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Who is the training master?

Master Yanpei

Master Yanpei (1917-1996) was born in Jiangdu, Jiangsu Province, and his common surname was Li. No. Di Guan. In the twelfth year of his life, he shaved his head in accordance with monk Chang Shan of Futian Temple in Linze, Gaoyou. At the age of eighteen, he received full ordination at Baoying Fushou Yuan. At first, he went to Guanzong Lecture Temple to receive Tiantai teachings. Then he visited Minnan, Juejin, and Han-Tibetan academies to study the teachings of Xingxing and Xiangzong, and also heard about Madhyamaka taught in Tibet. He has been close to contemporary eminent monks such as Di Xian, Taixu, Cihang, and Yinshun. He has also given lectures at West China Buddhist College, Lian Zong College, and Xiamen Dajue Lecture Center.

Chinese name: Master Yanpei

Alias: Master

Nationality: Chinese

Ethnicity: Han

Place of birth: Jiangdu, Jiangsu

Date of birth: 1917

Date of death: 1996

Occupation: Master

Belief: Religion

Main achievements: Dean of Taixu Buddhist Academy

Representative work: "The Continuation of Di Guan"

Character Profile

Moved to Hong Kong to assist Taixu Compilation and printing of the master's complete book. Later in Taiwan, he engaged in writing, propagating Dharma, and studying Japanese and the teachings of Japanese scholars. He has also traveled to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, North America and other places to spread the Dharma several times. His writings are scattered in various Buddhist publications. He has successively served as a director of the Buddhist Association of China, abbot of Shandao Temple, Xuanzang Temple, Lingfeng Prajna Lecture Hall in Singapore, Miaofa Jingshe in Vietnam, president of Taixu Buddhist College, and executive director of Cihang Middle School. Translations of his works are collected in the complete collection of Di Guan.

Become a monk and study

Master Yanpei’s surname is Li, a native of Shaobo Town, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. He was born in Guanjiazhuang, Shaobo Town, in 1917 (the first day of December in Dingji). Poor peasant family. His father is Li Guoju and his mother is Wu. They have four boys and three girls. He is the youngest. The second brother, who is eight years older than him, was sent to the Guanyin Temple in Linze Town, Gaoyou since he was a child to be a novice monk who was not officially ordained. When Master Yanpei was twelve years old and his second brother turned twenty, Master formally ordained him and held a seven-day Dharma ceremony at the same time. Master Yanpei went to watch the ceremony with his parents. He asked the master of Guanyin Temple to ordain him, but the master refused because he was afraid that his parents would not agree. He went to Futian Temple in a neighboring village, and monk Li Changshan ordained him and became a novice monk. , Dharma name Yanpei. When he was a layman, he attended private school for several years. After he became a monk, his master did not let him do chores and asked him to continue studying. When he was eighteen years old, his master took him to Fushou Lüyuan in Baoying County to receive full ordination. After completing the ordination, he returned to the monastery, and his master handed him the position of abbot. Master Yanpei did not want to stay in a small rural temple and wanted to go out to seek Dharma. He lied to Master about going home to visit his parents and asked for leave. After going home for a while, I took a boat to Shanghai and placed orders at the Jade Buddha Temple. The Temple of the Emerald Buddha is a temple for Buddhist scriptures and repentance, which is equivalent to a "mixed residence of five interests". Master Yanpei couldn't live any longer, so he moved to Fazang Temple to stay. The situation at Fazang Temple was not much better than that at the Jade Buddha Temple. He rushed to perform prayers and confessions for six months and saved some travel expenses. He found out that Ningbo Guanzong Temple could study, so he bought a boat ticket to Ningbo and entered the Xuejie Hall of Guanzong Temple. , received basic Buddhist education in the spring of 1935, when Master Yanpei was twenty years old.

Master Yanpei excelled in his studies and was promoted to the senior department of the Dharma Research Society. The Dharma Society only focused on lectures but not on composition. For more than a year in the temple, he could not write a single letter. In the summer of 1936, Master Yanpei went to Xiamen and entered the "Southern Fujian Buddhist College". However, he only studied in Minyuan for half a year, and he could not get along well with students from Minyuan who were also students at Nanputuo Temple. In the early spring, he transferred to Juejin Temple in Huaiyin, Jiangsu Province and entered the "Juejin Buddhist College" to study under Master Da Xing.

Not long after, the Japanese caused repeated troubles in North China. The government actively prepared for war and summoned Chinese youth to participate in military training. When the Marco Polo Bridge Incident broke out and the August 13th War in Shanghai broke out, he and five or six of his classmates fled to Hong Kong with Master Cihang, who was lecturing in Wuxi, and temporarily lived in Master Youtan's Amitabha Jingshe. They found out that Master Taixu was running a Sino-Tibetan catechetical college in Chongqing with a strong team of teachers, and they were very attracted to it. So at the beginning of 1939, Master Yanpei and five other students from the Fujian Academy, including Miaoqin, Daju, Wenhui and Baihui, traveled via Vietnam and transferred to the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway from Hekou to Kunming. At that time, Master Taixu was stationed at the Provincial Buddhist Association in Cuihu, Kunming, Xi'an. They paid homage to the Master, who wrote a letter for them to Master Fa Zun, the acting president of the Han Academy. The five people arrived in Chongqing by bus from Kunming in June and entered the Sino-Tibetan Theological Academy in Beibei.

Master Fafang, the academic director of Hanyuan, asked them to choose courses freely in the name of auditors. It turned out that this was the intention of Master Taixu. The master thought that their level was good and they were free to choose courses and learn more. In the Hanyuan, they studied "The Lamrim of the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment" according to Master Dharma Zun, and "Long Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment" according to Master Fang Fang. , studied "Mahayana Theory" by Master Yinshun.

Teaching Career

In the autumn of 1941, Master Taixu ordered Master Yanpei to go to Fawang Temple in Hejiang County to organize Fawang College. Master Yanpei was twenty-five years old and was responsible for running the school. , quite well received. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, after the Qingming Festival in the 35th year, Master Yanpei, Master Yinshun and Master Miaoqin went east together via the Northwest Highway. They went to Baoji, Shaanxi Province and transferred to the Longhai Road train to reach Kaifeng and stationed at the Iron Tower. Temple, was received by the presiding Master Jingyan. Master Yinshun was tired from the journey and was in poor health, so he stayed at the Iron Pagoda Temple to recuperate. Master Yanpei and Master Miaoqin left for Shanghai first.

Master Taixu was stationed at the Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai, and the two of them went to the Jade Buddha Temple to pay homage to the master. In this way, the two divisions Yanpei and Miaoqin arrived in Hangzhou. The Wulin Buddhist Academy is located in Lingfeng Temple, Hangzhou, and has more than 30 monks. After the class started, Master Yanpei taught "Kusha Lun", Master Miao taught Chinese, and the other two masters taught Buddhism. Less than a semester after classes started, Miaoqin sent a letter and telegram from his hometown in southern Fujian, asking him to go back and have a look. Master Miao took leave to return to Fujian to visit his relatives, and the Buddhist academy was maintained by Master Yanpei alone. He wrote to Master Taixu, asking him to choose another person to be the dean. Later, the master appointed Master Huijue as the dean. Master Yanpei's burden was lighter and he still taught in the hospital.

In the winter of 1948, Master Yinshun was invited by the old monk Xingyuan to establish the Dajue Lecture Society at Nanputuo Temple in Xiamen, and he sent Master Yanpei and Master Xuming to assist. Master Yanpei left Hangzhou and went to Xiamen to teach at Dajue Lecture Club. The flames of the Kuomintang Civil War spread to southern Fujian, and the lecture club was suspended. Master Yanpei and Master Renjun arrived in Hong Kong first, followed by Master Yin Shun and Master Xu Ming. When the group first arrived in Hong Kong, their residence was uncertain. They changed their address three times. Finally, they followed Master Yin Shun and lived in the Hong Kong Buddhist Federation's club in Wan Chai. Master Yanpei and Master Xuming formed the "Publishing Committee of Master Taixu's Complete Works" The Complete Book of Proofreading Masters. After living in Hong Kong for three years, I proofread the "Complete Collection of Master Taixu" from a total of 64 volumes to volume 26. In early 1952, layman Li Zikuan from Taiwan sent a letter to Master Yanpei, inviting him to come to Taiwan to host a seminar on Taiwanese Buddhism. With this training, the Master took the Taikoo Lun to Taiwan in March.

The Taiwan Buddhist Seminar was founded in the autumn of 1951 by Master Supreme, the abbot of Lingyin Temple in Qingcao Lake, Hsinchu. More than 40 members attended the meeting and listened to the lecture. Master Da Xing came to Taiwan in 1949. In the winter of 195_, he suffered from hypertension and was recuperating in Xiangshan, Hsinchu. The following year, at the invitation of Master Supreme, he hosted a seminar despite his illness. Not long after he suffered a stroke caused by high blood pressure, the seminar came to a standstill without a leader. Therefore, he thought that Master Yanpei was the most suitable successor, and Master Yanpei was invited to Taiwan.

