buddhism. I have single-mindedly devoted myself to the endeavor
for a purer, better and more beautiful earth without ever
slacking off. Time passes by quickly, and the end-of-the-year
plum blossom fragrance has once again arrived. In time of a new
year, I sincerely wish and pray: may all our Dharma protectors
and devotees be blessed with “Prosperous Future Generations,”
and “Harmonious Conditions in All.”
I have always found joy in being an uninvited
helper. Throughout the past year, despite no longer attending
meetings or delivering large-scale lectures, I have given talks
to devotees at FGS branch temples’ Dharma services, traveled to
FGS temples around the world and taught them how to cook the
La-pa Congee, which serves as a token of appreciation for our
devotees and Dharma protectors in place of tea. I have also
planned the future developments of our art gallery, Water Drop
Teahouse, and Open University, hoping that they would abide by
the spirit of “being a happy giver,” as the more you give, the
bigger your world would become. In terms of the roles of BLIA
and FGS in contemporary society, I proposed diversity of
activities and enthusiasm in spreading the Dharma. At the
Reading Association Seminars, Academic Paper Presentation and
Doctorate and Master’s Degree Graduates Forum, I also proposed
the need to nurture talents and develop the habit of reading,
because gaining knowledge is the trend of the modern era. I
believe reading and knowledge are the two essential elements to
dealing with the world without hindrances.
In time of BLIA’s 16th anniversary, I encouraged our global
Buddha’s Light members to experience Buddhism in everyday life
by “Pass your days happily, travel life’s path with an upright
character, live with a carefree mind, and maintain spiritual and
physical wellbeing.” I also gave Dharma talks on “The Secret
Code of Life” and “Endurance as Power” at the Three Gorges
Museum and Sichuan Buddhist College at Chongqing Huayan Temple;
and held dialogues with Hong Kong Phoenix Television Executive
President Liu Chang-le on “Phoenix Television and Fo Guang
Shan,” “Managing the Mind,” “The Philosophy of Tolerance,” and
“A Harmonious Society.” While social problems may be endless, it
needs to be realized that their ultimate cause are human being’s
greed, hatred and ignorance; and the way to find a peaceful life
is through “ceasing all evil, and practicing all goods” as
expounded in Buddhism, so that purification of the self and its
desires can be accomplished. Whether delivering speeches when
needed and joyfully giving talks, language and writing are all
ways through which I express my humble thoughts and real life
experiences of the Dharma. It is my sincere hope that these will
at least be of some help to the spiritual growth and development
of humanity.
Last June, I visited the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for a health
check-up under the ardent invitation of James Yuan-Hsiu Chao and
his wife Lydia. The modest and amiable working atmosphere
inspired me to write an article on “A Chronicle of My Physical
Check-up at Mayo Clinic, Rochester,” which was published on
Better Life Magazine.
The 21st Century is an era of the global village. It is very
important that there is harmony and peaceful coexistence between
Mahayana, Theravada, Esoteric and Exoteric Buddhism as well as
other religions. As chairperson of the Religious Committee, I am
responsible for promoting religious exchanges in Taiwan.
Therefore, on last New Year’s Day, the 2007 Respect and Care
Musical Prayer Service was co-organized by the Christian Church
and twelve other religious organizations, while the Kaohsiung
City Government organized an Inter-Religious Forum, and the John
Tung Foundation invited seven major religious organizations to a
dialogue on suicide prevention. All of these are the
joint-pursuit for a better future, and peace and love among the
human race, which is truly worthy of rejoicing and cheering for.
On the other hand, construction of Fo Guang Shan Nantai Temple,
Tokyo branch, Auckland branch, Christchurch branch, and Chung
Tian Temple Pagoda have been completed successively. Jian Zhen
Library in Yangzhou was also inaugurated on New Year’s Day after
more than two years of construction. In the future, we also plan
to establish the World Research Center for Buddhist Studies in
Gold Coast, Australia to promote Buddhist studies and
inter-religious harmony.
News of the unfortunate incident about the Buddhist monks in
Myanmar came while I was presiding over a Refuge Taking and Five
Precepts Ceremony in Australia. They have bravely stepped out of
the monastery to speak for the Burmese people’s yearning for
peace. Although they expressed their hope for an improved nation
by a peaceful sitting, the crimson robes that symbolize great
compassion and courage were unfortunately stained with the blood
of violence. Force can never bring peace to this world. Let us
express our sincere prayers to the Buddha for continued support
and blessings for these Myanmar monks.
