Chinese
What citizenship did Xuyun hold from Oct 1949 to Oct 1950?
Xuyun Xuyun or Hsu Yun ( ; 5 September 1840 ? – 13 October 1959 ) was a renowned Chinese Chan Buddhist master and one of the most influential Buddhist teachers of the 19th and 20th centuries . Early life . Xuyun was purportedly born on 5 September 1840 in Fujian , Qing China . His original name was Xiao Guyan ( ) . He was the son of Xiao Yutang ( ) and his mother was surnamed Yan ( ) . His paternal lineage can be traced back to Emperor Liang Wudi . His mother died during childbirth . Guyans grandmother insisted that her grandson take a wife . In order to continue both his and his uncles lineage , Guyan was arranged to marry one woman from the Tian family and one from the Tan family . His first exposure to Buddhism was during the funeral of his grandmother . Soon afterward he began reading Buddhist sutras and later made a pilgrimage to Mount Heng , one of the most important Buddhist sites in China . When he was fourteen years old , he announced that he wished to renounce the material world in favour of monastic life . His father did not approve of Buddhism and had him instructed in Taoism instead . Guyan was dissatisfied with Taoism , which he felt could not reach the deeper truths of existence . The storerooms of his house were full of very old books . Going through them , he found a volume called the Story of Incense Mountain ( cf . Guanyin#Miaoshan ) , which described the life of Guanyin . After reading the book , he was deeply influenced and was inspired to go forth from the home to monkhood to practice Buddhism . When Xuyun was seventeen , he attempted to flee to Mount Heng to become a monk without his familys permission . On a winding mountain path he encountered envoys sent by his uncle to intercept and escort him back . His aspiration was not realized and he was reproved and brought back home . When he arrived home , the family feared that he would escape again , so he was sent with his first cousin , Fu Kuo , to Quanzhou . His father formally received the brides from the Tian and Tan families for Xuyun , and his marriage was completed . Although they lived together , Xuyun did not have sexual contact with his wives . Moreover , he extensively explained the dharma to the women so that they too would practice Buddhism . Fu Kuo also had previously explored Buddhism and had the same aspiration as Xuyun , so they amicably traveled the Path together . In his nineteenth year , accompanied by Fu Kuo , he started the journey to Gu Shan ( Drum Mountain ) in Fuzhou to leave home . Before leaving , he wrote the Song of the Skinbag . which he left behind for his two wives . It was at Gu Shan monastery that his head was shaved and he received ordination as a monk . When his father sent agents to find him , Xuyun concealed himself in a grotto behind the monastery , where he lived in solitude for three years . At the age of twenty-five , Xuyun learned that his father had died , and his stepmother and two wives had entered the monastic life . During his years as a hermit , Xuyun made some of his most profound discoveries . He visited the old master Yung Ching , who encouraged him to abandon his extreme asceticism in favor of temperance . He instructed the young monk in the sutras and told him to be mindful of the Hua Tou , Who is dragging this corpse of mine ? In his thirty-sixth year , with the encouragement of Yung Ching , Xuyun went on a seven-year pilgrimage to Mount Putuo off the coast of Ningbo , a place regarded by Buddhists as the bodhimaṇḍa of Avalokiteśvara . He went on to visit the Temple of King Ashoka and various Chan holy places . Middle Age and Enlightenment . At age forty-three , Xuyun had by now left the home-life for more than twenty years , but he had not yet completed his practice in the Path . He had not repaid his parents kindness , and so he vowed to again make a pilgrimage to Nan Hai . From Fa Hua Temple all the way to Ching Liang Peak at Mount Wutai of the northwest , the bodhimanda of Manjushri , he made one full prostration every three steps . He prayed for the rebirth of his parents in the Pure Land . Along the way , Xuyun is said to have met a beggar called Wen Chi , who twice saved his life . After talking with the monks at the Five-Peaked Mountain , Xuyun came to believe that the beggar had been an incarnation of Manjushri . Having achieved singleness of mind , Xuyun traveled west and south , making his way through Tibet . He visited many monasteries and holy places , including Sichuans Mount Emei , the bodhimanda of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva , the Potala , the seat of the Dalai Lama , and Tashilhunpo Monastery , the seat of the Panchen Lama . He traveled through India and Ceylon , and then across the sea to Burma . During this time of wandering , he felt his mind clearing and his health growing stronger . Xuyun composed a large number of poems during this period . After returning to China , During Xuyuns fifty-third year , he joined with other Venerable Masters Pu Zhao , Yue Xia , and Yin Lian ( Lotus Seal ) to cultivate together . They climbed Mount Jiuhua ( bodhimanda of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva ) and repaired the huts on Cui Feng Summit , where Dharma Master Pu Zhao expounded the Mahavaipulyabuddha Avatamsaka ( Flower Adornment ) Sutra . When Xuyun was fifty-six , the Abbot Yue Lang of Gaomin Temple in Yangzhou was going to convene a continuous twelve-week session of dhyana meditation . Preparing to leave , the group asked Xuyun to go first . After reaching Di Gang , he had to cross the water , but had no money . The ferry left without him . As he walked along the rivers edge , he suddenly lost his footing and fell into the rushing water , where he bobbed helplessly for a day and night and was caught in a fishermans net . He was carried to a nearby temple , where he was revived and treated for his injuries . Feeling ill , he