The seminar will be held in a co-ed class, with more than 20 girls and only a dozen boys. Master Yanpei thought that he was too young (36 years old) and it was inconvenient to lead the women, so he suggested that men and women should be divided into classes. Later, the girls moved to Yuanguang Buddhist College in Zhongli, and Master Yan trained to lead the men in Lingyin Temple. He mingled with the monks. In addition to imparting knowledge and edifying Buddhism, he also paid special attention to the training of moral conduct, which made the seminar's reputation grow day by day. In December 1956, the first class of twelve monks graduated, including Shengyin, Xiuyan, Tongmiao, etc., who later became Buddhist Dharma generals.

In 1957, Master Yin Shun founded the Buddhist College for Women at Yiyi Temple in Hsinchu, with Yin Gong as the dean and Master Yanpei as the vice dean. In September, Master Yanpei became the abbot of Shandao Temple, following Master Yinshun. In order to take care of the temple affairs, apart from attending classes, I have no actual responsibilities for the Buddhist college. In April 1958, Master Yanpei was invited to go to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and other places to spread the teachings for more than three months. After returning to China, he continued to teach as before. In August 196_, the abbot of Shandao Temple had completed his three-year term and resolutely resigned. In December, he went abroad to promote his teachings, and his teaching career came to an end temporarily. Although Taipei Huiri Lecture Hall later established Taixu Buddhist College, and Keelung Yuemei Mountain Lingquan Temple established Chinese Buddhist College, Master Yanpei was the nominal dean. In fact, Master Yanpei was in Xingzhou, and the two deans were only in name. No actual responsibility was taken.

Served as abbot

Master Yanpei served as abbot many times in his life. The first time he served as abbot was in 1957 as the abbot of Shandao Temple, the first temple in Taipei. Master Yinshun was originally the abbot of Shandao Temple. Due to constant personnel disputes in the temple, Yin Gong resolutely resigned, and the Dharma Protector Conference decided to ask Master Yanpei to succeed him. Master Yanpei was surrounded by favors and could not refuse, so he was promoted to the throne in September 1957. Unfortunately, the Supervisory Office in the temple has taken over the power, and personnel affairs are still unstable. Master Yanpei is a scholar and is tired of personnel struggles. He tolerated everything and resigned to everything, barely completing his three-year term, and resolutely resigned. The enthusiastic laymen of the Dharma Protector Association repeatedly tried to persuade him to stay. The eighty-year-old layman Zhao Yiwu (Hengti) even bowed and begged. Master Yanpei finally resigned because the situation could no longer keep him, and the abbot was succeeded by Master Moru. At the end of 1966, he stayed at Fuyan Jingshe in Qingcao Lake, Hsinchu, and Master Yan Pei became the abbot. He was promoted to the mountain in April of the following year. Master Yanpei lives in Singapore, and the abbot is only in name, and the family affairs are handled by Master Chang Jue. When the three-year term expired in April 197_, he was succeeded by Master Yinhai, the former abbot of Huiri Lecture Hall. In 1968, Master Yanpei returned to Taipei from Singapore and had a health check-up at the Veterans General Hospital. Zhao Yiwu, the president of the Sun Moon Lake Xuanzang Temple Management Association, presented Master Yanpei with a letter of appointment as the abbot of Xuanzang Temple. Li Zikuan The layman also repeatedly persuaded him, and he agreed to serve as the abbot of Xuanzang Temple because of the overwhelming favor. In Jinshan in March 1968, more than 3,000 people came to the temple to watch the ceremony and congratulate him. It was a grand occasion. But he cannot leave behind his legal affairs in Singapore. In fact, the temple affairs of Xuanzang Temple are in charge of Master Shengyin of the Supervisory Academy. After three years in office, he resolutely resigned and recommended Master Dao'an as his successor.

Later, he nominally served as the abbot of the Miaofa Jingshe in Vietnam, but in fact it was only in name. Guanyin Temple in the United States, Xinyuan Temple and Huazang Temple in the Philippines have all asked Master Yanpei to serve as abbot, but he declined one by one. In late December 199_, the abbot of Guangmingshan Puchue Temple, the largest monastery in Singapore, passed away, and Mr. Yan became the abbot at the invitation of the Puchue Temple Trust.

The Jinshan Mountain Ceremony was held on May 9, 1991. Eminent monks from home and abroad gathered together, and more than 8,000 people attended the ceremony. The scene was unprecedentedly grand. The actor is seventy-five years old, which should be the age for retirement, but he does not dare to be tired in order to protect Buddhism.

