Chúnmì 純密 (1901-1970)
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Chúnmì 純密 (1901-1970) was a monastic teacher of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism 東密 in Cháozhōu 潮州.
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Chúnmì was born into a middle class mercantile family. He received a classical education growing up. He was tonsured under Yíguang1 怡光 in 1919, and received full ordination the following year at Fǎyǔ Temple 法雨寺 on Pǔtuóshān 普陀山.
Chúnmì was influenced by the works on Japanese esoteric Buddhism that were just being published bu of Wáng Hóngyuàn 王弘願, and in 1921 Chúnmì traveled to Koyasan 高野山 in Japan to study study Shingon 真言 Esoteric Buddhism 東密. He remained in Japan until 1924, eventually receiving abhiṣeka 灌頂, which made him an Ācārya 阿闍梨, or lineage-holding teacher of esoteric Buddhism.
After returning to China in 1924, Chúnmì took up residence at Kāiyuán Temple 開元寺 (he went on to become abbot of this temple in 1942), where he began teaching Esoteric Buddhism. He eventually gathered a large number of disciples. It is reported by one scholar that Chúnmì was part of the Chinese delegation to the East Asian Buddhist Conference (Dōngyā fójiào dàhuì 東亞佛教大會]] held in Tōkyō in 1925.[1] In the spring of 1927 he traveled to Thailand to teach. From there he went to Singapore in 1929. In 1934 he went back to Japan, where he secured certain esoteric texts and ritual implements, which he brought back to China.
In 1936 he founded the Garden of Esoteric Accomplishment 蘇悉地園 near the Qīxīng Bridge 七星橋 at the Northern Gate 北門 of Cháozhōu. This temple was built in the style of a Japanese Shingon temple.
After the founding of the PRC in 1949, Chúnmì continued living at Kāiyuán Temple until he was forced out in September of 1966 by the events of the Cultural Revolution. He was imprisoned in 1970 and died in prison in July of that year.