Editing Xuyun

{{Short description|Chinese Chan Buddhist master and teacher}}
{{Infobox religious biography
|name = Xuyun
|native name = 虛雲
| native_name_lang = zh
|image= File:Xuyun.jpg
|caption = Xuyun
|religion = [[Chan Buddhism]]
|school = [[Weiyang school]]<br />[[Linji school]]<br />[[Caodong school]]<br />[[Yunmen school]]<br />[[Fayan school]]
|lineage = 8th generation of Weiyang school<br />43rd generation of Linji school<br />8th generation of Fayan school<br />47th generation of Caodong school<br />12th generation of Yunmen school
| temple           = [[Zhenru Temple (Jiangxi)]]
| alma_mater       = 
|dharma name = Xuyun
|nationality = Chinese 
|birth_date =  {{birth date|df=y|1840|09|05}} (reputedly)
|birth_place = [[Quanzhou]], [[Fujian]], [[Qing dynasty|Qing China]]
|death_date = {{death date|df=y|1959|10|13|1840|08|26}}<br />(Aged {{age in years and days|1840|08|26|1959|10|13}})
|death_place = [[Zhenru Temple, Jiangxi]], China
|spouse =
|title = Honorary President of the [[Buddhist Association of China]]
|predecessor =
|successor =
|teacher = Changkai<br />Yung Ching<br />Miaolian
|reincarnation of =
|students = Fo Yuan, Jy Ding, Jing Hui, [[Charles Luk]], [[Hsuan Hua]], [[Benhuan]], [[Yicheng (monk)]], [[Chuanyin]]
|website =
| works            = 
|background = #FFD068
|footnotes  =
| module  = {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes
|t=虛雲
|s=虚云
|p=Xūyún
|w=Hsǖ Yǘn
|myr=Syūyún
|j=Heoi<sup>1</sup>wan<sup>4</sup>
|y=Heuīwàhn
|tl=Hu<sup>7</sup>hun<sup>7</sup>
|poj=Hu-Ûn
|altname=Birth name
|t2=蕭古巖
|s2=萧古岩
|p2=Xiāo Gǔyán
|w2=Hsiāo Kǔyén
|myr2=Syāu Gǔyán
|j2=Siu<sup>1</sup> Gu<sup>2</sup>ngaam<sup>4</sup>
|y2=Sīu Gúngàahm
|poj2=Siau Kó͘-gâm
}}
}}

'''Xuyun''' or '''Hsu Yun''' ({{zh|s=虚云|t=虛雲|p=Xūyún|}}; 5 September 1840? – 13 October 1959)<ref>Heine, Steven; Wright, Dale Steward (2010), ''Zen Masters,'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 92. {{ISBN|9780199777181}}</ref> was a renowned Chinese  [[Chan Buddhism|Chan Buddhist]] master and an influential Buddhist teacher of the 19th and 20th centuries.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Buswell|editor1-first=Robert Jr|editor2-last=Lopez|editor2-first=Donald S. Jr.|editor1-link=Robert Buswell Jr.|editor2-link=Donald S. Lopez Jr.|title="Xuyun", in Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism|page=1017|date=2013|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, NJ|isbn=9780691157863}}</ref>

==Early life==
Xuyun was purportedly born on 5 September 1840 in [[Fujian]], [[Qing dynasty|Qing China]]. His original name was '''Xiao Guyan''' ({{zh|t=萧古巖|s=萧古岩|p=Xiāo Gǔyán}}). He was the son of Xiao Yutang ({{zh|t=萧玉堂|s=萧玉堂|p=Xiāo Yùtáng}}) and his mother was surnamed Yan ({{zh|t=顏|s=颜|p=Yán}}). His mother died during childbirth. Xuyun's grandmother insisted that her grandson take a wife. In order to continue both his and his uncle's lineage, Xuyun was arranged to marry one woman from the Tian family and one from the Tan family.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drbachinese.org/online_reading/sf_others/VM_HsuYun_Bio_01/page7.htm |title=虛雲老和尚畫傳集 上宣下化老和尚著述 A Pictorial Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun composed by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua |publisher=Drbachinese.org |access-date=2012-02-27}}</ref>

His first exposure to Buddhism was during the [[funeral]] of his grandmother. Soon afterward he began reading Buddhist [[sutra]]s and later made a pilgrimage to [[Mount Heng (Hunan)|Mount Heng]], one of the most important Buddhist sites in China.

When he was fourteen years old, Xuyun announced that he wished to renounce the material world in favour of monastic life. His father did not approve of Buddhism and had him instructed in [[Taoism]] instead. Xuyun was dissatisfied with Taoism, which he felt could not reach the deeper truths of existence. The storerooms of his house were full of very old books. Going through them, he found a volume called the "Story of Incense Mountain" (cf. [[Guanyin#Miaoshan]]), which described the life of [[Guanyin]]. After reading the book, he was deeply influenced and was inspired to leave home and practice Buddhism as a [[monk]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drbachinese.org/online_reading/sf_others/VM_HsuYun_Bio_01/page10.htm |title=虛雲老和尚畫傳集 上宣下化老和尚著述 A Pictorial Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun composed by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua |publisher=Drbachinese.org |access-date=2012-02-27}}</ref>

When Xuyun was seventeen, he attempted to flee to Mount Heng to become a monk without his family's permission. On a winding mountain path, he encountered envoys sent by his uncle who successfully intercepted Xuyun and escorted him back home.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drbachinese.org/online_reading/sf_others/VM_HsuYun_Bio_01/page13.htm |title=虛雲老和尚畫傳集 上宣下化老和尚著述 A Pictorial Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun composed by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua |publisher=Drbachinese.org |access-date=2012-02-27}}</ref> When he arrived home, the family feared that he would escape again, so he was sent with his first cousin, Fu Guo ({{Zh|s=富国|t=富國|p=Fù guó}}), to [[Quanzhou]]. His father formally received two brides from the Tian and Tan families for Xuyun, and his marriage was completed. Although they lived together, Xuyun did not have sexual contact with his wives. Moreover, he extensively explained the [[dharma]] to them so that they too would practice Buddhism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drbachinese.org/online_reading/sf_others/VM_HsuYun_Bio_01/page14.htm |title=虛雲老和尚畫傳集 上宣下化老和尚著述 A Pictorial Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun composed by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua |publisher=Drbachinese.org |access-date=2012-02-27}}</ref>

Fu Guo also had previously explored Buddhism and had the same aspirations as Xuyun, so they "amicably traveled the Path together."<ref name=":0" /> When Xuyun was nineteen years old, he began the journey to Gu Shan (Drum Mountain) in [[Fuzhou]], accompanied by Fu Guo. Before leaving, he wrote the "Song of the SkinBag"<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.dharmasite.net/SongoftheSkinBag.htm | title=Song Of The Skin Bag | website=www.dharmasite.net}}</ref> which he left behind for his two wives.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.drbachinese.org/online_reading/sf_others/VM_HsuYun_Bio_01/page15.htm |title=虛雲老和尚畫傳集 上宣下化老和尚著述 A Pictorial Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun composed by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua |publisher=Drbachinese.org |access-date=2012-02-27}}</ref>

At Gu Shan [[vihara|monastery]], Xuyun had his head shaved and received ordination as a monk. When his father sent agents to find him, Xuyun concealed himself in a [[grotto]] behind the monastery, where he lived in [[solitude]] for three years. At the age of twenty-five, Xuyun learned that his father had died, and his stepmother and two wives had entered the monastic life.

==Middle Age and Enlightenment==

During his years as a [[hermit]], Xuyun made some of his most profound discoveries. He visited the old master Yong-jing, who encouraged him to abandon his extreme asceticism in favor of temperance. He instructed the young monk in the sutras and told him to be mindful of the [[Hua Tou]]. In his thirty-sixth year, with the encouragement of Yong-jing, Xuyun went on a seven-year pilgrimage to [[Mount Putuo]] off the coast of [[Ningbo]], a place regarded by Buddhists as the [[bodhimaṇḍa]] of [[Avalokiteśvara]]. He went on to visit the [[Temple of King Ashoka]] and various Chan holy places. By age forty-three, Xuyun had left home life for more than twenty years, but had not yet completed his practice in the Path. He had not repaid his parents' kindness, and so he vowed to again make a pilgrimage to Nan Hai. From Fa Hua Temple all the way to Qingliang Peak at [[Mount Wutai]] of the northwest, the bodhimaṇḍa of [[Manjushri]], he made one full prostration every three steps.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drbachinese.org/online_reading/sf_others/VM_HsuYun_Bio_01/page41.htm |title=虛雲老和尚畫傳集 上宣下化老和尚著述 A Pictorial Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun composed by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua |publisher=Drbachinese.org |access-date=2012-02-27}}</ref> He prayed for the [[reincarnation|rebirth]] of his parents in the [[Pure Land]]. Along the way, Xuyun is said to have met a beggar called Wen Ji, who twice saved his life. After talking with the monks at Mount Wutai, Xuyun came to believe that the beggar had been an incarnation of Manjushri.

Having achieved singleness of mind, Xuyun traveled west and south, making his way through [[Tibet]]. He visited many monasteries and holy places, including Sichuan's [[Mount Emei]], the bodhimaṇḍa of [[Samantabhadra Bodhisattva|Samantabhadra]] Bodhisattva, the [[Potala Palace]], the seat of the [[Dalai Lama]], and [[Tashilhunpo Monastery]], the seat of the [[Panchen Lama]]. He traveled through [[India]] and [[Ceylon]], and then across the sea to [[Burma]]. During this time of wandering, he felt his mind clearing and his health growing stronger. Xuyun composed a large number of poems during this period.

After returning to China at age fifty-three, Xuyun joined with other Venerable Masters Pu Zhao, Yue Xia, and Yin Lian (Lotus Seal) to study together. They climbed [[Mount Jiuhua]] (bodhimaṇḍa of [[Ksitigarbha]] Bodhisattva) and repaired the huts on Cui Feng Summit, where Dharma Master Pu Zhao expounded the Mahavaipulyabuddha Avatamsaka (Flower Adornment) Sutra.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drbachinese.org/online_reading/sf_others/VM_HsuYun_Bio_01/page97.htm |title=虛雲老和尚畫傳集 上宣下化老和尚著述 A Pictorial Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun composed by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua |publisher=Drbachinese.org |access-date=2012-02-27}}</ref>

When Xuyun was fifty-six, the Abbot Yue Lang of [[Gaomin Temple]] in [[Yangzhou]] was going to convene a twelve-week session of continuous dhyana meditation. Preparing to leave, the group asked Xuyun to go first. After reaching Di Gang, he had to cross the water, but the ferry left without him as he had no money. As he walked along the river's edge, he suddenly lost his footing and fell into the rushing water, where he bobbed helplessly for a day and night <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drbachinese.org/online_reading/sf_others/VM_HsuYun_Bio_01/page98.htm |title=虛雲老和尚畫傳集 上宣下化老和尚著述 A Pictorial Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun composed by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua |publisher=Drbachinese.org |access-date=2012-02-27}}</ref> before being caught in a fisherman's net. He was carried to a nearby temple, where he was revived and treated for his injuries. Feeling ill, he nevertheless returned to Yangzhou. When asked by Yue Lang whether he would participate in the upcoming weeks of meditation, he politely declined, without revealing his illness. The temple had rules that those who were invited had to attend or else face punishment. In the end, Yue Lang had Xuyun beaten with a [[keisaku]]. He willingly accepted this punishment, although it worsened his condition.

For the next several days, Xuyun sat in continuous meditation. In his autobiography, he wrote: "[in] the purity of my singleness of mind, I forgot all about my body. Twenty days later, my illness vanished completely. From that moment, with all my thoughts entirely wiped out, my practice took effect throughout the day and night. My steps were as swift as if I was flying in the air. One evening, after meditation, I opened my eyes and suddenly saw I was in brightness similar to broad daylight in which I could see everything inside and outside the monastery..." But he knew that this occurrence was only a mental state, and that it was not at all rare. He did not become attached to this achievement, but continued his single-minded investigation of the question, "who is mindful of the Buddha?" He delved into this topic without interruption.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drbachinese.org/online_reading/sf_others/VM_HsuYun_Bio_01/page103.htm |title=虛雲老和尚畫傳集 上宣下化老和尚著述 A Pictorial Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun composed by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua |publisher=Drbachinese.org |access-date=2012-02-27}}</ref>

Xuyun composed a commemorative verse for the oft-cited moment of profound insight, which was galvanized by the sound of a breaking teacup in the Chan Hall:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drbachinese.org/online_reading/sf_others/VM_HsuYun_Bio_01/page104.htm |title=虛雲老和尚畫傳集 上宣下化老和尚著述 A Pictorial Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun composed by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua |publisher=Drbachinese.org |access-date=2012-02-27}}</ref>

{{Poemquote|
A cup fell to the ground
With a sound clearly heard.
As space was pulverised,
The mad mind came to a stop.
}}

==Later life==

Xuyun worked tirelessly as a [[bodhisattva]], teaching precepts, explaining sutras, and restoring old temples. He worked throughout [[Asia]], creating a following across [[Burma]], [[Thailand]], [[British Malaya|Malaya]], and [[Vietnam]], as well as [[Tibet]] and [[China]]. He remained in China during [[World War II]]. In the winter of 1942, Xuyun held a "Protect the Nation, Quell the Disaster, Mahākaruṇā Dharma Assembly" that lasted over three months in [[Chongqing]], the capital of China at that time. He stayed after the rise of the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC) to support the Buddhist communities rather than retreat to the safety of [[Hong Kong]] or [[Taiwan]].