Throughout its history, Buddhism has never tried to subdue
anyone with force. Instead, people have happily accepted
Buddhism for its spirit of compassion and loving-kindness. Every
bell sound heard from the Buddhist temples carries with it the
ardent wishes for “eternal cessation of wars and an end to the
use of force.” It is said that the sound of the bell will spread
to all the worlds, and that the waves of its sounds will bring
forth fearlessness and peace to sentient beings in all three
thousand realms.
The bell of Hanshan Temple in Suzhou, China was turned
world-famous by a Tang dynasty poem – “Night Mooring at Maple
Bridge;” and today, the people of Taiwan will all be able to
hear its sounds. With much gratitude to Venerable Master Qiu
Shuang of Hanshan Temple, who kindly agreed to present a
duplicate of the bell to Fo Guang Shan as a gift. This
Tang-style “Bell of Peace and Harmony” symbolize harmony and
friendship between these two brother temples. A special ceremony
was held at Linkou Stadium to welcome the sound of this peace
bell, and to pray for peace between the two sides of the Taiwan
Strait and freedom from the terrors of war.
In order to express our thoughts on this extraordinarily
wonderful occasion, Yeh Xiao-wen, China’s Director of the State
Administration for Religious Affairs, and I each composed a
poem: “The same moon shines over the bend of shallow water, yet
both shores remain sleepless over homesickness; Say not that
Buddha’s Light is a thousand miles away, for brothers are now
joined by the sounds of the bell.” And “The mundane connection
between the two shores have been like a dream, flesh and bones
are like paths that never cross; the ancient Hanshan Temple of
Suzhou has now delivered the sound of peace to Taiwan.”
Other things worth mentioning include that BLIA Chunghwa and the
Central Devotee’s Association of the Jogye Order of Korean
Buddhism have become brother associations; Fo Guang University
and Otani University of Japan have signed an Academic Exchange
Agreement; and Pu-men Senior High School and Far East University
have become partners in strategic education plans. Pu-men girl’s
gymnastic team came first in the group division at the national
competition; Fo Guang Shan Christchurch had won the National
Architecture Award and Civic Trust Awards 2007 for outstanding
green building; and Chung Tian Temple has been listed a popular
pilgrimage site by Day Trip Secrets Brisbane.
This year has been a fruitful year for Humanistic Buddhism as it
spreads from Taiwan to other parts of the world. Nan Hua Temple
organized the first Group Buddhist Wedding in Africa; Fo Guang
Shan Geneva Conference Center held its first Eight Precepts
Ceremony; Calcutta Buddhist Centre organized the Buddha’s
Birthday Celebration Bathing the Buddha Float, re-showing how
Buddha challenged the Indian Caste System, emphasizing all are
equal and have the right to experience and learn the Dharma; the
2008 Olympic torch relay passed through IBPS Holland; and BLIA
Young Adults Division, under the leadership of Venerable Hui
Chuan, held its international conference inside the United
Nations Conference Hall in Switzerland. All of these historical
events have come from years of dedication by Buddha’s Light
members. It is they who had made these glorious achievements
possible.
In response to global issues, BLIA chapters and FGS branches
around the world have organized a series of events to take part
in the World Environment Day such as beach clean-up, tree
planting and forestation, environmental protection camps and
energy conservation. In Europe, an International Children's
Drawing Competition was organized in response to “International
Day for the Eradication of Poverty” to bring higher awareness to
children on humanity care and compassion. The newly established
BLIA YAD university divisions organized charity trips to the
Philippines and around Taiwan for young adults to experience the
sufferings of the world, confront poverty, and learn to be
grateful for what they have been given.
The FGS New Year Neighborhood Day has not stopped its annual run
for more than two decades; the FGS Compassion Foundation has
promoted the Kaohsiung City Health Screening Project for New
Immigrants; IBPS London became the first Buddhist organization
in Europe to hold a prayer for homeless people; BLIA has
organized the Chanting Seminar and National Teacher’s Seminar
tour around Taiwan addressing issues on “Family and School;” Nan
Hua University held the “Seminar on the impact of low birth rate
on higher education and strategies for student recruitment;” and
Buddha’s Light Open University and Asia University Department of
Psychology co-initiated the Religious Counseling Laboratory. All
of these social education events are real-life examples of the
spirit of “Practicing the Buddha’s Way.”
