Biography
Both his parents died when he was five. At the age of six he began education at a classical academy. He earned his Xiu1cai2 秀才 Degree at 16. At 18 he became seriously ill and vowed that if he were to recover, he would ordain as a monk. The following year he recovered and he took tonsured under Zeng1xi1 shang4ren2 增西上人 at Mei2feng1 Temple 梅峰寺. He ordained under Miao4lian2 妙蓮 at Yong3quan2 Temple 湧泉寺 in May of 1897 (4 Guang1xu4 光緒 23).
He studied asceticism and ritual under Da2ben3 達本, abbot of Chong2sheng4 Temple 崇聖寺 on Great Snowy Peak 大雪峰. He traveled, and studied Chan2 with Zhi4kai1 治開, abbot of Chang2zhou1's 常州 Tian1ning2 Temple 天寧寺. He stayed until April, 1903 (3 Guang1xu4 光緒 29), at which point he went to Tian1tong2 Temple 天童寺 in Ning2bo1 寧波. There he studided with Ji4chan2 寄禪.
In July or August of 1906 (6 Guang1xu4 光緒 32) he received dharma transmission from Ci4yun4 慈運 of Nin2bo1's Qi1ta3 Bao4en1 Temple 七塔報恩寺, making him a 40th generation holder of the Lin2ji4 臨濟 lineage.
That same year, Yuan2ying1 met Tai4xu1 太虛, who had come to Tain1tong2 Temple to receive the precepts.
In 1912, Yuan2ying1 accompanied Ji4chan2 to Shang4hai3, where he joined the latter as part of the newly-formed Chinese General Buddhist Association 中國佛教總會.
Important Works
Much of his work is available on-line, see 圓瑛大師網路專輯[1]
Notes
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), 1:1267b-1271a.
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