Biography of Venerable Master Hsing Yun

Compiled by the Fo Guang Shan Secretarial Office Revised on September 1, 2025

Venerable Master Hsing Yun was born in Jiangdu, Jiangsu Province, China, in 1927 and passed away in 2023.  At the age of twelve, he was tonsured at Qixia Mountain in Nanjing under Venerable Zhikai of Dajue Temple, Yixing. He studied at Qixia Vinaya Academy and Jiaoshan Buddhist Academy and was later bestowed the Dharma transmission as the 48th generation lineage holder of the Linji school. He served as principal of Baita Elementary School, editor-in-chief of Raging Billows Monthly, and abbot of Huazang Temple in Nanjing.

In the spring of 1949, Venerable Master arrived in Taiwan. In 1953, he established the Buddhist Chanting Association, the Youth Choir, and other groups at Leiyin Temple in Yilan, laying the foundation for his Dharma propagation endeavors. Venerable Master founded the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order in 1967 and devoted himself to promoting Buddhist endeavors in culture, education, charity, and spiritual cultivation. He established nearly 300 temples worldwide, such as Hsi Lai Temple, Nan Tien Temple, and Nan Hua Temple, each being the largest Buddhist temple in North America, Australia, and Africa, respectively.

In 1957, the program Voice of Buddhism was broadcast on the Yilan station of Min Ben Radio. In 1979, the program Nectar was broadcast on the Chinese Television System (CTS), and Hsing Yun’s Chan Talk was broadcast on North American Satellite Television, among other programs, pioneering Dharma propagation through radio and television. In 1994, Venerable Master established the Fo Guang Yuan Art Galleries and Water Drop Teahouses, integrating culture, art, and leisure, with over 27 art galleries established worldwide. Beautiful Life Television (BLTV) was launched in 1997, and the Merit Times newspaper was inaugurated in 2000.

Venerable Master was a prolific writer, penning over 40 million words in works such as Biography of Sakyamuni Buddha; Hundred Sayings Series, Fo Guang Guides to Buddhism; Modern Thoughts, Wise Mentality; Collection of Papers on Humanistic Buddhism; One Hundred Lessons on Monastery Languages and Affairs; Buddhist Affinities Across 100 Years; Hear Me Out: Messages from a Humble Monk; Humanistic Buddhism: Holding True to the Original Intents of Buddha; and the Complete Works of Venerable Master Hsing Yun, among others. 

In 1985, Venerable Master stepped down as the Head of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order and traveled the world to propagate the Dharma. In 1991, he established the Buddha’s Light Association of the Republic of China. In 1992, he inaugurated the Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) World Headquarters in Los Angeles, United States, and served as President of the World Headquarters. Chapters were established in over 170 countries and regions across five continents, fulfilling the ideal that “May the Buddha’s light shine universally on the three thousand realms; let the Dharma stream flow across all five continents.”

Throughout his lifetime, Venerable Master received countless awards and honors. Among the most notable, he was conferred honorary doctorates by the University of Hong Kong and numerous other universities at home and abroad. In 1992, he was unanimously elected as the Permanent Honorary President of the World Fellowship of Buddhists. In 1995, he was awarded the Buddha Ratna Award by the All India Buddhist Conference. Venerable Master devoted his entire life to the promotion of Humanistic Buddhism and made monumental contributions to the institutionalization, modernization, internationalization, and humanization of Buddhism.