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Jùzàn 巨贊 (1908-1984)
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Jùzàn 巨贊 (1908-1984)
A Buddhist teacher who participated in the War of Resistance and worked closely with the Communist government after the founding of the PRC.
Biography
In 1927, Jùzàn graduated from Jiāngyīn Normal School 江陰師範學校, and briefly studied at Dàxià University 大夏大學 before returning to Jiāngyīn to teach elementary school.
In 1930, he went to Hángzhōu 杭州 to stay at Língyǐn Temple 靈隱寺. There he began to study Buddhism with Quèfēi 卻非, under whom he took tonsure in 1931. Later that year, he received ordination at Bǎohuá shān 寶華山 and then returned to Língyǐn Temple. After his return, he studied Consciousness-Only 唯識, Tiāntái 天台, and Huáyán 華嚴 thought.
In 1933, he taught at the Sino-Tibetan Institute 漢藏教理院 in Chóngqìng 重慶 for one semester before going to Nánjīng to study at the Chinese Inner Studies Institute 支那內學院 under Ōuyáng Jìngwú 歐陽竟無.
In 1936 Jùzàn wrote a criticism of the work of Xióng Shílì 熊十力. He also began to make a name for himself with pieces he published in the magazine Fójiào gōnglùn 佛教公論 (Buddhist Open Discourse).
In the spring of 1937, Jùzàn began teaching at the Mínnán Buddhist Seminary 閩南佛學院, but with the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in July of that year, he fled to Hong Kong and then Guǎngdōng 廣東, where he met Xūyún 虛雲. He finally went to Nányuè 南嶽 in Hú'nán 湖南, where he participated in the resistance by organizing several groups.
In 1940, Jùzàn accepted the invitation of Dàoān 道安 to come to Guìlín 桂林 to serve as secretary for the Guǎngxī Buddhist Association 廣西佛教會, and to run the magazine Shīzi hǒu 獅子吼. During the period when he was editing that magazine, he also became abbot of Yuèyáshān Temple 月牙山寺, where he carried out left-leaning political activities. In 1942, he became abbot of Lónghuá Temple 龍華寺 in Guìpíng 桂平.
At the end of the War, Jùzàn returned to Hánghzōu and served as an officer in the Zhèjiāng Provincial Buddhist Association 浙江省佛教會 and as secretary of the Hángzhōu City Buddhist Association 杭州市佛教會.
In 1948, he took over for Huìjué 會覺 as principal of the Wǔlín Buddhist Seminary 武林佛學院, but the school closed that year because of the Civil War. Once again, Jùzàn fled to Hong Kong.
In 1949, he was invited to participate in several of the various congresses held by the Chinese Communist Party at the beginning of the PRC. In 1950, he helped organize monks and nuns to form the Mahāvira Hemp Bag Factory 大雄麻袋廠, which he saw as a way to reestablish the Chán 禪 spirit of working Buddhist monastics.
In 1953, he participated in the formation of the Chinese Buddhist Association 中國佛教協會. Jùzàn served as chief-secretary of this organization, along with Zhōu Shūjiā 周叔迦. Jùzàn became Vice President in 1957, and also became the chief editor of the Association's periodical Fǎyīn 法音.
During the Cultural Revolution, Jùzàn was imprisoned. There is not very much information on what else happened to him between 1966 and 1980.
Important Works
- 巨贊文集
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. Pp. 1.203-205a.
- Welch, Holmes. Buddhism Under Mao. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1971.