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Hsuan Hua

Hsuan Hua (Traditional Chinese: 宣化上人; Hanyu Pinyin: Xuān Huà Shàng Rén, literal meaning:"proclaim and transform") (16 April, 1918 – 7 June, 1995), also known as An Tzu and Tu Lun, was an influential Ch'an Buddhist monk and an important figure in the development of Western Buddhism in the United States during the 20th century.

During his time in the United States, Hsuan Hua founded the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association (DRBA), a Buddhist organization with chapters in the North America and Asia, the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Ukiah, California, one of the first Ch'an Buddhist monasteries in the America, the Dharma Realm Buddhist University, also one of the first American Buddhist colleges, and the Buddhist Text Translation Society, which works on the phonetics and translation of Buddhist scriptures from Chinese into English, Vietnamese, Spanish, and many other languages.

Hsuan Hua was one of the first known Chinese Buddhist Ch'an masters to transmit orthodox East Asian Buddhism to the west and ordained some of the first native-born Buddhist monks in the United States. Hsuan Hua was the ninth lineage holder of the Guiyang Ch'an School of Buddhism (潙仰宗), one of the five Ch'an families (Caodong, Linji, Fayan and Yunmen) and was granted dharma transmission from that lineage from the Venerable Master Hsu Yun.

Hsuan Hua often referred to himself as "a living dead person", or "the Monk in the Grave", and never wanted fame or profit. Hsuan Hua's life goal as a Buddhist teacher was to not contend with others, but instead, said that he would rather be "a little bug," or "a small ant" beneath the feet of all living beings, and vowed to use his body metaphorically as a stepping stone for sentient beings who sought to transcend samsara and go straight to the ground of the Buddha.

Early life

Hsuan Hua, a native of Shuangcheng County of Jilin Province, was born Bai Yushu (白玉書) on April 16, 1918. His father was diligent and thrifty in managing the household. His mother was a Buddhist who ate vegetarian food and recited the Buddha's name daily.

When she was pregnant with her child, she constantly prayed to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for her well being. The night before his birth, it is said that in a dream she saw Amitabha emitting a light. Shortly after, she gave birth to her youngest son. When the master was born, the room was filled with a fragrance. For three days and nights, Yushu cried continuously, a possible sign of his deep sympathy for beings suffering birth and death.

As a child, Yushu followed his mother's example and ate only vegetarian food and recited the Buddha's name. Yushu was quiet and uncommunicative by nature, but he had a righteous and heroic spirit. At the age of eleven, upon seeing a neighbor's infant who had died, he became aware of the great matter of birth and death and the brevity of life and resolved to leave the home-life.

At the age of twelve, he heard of how someone who would later become a great Buddhist master, had practiced the philosophy of filial piety and thus attained enlightenment. Following the filial person's example, Yushu began repenting for being unfilial to his parents in the past and gradually, Yushu decided to bow to his parents every morning and evening as a way of acknowledging his faults and repaying his parents' kindness. He gradually became renowned for his filial conduct, and people in the vilage called him "Filial Son Bai."

At the age of 15, he took refuge in the Triple Gem under the Venerable Chang Zhi. That same year he began to attend school and studied texts of various Chinese schools of thought, and the fields of medicine, divination, astrology, and physiology.

During his student years, he also participated in the Path of Virtue Society and other charitable societies. He explained the Sixth Patriarch's Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, and other sutras for those who were illiterate, and started a free school for those who were poor and needy.

Leaving home

At 19 years of age, Yushu's mother died. At that time, he requested his master's permission to allow him to leave the householder's life (Young monks cannot be ordained without the permission of the parents, both had died since then). He was now a monastic, under the Dharma name An Tzu. (安慈)

An Tzu built a simple hut by his mother's grave and observed the practice of filial piety for three years. During that period, he made eighteen great vows, paid reverence to the Avatamsaka Sutra, performed worship and pure repentance, practiced Ch'an meditation, studied the teachings, ate only one meal a day, and did not lie down to sleep at night.

An Tzu won the admiration and respect of the villagers. His intensely sincere efforts to purify and cultivate himself was enough to move the buddhas and bodhisattvas through auspicious signs. As news of these supernatural events spread, An Tzu came to be regarded as an extraordinary monk.

One day, An Tzu had a vision that the Sixth Patriarch, Hui Neng came to him and told An Tzu that in the future, he would go to the west, and that the number of people he would preach to would be numerous, marking the spread of the Dharma in the West. Huineng then disappeared.

When An Tzu's observance of filial piety was completed, he practiced the ways of asceticism in seclusion. Later he returned to the monastery where his master was once head of, and was chosen to be the abbot. During the period that he lived in Manchukuo, An Tzu contemplated people's potentials and bestowed appropriate teachings.

Dharma Transmission from Hsu Yun

In 1946, An Tzu headed out to Guangzhou to pay respects to the Venerable Master Hsu Yun, one of the great Ch'an tachers of his time. For many years, An Tzu revered him as a hero of Buddhism. During his arduous journey, he stayed at many of the renowned monasteries of mainland China. In 1947 he went to Mount Putuo to receive the complete ordination. In 1948 he reached Nanhua Monastery at Caoxi of Guangzhou, where he paid homage to Elder Master Hsu Yun and was assigned to be an instructor in the Nanhua Monastery Vinaya Academy. Later he was appointed as Dean of Academic Affairs. The Elder Master Hsu Yun saw that the Master was an outstanding individual in Buddhism and transmitted the Dharma lineage to him, giving him the Dharma name Hsuan Hua, meaning "Proclaim and Transform" and making him the ninth lineage holder of the Guiyang school of Ch'an, the forty-fifth generation since Mahakashyapa.

The Venerable Master Hua's conditions with the Venerable Master Hsu Yun

Residing in Hong Kong

In 1948, Hsuan Hua left Guangzhou, and bid farewell to Master Hsu Yun. He went to Hong Kong to propagate Buddhism. Hsuan Hua gave equal importance to the five schools—Ch'an, Doctrine, Vinaya, Esoteric, and Pure Land—thus putting an end to sectarianism. Hsuan Hua also renovated and built temples, printed sutras and constructed images. He lived in Hong Kong for more than ten years.

Bringing the Dharma to the West

In 1959, Hsuan Hua sought to bring the Dharma to the west. He instructed his disciples back in America to establish a Buddhist association. It was established in the United States as the Buddhist Lecture Hall, and was later renamed as the Sino-American Buddhist Association. It would be renamed again with its present name, as the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association.

Hsuan Hua traveled to Australia in 1961 and propagated the Dharma there for one year. Since the conditions were not yet ripe there, he returned to Hong Kong in 1962. That same year, at the invitation of Buddhists in America, the Master traveled alone to the United States, his intent was to " come to America to create Patriarchs, to create Buddhas, to create Bodhisattvas".

"Monk in the Grave"

Hsuan Hua at the time, was residing in San Francisco, where he built a lecture hall. Because Ven. Master Hsuan Hua started out living in a damp and windowless basement that resembled a grave, he nicknamed himself the "monk in the grave." Hsuan Hua first started having regular contact with young Americans who were interested in meditation. Some came to him daily, with public meditation sessions from seven to eight every evening, and plenty of Americans also attended his sutra lectures. Translators were hired for those who could not understand Chinese; on some occasions, Hsuan Hua himself spoke to them in English to the best of his ability.

At that time, the Cuban missile crisis occurred between the United States and the Soviet Union, andHsuan Hua embarked on a fasting period for thirty-five days to pray for an end to the hostilities and for world peace. By the end of his fast, the threat of war had dissolved. In 1967, Hsuan Hua moved the Buddhist Lecture Hall back to Chinatown, locating it in the Tianhou Temple. This marked the end of his "Monk in the Grave" period.

The First American Sangha

In 1968, Hsuan Hua held a Shurangama Study and Practice Summer Session. Over thirty students from the University of Washington in Seattle came to study the Buddha’s teachings. After the session was concluded, five young Americans (Bhikshus Heng Chyan, Heng Jing, and Heng Shou, and Bhikshunis Heng Yin and Heng Ch'ih) requested permission to shave their heads and leave the home-life, marking the beginning of the native-born Sangha in the history of American Buddhism.

A Road of Hardship

With the founding of a new American Sangha, Hsuan Hua was ready to embark on an building program for American Buddhism. Master Hsuan Hua explained that his life's work lay in three main areas:

bringing the true and proper teachings of the Buddha to the West and establishing a proper monastic community of the fully ordained Sangha here;
organizing and supporting the translation of the entire Buddhist canon into English and other Western languages; and
promoting wholesome education through the establishment of schools and universities.

