Seventy-seven-year-old Master Hsin Yun (
A 16-year-old monk living on the top of mountains was suffering from malaria. There was a serious lack of materials and resources on the mountain and there was no one to care for him. When he could not stop vomiting, he felt at life's lowest and lamented about his looming death.
At that moment, his teacher sent someone to bring him salted vegetables to eat with rice porridge. The young monk was overwhelmed and deeply moved by the gesture, since it was very difficult to procure any salted vegetables at the time. He consumed the vegetables in tears and with a grateful heart.
"At that point I promised to devote myself to the promotion of Buddhism to return the master's favor," Hsin Yun said at the press conference last week to celebrate his 50 years of teaching.
He made good on his promise. Hsin Yun and his Fo Kuang Shan (佛光山) monastery in Kaohsiung have become visible symbols in the world for Buddhism over the past 50 years and maintained a dynamic relationship with secular society. Last week President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) visited Fo Kuang Shan for the third time to pay his respects to the Buddhist master.
Hsin Yun, or Lee Kuo-shen (
When he first became a monk, he was given the Buddhist name Chin Chieh (
He later read about the explanation of nebulas in a dictionary, saying before the cosmos was formed, countless nebulas were linked together: great, ancient, boundless. He was attracted by a boundless world, and with the hope of bringing others light, he renamed himself Hsin Yun, meaning nebula.
Hsin Yun has broken from the the Buddhist tradition of shying away from secular world. He has been keenly involved in world affairs and run his Buddhist organization more like a business. His internationalization of Buddhism was previously unimaginable. There are Fo Kuang Shan branches on five continents.
KMT Deputy Chairman Wu Po-hsiung (
"I become even more awed by master's influence when I am abroad. Once when I was in Johannesburg, I visited the Nan Hua temple and recited the Dharma with the local monks. I felt that our hearts were close and was deeply moved," Wu said.
Senior media worker and political commentator Pu Ta-chung (
"He likes to get acquainted with as many people as possible. He is good at utilizing his relationship with the media and politicians and using his social network to root Buddhism deeply in society," Pu said.
Pu said Hsin Yun's relationship with Wu was a good example. While Hsin Yu loved to make friends with political figures, his enthusiasm almost got him in deep trouble.
In 1996 after then US vice president Al Gore attended a fund-raising luncheon at the Hsi Lai temple, a Fo Kuang Shan branch in Hacienda Heights, California, a question was asked about whether the donations made during the luncheon were legal.
"Hsin Yun thought it was not a bad idea to know Al Gore, so he agreed to hold the luncheon in the temple. People who attended the luncheon were local Chinese Democrat members, and some without knowing gave away more than allowed by law to the Democratic Party," Pu said.
"It was not done on purpose. Hsin Yin had fought long and hard to have the Hsi Lai temple built at that place, and after 10 years of wrestling with the local council, he knew not to break the law," Pu said.
Hsin Yun's close followers also lauded him as a selfless and caring master.
"The master always shows goodness toward others," Chueh Nien (
"There was one time in Fo Kuan Shang when he was walking, a believer asked to take his picture, and the master agreed willingly, despite sweating all over. Then when the photo was taken, the master immediately said that another should be taken because the first one was shot with the lights in the opposite direction," Chueh said.
Another secretary to Hsin Yun, Man I (
"All the facilities Fo Kuang Shan has established came from followers' requests. When they ask for education, the master builds schools. When they ask for solutions for old age, the master builds a pensioners' apartment," Man said.
Hsin Yun has shown determination to continue his work promoting Buddhism.
"In the future I will continue to push for the modernization, secularization and internationalization of Buddhism," Hsin Yun said.
"I also want to work on making the temples more like schools, encouraging the public to read and pushing for a book-loving society," Hsin Yun said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS