VENERABLE MASTER JY DIN SHAKYA , A BIOGRAPHY FORWARD BY REV . F A DAO SHAKYA , OHY The following story is the translation from the Chinese of a biography of VM Jy Din -- the Master responsible for the establishment of our Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun. The article is straight journalism, perhaps a bit "dry" in comparison to some of the other Zen essays we are accustomed to encountering. The story of the story, however, is one of convergence, patience and luck -- if we consider “luck” to be the melding of opportunity and action. I have long wished to know more information about the founding master of our order and history of the Hsu Yun Temple in Honolulu. Like many of us, I have scoured books and websites galore for the merest mentions or tidbits of facts. Not being even a whit knowledgeable of Chinese language, any documentation in Master Jy Din's native language was beyond my grasp. I read what I could find -- and waited. I knew that some day I would stumble across that which I sought, if only I did not drive myself to distraction desiring it. Late in July of 2005, that which I had sought was unexpectedly delivered to me. By chance and good fortune, I received an e-mail from Barry Tse, in Singapore -- the continuance of a discussion we had originated on an internet "chat board." As the e-mail discussion continued, Barry mentioned an article he had found on a Chinese Buddhist website -- a biography of our direct Master Jy Din. He pointed out the website to me and I printed a copy of the article for my files. Meanwhile, my children had discovered a new favorite eatery for our regular Wednesday night dinners -- the East Buffet. The East Buffet is a warm and friendly place with wonderful staff as well as a delicious range of succulent foods from many regions of China -- including a full “sushi bar” and Mongolian-style grill. It was there that I met the second man who would be key to the preparation of the article you are about to read. Ron Lim, the restaurant proprietor with whom I had struck an acquaintance as a "regular" in his establishment, agreed to look over the printed Chinese article that Barry had pointed out. Ron (born in Malaysia but educated and living in the U.S. for several years) said he might not be able to translate word-for-word but was willing to give me a meticulous synopsis of the article. Ven. Master Jy Din Shakya, A Biography Page 1 of 13 Barry, in the meantime, agreed that he would translate the article "in-depth" but questioned his own proficiency in grammar and sentence structure. Thus it was that this article came about. Barry Tse of Singapore supplied excellent translation, Ron Lim acted on occasion as an excellent cultural "bridge" in clarifying delicate character meanings, and I have supplied the "editorial functions" of English grammar and sentence structure. Ron studied Buddhism as a young man in his native Malaysia and prepared a college thesis on the symbolism of the Yin-Yan. He has kept an interest in the religion as he made his way into the ranks of restaurateurs and has kept his interest in the Dharma despite the demands of his rigorous occupation. Barry is a researcher and consultant who is also a student of VM Xin Jue in China. Barry is presently assisting this Master in funding preservation and renovation of the ancient Jiang Ju Si temple in Hubei Province (China). Without these two men, all that I could have presented for you would have been a desire to know -- a desire already shared by many in our Order. Thus it s that any thanks that might be due for the appearance of this article should rightfully go to Barry and Ron. My deepest gratitude goes out to these humble, kind and intelligent. Both have apologized to me on occasion that their abilities at formal English grammar may not be “up to snuff.” My response to the gentlemen is and remains -- do not be ashamed if you can lift a bus but cannot throw it all the way to Hong Kong. Barry and Ron have done the “heavy lifting” here -- all I have done is to tidy up rows of English words. And that is the story of the story. By the fortunate convergence of three minds and three hearts, we have the following Biography of Master Jy Din. Namo Amitofo -Fa Dao Shakya- Venerable Master Jy Din Translation of a 1997 article from Buddhism City website / China (http://www.buddhismcity.net/master/details/47) Originating Author: Yu Ling Bo Original language translation by Barry Tse (Singapore) Additional language assistance by Ron Lim (USA) English adaptation and editing by Fa Dao Shakya, Order of Hsu Yun (U.S.A.) Translated derivation © 2005 Fa Dao Shakya It has been some 2,000 years since Buddhism reached China. Buddhism in India declined and virtually disappeared after a benchmark battle in 1203 when the Muslim army attacked Bangladesh. During long suppression in India, monasteries and canon were burned. Clergy and communities were dismissed. After the decline of Buddhism in India, China has become the second root country for Buddhism - the home of what is sometimes called “Northern Transmission / Mahayana” Buddhism. From China, Buddhism spread to Japan and Korea. The Northern Transmission of Mahayana Buddhism has mainly spread to Asia in the past 2,000 years, but has not yet reached Europe and the Americas on a major scale. In Europe, scholarly study of Buddhism started around the end of the 18th Century, but the target of investigation was mainly Southern Transmission (Theravada) Buddhism. Americans started serious study Buddhism in the second half of the 19th Century, also focused on Theravada Buddhism. In the early 20th Century, Mahayana Buddhism came to America through Japanese Zen and the Pure land Zen of China. Chinese Ch'an and other schools of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism have only been accessible in America since the 1950s. The first to spread Chinese Mahayana Buddhism from China into American territory was the person this article introduces, an elder master at the age of 80 (in 1997) – VM Dy Din. VM Jy Din landed in Hawaii to spread the dharma in January of 1956 and has been here for 40 years. Background of Buddhism in “Sandalwood Mountain” Before introducing VM Jy Din, let's learn a bit about the background of Hawaii. In the vast Pacific Ocean, there is a place made up of more than 130 islands and islets. The largest is called Hawaii, from which the group of islands takes its collective name. Its total area is around 16,000 square kilometers. About 4,000 km to the East is San Francisco. To the West around 8,000 km away is Manila, capitol of the Philippines. Hawaii is often called the Crossroad of the Pacific Ocean. The Hawaiian Islands are made up of 8 key islands. Its capital, the city of Honolulu, is located on the third largest island – Oahu. The Chinese call Honolulu “Sandalwood Mountain”. As early as the 4th Century A.D., Polynesians migrated by small boat to what is now Honolulu. In 1795, Tribal chief Kamehameha the First conquered most of the island and established the Kingdom of Hawaii. Until 1840, King Kamehameha III established a national constitution for the chain of islands and Hawaii was recognized as an independent country by England, America, and France. Hawaii was then conquered by the United States in 1898 and became part of the US. In 1900, the US established the Territory of Hawaii and in 1959 Hawaii became the 50th State of the US. As early as the late 19th Century, Cantonese from the Guangdong Province in China started migrating to Hawaii. The earliest arrivals were at Honolulu. These early Chinese settlers, seeing that the island was covered with Sandalwood trees, named it “Sandalwood Mountain.” This name is unique to the Chinese and is not known among other peoples. Westerners and the descendants of the indigenous people have always called the settlement "Honolulu." There was no lack of Buddhists amongst the early Chinese settlers. But these early Buddhist settlers did little to spread their religion outside their own numbers. They felt that religion was a very personal thing. They also felt that their purpose for going overseas was to work and prosper -- to gather enough money to improve their lot and livelihood -- not to spread their religion. Furthermore, their level of Western education and language proficiency was not sufficient to allow them to spread their religion to outsiders. Japanese arrived in Honolulu more than 10 years after the Chinese. Japanese Buddhist sanghas arrived after the initial Japanese population and started to spread the Dharma amongst the overseas Japanese. Thus Honolulu has had a Japanese Monastery since 1897, even though the Chinese arrived earlier than the Japanese. It was not until after 1950 that a Chinese sangha and monastery appeared. In this aspect, Chinese Buddhism was slower to establish itself n Hawaii than was the Japanese by some 50 years. In about 1930 Chinese Buddhists in the "Sandalwood Mountain" area, including one Deng Bian Rong, decided to establish a Buddhist Society. They invited several masters to come to Honolulu to spread the Dharma. World War II, however, interrupted that effort. After the war, some of the overseas Chinese brought up the issue again. In 1953, they established their first Buddhist organization – the Chinese Buddhist Association of Hawaii. The key initiators of the organization included Deng Bian Rong, Hu Xing, Chen Zhao Hong, Huang Hua Huang Bei Hong and several others.