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Dharma Master Yin Shun
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| (Translated by Mike Lee, Northern
CA) |
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Dharma Master Yin Shun
is the mentor with whom Master Cheng Yen took refuge. Tzu Chi
people respectfully refer to him as "Shih Kung (Teacher Patriarch)."
He was born in 1905. In 1930, he took refuge with Master Ching
Nien at the Fu Chuan Monastery and became a monk. He was given
the dharma name of Yin Shun and the title Sheng Cheng. By the
age of thirty-one, he had completed reading the entire Buddhist
canon of scriptures.
With respect to the Buddha's teachings, the
Master's accomplishments, innovations and contributions have long
been endorsed and revered by scholars, both at home and abroad.
He has been a prolific author, having published such works as
The Marvelous Cloud Collection and The Flower Rain Collection.
In 1972, with his History of the Chinese Ch'an School,
he became the first monk from Taiwan to receive a doctorate degree
in literature in Japan, from Taisho University.
The Master devoted his entire life to promoting
the idea of "human Buddhism," and he is recognized by
all to be "an eminent monk in the style of India." He
has also been praised with such titles as "modern pioneer
of human Buddhist thought" and "modern leader of the
Buddhist spirit."
The Ekottara Agama Sutra states:
"All buddhas come from humanity; no one achieves buddhahood
in heaven." This is the foundation behind the Master's concept
of "human Buddhism."
