Hsu Yun (simplified Chinese: 虚云; traditional Chinese: Xūyún; born Xiao Guyan simplified Chinese: 萧古岩; : Xiāo Gǔyán; 26 August 1840 – 13 October 1959) was a renowned Chinese-born Chan Buddhist master and one of the most influential Buddhist teachers of the 19th and 20th centuries.
From:
https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/the-legacy-of-chan-master-xu-yun-1840-1959
Master Xu Yun had an extraordinary and very long life. He lived into his 120th year, and his life spanned two centuries and three dynasties. It is a belief within traditional Chinese culture that the purer the character, the longer the life that is lived. Master Xu Yun’s long life is attributed to his following of the Buddhist monastic vows including a vegetarian diet – and the fact that when young and still a layman, he refused an arranged marriage. More than this, however, but his father, fearing that his son would not follow in his footsteps and become a scholar-official, hired a Daoist master to teach Xu Yun the secrets of that religion. Xu Yun studied the Daoist teachings but did not agree with them – as he much preferred the Buddha’s teachings and yearned from an early age to seek further instruction in the Dharma, and to become a Buddhist monk.
He left home at the age of 19 and permanently turned his back on the world of delusion. Even as a monk, the world can present expected and unexpected temptations. When Xu Yun was 38 years old (1877/78), he was riding on a small boat travelling between Ningbo to Hangzhou. At night a young woman made advances toward the master, who in response sat-up in the meditation posture and started reciting a mantra. At that moment the woman could not move, and the situation did not progress any further. Through thick and thin master Xu Yun remained a monk for the next 101 years.
His life time witnessed tumultuous changes in the political and cultural life of China. He was born during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and experienced the collapse of the imperial feudal system which had existed in China for over two thousand years. He saw the establishment of the short lived Republic of China (1912-1949) and the eventual victory of Mao Zedong’s Communist forces in 1949. In the New China, the strength of his character and the depth of his spiritual attainment helped Chinese Buddhism begin the transition into the modern age. Many good and fine masters, who were his disciples, such as Sheng Yi, Ti Guang, Ben Huan, Hai Deng, Yi Cheng, and Jing Hui, and many others, lived into recent times, and have kept the legacy of Chinese Ch’an Buddhism very much alive. This is because master Xu Yun almost single-handedly revived the Ch’an tradition, breathing a new and dynamic life into its various lineages. Indeed, master Xu Yun is viewed as being the rightful heir to all Ch’an lineages, and in so doing is considered the Right Dharma Eye for this Generation.
His life time witnessed tumultuous changes in the political and cultural life of China. He was born during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and experienced the collapse of the imperial feudal system which had existed in China for over two thousand years. He saw the establishment of the short lived Republic of China (1912-1949) and the eventual victory of Mao Zedong’s Communist forces in 1949. In the New China, the strength of his character and the depth of his spiritual attainment helped Chinese Buddhism begin the transition into the modern age. Many good and fine masters, who were his disciples, such as Sheng Yi, Ti Guang, Ben Huan, Hai Deng, Yi Cheng, and Jing Hui, and many others, lived into recent times, and have kept the legacy of Chinese Ch’an Buddhism very much alive. This is because master Xu Yun almost single-handedly revived the Ch’an tradition, breathing a new and dynamic life into its various lineages. Indeed, master Xu Yun is viewed as being the rightful heir to all Ch’an lineages, and in so doing is considered the Right Dharma Eye for this Generation.
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