Building the Foundation of Buddhism in America

In the present Dharma-ending age, the Buddha's valuable teachings need people to propagate them so that living beings will be able to understand the Buddha’s teachings and follow it to walk the path of liberation. Seeing that Buddhism in China was only concentrating on superficial aspects and could not plant its roots deeply, and wishing to cause Buddhism to flourish, Hsuan Hua said,

"I knew that I was only an insignificant person whose words were of no consequence in China. I didn't have any status or position, and so even if I shouted until my throat was sore, no one would have believed me. So I made a vow to make a fresh start in the West by reforming Buddhism and causing it to flourish here, so that people would know what Buddhism is really all about. Why did I come to America to propagate the Buddha’s teachings? This country's history is not very long, and the people have not developed crafty habits. They are all very honest, so it's very easy for them to cultivate according to the Dharma and accept the principles of Buddhism. That's the reason I came to this country to propagate the Buddha’s teachings. I hope all the people will be able to understand the genuine principles of Buddhism."

Hosting Ordination Ceremonies on Western Soil

Because of the increasing numbers of people who wished to leave the home-life to become monks and nuns underHsuan Hua's guidance, in 1972 the Master decided to hold at Gold Mountain Dhyana Monastery the first formal, full ordination ceremonies for Buddhist monks and nuns to be held in the West. He invited virtuous elder masters to preside with him over the ordination platform. Two monks and one nun received ordination. Subsequent ordination platforms have been held at the City Of Ten Thousand Buddhas in 1976, 1979, 1982, 1989, 1991, and 1992, and progressively larger numbers of people have received full ordination. Over two hundred people from countries all over the world were ordained under him.

Protecting the Dharma

Upholding the Shurangama Sutra

The Master repeated his instructions about protecting and supporting the Proper Dharma many times:

"In Buddhism all the sutras are very important, but the Shurangama Sutra is even more important. Wherever the Shurangama Sutra is, the Proper Dharma abides in the world. When the Shurangama Sutra is gone, that is a sign of the Dharma Ending Age. In the Extinction of the Dharma Sutra it says that in the Dharma Ending Age, the Shurangama Sutra will become extinct first. Then gradually the other Sutras will also become extinct. The Shurangama Sutra is the true body of the Buddha; the sharira of the Buddha; the stupa of the Buddha. If the Shurangama Sutra is false, then I am willing to fall into the unintermittent hell, stay there forever, and never come back to the world to see all of you."

Breaking Misconceptions and Superstitions

In the past, Buddhism in China always gave people the mistaken impression that it was a religion that specialized in crossing over dead souls and so the intelligentsia looked down on and tried to get rid of Buddhism. Two years prior to Master Hsuan Hua’s passing, he gave this warning:

"Chinese Buddhism's Water, Land, and Air Repentance Ceremonies, Yogacara Flaming Mouth ceremonies, and other ceremonies and their saving of souls have become the “status quo” in Chinese Buddhism. They never stop to think that if they keep it up, they are going to be doing nothing but handing out free meals to unemployed vagrants under the guise of Buddhism. What a terrible shame! All they know how to do is make money saving souls! Actually, in order to save souls, you must have a foundation in virtuous conduct. Then, not to speak of reciting mantras or reciting sutras, the single sentence "you can go to rebirth" is sufficient for a soul to be able to gain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. For those of you who lack any virtue in the Way, who don't have any cultivation, I ask you, what's your basis for being able to save souls? What you are actually doing is running up a debt with the donor. Besides that, you are destroying the basic system of Buddhism."

Among Asian Buddhists who have taken refuge there is a popular misconception. Most people were known to think that the more teachers people take refuge with, the better. It is said by monks that this is a sign of the Dharma Ending Age. By taking refuge with one master and then taking refuge with another master, they cause contention among venerables, who quarrel with each other over who has the Dharma affinities and who gets the disciples. Hsuan Hua however always asked those who had already taken refuge not to sign up to take refuge again—that they could just follow along and rejoice from the sidelines. The Master said:

"Some people say, “The youth Sudhana visited fifty-three teachers; why can't I bow to a few more teachers?” But you need to realize that Sudhana was always sent on by his previous teacher to the next teacher. It wasn't that he greedily longed for another Dharma Master endowed with virtuous conduct and so turned his back on his current teacher and stole away to take refuge with another teacher. A lot of older Chinese Buddhist disciples have taken refuge with another teacher or teachers. A lot of older Chinese Buddhist disciples have taken refuge tens or hundreds of times. But when you ask them what “taking refuge” means, they don't know. Isn't that pathetic? They say that all left-home people are their teachers. But I say they don't have any teacher at all because their minds lack faith, so how can they be crossed over?"