Nantian Honghua

The first time Master Yanpei went abroad to spread Buddhism was in 1957. At the invitation of Ma Ziliang, the chairman of the Longhua Buddhist Society in the capital of Thailand, he became the abbot of Master Taixu. In commemoration of the third anniversary of the Relic Stupa, sermons were given to the believers at the same time. Through this connection, he developed an indissoluble bond with Southeast Asian Buddhism. Arriving in Bangkok in early May, I was warmly welcomed by Longhua Buddhist Society, Chinese Buddhist Research Society, Guanghua Buddhist Society, Lianhua Buddhist Society and other societies. During his more than a month of preaching in Bangkok, he gave 30 sermons at the Great Compassion Lecture Hall of Longhua Buddhist Society and other places, which were translated into Teochew dialect by layman Chen Muchan. Because most of the Thai bridge compatriots are Chaozhou people from Guangdong. Master Yanpei spread the Dharma in Thailand and became known to Master Chaochen from Vietnam and Master Fa Liang from Cambodia. After he spread the teaching in Thailand, he also visited Vietnam and Cambodia. Master Yanpei had not thought beforehand that he would go to three countries to propagate it. However, he could not refuse the other party's kindness, so he flew to Phnom Penh, Cambodia on June 7, 1957, and lectured on the "Eight Great Enlightenment Sutra" at Zhengjue Temple. , and gave lectures and sermons at Lianlin Temple, Guanhui Temple, Lianguang Jingshe and other temples. Stopped in Phnom Penh for more than ten days, and then arrived in Saigon, Vietnam in late June. After staying in Vietnam for one and a half months, I lectured on the "Eight Great Enlightenment Sutras" at the Relic Temple. Then I went to Hue, the ancient capital of Vietnam, and gave four lectures at Ciyun Temple, Guangzhou Assembly Hall, Hue University and Hue Radio. I also went to Nha Zhuang, Dale and other places. In early August, he flew from Saigon to Hong Kong. At the invitation of various parties, he gave a lecture at Zhengjue Lotus Society, Chinese Buddhist Library, Baojue School Auditorium, Buddhist Lecture Hall, etc., and then returned to Taipei.

In August 196_, after Master Yanpei handed over the abbotship of Shandao Temple, he was invited by the Vietnamese overseas Chinese group to fly over Hong Kong in December. On New Year's Day, 1961, he hosted the enthronement ceremony for the Buddha statue at the Miaofa Jingshe on the embankment. He also taught sermons at Ci En Temple, "Pu Men Pin" at Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, and preached at Nan Putuo on the embankment, Feng Shan Temple, Yin Quang Temple, and Jue Hua Jingshe. He also went to Dangang, Hoi An and other places, which lasted for nearly four years. month, and transferred to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, in late April. I preached Dharma in Laos for one week, then went to Thailand to preach Dharma in various Buddhist monasteries and societies, which lasted for one month, and then flew to Penang Island in Malaysia in late May. Eminent monks who have propagated Buddhism in Penang, such as Zhumo, Bendao, Guangyu, Guangyi, Mingde, Longhui, Huiseng, Longgen, etc., all welcomed them at the airport. I visited and visited Penang for two weeks, then went to Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, and Malacca, preaching sermons along the way, and finally arrived in Singapore. In the Lion City, he received a banquet from the elders of various mountains, visited various mountains and Buddhist groups again, and continued to spread Buddhism according to circumstances. He did not return to Taipei until late July.

In November 1962, Master Yan Pei went to Vietnam for the third time to promote Buddhism. The believers in Saigon hoped that he would stay in Vietnam permanently and were willing to donate land. After considering it, he accepted it and planned to build Prajna Temple. The matter has not yet come to fruition. In 1963, the tenth anniversary of the death of Cihang Bodhisattva, Singapore Bodhilan Ruo held a three-day Dharma conference. Master Yanpei was invited to preside over it and give sermons to devotees. Master Yanpei flew to Singapore from Vietnam in May. After the Dharma conference, he discussed the plan to build a temple in Vietnam with Elders Guangqia and Daming. The two elders told him that Vietnam had been at war for many years and the situation was unstable. If he wanted to build a temple, it would be better to find land to build it in Singapore.