To keep up with the steps of time, FGS initiated
an information digitization project to provide better service to
our devotees. The FGS website has been visited by more than five
million people each year, providing daily FGS news, online sutra
transcription, prayer as well as morning and evening chanting
services to make the internet a means of spiritual cultivation;
Merit Times Newspaper has introduced the weekend edition to
offer deeper readings about humanity; Humanistic Buddhist
Reading Association has provided a medium for book lovers to
share their reading experiences; while BLTV has become the only
NPO television station in Asia, whose innovative programs enable
worldwide viewers a better chance to get to know the Chinese
community’s contribution to society.
The rapid development of technology and economy has also brought
along with it much more complicated human issues. An attempt to
resolve these issues cannot be done without deepening focus on
education, because it will continue to have great influences on
human minds for all generations to come. I have devoted many
years of effort to monastic and social education, ensuring that
this field for talents is being continually cultivated. Last
year, classes at the Department of Buddhist Studies at Fo Guang
University commenced; it is the first
Ministry-of-Education-approved higher Buddhist educational
institution in Taiwan. The first class holds fifty students, and
lessons are conducted with English as a teaching language. At
the same time, the University women’s basketball team, led by
coach Lee Hyung-sook demonstrates an example of a fully
integrated education program for outstanding athletic students.
The Nan Hua University Ya Yue Court Orchestra has also received
invitations to perform around the world, thus showing the
youthful and energetic side of Buddhism.
Construction of the new Buddhist College in India has begun; the
foundation laying ceremony of Nan Tien University in Australia
also took place; and Pu-Men Senior High School will be relocated
to its new 1.2 billion dollar campus early this year.
Furthermore, the Master Hsing Yun and Humanistic Buddhism
Academic Conference and Buddhist Studies Theses Forum for
Members of the Fo Guang Shan Order represent my deepest
expectations in my disciples to acquire in-depth understanding
on Buddhist studies and greater skills in Dharma propagation. As
for education, we are planning to establish the Buddhist
Education League to broaden Buddhist education’s scope of
influence on the world by merging resources of Fo Guang Shan’s
education system with those of universities from Taiwan, Japan,
Korea and China.
In order to promote reading in society, the FGS Foundation for
Culture and Education established the Cloud and Water Mobile
Bookshop. It will be a moving library that brings classics and
present-day good books to remote places, thereby introducing a
new aspect of social education. The Urban Buddhist School has
started classes at several FGS branch temples; Fo Guang Shan
Malaysia organized the Buddhist Examination which attracted
thousands of candidates; and Humanistic Buddhist Reading Seminar
and the National Reading Expo have introduced the themes “Care
for Society,” “Reading,” and “Spiritual Cultivation” to present
the deeper and profound perspective of Buddhism as a part of
human life. Other than the above, events such as Life and Death
Studies, Comparative Philosophy, Buddhist Music in East Asia,
Buddhist Youth Academic Conference, Chan and Humanistic Buddhism
Academic Forum, National Teacher’s Life Education Camp, Fo Guang
Reading Seminar on English Buddhist Texts, BLIA YAD European
Subdivisions Seminar, 2007 International Buddha’s Light Young
Adult Executive Conference, Children’s Summer Camp, Children’s
Happy Chanting Camp, and Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery Training
Seminars around Taiwan have all added to the splendor of
Humanistic Buddhism.
In terms of culture and art, Universal Gate Magazine and Sin
Chiew Daily in Malaysia co-organized the Master Hsing Yun
Literature Award and Dharma talk series, where more than seven
hundred entries were received. The Sounds of the Human World
Buddhist Orchestra, established in 2006, went on a concert tour
around Taiwan. In the Philippines, “Siddhartha: A Musical
Journey to Enlightenment,” adapted from A Biography of Sakyamuni
Buddha and Cloud and Water received tremendous responses. The
future for Buddhism will be one that blooms with artistic and
literary endeavors.
In mid April, I was invited to give a talk at Yuelu Academy in
Changsha city, Hunan Province, China, which was established by
Venerable Zhi Xuan. In hearing about the construction project of
the Chinese Academy Museum, I happily offered to contribute to
it as a way to express my care and support in culture and
education.
At the end of 2007, I spent almost two months traveling around
China. I was very delighted to see Buddhism on the rise over
this land; not only are the people honest and kind, they are
also people who find joy in chanting the Buddha’s name. Suzhou
is known as “the place just below heaven alongside with Hangzou,”
the beautiful landscape resembles that of a Buddha’s pureland.
It is my hope that my disciples will bring into full play the
function of Jiaying Lodge (Jiaying huiguan) as a “Spiritual
Service Station,” a place where people can find spiritual solace
and comfort from something as simple as a painting, a cup of
tea, or a bowl of congee. The Lodge’s opening exhibition is on
“Rocks,” which corresponds very well to the Buddhist idea that
even icchantikas[i] can become
buddhas. This also happens to be my belief that all should have
the courage to say to themselves, “I am a Buddha.”
