"For the Sake of Buddhism"

This statement by Venerable Master Hsing Yun is documented in the 1967 Chronicle of the Complete Works of Venerable Master Hsing Yun: I had specially chartered a large bus to bring everyone to the site, so that I could explain my vision in person. But when they saw the hillsides covered in bamboo and wild grass choking every path, they grew even more apprehensive. Not only did they refuse to get off the bus, they said, “Who would ever come to a godforsaken place like this? If you want to come, Venerable Master, you can come by yourself!”

I stepped off the bus alone and walked a slow circuit around the hill. After reflecting for a long while, I said to myself with firm conviction: "I must come here and establish this mountain!" …

Looking back over my life, I cannot claim to have harbored any grand aspiration. I would not dare take on so weighty a mission as reviving Buddhism or bringing benefit to all under heaven. Yet from the moment I left home to become a monk, the one thought that has never left my heart is simply this: "for the sake of Buddhism."

With those words, "for the sake of Buddhism" sixty years ago, in 1967, Venerable Master Hsing Yun defied the objections of all those around him and resolved without hesitation to build a monastery on this bamboo-covered land. On May 16 of that year, the foundation stone was laid, and the monastery was named "Fo Guang Shan." With it, the Venerable Master proclaimed the great vow: “May the Buddha’s light shine universally on the three thousand realms; May the Dharma stream flow across all five continents.”

Venerable Master Hsing Yun did not merely found a monastery, he also blazed a great path of Buddha’s Light for Humanistic Buddhism in the modern age.

Ten Decades of Venerable Master Hsing Yun

Venerable Master Hsing Yun (1927-2023) once declared that his monastic path was freely chosen, and that his truest happiness was being a monk. Spreading the Dharma to benefit all sentient beings was his lifelong mission. He believed that a person is a single individual, the mind a single point, and life a whole; thus, he devoted his body and mind to the countless worlds as means to repay the Buddha’s compassion.

Venerable Master once summarized his life in twelve words: "Born in adversity, raised through hardship, yet living a lifetime of joy." Looking back on his life, ten distinct periods and Chronicle of Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Life (1927-2023) are presented for those with the affinity to understand.

Chronicle of Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Life (1927-2023)

"Trees have roots; water has a source." Buddhism originated in India, and monastics spread eastward along the Silk Road and sea routes, forming two major systems: Southern Buddhism and Northern Buddhism, which later branched into the Han Chinese and Tibetan traditions. Through integration with local cultures, Buddhism developed into a diverse form that has gone on to influence the entire world.

At the Vulture Peak Assembly, Shakyamuni Buddha held up a flower and Mahakasyapa smiled, passing along the teaching of the Dharma to him. Later, Bodhidharma, one of Buddhism’s twenty-eight patriarchs, traveled east to China and transmitted the Dharma to Venerable Hui-Ke, through whom Buddhism flourished.

Venerable Master Hsing Yun, the 48th heir of the Linji lineage in China, dedicated his life to Buddhism, spreading the Dharma across five continents with his immeasurable merit. His life story, including his birth, lineage, Dharma name, ordination ancestral temple, studies and practice, and involvement with Fo Guang Shan and Humanistic Buddhism, has been compiled and included in the Complete Works of Venerable Master Hsing Yun: Chronicle of Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Life, comprising eight volumes.

This video chronologically recounts the Venerable Master's journey of propagating Buddhism. We invite you to follow Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s footsteps and embark on a timeless journey.

Fo Guang Shan’s Four Objectives

Many Buddha’s Light members gather at Fo Guang Shan, and not a foolish gathering! We have the ideal of promoting Buddhism, and we have the aspiration to benefit society. We know that the future wisdom-life of Buddhism is entirely entrusted to the work of the Dharma. Educational, cultural, and charitable endeavors that promote Buddhism are all skilful means for spreading the teachings.

Over the past years, we have cultivated talent in Buddhism, and these talented people have established nursing homes, orphanages, daycare centers, kindergartens, middle schools, universities, magazines, newspapers, radio stations, television stations, lecture halls, hospitals, publishing houses, and libraries. It can be said that our work has propelled the development of Buddhism.

Excerpts from the Complete Works of Venerable Master Hsing Yun,
How to Be a Fo Guang Buddhist

To Propagate the Dharma Through Culture

From the Awakening the World periodical to the Merit Times, from Universal Gate magazine to the Universal Gate Buddhist Journal and the Humanistic Buddhism: Journal, Arts, And Culture; from the Buddhist Cultural Service Center to Fo Guang Publishers (now Fo Guang Cultural Enterprise), from the Fo Guang Encyclopedia of Buddhism to the Fo Guang Buddhist Canon, from televised Dharma teaching to the founding of Beautiful Life Television (BLTV), to the Fo Guang Yuan Art Galleries now spanning 27 locations worldwide, the Buddha Museum at Fo Guang Shan, and the establishment of 26 libraries and the Fo Guang Shan International Translation Center. These represent but a portion of the cultural undertakings that have been carried out.

Venerable Master Hsing Yun affirmed that all of these endeavors exist for one purpose: to spread the Dharma to every corner of the world. Thus, even though Fo Guang Shan’s cultural divisions have frequently operated at a deficit over the decades, financial constraints have never once diminished the Venerable Master’s resolve to advance Buddhist cultural initiatives.

To Foster Talent Through Education

Venerable Master Hsing Yun said, "For decades, I have consistently believed that the most fundamental means to purify the human mind, to improve social morality, and to resolve societal problems is none other than education. Yet many people regard this as an arduous and thankless task, and therefore shy away from it."

