Nan Huai-Chin

Nan Huai-Chin () (March 18, 1918 – September 29, 2012) was a Chinese Buddhist monk, religious scholar, and writer. A well-regarded spiritual teacher in contemporary China, he was considered by many to be the major force in the revival of Chinese Buddhism. While Nan was regarded by many in China as one of the most influential Chan Buddhist teachers and Vajrayana teachers, particularly in the Cundī practices, he was little known outside the Chinese cultural sphere. Nan died at the age of 94 on Sept. 29th, 2012 in Suzhou, China.

Early life and military career

Nan Huai-Chin was born March 18, 1918, to a scholar-official family in Yueqing county, Wenzhou city, Zhejiang province. In his youth, Nan received a classical education that included various Confucian and Daoist works, as well as traditional Chinese medicine, literature, calligraphy, poetry, and other subjects. In his youth at the age of 18, he became the provincial martial arts champion after studying several Chinese martial arts including swordsmanship with the ''jian''.

Nan studied social welfare at Jinling University (now merged with Nanjing University), and later went on to teach at the Republic of China Military Academy in Nanjing. In the late 1930s at the age of 21 years, Nan became a military commander at the border regions of Sichuan, Xikang, and Yunnan during the Second Sino-Japanese War. There, he led a local group of 30,000 men against the Japanese invasion.

Buddhist practice

While still young, Nan left his military career so that he could commit himself fully to his study of Buddhism and to meditation. In 1942 at age 24, he went on a three-year meditation retreat in the Emei Mountains. It is said that it was there that he verified his experiences against the Chinese Buddhist canon. During this time, Nan's primary teacher was Yuan Huanxian (袁煥仙; 1887 – 1966).

In 1945, Nan went to seek out the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. The 9th Gangkar Rinpoche (貢噶活佛; 1893 – 1957), a high-ranking tulku of the Kagyu school, also verified Nan's experiences, giving him the title "Vajra Master."Yuan, Margaret. ''Grass Mountain: A Seven Day Intensive in Ch'an Training with Master Nan Huai-Chin''. York Beach: Samuel Weiser, 1986. pp. vii-viii Nan was one of the few multidisciplinary experts in the world to be versed in the cultivation schools of Confucianism, Daoism, Tibetan Buddhism, and Chan Buddhism.

Nan's Dharma name was ''Tōngchán'' (通禪).

Academic and personal life

Following the revolution in China, Nan later moved to Taiwan in 1949 where he became a well-known university professor and author, teaching at National Chengchi University, Chinese Culture University, and Fu Jen Catholic University. His first book, ''The Sea of Chan'' (禪海蠡測), was published in 1955, and was the first in a line of over 40 books and related materials published in his name.

Nan's books have achieved a great deal of popularity in mainland China and Taiwan. In total, more than 20 million copies of his books have been sold in Chinese-speaking countries. Some of his more popular works have gone to a 20th printing in Taiwan and his works on Confucianism are used as standard university references in the mainland and Taiwan. Thomas Cleary, who has translated several of his books into English, has written the following about Nan's works and methodology:

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Nan mediated secret cross-strait communications between the mainland China and Taiwan.Bercovitch, Jacob, Kwei-Bo Huang, Chung-Chien Teng. ''Conflict Management, Security and Intervention in East Asia.'' 2008. pp. 43-44 Two of Nan's students were close confidants of Taiwan's President Lee Teng-hui, and Nan was approached by his student Jia Yibin about creating a communication channel between Lee Teng-hui and mainland China's President Yang Shangkun. Both Jia and Nan mediated cross-straight negotiations, and successfully realized secret chamber meetings between special envoys. In the early 1990s, Nan changed his place of residence from Taiwan to Hong Kong. Some secret cross-strait meetings were held at Nan's private residence in Hong Kong.

In January 1992, Nan signed a contract with the Chinese government and invested 92 million RMB in the Jinhua–Wenzhou Railway, which is the first joint-stock railway in China. In 2004, Nan returned to the mainland near Suzhou.

Nan died at the age of 94 on September 29, 2012.

Taihu Great Learning Center

In Wujiang District, Suzhou, in 2006, Nan founded the Taihu Great Learning Center ( 太湖大學堂), which contains the Wujiang Taihu International School. The school curriculum is meant to combine the best approaches of traditional China and the West. It has unique emphases such as meditation, ethics and etiquette, traditional Chinese medical theory, and Chinese and English recitation.educhina2000: Wujiang Taihu International School
/ref> The name of the school is in reference to the ''Great Learning'', one of the "Four Books" of Confucianism.

Books in English

This is a list of translations of Nan Huai-Chin's books. The vast majority of books written by Nan have not been translated into the English language from the original Chinese.

* 1984 ''Tao & Longevity: Mind-Body Transformation'', Paperback. 1984
* 1986 ''Grass Mountain: A Seven Day Intensive in Ch'an Training With Master Nan Huai-Chin'', Paperback. 1986
* 1993 ''Working Toward Enlightenment: The Cultivation of Practice'', Paperback. 1993
* 1994 ''To Realize Enlightenment: Practice of the Cultivation Path'', Paperback. 1994
* 1995 ''The Story of Chinese Zen'', Paperback. 1995
* 1997 ''Basic Buddhism: Exploring Buddhism and Zen'', Paperback. 1997
* 2004 ''Diamond Sutra Explained'', Paperback. 2004

References

Further reading

* Margaret Yuan & Janis Walker, Tr: Grass Mountain: A Seven Day Intensive in Ch'an Training with Master Nan Huai Chin (1986, York Beach, ME, Samuel Weiser) OP
* Master Nan, Book Review: J. L. Walker, Parabola, Vol. 25, No. 2, Summer 2000 pp. 106–110: The Story of Chinese Zen (Thomas Cleary, Tr.; 1995).
* Master Nan, poetry, article: J. L. Walker, Parabola, Vol. XXII, No. 1, Spring 1997, pp. 65–70: Wordgates: Knowing as a Gateway to Spiritual Experience

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nan, Huai-Chin
1918 births
2012 deaths
20th-century Chinese writers
Chan Buddhists
Chinese spiritual writers
Chinese Zen Buddhists
People's Republic of China Buddhist monks
Taiwanese Buddhist monks
Taiwanese people from Zhejiang
Writers from Wenzhou
Zen Buddhist spiritual teachers