Benhuan (; 21 September 1907 – 2 April 2012) was a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

Chan master Zen master is a somewhat vague English term that arose in the first half of the 20th century, sometimes used to refer to an individual who teaches Zen Buddhist meditation and practices, usually implying longtime study and subsequent authoriza ...

and

religious leader Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. He held several abbatial posts, such as being first abbot of the

Hongfa Temple Hongfa Temple () is a Buddhist temple located at Fairylake Botanical Garden, Luohu District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. History Hongfa Temple was built in 1985 by Chan master Benhuan. The construction lasted from July 1985 to June 1992. Arch ...

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

. He was also the honorary president of the

Buddhist Association of China The Buddhist Association of China (BCA; ) is the official government supervisory organ of Buddhism in the People's Republic of China. The association has been overseen by the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since ...

in 2010, holding the position until his death in 2012.

Early life

Benhuan was born as Zhang Zhishan () in 1907 in

Xinzhou Xinzhou, ancient name Xiurong (秀荣), is a prefecture-level city occupying the north-central section of Shanxi Province in the People's Republic of China, bordering Hebei to the east, Shaanxi to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the northwest ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

Province. He went to the old-style private school when he was 7 years old and became an apprentice in the local grocery store. When in his twenties, Zhang gave up home life and took tonsure in the Baoen Temple.

Religious life

In 1930, he went to

Baotong Temple Baotong Temple () is a Buddhist temple located on the south hillside of Mount Hong, in Wuchang District of Wuhan, Hubei, China. It is one of the "Four Buddhist Temples" in Wuhan. History Northern and Southern dynasties The temple was first ...

to receive and uphold precepts in Wuchang. In that same year, he came to the Gaoyu Temple and formally acknowledged Laiguo as his master, where he spent 7 years in practicing the Dharma. In February 1937, he spared no effort to worship at the shrine on

Mount Wutai Mount Wutai, also known by its Chinese name Wutaishan and as is a sacred Buddhist site at the headwaters of the Qingshui in Shanxi Province, China. Its central area is surrounded by a cluster of flat-topped peaks roughly corresponding to the c ...

and then lived in Bishan temple. Two years later, he became the third Master Monk Guan there. In 1947, he visited many other temples all over China, namely Mile Monastery in Beijing, Jushi Lodge in Tianjin and Puji Temple in Shanghai. In 1948, he left Mount Wutai for

Nanhua Temple Nanhua Temple () is a Buddhist monastery of the Chan Buddhism, one of Five Great Schools of Buddhism where Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, once lived and taught. It is located in the town of Maba (), Qujiang District, southeas ...

in Guangdong Province to take the place of Master Hsu Yun. In January 1949, he acceded to the abbotship of Nanhua temple. In April, 1980, the people's government of Huanan county and the Buddhist community invited him to be the abbot of Biechuan Temple in Danxia Mountain. In January 1987 he acceded to the abbotship of Guangxiao Temple in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

; from 1992 to 2008 he was elected the abbot of Hongfa Temple, at that point in time he was known as the "Greatest in Chinese Buddhism". As a religious leader in Mainland China, Benhuan served as honorary president of the

(a post he was elected to in 2010), honorary president of the Buddhist Association of Hubei Province and Guangdong Province, the president of the Shenzhen Buddhism Association, the honorary president of the Buddhist Association of Shaoguan City, and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Guangdong Province.

Personality

Benhuan’s legendary spiritual and religious cultivation include, as legend has it, sitting in meditation that lasted 91 days without sleep in his youth; locking himself in a temple for seven years; spending an entire year travelling on a pilgrimage from Baoding in Hebei Province to Wutai Mountain in Shanxi Province; and copying 19 Buddhist scriptures with more than 200,000 characters with blood from his fingers and tongue. He was also known for his good memory. According to his disciple Yin Shun, who is now the abbot of Hongfa Temple, Ben Huan once instantly recognized a visitor who visited him five years before. The famous monk would have tens of thousands of visitors every day asking for blessings. These "blessing seekers" would include important government officials and successful businesspeople, and all would be treated equally.

Influence

Benhuan became a monk in 1930 and was the 44th generation lineage holder of the Linji school. He promoted Buddhism in more than 20 countries and regions, attracting more than 2 million followers. He was regarded as an eminent Buddhist both in China and overseas. He was also a generous philanthropist. During his 80 years of Buddhist practice, he donated more than 10 million yuan (US $1.59 million) to building roads, schools and hospitals across the country. Hongfa Temple’s donations and contributions to public facilities and charitable organizations totaled more than 50 million yuan. He became a centenarian in 2007, and died on April 2, 2012, age 104. Benhuan died in the Hongfa Temple in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, according to an announcement of the temple posted on its official website.

References

External links

Benhuan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benhuan 1907 births 2012 deaths Republic of China Buddhist monks Rinzai Buddhists People from Shenzhen Chinese centenarians People's Republic of China Buddhist monks 20th-century Chinese people 21st-century Chinese people Men centenarians