Exposing deviant teachers

Hsuan Hua, on many occasions, warned people about deviant teachers that may teach improper dharma. He also held many forums on the fifty Skanda-demons of the Shurangama Sutra so that everyone would have the ability be able to recognize demonic states and will not go astray on the wrong path.

According to Chen Youbing's thesis, A Discussion of Venerable Master Hsuan Hua's Contributions to Buddhism, in one lecture, Hsuan Hua warned disciples about a teacher who was called by his disciples a "lotus-born living Buddha". He stated:

"Alas! In the evil time of the dharma-ending age, living beings' blessings are slight; it is difficult to train them. Far indeed from the Sages of the past! Their deviant views are deep. Demons are strong, the Dharma is weak; many are the wrongs and injuries. Hearing of the door of the Tathagata's Sudden Teaching, they hate not destroying it as they would smash a tile. In the dharma-ending age, people are not able to distinguish between deviant and proper. You need only look to see: does he have any greed, any fighting, any seeking, any selfishness, or any self-benefiting in his mind? Is he lying and cheating others all day and all night long? I don't know what this person is. I call him a demon runt."

Working towards a harmonious Sangha

Uniting Theravada and Mahayana traditions

Having traveled to Thailand and Burma in his youth to investigate the Southern Tradition of Buddhism, Hsuan Hua was also set to heal the two thousand year old rift between the Northern (Mahayana) and Southern (Theravada) traditions.

In America, Hsuan Hua encouraged cordial relations between the Sangha communities from both the Northern and Southern traditions. As always, he would set an example by leading the way. For example, on the occasion of the opening ceremony for the Dharma Realm Buddhist University, he presented Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda of the Theravadin tradition with an honorary Ph.D.

Hsuan Hua would also invite Bhikkhus from both traditions to jointly conduct the High Ordination.

Chinese and American Buddhism

From July 18 to the 24th of 1987, Hsuan Hua hosted the Water, Land, and Air Repentance Dharma Assembly, a centuries old ritual often seen as the "king of dharma services" in Chinese Buddhism, at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas and invited over seventy high Sangha members from mainland China to attend. This was the first time the service was known to have been held in North America. This was a historical assembly symbolized by the cooperation between the American and Chinese sangha.

On November 6th, 1990, Hsuan Hua sent his disciples to Beijing to bring the Dragon Treasury (Long Zang) edition of the Buddhist canon back to CTTB, thus symbolizing the taking of a further step in the relationship between Eastern and Western Buddhism and the transmission of the Buddha’s teachings to the West. From January 8 to the 20th of 1991, at the invitation of Mingru Monastery in Jilin, China, Hsuan Hua sent several of his disciple nuns to reside as visitors, where they participated in the daily monastic life and gave talks on dharma to the public and talks on the precepts to the resident nuns. On December 12th, 1995, Venerables Heng Sure, Heng Lyu and Heng Bin went to Shanghai, China, to take part in the transmission of the Complete Precepts at Dragon Flower (Longhua) Monastery at the invitation of Venerable Ming Yang.

Teaching and Protecting All Nations

With President George H.W. Bush

On January 20, 1989, Hsuan Hua was a special guest of President George H.W. Bush at his Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C. He was the only Asian representative at a national interfaith service. In May 1990, when Hsuan Hua sent five monks to the Longhua Monastery in Shanghai, China, to help administer the Ordination Ceremony, President Bush sent a fax to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas congratulating him and his disciples. On April 28th, Hsuan Hua accepted the invitation of President Bush and went with eighteen members of the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association to attend the President's dinner in Washington, D.C. In 1992, the Master advised that if the President would refuse to take a salary, he would certainly win the election.

With other officials from abroad

Hsuan Hua was always concerned of the welfare of all nations. For that, he was respected by many leaders from many parts of the world. Whenever Master Hsuan Hua spoke to them, he would always exhort them to work for the benefit of the society and nation. Many leaders from abroad paid respects to him. Among them was the Minister of Justice Lin Yanggang; former Prime Minister Tran Thien Khiem of the former Republic of Vietnam, Liang Su-yung, former Speaker of the Legislative Yuan and others.

Manifesting stillness

In his final years, Hsuan Hua had become so sick he couldn't even climb a single step. Even when the doctors diagnosed that he had only seven days left to live, Hsuan Hua refused to rest or seek treatment. Leaning on his cane and riding in a wheelchair, he continued to speak the Dharma in various places. He then became so ill that he couldn't get up from the bed, yet he still instructed his disciples over the phone or even appeared in their dreams to teach them, according to some of his disciples. Finally, he collapsed from illness.

