Views
There are at least four Chinese monks and nuns who went by this name in the 20th century.
Contents |
The Living Buddha of Jīnshān 金山活佛 (18??-1935)
A famous meditation master and ascetic who was known for his miraculous powers. Active from the 1920s to his death.
Miàoshàn (1) 妙善 (1827-1923)
Miàoshàn 妙善 (1827-1923)
|
| Notable Associates:
|
|
Miàoshàn 妙善 (1827-1923) was abbess of Qīngzhēn Hermitage 清真庵 in Fújiàn 福建.
Biography
Miàoshàn began eating a vegetarian diet at a young age, and at the age of 12 suì 歲 she ordained under the nun Huìzhēn 慧貞 at Qīngzhēn Hermitage 清真庵, which was located on Cóngzhū shān 叢珠山 in her home county. When her teacher died in 1904 (Guāngxù 光緒 30), Miàoshàn became abbess. She held this position for the rest of her life. Under her guidance, the nuns at the hermitage were able to be completely self-supporting, growing their own food and making their own robes.
References
- Yú Língbō 于凌波, ed. Xiàndài Fójiào rénwù cídiǎn 現代佛教人物辭典 (A Dictionary of Modern Buddhist Persons), 2 vols. Taipei: Foguang, 2004. Pp. 1.441a-c.
Miàoshàn (2) 妙善 (1909-2000)
Miàoshàn 妙善 (1909-2000)
|
 |
Notable Associates:
|
|
Miàoshàn 妙善 (1909-2000) was a living link in the Chinese Buddhist tradition through the Cultural Revolution, and was the driving force behind much of the Buddhist reconstruction that occurred on Pǔtuó shān 普陀山 in the 1980s and 1990s.
Biography
Miàoshàn's father died when he was 3 suì 歲 and he was raised primarily by his mother. He attended a private school, when young, working at a shop from the age of 16 suì in order to pay for it. He was tonsured under Jíkuān 寂寬 at Dìzàng Temple 地藏寺 in Dānyáng County 丹陽縣 in 1932, and received full ordination at Tiānníng Temple 天寧寺 in Yángzhōu 揚州. Thereupon, he went to train in Chán at Gāomín Temple 高旻寺 for a year before becoming an itinerant.
He traveled around, visiting many of the major monasteries of the day, before returning to Gāomín Temple where he became a dharma heir of abbot Láiguǒ 來果. This made him a 47th-generation lineage holder in the Línjì 臨濟 line. In 1942, Miàoshàn became abbot of Gāomín Temple, but resigned two years later due to illness. Miàoshàn went to Pǔtuó shān 普陀山 to convalesce. There, he went into bìguān 閉關 for three years. While in seclusion, he focused his studies on Tiāntái 天臺 thought.
In 1953, Miàoshàn became abbot of Fǎyǔ Temple 法雨寺 on Pǔtuó shān island. There he tightened up the observance of the monastic rule, and worked to expand the temple's structures. In 1960, the 107 monastics at the temple were sent to work in the country (下放) at Lúshān 廬山 in Zhèjiāng 浙江.
After liberalization in 1979, Miàoshàn once again took up his monastic robes and returned to Pǔtuó shān. Because of his seniority, he served as the abbot for the entire island during the first phases of reconstruction. He oversaw the rebuilding of the three major temples on the island–Fǎyǔ Temple 法雨寺, Pǔjì Temple 普濟寺, Huìjì Chán Temple 慧濟禪寺–as well as around two dozen smaller temples and hermitages. In 1990, he helped establish the Pǔtuó shān Buddhist Seminary 普陀山佛學院.
Miàoshàn passed away at Pǔtuó shān on February 26, 2000.
Notes
References
- Yú Língbō 于凌波, ed. Xiàndài Fójiào rénwù cídiǎn 現代佛教人物辭典 (A Dictionary of Modern Buddhist Persons), 2 vols. Taipei: Foguang, 2004. Pp. 1.441c-443a.
Miàoshàn (3) 妙善 (1901-????)
Miàoshàn 妙善 (1901-????)
|
| Notable Associates:
|
|
Miàoshàn 妙善 (1901-????) was the founder of Yuánguāng Temple 圓光寺 in Xīnzhú County 新竹縣, Táiwān 台灣.
Biography
Miàoshàn began living as a nun at the age of 18 suì 歲. She had Yuánguāng Temple 圓光寺 built in Xīnzhú, and it was completed on April 8, 1946. In 1955 she took tonsure under Yìnshùn 印順, and received full ordination the following year at Bǎojué Temple 寶覺寺 in Táizhōng 台中. Due to her increasing number of followers, and the need for more space, throughout the entire year of 1962 Yuánguāng Temple was renovated and expanded. Buildings continued to be added until 1968.
Notes
References
- Yú Língbō 于凌波, ed. Xiàndài Fójiào rénwù cídiǎn 現代佛教人物辭典 (A Dictionary of Modern Buddhist Persons), 2 vols. Taipei: Foguang, 2004. P. 1.443a-c.