In the spring of 1951, Xuyun and twenty-five monks were accused of hiding weapons and treasure. They were arrested and tortured in Yunmen Monastery ({{Zh|s=云门寺|t=雲門寺|p=Yúnmén Sì}}) in Shaoguan, [[Guangdong]] province. Some of the monks were tortured to death or suffered broken bones. Xuyun endured several beatings during the interrogations, resulting in fractures to his rib cage. He closed his eyes and would not talk, eat, or drink, and stayed in the [[samādhi]] for nine days. During this time, his attendants [[Fayun]] and Kuanchun waited on him. Several of his works on scriptural commentary were also destroyed. [[Li Jishen]], who was Vice President of the PRC at the time, informed and sought help from the then Premier of the PRC, [[Zhou Enlai]], who put an end to the monks' detention after three months. This incident later became known as the "Yunmen Incident."<ref>Xu Yun (Author); Luk, Charles (Translator); Hunn, Richard (Revised & edited): "Empty Cloud: The Autobiography of the Chinese Zen Master Xu Yun", pages 138-140.  Element Books, 1988, {{ISBN|1-85230-031-0}}</ref><ref>Venerable Master Hsuan Hua (Composed by); Buddhist Text Translation Society/Dharma Realm Buddhist University (Translator): "A Pictorial Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun, Vol. 1", pages 433-435. Dharma Realm Buddhist University, 1983, {{ISBN|0-88139-008-9}}</ref>

In 1953, with Dharma Master Yuan Ying and others, Xuyun formed the Chinese Buddhist Association at [[Guangji Temple (Beijing)|Guangji]] (Extensive Aid) Monastery where he was Honorary President. The following resolutions were proposed to the government:
# In all places, further destruction of monasteries and temples, the desecration of images, and the burning of sutras shall immediately cease; 
# Forcing [[Bhikkhu|bhikshus]] and [[Bhikkhunī|bhikshunis]] to leave their monastic orders will not be tolerated; and
# All monastery property shall be returned forthwith, and enough arable acreage should be returned to the [[Sangha]] so as to make the monasteries self-supporting.

The petition was approved. Xuyun then represented the Association in receiving three gifts from a Buddhist delegation from [[Sri Lanka]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drbachinese.org/online_reading/sf_others/VM_HsuYun_Bio_02/page199.htm |title=虛雲老和尚畫傳 上宣下化老和尚著述 A Pictorial Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun composed by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua |publisher=Drbachinese.org |access-date=2012-02-27}}</ref> He also responded to the invitation of Dharma Master Nan Tong to head another Dharma assembly at Lang Shan Monastery, where several thousand people from all over [[Refuge in Buddhism|took refuge in Triple Gems]]. He returned to [[Shanghai]] in the third lunar month, and the next month received a telegram from [[Beijing]] requesting his presence in the capital. After arriving, he stayed at Guangji Monastery. Representatives of various Buddhist groups also were present, and the [[Chinese Buddhist Association]] was officially inaugurated. After a plenary meeting in which important policies were decided, some monks suggested to him some changes to precepts and rules. Xuyun then scolded them and wrote an essay about the manifestation of the [[Three Ages of Buddhism|Dharma Ending Age]].<ref>{{Cite web | title=虛雲和尚年譜 | url=http://www.bfnn.org/book/books2/1184.htm#a21 | language=zh | trans-title=Chronology of Monk Xuyun}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Ch'en |first=Kenneth |title=Buddhism in China : A Historical Survey |year=1964 |place=Princeton |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0691000158 |pages=463–4}}</ref>

==Death==
Xuyun became ill in the summer of 1959 and died on 13 October of the same year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drbachinese.org/online_reading/sf_others/VM_HsuYun_Bio_02/page206.htm |title=虛雲老和尚畫傳 上宣下化老和尚著述 A Pictorial Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun composed by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua |publisher=Drbachinese.org |access-date=2012-02-27}}</ref>