Excerpts from the Complete Works of Venerable Master Hsing Yun, Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Diaries 21

Venerable Master Hsing Yun felt deeply that education is essential to the cultivation of character, and devoted his entire life to upholding and putting into practice the ideal of fostering talent through education. In his early years, the Venerable Master’s establishment of the Tzu Ai Kindergarten and tutorial classes in Yilan were his first steps toward advancing education. To nurture Buddhist talent, he founded Fo Guang Shan Tsung Lin University, which has maintained an unbroken tradition of learning over sixty years. Overseas Buddhist colleges were also established in Malaysia, Australia, Hong Kong, India, and other locations, totaling 17 Buddhist academies. He further founded Chih-Kuang Vocational High School, Pumen High School, Juntou International School and Junyi School of Innovation, as well as five universities: Hsi Lai University in the United States, Nanhua University and Fo Guang University in Taiwan, Nan Tien Institute in Australia, and Guang Ming College in the Philippines. The integration of these five universities established the first transcontinental "Fo Guang Shan International University Consortium."

Venerable Master Hsing Yun believes that education is the most direct and effective means of transforming a nation’s destiny, promoting social advancement, and elevating the moral and intellectual quality of its people.

To Benefit Society Through Charity

Venerable Master Hsing Yun said, “The charitable endeavors of Humanistic Buddhism place emergency relief as priority over poverty, because the essence behind these is Dharma propagation. The greatest form of charity lies in the salvation of human minds rather than aids provided in the material or monetary forms. Thus the true import and substance of charity can be extremely profound. While material and monetary support will eventually end, the gift of Dharma will offer a lifetime’s benefit, and even lifetimes of benefits.”

Excerpts from the Complete Works of Venerable Master Hsing Yun, Humanistic Buddhism: Holding True to the Original Intents of Buddha

The Charity Council established by Fo Guang Shan carries out charitable endeavors that encompass concrete activities, including childcare, elderly care, medical treatment, to even the placement of ashes after death, including the establishment of orphanages, senior apartments, emergency relief, Fo Guang United Clinics, and the Cloud and Water Mobile Clinics that provide mobile medical services for residents in remote areas. At the same time, various units such as the Emergency Relief Association, Winter Relief Association, Friendship Service Team, Guanyin Life Protection Association, Organ Donation Association, and Compassionate Foundation were established to carry out various charitable reliefs according to the needs of sentient beings. Whenever a major disaster occurs at home or abroad, they promptly engage in disaster relief activities and even psychological counseling, based on the principle that “emergency relief is more important than poverty relief”. They provide all-round care for the old, sick, and dying in a person’s life.

To Purify Human Minds Through Spiritual Cultivation

Collective cultivation refers to a group of people practicing together in one place, thereby enhancing their faith and religious sentiment. Venerable Master Hsing Yun described collective cultivation during group gatherings as a form of mutual encouragement among the community, "Just as one finger cannot inflict much pain, but when five fingers come together to form a fist, they become powerful. Group practice is powerful, while individual practice is not."

Excerpts from The Light Transmission Record of Humanistic Buddhism by Venerable Master Hsing Yun

After the establishment of Fo Guang Shan, Venerable Master Hsing Yun not only organized collective cultivation ceremonies in the form of chanting, meditation, and Dharma assemblies, but also introduced a variety of diversified methods such as Buddhist lectures and discussion forums. Every year, each branch monastery hosts various ceremonies such as Sangha offerings, disaster relief, light offerings, Water and Land Dharma Services, and Medicine Buddha Services.

Venerable Master Hsing Yun advocated for the integration of tradition and modernity, transforming temples into refueling stations, schools, and department stores for life. He even integrated Buddhist ceremonies, such as naming ceremonies for babies, school entrance ceremonies, coming-of-age ceremonies, Buddhist wedding ceremonies, birthday blessings, housewarming ceremonies, consecration ceremonies, and funeral rites into the lives of devotees. From this point forward, Buddhism is no longer just a religion for the dying, but one that bestows blessings from birth to the end of life.

Global Distribution Map of Fo Guang Shan

Founded in 1967, Fo Guang Shan has established nearly 300 temples worldwide over the past sixty years, including Hsi Lai Temple in the United States, Nan Tien Temple in Australia, Nan Hua Temple in Africa, and Temple Zu Lai in Brazil, all of which are the largest temples in their respective regions. The Venerable Master's teachings have spread far and wide, with more than 2,000 monastic disciples from around the world and millions of followers globally. In 1992, the Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA World HQ) was officially established in Los Angeles, United States, and the Venerable Master was elected as its President. To date, associations have been established in over 170 countries and regions across five continents, making it the largest Chinese community organization globally, fulfilling the Venerable Master’s ideal of "May the Buddha's light shine universally on the three thousand realms; let the Dharma stream flow across all five continents."

Conclusion

In the last few lines of An Honest Revelation — An Open Letter, Venerable Master Hsing Yun wrote: "The last thing that I am concerned about, other than the happiness and peace of devotees, is everyone in the monastery—in particular, the teachers and students of the Buddhist College. Since they are the future bodhi seeds of Fo Guang Shan, they must be grounded and dedicated, so that Humanistic Buddhism may last as long as heaven and earth and remain a part of us always.”

Just as the Buddha earnestly admonished his disciples in the Sutra of the Teachings Bequeathed by the Buddha, Venerable Master Hsing Yun also expressed his deep concern for all sentient beings in An Honest Revelation, stating: "With a heart filled with compassion and vows to save others, my body is like the ocean of the Dharma, unbound. Should you ask what I have achieved in this lifetime? Peace and happiness now shine over the five continents." He instructed his disciples to diligently strive to develop Humanistic Buddhism so that all sentient beings can be liberated from suffering and attain joy. This is the Venerable Master's aspiration, and it is also the responsibility and mission of all Fo Guang members!

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