Yin Shun

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Yin Shun ( Chinese  印順 , Pinyin Yìnshùn , W.-G. Yinshun ; born April 5, 1906 in Haining ; † June 4, 2005 in Hualien , Taiwan ) was a Chinese monk, he is considered one of the most important Buddhist teachers of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism of the second half of the 20th century.

After years of reading Taoist and Confucian texts, at times also the Bible, all of which had not satisfied him, he wanted to follow the Buddha's path. On Putuo Shan , an island off Ningbo , with one of the four sacred mountains of Chinese Buddhism , he managed to enter the small Fuquanan Temple to study Buddhist scriptures. There he was ordained in the winter of 1930 by the monk Qingnian (1875–1957). His ordination master Qingnian had the same ordination master as Taixu ( 太虛 ; 1889-1947), so was his master brother (shixiong).

His main teacher later became the learned monk Taixu, whose "Buddhism of human life" (rensheng fojiao) was an important part of opening up Buddhist practice to social engagement rather than mere striving for self-redemption. Yin Shun also published his writings later. With his doctrine of "Buddhism of the human world" (renjian fojiao), Yinshun has created a highly regarded slogan for socially committed Chinese Buddhism. His Buddhism of the human world also meant turning away from speculation, foreign beliefs and inventions.

Yin Shun explained, “I did not try to become a learned Buddhist scholar through broad erudition, nor did I want to open a Dharma supermarket that would give people what they want (...). I take Master Taixu's idea of ​​a Buddhism of human life that is not full of ghosts and demons (fei guihua de rensheng fojiao), think a step further and give a Buddhism that is not full of gods (fei tianhua de) theoretical basis. "

Yin Shun is the teacher of the nun Zhengyan ( 證 嚴 * 1937), who heads the largest Buddhist charity in the world (Ciji gongde hui).

Through works on the history of Buddhism, especially its Indian roots, he opened the view of the Chinese Buddhist community, which was very China-centered, to Buddhism as a great religion. Despite his friendship and collaboration with Fazun in Sichuan , he remained skeptical of the writings of Tsong-kha-pa (1417–1478), the great Tibetan reformer and founder of the Dge-luks-pa school under the Chinese title Mizongdao cidi guanglun translated against Tibetan Buddhism, which he considered heterodox. There are a number of critical comments on the beliefs and practices of Tibetans. Yin Shun has also criticized Confucianism and Christianity.

Yin Shun is compulsory reading for students at Buddhist seminars in Taiwan. The main readings are Chengfo zhi dao and Fofa gailun , Xuefo san yao and Chuqi dacheng fojiao zhi qiyuan yu kaizhan .

His introductions to Buddhism, his historical works as well as his specialized treatises, also for the Buddhist Chinese congregations abroad, are elementary. In Malaysia in the largest Buddhist seminary (Triple Wisdom Hall, Penang ), Fofa gailun is used as reading material for a full year. The Young Buddhist Association Malaysia uses Chengfo zhi dao for a “YBAM Dhamma Propagator Training Course”. Yinshun's student Yanpei (1917–1996) was one of the most prominent monastic scholars there after moving to Singapore (around 1967). Another student of Yinshun, Miaoqin (1921–1974), became an important figure among the Chinese Buddhists in Manila and founded the Nengren School there, which still exists today.

The scholar Shi Shengyan considers Yin Shun, along with Zhixu , Taixu and Ouyang Jian, to be the most important Buddhist scholar of the modern age. (See Four great thinkers in Modern Chinese Buddhism. In: Fu, Charles Wei-hsun; Wawrytko, Sandra A. (Eds.) (1991), 55-67.)

literature

Translations of works by Yin Shun

English:

  • Selected Translations of Miao Yun - Miaoyun xuanshi ( Memento from May 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), (Selected and translated passages from the Miaoyunji collection). 4 vols. (Australia): Huazang chansi 華 藏 禪寺, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999. Bilingual edition. Vol. 1 and 2.
  • The Way to Buddhahood - Instructions from a Modern Chinese Master. Boston: Wisdom Books, 1998. Translated by Wing H. Yeung.
  • The Abhidharmaprakaraṇapāda-śastra . In: Journal of the Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies (Sri Lanka) . No. 1 (1999). Translated by Ven. Shi Xian Da. (Ie Shuoyiqieyoubu weizhu de lunshu yu lunshi zhi yanjiu chapter 4.5.)
  • The Vibhajyavādins of the Sthaviravāda . In: Journal of the Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies (Sri Lanka) . No. 1 (1999). Translated by Ven. Shi Chun Yi. (Ie Shuoyiqieyoubu weizhu de lunshu yu lunshi zhi yanjiu chapter 9.1.)

Japanese:

  • Chūgoku zenshū shi: zenshisō no tanshō. Sankibo, Tokyo 1997. Translated by Ibuki Atsushi.
  • 'Daishidoron' no sakusha to sono honyaku. Sankibo, Tokyo 1993. Translated by Iwaki Hidenori.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Yin Shun
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 印順 (Chinese); Yìnshùn (pinyin); Yinshun (Wade-Giles)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION chinese monk
DATE OF BIRTH April 5, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH Haining , Chinese Empire
DATE OF DEATH June 4, 2005
Place of death Hualien , Taiwan