== Significance ==
In 1953, the [[Buddhist Association of China|Chinese Buddhist Association]] was established at a meeting with 121 delegates in Beijing. The meeting also elected a chairman, four honorary chairmen, seven vice-chairmen, a secretary general, three deputy secretaries-general, eighteen members of a standing committee, and ninety-three directors. The four elected honorary chairmen were the [[Dalai Lama]], the [[Panchen Lama]], the Grand Lama of Inner Mongolia, and Xuyun himself.<ref>Holmes, Welch (1961). "Buddhism Under the Communists", ''China Quarterly'', No.6, Apr-June 1961, pp. 1-14.</ref>

== Publications ==

* ''Empty Cloud: The Autobiography of the Chinese Zen Master Xu Yun''<ref>{{Cite book|last=Xuyun |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/24585170|title=Empty Cloud : the autobiography of the Chinese Zen Master, Xu-Yun|date=1988|publisher=Element Books|others=Lu, Kʻuan Yü, 1898-, Hunn, Richard.|isbn=1-85230-031-0|location=Shaftesbury, Eng.|oclc=24585170}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|author=Campo, Daniela|title=Chan Master Xuyun, the Embodiment of an Ideal, the Transmission of a Model. In David Ownby, Vincent Goossaert, Ji Zhe, Making Saints in Modern China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yQo1DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA102|year=2017|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-049456-8|pages=102–136}}
* Gauci, Damian, John (2011). [https://web.archive.org/web/20141101122803/http://enlight.lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-BJ001/bj001390498.pdf Chan-Pure Land: An Interpretation of Xu Yun's (1840-1959) Oral Instructions], Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal 24, 105-120
* Huimin Bhiksu (2009). [https://web.archive.org/web/20130331181902/http://www.chibs.edu.tw/ch_html/chbj/22/0619huimin.pdf An Inquiry Into Master Xuyun’s Experiences of Long-dwelling in Samadhi], Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal 22, 45-68
* Hunn, Richard (ed.), translated by Charles Luk (1974). ''Empty Cloud: the Autobiography of the Chinese Zen Master Hsu Yun''. Rochester: Empty Cloud Press. Shaftesbury: Element Books, 1988 (revised)
* Kʻuan Yü Lu (Charles Luk) (1964). "Master Hsu Yun Brief Biography", ''The Mountain Path'', Vol. 1, October 1964, No. 4
* Kʻuan Yü Lu (Charles Luk) (1961). Ch'an and Zen teaching, London : Rider. {{OCLC|459708159}}
* Kʻuan Yü Lu; Xuyun (1993). [https://archive.org/details/MasterHsuYunsDiscoursesAndDharmaWords Master Hsu Yun's discourses and dharma words], Hong Kong : H. K. Buddhist book distributor. 
* Hsuan Hua (1983,1985). ''A Pictorial Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun - Vol.1 and Vol.2 (2nd edition 2003)''. Burlingame, Calif.: Buddhist Text Translation Society, Dharma Realm Buddhist Univ. {{ISBN|0881394858}} 
* Sakya, Jy Din (1996). [https://web.archive.org/web/20110517063850/http://enlight.lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-AN/an38712.pdf Empty Cloud: The teachings of Xu Yun. A remembrance of the Great Chinese Zen Master], Hong Kong : H. K. Buddhist book distributor

== External links ==
*There are two institutions under the name "Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun": [http://hsuyun.org one at hsuyun.org] [http://zatma.org and another at zatma.org]
*[http://hsuyun.budismo.net List of books on the life and teachings of Master Hsu Yun].
*[http://testimoniesawakening.free.fr/index.htm Testimonies of awakening]
*[http://www.bfnn.org/book/books2/1184.htm#a21 虛雲和尚年譜 ]
*[https://icbi.weebly.com/master-xu-yun-memorial-photographic-library.html Master Xuyun Memorial Photographic Library]
* [https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/teachings-by-master-xu-yun-on-huatou-style-practice-in-chan/ Teachings by Master Xu Yun on “Huatou”-style Practice in Chan]
{{Zen}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Xuyun}}
[[Category:Longevity claims]]
[[Category:1959 deaths]]
[[Category:Chan Buddhist monks]]
[[Category:Chinese Zen Buddhists]]
[[Category:Rinzai Buddhists]]
[[Category:Soto Zen Buddhists]]
[[Category:1840 births]]