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Lǐ Yuányīn 李元音 (1905-2000)
Third patriarch of the Mind Seal School 印心宗, after Wáng Xiānglù 王驤陸, second patriarch, and Dàyú 大愚, the school's founder and first patriarch.
- Born 1905 (Guāngxù 光緒 31) in Héféi 合肥, Anhuī 安徽
- Died 2000, in China
- Name 名: Zhōngdǐng 鐘鼎
- Alternate names : Yuányīn lǎorén 元音老人, Yuányin ācārya 元音阿闍梨
- Dharma name 法名: Yuányīn 元音
Biography
In 1917, he moved with his father moved to Zhènjiāng 鎮江. Lǐ had studied the writings of Confucius and Mencius in his youth, but Buddhist texts proved impenetrable to him until he moved there. In Zhènjiāng, he went with his classmates to various Buddhist temples to learn about Buddhism. At Jiāngtiān Temple 江天寺 of Jīnshān 金山 there was the Living Buddha of Jīnshān 金山活佛.
In 1923, he Lǐ moved with his father again, this time to Shànghǎi 上海, where he tested into Hùjiāng University 滬江大學. In 1926, his father died. Lǐ tested into a job with the Postal Bureau, and used his wages to support his mother. He continued to study the Buddhist scriptures he had inherited from his father, and were it not for his mother, he would have ordained as a monk.
At this time, he studied Tiāntái 天台 under Xīngcí 興慈, Consciousness-Only under Fàn Gǔnóng 范古農, and Huáyán 華嚴 and Chán 禪 under Yīngcí應慈.
After the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1945, Lǐ heard Wáng Xiānglù lecture on the Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch 六祖壇經. After this, Lǐ went to Wáng's Yìnmì jīngshè 印密精舍, where he took refuge under Wáng and studied Esoteric Buddhism under him.
In 1958, Lǐ received abhiṣeka 灌頂 from Wáng. Lǐ then lectured at temples and other sites on the Lotus, Diamond, Huáyán, and other sūtras.
After the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, he restarted his religious activities throughout China, and he had disciples in numerous foreign countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, France, and Japan.
From 1995 to 1998, he lived and taught in New York City. He died in China.
Important Works
- 碧岩錄講座
- 禪海微瀾
- 略論明心見性
- 往生西方的關鍵問題
- 悟心銘淺釋
- 心經抉隱
Notable Students
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), 1:491a-492b.