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Venerable Master Hsing Yun Centennial Commemorative Website

Cloud and Water Three Thousand - Venerable Master Hsing Yun's Dharma Propagation Map Venerable Master Hsing Yun's Centennial Memorial Website

Commemoration Date February 5, 2023 (97 years old)

A native of Jiangdu, Jiangsu Province, he was born in 1927 and passed away in 2023. He was the 48th-generation lineage holder of the Linji school. He came to Taiwan in 1949 and in 1953 took up residence at the Yilan Buddha Recitation Society, laying the foundation for his Dharma propagation endeavors. In 1967, he founded Fo Guang Shan and established over three hundred temples and practice centers, dedicating himself to promoting culture, education, charitable works, and collective cultivation. He established seventeen Buddhist colleges worldwide, as well as five universities: Nanhua and Fo Guang in Taiwan, University of the West in the United States, Nan Tien Institute in Australia, and Guang Ming College in the Philippines. In 1992, he founded Buddha’s Light International Association. His writings have been compiled into the 395-volume Complete Works of Venerable Master Hsing Yun.

The 1st Decade 1927-1936

Life of
Growing Up

The 2nd Decade 1937-1946

Life of
Learning

The 3rd Decade 1947-1956

Life of
Pursuit

The 4th Decade 1957-1966

Life of
Literature

The 5th Decade 1967-1976

Life of
History

The 6th Decade 1977-1986

Life of
Philosophy

The 7th Decade 1987-1996

Life of
Ethics

The 8th Decade 1997-2006

Life of
Buddhism

The 9th Decade 2007-2016

Life of
Following Fate

The 10th Decade 2017-2023

Life of
Fulfillment

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North America

Humanistic Buddhism Goes International

In July 2002, University of the West received accreditation as an associate member from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). All credits earned and degrees obtained by students are recognized by American universities.
2002.07.15

Hsi Lai Temple in the United States hosted the “16th General Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists and the 7th Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhist Youth.” This was the first conference in world Buddhist history to be held in the Western Hemisphere, and marked the first grand occasion of cross-strait Buddhist exchange and joint participation.
1988.11.20-26

Venerable Master Hsing Yun was invited to the University of Toronto, Canada, to participate in an “Interfaith Dialogue” and meet with distinguished guests.
2001.10.11

Hsi Lai Temple in the United States invited religious representatives and overseas Chinese community leaders from across Southern California, regardless of region, ethnicity, or religion, to jointly hold the “2003 Prayer for World Peace.”
2003.01.01

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South America

The Starting Point of Central and South American Buddhism

Fo Guang Shan established the “Hospital Los Ángeles Paraguay–China” in Paraguay, caring for local people suffering from illness. This was also Paraguay's first hospital founded by Buddhists. From second left: President Song Yongjin, Most Venerable Hsin Ting, Supervisor Li Yunzhong, Venerable Jue Cheng.
2002.10.03

(Central America) Dominican President Joaquín Balaguer personally came to Hsi Lai Temple to participate in the founding of Buddha’s Light International Association and served as Honorary President of the “Friends of Buddha’s Light.”
1992.05.18

Venerable Master arrived in Brazil, South America, for the first time to propagate the Dharma. Layman Chang Sheng-kai donated “Jingxin Vihara” to Fo Guang Shan as a temple for Dharma propagation in South America. The Venerable Master renamed Jingxin Vihara to “Zu Lai Temple.” Second row, first from right: BLIA Brazil President Chang Sheng-kai. To the left of the Venerable Master: BLIA Brazil Founding President Szu Tzu-lin.
1992.04.24

To help children in Brazilian favelas, the Venerable Master initiated the “Sons of Zulai Program” in 2003, establishing a soccer team. Using soccer as a skillful means, education was integrated into charitable work.

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Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan

The Buddha’s True Body Relics Come to Taiwan

At the “Buddha Tooth Relic Welcome Delegation Press Conference,” Venerable Master Hsing Yun and Tibetan Kunga Dorje Rinpoche completed the handover ceremony of the Buddha tooth relic at the headquarters of the World Fellowship of Buddhists in Bangkok. Behind Venerable Master is Ms. Fan Shu-chih, in charge of the International Dharma Propagation Department at Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Thailand. From left: Lama Tien Bi-shuang, Wu Po-hsiung.
1998.04.07-09

Chairman Venerable Master Hsing Yun and Vice President of the Buddhist Association of China Dao Shuren held a signing ceremony in Hong Kong for the Buddha finger relic’s visit to Taiwan.
2002.01.30

Escorted by Venerable Master and the welcome delegation, the Buddha tooth relic arrived at Taoyuan International Airport aboard a China Airlines chartered welcome flight. The assembly welcomed this historic moment with the most devout ceremony of “spreading fragrant flowers and cloth on the ground to receive [the relic] at their feet.”
1998.04.09