The matter is known to the trustee of Lingfeng Bodhi College, layman Lin Dajian (Master Huiyuan who later became a monk), and he would like to ask Master Yanpei to also be the trustee of Bodhi College and hand over the management of the college to Master Yanpei as his A place of preaching. Later, Master Yanpei canceled the plan to build a temple in Vietnam due to the increasingly intensified situation in Vietnam, accepted the management task of Lingfeng Bodhi College, and invited Master Longgen to join as a trustee. Due to the disrepair of the hospital, it was rebuilt in 1967 and renamed Lingfeng Prajna Lecture Hall. The reconstruction was completed at the end of 1968. On January 12, 1969, a ceremony was held for the completion of the reconstruction and the installation of the statue of Buddha. Instructor Yin Shun from Taiwan was invited to preside over the ceremony. More than 2,000 guests from all walks of life came to congratulate him. Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Mui Tho Tuan also made a special trip to attend the ceremony, which was a grand occasion. After that, Master Yanpei stayed in the lecture hall to lecture and spread Buddhist scriptures for more than ten years.

Between 1962 and 198_, Master Yanpei traveled to the United States, Canada, and the Philippines many times to spread the teachings. In 1979, Master Yanpei had been in Singapore for many years, and his citizenship had not yet been approved. It was extremely inconvenient to enter and exit the country. He wanted to leave Singapore and go to the United States to promote Buddhism. He asked Master Longgen to host the Prajna Lecture Hall, and the handover was completed on November 20th. . After handing over the Prajna Lecture Hall, rumors abounded, including rumors in Hong Kong that he had been deported by the Singaporean government. In order to clarify the rumors, Master Yanpei stayed in Singapore and stayed temporarily at the Singapore Women's Buddhist College to continue giving lectures and propagating the Dharma.

Create a lecture hall

In March 198_, the newly built Puxian Temple in Cebu City, Philippines was completed. The abbot, Master Weici, asked Master Yanpei to preside over the installation ceremony of the Buddha statue. Master Pei went to the Philippines. He flew directly from Manila to New York in late March, gave lectures at Dongzen Temple and Dajue Temple, and returned to Singapore in June. In 1981, with the help of Master Hong Chang and Master Chang Kai, the Singapore government approved Master Yanpei's citizenship. At the same time, Master Yan Pei purchased 73,000 square feet of land in Punggol and asked an architect to draw and apply for construction. The government approved the construction in the spring of 1982 and named it Fuhui Lecture Hall. Fu Hui Lecture Hall is named in commemoration of Fu Yan Jingshe and Hui Ri Lecture Hall founded by Master Yinshun in Taiwan.

Fuhui Lecture Hall has a large lecture hall that can accommodate a thousand people. The second floor on both sides is divided into a library, conference hall, and offices. There is Ci Enlin Nursing Home for the Elderly built in the backyard, which can accommodate 120 elderly people. In addition, there is Ci Enlin Child Care Center. Construction started in the spring of 1982 and was completed in 1985. The opening ceremony was held on March 16, 1986, presided over by the Second Deputy Prime Minister of the Singapore Government Ong Ting Cheong. Government dignitaries, elders from various mountains, and countless Buddhist believers attended the grand event. Elders from the United States, Taiwan, and the Philippines also organized delegations to participate.

Fu Hui Lecture Hall is a Buddhist temple and the venue of the Singapore Buddhist Welfare Association. The Welfare Association is a social welfare organization founded by Master Yan Pei in 1981. Initially, it distributed monthly relief funds and relief items to poor and helpless elderly people and unfortunate families. It also visited hospitals, disabled homes, and orphanages to provide relief. After the completion of the Fu Hui Lecture Hall, under the promotion of Master Yan, the senior disciple of Yan Lao, the Cien Lin Nursing Home with a capacity of more than 100 people, the Cien Child Care Development Center with several branches, and later the establishment of a laundry facility with modern equipment were successively established. The work of the Kidney Center, the Drug Rehabilitation Center, the large-scale cultural center, and the Buddhist Welfare Association are moving forward day by day.

Due to his contribution to social welfare, he was praised by the public and recognized by the government. He served as the President of the Republic of Singapore twice in 1986 and 1992. He was awarded the Public Service Medal and appointed as the Buddhist representative of the Singapore Council for Religious Harmony.

Yan Lao has gone deep into the Buddhist scriptures, and has a thorough understanding of the scriptures, laws, and commentaries of the Tripitaka. It is not inappropriate to call him the Tripitaka master. Every time there is a Dharma assembly to teach the precepts, many of them are hired as monks who have obtained the precepts. The number of times is too numerous to be described in detail. He wrote numerous works throughout his life, including thirty-four volumes of "The Complete Works of Di Guan" and twelve volumes of "The Complete Works of Di Guan", totaling 8 million words.

Master Yanpei is upright by nature and not good at speaking, so he calls himself an ordinary foolish monk. However, the lectures on the scriptures are eloquent and eloquent, and the listeners are all benefited. Yan Lao died on November 10, 1996, at the age of 80.