nevertheless returned to Yangzhou . When asked by Gao Ming whether he would participate in the upcoming weeks of meditation , he politely declined , without revealing his illness . The temple had rules that those who were invited had to attend or else face punishment . In the end , Gao Ming had Xuyun beaten with a wooden ruler . He willingly accepted this punishment , although it worsened his condition . For the next several days , Xuyun sat in continuous meditation . In his autobiography , he wrote : [ in ] the purity of my singleness of mind , I forgot all about my body . Twenty days later my illness vanished completely . From that moment , with all my thoughts entirely wiped out , my practice took effect throughout the day and night . My steps were as swift as if I was flying in the air . One evening , after meditation , I opened my eyes and suddenly saw I was in brightness similar to broad daylight in which I could see everything inside and outside the monastery.. . But he knew that this occurrence was only a mental state , and that it was not at all rare . He did not become attached to this achievement , but continued his single-minded investigation of the topic , who is mindful of the Buddha ? over and over again , he delved into this topic without interruption . Xuyun composed a commemorative verse for the oft-cited moment of profound insight , which was galvanized by the sound of a breaking teacup in the Chan Hall : Later life . Xuyun tirelessly worked as a bodhisattva , teaching precepts , explaining sutras , and restoring old temples . He worked throughout Asia , creating a following across Burma , Thailand , Malaya , and Vietnam , as well as Tibet and China . He remained in China during World War II . In the winter of 1942 , Xuyun held a Protect the Nation , Quell the Disaster , Mahākaruṇā Dharma Assembly that lasted over three months long in Chongqing , the capital of China at that time . He stayed after the rise of the Peoples Republic of China to support the Buddhist communities rather than retreat to the safety of Hong Kong or Taiwan . After the Communists took over mainland China , he and his disciples were mistreated and tortured . In 1953 , along with Dharma Master Yuan Ying and others , Xuyun formed the Chinese Buddhist Association at Kuang Chi ( Extensive Aid ) Monastery where he was Honorary President . The following resolutions were proposed to the government : 1 . In all places , further destruction of monasteries and temples , the desecration of images , and the burning of sutras shall immediately cease ; 2 . The intimidation of bhikshus and bhikshunis to force their return to lay life will not be tolerated ; and 3 . All monastery property shall be returned forthwith , and there should be returned to the Sangha enough arable acreage to make the monasteries self-supporting . The petition was approved . He then represented the Association in receiving three gifts from a Buddhist delegation from Sri Lanka . Hsu Yun also responded to the invitation of Dharma Master Nan Tung ( Penetration to the South ) to head another Dharma assembly at Lang Shan ( Wolf Mountain ) Monastery , where several thousand people from all over took refuge . He returned to Shanghai in the third lunar month , and the next month received a telegram from Peking requesting his presence in the Capital . Hsu Yun arrived and stayed at Kuang Chi ( Extensive Aid ) Monastery ( Guangji Temple ( Beijing ) ) . Representatives of various Buddhist groups also were present , and the Chinese Buddhist Association was officially inaugurated . After a plenary meeting in which important policies were decided , some monks suggested to him some changes to precepts and rules . Xuyun then scolded them and wrote an essay about the manifestation of the Dharma Ending Age . Death . Xuyun became ill in the summer of 1959 and died in October . Significance . In 1953 , the Chinese Buddhist Association was established at a meeting with 121 delegates in Beijing . The meeting also elected a chairman , 4 honorary chairmen , 7 vice-chairmen , a secretary general , 3 deputy secretaries-general , 18 members of a standing committee , and 93 directors . The 4 elected honorary chairmen were the Dalai Lama , the Panchen Lama , the Grand Lama of Inner Mongolia , and Xuyun himself . Publications . - Empty Cloud : The Autobiography of the Chinese Zen Master Xu Yun References . - Gauci , Damian , John ( 2011 ) . Chan-Pure Land : An Interpretation of Xu Yuns ( 1840-1959 ) Oral Instructions , Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal 24 , 105-120 - Huimin Bhiksu ( 2009 ) . An Inquiry Into Master Xuyun’s Experiences of Long-dwelling in Samadhi , Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal 22 , 45-68 - Hunn , Richard ( ed. ) , translated by Charles Luk ( 1974 ) . Empty Cloud : the Autobiography of the Chinese Zen Master Hsu Yun . Rochester : Empty Cloud Press . Shaftesbury : Element Books , 1988 ( revised ) - Kʻuan Yü Lu ( Charles Luk ) ( 1964 ) . Master Hsu Yun Brief Biography , The Mountain Path , Vol . 1 , October 1964 , No . 4 - Kʻuan Yü Lu ( Charles Luk ) ( 1961 ) . Chan and Zen teaching , London : Rider . - Kʻuan Yü Lu ; Xuyun ( 1993 ) . Master Hsu Yuns discourses and dharma words , Hong Kong : H . K . Buddhist book distributor . - Hsuan Hua ( 1983,1985 ) . A Pictorial Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun - Vol.1 and Vol.2 ( 2nd edition 2003 ) . Burlingame , Calif. : Buddhist Text Translation Society , Dharma Realm Buddhist Univ . - Sakya , Jy Din ( 1996 ) . Empty Cloud : The teachings of Xu Yun . A remembrance of the Great Chinese Zen Master , Hong Kong : H . K . Buddhist book distributor External links . - There are two institutions under the name Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun : one at hsuyun.org and another at zatma.org - List of books on the life and teachings of Master Hsu Yun . - Testimonies of awakening - 虛雲和尚年譜 - Master Xuyun Memorial Photographic Library