On June 7, 1995, Hsuan Hua died in Los Angeles at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from complications of exhaustion. His sudden passing came as a shock to most of disciples. Prior to his death, he asked his disciples:

"After I depart you can recite the Avatamsaka Sutra and the name of Amitabha Buddha for however many days you would like, perhaps seven days or forty-nine days. After the cremation, scatter my remains in empty space. I do not want you to do anything else at all. Do not build me any pagodas or memorials. I came into the world without anything; when I depart, I still do not want anything, and I do not want to leave any traces in the world."

Funeral

Hsuan Hua's funeral lasted from June 8th to July 29th. On June 12th, his body was placed in a casket at a branch monastery in Long Beach, nearby where he passed away. During the time he laid in state in Southern California, various memorial services were held at the monastery. On June 17th, Hsuan Hua's body was taken from Southern to Northern California, returning to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. His casket was then moved into the Hall of No Words, his quarters from when he was the abbot. From June 17th to the 28th, more memorials services were held during his lying in state. All major services during the funeral were presided over by Venerable Ming Yang, abbot of Longhua Temple in Shanghai and a longtime friend of Hsuan Hua's.

On July 28th, monks from both Theravada and Mahayana traditions hosted a ceremony for inviting the Venerable Master from the Hall of No Words to the Patriarchs' Hall in front of the Grand Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas. The two thousand and some followers from the United States, Canada, and various Asian and European countries, including many of Hsuan Hua’s American disciples, came to CTTB to take part in the funeral service for Hsuan Hua. Letters of condolences from Buddhist monks and dignitaries, including from President Bush, were read during the memorial service.

The cremation began at 1:00 in the afternoon that day. About two thousand disciples and admirers lined up and walked into the Patriarchs' Hall one by one to gaze at Hsuan Hua's open casket one last time. At three o'clock, Hsuan Hua's casket was sealed and carried to the cremation site by a procession of the assembly, all of them pulling a rope connected to the caisson bearing the master's body. At 4:20, Hsuan Hua’s body was cremated.

A day after the cremation, June 29th, Hsuan Hua's remains were scattered in the air above the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas by two disciples, Reverends Heng Sure and Heng Chau, one of Master Hua's first disciples, in a hot air balloon, fulfilling Master's wish, "I came from empty space, and to empty space I will return." This was not only the last portion but the most emotional event of Hsuan Hua's forty-nine day funeral; even cries of "Master, don't go!" could be heard when his ashes were scattered.

After the funeral, memorial services commemorating Hsuan Hua's life were held in various parts of the world, such as Taiwan, mainland China, and Canada. His sarira (bone fragments) were distributed to many of his temples, disciples and followers.

Sharira

According to a tradition in Buddhism, a person can be proven to have possessed great cultivation skills if upon their death the bone remains have obtained a patina which makes them look like gems. This is known as sharira. Hsuan Hua's bones did in fact become covered in a patina and this was regarded as evidence that he was indeed a good cultivator.

About 4,000 to 10,000 of Hsuan Hua's sharira seeds were found after his ashes were scattered, among them included teeth sharira. The many sharira that were found consisted of many colors. Some of the sharira which were formed on the bones even gleamed like green jade.

One of the master's disciples, moved by the sight of the master's teeth sharira said, "In his life, the Venerable Master lectured on the Sutras and spoke Dharma in several tens of thousands of assemblies. No wonder his cremation yielded teeth relics!"

Hsuan Hua's relics were distributed to the many temples his organization founded. The rest are now kept in the Hall of No Words where he laid in state during the 49-day mourning period.

Master Hua's legacy

Even in death, Hsuan Hua’s legacy still is prevalent in all of his disciples. His image is found in every hall of every branch temple he established, and though his physical self is gone, every lecture given by a monk, nun or disciple always starts with greeting the absent master.

While many remember Hsuan Hua as the monk who introduced East Asian Buddhism to America, he is remembered by many of his disciples for his ability to speak the Dharma. Some people have likened Master Hua's propagation of Dharma in the United States to the patriarch Bodhidharma's journey eastward to bring the treaure of Dharma to China, and to Xuanzang's journey westward to bring the sutras back to China.

His life had been one of hardship and distinctive achievement. He endured what others could not take, which is probably why his strict observance of the precepts is well known by the Buddhist community. Therefore, many remember Hsuan Hua as the eminent monk of today's world, the Buddhist specialist, the leader of sutra translation, and as an educator.