During my trip, I had also been invited to give a speech on
“Sharing Wealth and Social Harmony” at the 5th Global Chinese
Business Leaders Summit held at Pudong Shangri-La, Shanghai. For
as much wealth as there can be, there will still be a limit, and
money will not necessarily bring real content and happiness to
our lives and minds. Whilst pursuing tangible wealth, we must
also accumulate intangibles ones such as wisdom, morality,
compassion and a sense of remorse. Those who have wealth also
need to learn how to share, develop good affinities, give and
serve, because what is gained from society should be used in the
interests of society. On top of having wealth, there must also
be harmony, because harmony makes wealth possible, and wealth
should be used to make a harmonious society happen.
Other than the above, I also visited Shanghai Jiao Tong
University, a modern education institute with a century-old
history and a student population of forty thousand and more. I
toured this grand campus in awe, and realized there is still so
much more for me to learn.
Having been invited several times by my elder sister who has
lived in Guangxi for a very long time, I finally made time to
meet her in Liuzhou. Despite both being old and ill, I still
feel very happy to see her with a house full of grandchildren.
In the mundane eye, one would say that my sister is the one
enjoying happiness and longevity, yet, I am one who is still
single. Nevertheless, I have spent half a century traveling
abroad and abiding in a life of not having anything, and
becoming family with the multitude. I have absolutely no regret
in choosing the path I have traveled. In a matter of different
minds, a woman and her brother had chosen very different lives.
Other than visiting the bustling and flourishing cities of
Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing, I also flew to Yunan to visit the
Yunan Buddhist College and experience Buddhism in the Dali
Kingdom as well as the simple yet heartwarming Xi-Shuang-Ban-Na
minority group. As I gazed upon the beautiful Kunming Lake and
its autumn scenery, and Jingsha River's majestic Tiger Leaping
Gorge, I could not help but realize that its reputation of a
“Shangri-La” has really lived up to its name. What is more, the
harmony displayed between Tibetan and Theravada Buddhism in this
region is a paradigm of inter-religious exchanges.
I had spent every day of this two-month trip visiting places,
meeting guests, teaching my disciples and giving talks, living
like a top that spins endlessly. I may have been physically
exhausted, but I was always high-spirited. As I expect my
disciples to gain hands-on experiences, I should also practice
my own teachings by opening up my sensory organs and travel the
world with a humble mind to learn from every person I meet.
As I look back to my days in Taiwan, they can be divided it into
five decades: self-growth, establishment of Ilan Buddhist
Chanting Association, founding of Fo Guang Shan, establishing
BLIA, and enabling the internationalization of Buddhism. There
is also the restoration of Dajue Temple – the ancestral temple
of FGS. Dajue Temple is the place where I was tonsured seventy
years ago; and it is where I became an elementary school
principal sixty years ago. Upon returning to this place, the
glories from the past were no longer present. I have the
unshirkable duty to restore the cradle of my Dharma lineage, and
also have deep expectations in the disciples of Buddha’s Light
to remember where they all come from, and shoulder the
responsibility of restoring their ancestral temple.
As I pause my pen at this point in the letter, it is already
another spring. Having traveled my life this far, I cannot help
but wonder how much more of myself I could give to the world.
How much more of my heart can I contribute to Buddhism? Master
Zhao Zhou continued to travel despite his age of eighty for the
pursuit of ultimate truth and virtue. For me, also an
eighty-year-old monk, I traveled the world with the hope of
realizing a three-hundred-year-old life, and uphold my lifetime
principle: “Never have the heart to watch sentient beings suffer
or allow the degeneration of Buddhism to happen.” On the first
day of 2008, I sincerely pray that all will uncover their true
nature and have “Prosperous Future Generations[ii],”
and that all nations will overcome the barriers of region, race,
and skin color to coexist as one in a Humanistic Pureland that
is blessed with “Harmonious Conditions in All.
With
joined-palms,
Hsing Yun
New
Year’s Day, 2008
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[i] Icchantika – A sentient being regarded as one who is
inherently unreceptive to the teachings of the Buddha, and will
never attain enlightenment.
[ii] 「子德芬芳」– the first Chinese character ‘zi’ embodies the
following meanings:
1) “You”: May you and your career be prosperous
where all is good.
2) “Year of the mouse”: During this year, may everything go well
and remain auspicious.
3) “Coming generations”: May all your future generations have a
prosperous future and moral integrity.
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