The “Welcoming the Buddha Finger Relic to Taiwan” welcome delegation and escort group departed from Xi’an Xianyang International Airport on Dragonair flight KA848, transiting through Hong Kong Airport without disembarking, symbolically stopping for fifty minutes before flying directly to Taipei. They arrived at Taoyuan International Airport at 1:30 PM, writing a new era in the history of cross-strait exchange.
2002.02.23

One hundred thousand devotees in Taiwan gathered at Kaohsiung National Stadium for an all-night Buddha recitation, reverently sending off the Buddha finger relic on its return to mainland China.
2002.03.30

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Indochinese Peninsula

Charitable Dharma Propagation in the Indochinese Peninsula

Under the arrangement of Malaysian Dato’ Hiew Min Yong, Venerable Master Hsing Yun embarked on a month-long charitable Dharma propagation tour of the Indochinese Peninsula and Southeast Asia. The main purpose was to donate 1,500 wheelchairs on behalf of Buddha’s Light International Association and the Cao Foundation to charitable organizations in Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Singapore; to visit local dignitaries and Buddhist leaders; and to take a major step toward the harmonization of Mahāyāna and Theravāda Buddhism. Future efforts will include promoting exchange and cultivating talent through student exchanges, as well as establishing language centers to help Theravāda Buddhism become more international. This trip fulfilled Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s forty-year wish to visit countries of the Indochinese Peninsula.
2002.11

Venerable Master paid a visit to Samdech Preah Bodhivong Tep Vong, representative of the Cambodian civil faction Sangha King.
2002.11.16

Venerable Master donated 480 wheelchairs at the Cambodian Red Cross headquarters, received on behalf of the organization by Vice President Ouk Damry (fourth from left).
2002.11.16

During the charitable Dharma propagation tour of the Indochinese Peninsula, the Venerable Master was invited to the Presidential Palace of Laos and received by Vice President General Choummaly Sayasone (to the right of Venerable Master Hsing Yun).
2002.11.14

At Naga Cave Aung Chan Thar Pagoda in Myanmar, Bhaddanta Zagara Bhivamsa (to the left of Venerable Master Hsing Yun) led a thousand novice monks to welcome Venerable Master for Dharma propagation. (Behind Venerable Master Hsing Yun: Dato’ Hiew Min Yong)
2002.11.19

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Southeast Asia

Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia

BLIA Singapore Chapter, Taipei Cao Zhongzhi Foundation, and the Northeast Community Development Council jointly donated wheelchairs to the elderly, received by Singapore President S.R. Nathan (to the right of Venerable Master Hsing Yun).
1999.11.21

Venerable Master traveled to Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and other Indochinese Peninsula countries on a charitable Dharma propagation tour. Thailand’s Deputy Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Buddhachinarawong visited the Venerable Master at the Fo Guang Shan Bangkok Culture and Education Center.
1963.07.24

The College of Arts at Guang Ming University, founded by the Venerable Master Hsing Yun in the Philippines, propagates the Dharma in English through the musical Prince Siddhārtha the Musical: The Story of Buddha. The script was adapted from Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Biography of Śākyamuni Buddha. Since its premiere in 2007, it has toured 15 countries worldwide with over 200 cumulative performances.

Venerable Master presided over the completion and consecration ceremony of Fo Guang Shan Nan Fang Temple in Klang, Malaysia, Fo Guang Shan’s first temple constructed in Malaysia.
1989.11.23

Venerable Master transmitted the Taking Refuge and Five Precepts in Indonesia, with three thousand devotees taking refuge.
2002.11.10

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South Asia

Remembering the Buddha’s Homeland—India

Fo Guang Shan held an International Triple Platform Full Ordination Ceremony at Bodh Gaya, India, with over 100 ordination candidates from 23 countries participating. Among them, 40 women from Sri Lanka sought to receive bhikṣuṇī full ordination. Venerable Master Hsing Yun is pictured with the preceptees.
1998.02.15–23

The All India Buddhist Conference presented Venerable Master Hsing Yun with the “Buddha Ratna Award,” considered the Nobel Prize of the Buddhist world. This represents India, the ancestral homeland of Buddhism, affirming and recognizing a Chinese bhikṣu’s practice of Buddha-dharma, and also bears witness to the Venerable Master’s numerous efforts during his many visits to India.
1995.02.10

Venerable Master ascended to Ladakh in the northern Indian mountains at an altitude of 4,000 meters to propagate the Dharma and provide relief, and participated in the opening ceremony of the “Mahabodhi International Meditation Center.” Left: Ladakh Buddhist leader Venerable Sanghasena.
1992.07.07

The Master ascended to Ladakh in northern India, at an altitude of 4,000 meters, to propagate the Dharma and provide relief, and attended the opening ceremony of the "Mahabodhi International Meditation Center." To the left: Ladakh Buddhist leader Venerable Kushok Bakula Rinpoche.
1992.07.07

Venerable Master led a group of 200 monastics and laypeople on a pilgrimage to sacred sites in India, the largest pilgrimage group in Buddhist history.
1979.12.08-28

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Northeast Asia

Friendly Exchanges with Japanese and Korean Buddhism

Fo Guang Shan and Korea’s Tongdosa became sister temples, jointly signed by Venerable Master Hsing Yun and Tongdosa Abbot Venerable Seongpa. First from right: Tongdosa Abbot Venerable Seongpa.
1982.10.23

The “Republic of China Buddhist Goodwill Delegation” visited Korea. Second row, from second right: Daoyuan, Guangyuan, Venerable Master Hsing Yun, and others were received by the Patriarch of the Korean Taego Order Venerable Deokam (fifth from right).
1975.07.25

In 1974, Venerable Master assumed the position of President of the “China-Japan Buddhist Relations Promotion Association.” In the photo, front row from right: Tzu Hui, Sheng Hua, Zhu Yun, Dao An, Venerable Master Hsing Yun, Hsin Ping, Huang Chi-jui (former Taipei Mayor), and Nakajima Hideo from a Japanese travel agency (front row, first from left).
1974.04.07

Venerable Master Hsing Yun was invited to visit Tongdosa in South Korea, where the abbot, Venerable Hyeonmun, led the temple community in a warm welcome.
2003.09.15

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Africa

Practitioners Transmitting the Dharma to Africa

Venerable Master Hsing Yun ordained the first group of Africans in history to enter monastic life, holding the tonsure ceremony at “Fo Guang Shan Nan Hua Temple” in Johannesburg, South Africa. This not only opened a new page in the history of Buddhist propagation in Africa, but also took the first step toward the “localization” of African Buddhism.
1994.10.15

Buddha’s Light International Association donated and built the “CEM Village Planétaire Cas-Cas” in Senegal, West Africa, providing local youth with educational opportunities and putting into practice Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s principle of “benefiting society through charitable works.”
2001.10.15

Venerable Master went to Africa to donate two hundred wheelchairs to local people with disabilities. To the right of Venerable Master Hsing Yun: BLIA Johannesburg President Cheng Chin-mei and Taipei’s Ambassador to Swaziland George Jin-gou Chang and his wife. First from right: Her Majesty Queen Mother Ntfombi Tfwala.
2001.04.15

At the invitation of Newcastle City Councillor Shiaan-Bin Huang and his wife (on either side of the Venerable Master), Venerable Master visited their knitting factory to bring blessings. Councillor Huang was instrumental in establishing Africa’s first Fo Guang Shan temple—Newcastle Meditation Center—in 1993.
1994.10.20

Venerable Master inspected Fo Guang Shan’s African Buddhist Seminary.
2001.04.14

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Europe

Interfaith Dialogue Across the Centuries

Venerable Master Hsing Yun engaged in dialogue with Pope John Paul II. Both sides exchanged views on cross-strait relations, religious harmony, and world peace. This meeting was hailed as a “historic interfaith dialogue of the century.”
1997.02.28

Venerable Master went to the Roman Catholic Church in Rome for a “Cross-Century Interfaith Dialogue.” In the photo, both parties exchange gifts at the Treasure Museum of the Basilica of Saint Francis in the City of Peace, Assisi. From left: Padre Giovanni Chiu from Taiwan, the Venerable Master, Rev. Fr. Giulio Berretton, Ambassador Raymond R. M. Tai, Rev. Fr. Matteo Luo.
1997.03.01

With the facilitation of H.E. Cardinal Francis Arinze (second from left) and Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-hsi (first from left), the Venerable Master went to the Vatican in Italy for an interfaith dialogue with Pope John Paul II.
1997.02.28

At St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the Venerable Master met with Pope Benedict XVI and presented him with Cloud and Water: A 50 Year Anniversary Photobiography of Master Hsing Yun, an album commemorating fifty years of Dharma propagation. The Venerable Master stated that he came to Rome in a spirit of pilgrimage and hoped to enhance mutual understanding and cooperation between Buddhism and Catholicism.
2006.06.21

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Australia and New Zealand

Entering Multicultural Humanistic Buddhism

Venerable Master Hsing Yun was invited by the University of Queensland, Australia, to deliver a lecture on “What Is the True Meaning of Buddhism.”
1995.10.19

Nan Tien Chinese School in Australia was established in 1991.

Logan City Mayor Rod Golledge presented the Australian flag to Venerable Master, welcoming Fo Guang Shan to build Chung Tian Temple there, and expressing gratitude for the culture, education, friendship, religion, prosperity, and joy that Chung Tian Temple brought to the local community.
1992.11.29

Nan Tien Temple in Australia held the “Founding Monument Completion Ceremony and Triple Gem Refuge and Five Precepts Ceremony.”
1999.11.27

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