13th Patriarch Master Yinguang 十三祖印光大师

Great Master Yinguang (印光大师，1862.1.1 - 1940.11.4) is regarded as the 13th Patriarch of Chinese Pure Land Buddhism due to his great contribution to propagating the Pure Land Dharma. He is also officially recognised as the manifestation of Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta (Dashizhi 大势至, Lit. “arrival of the great strength”) from the Pure Land in our world. 

The Great Master was born in 1862, in Shaanxi Province’s Heyang County (陕西合阳县), to the Zhao family and was named Shaoyi (绍伊). His parents were highly respected in the county for their moral character and virtue. Six months after he was born, Master Yinguang developed a serious eye disease. For half a year he had much difficulty opening his eyes and was nearly on the verge of going blind. Although he recovered later, his eyesight was already impaired. He was unable to visually focus on anything for very long.

When Master Yinguang was young, he followed his brother to study Confucianism and was inclined to take on the propagation of Confucianism as his personal responsibility, echoing the criticism of Han Yu and Ouyang Xiu to slander Buddhism (Fun fact: Later in their old age, Han Yu and Ouyang Xiu developed faith in Buddhism and sincerely repented of their sins for slandering the Dharma). After slandering the Dharma, he fell seriously ill for several years. During the years of his illness, Master Yinguang realised how ignorant he was. The wisdom of the Buddha Dharma is profound and it is not so easy for ordinary beings to understand. He should not have slandered the Dharma. He later began to study the sutras and repented sincerely. In time, he was cured from his illness. 

When Master Yinguang was 21, he went to the Lotus Cave Temple in Mount Zhongnan in Shaanxi (陕西终南山) and undertook the monastic life under Venerable Daochun. When Master Yinguang’s brother discovered this, he became furious and demanded he come back, claiming that their mother was very sick. He told him that even if he wanted to take the monastic life, he should at least go home first to bid farewell to his mother. Master Yinguang took his brother’s words to heart. When he returned, he found out that his mother was not sick, and his brother prevented him from leaving. While at home, Master Yinguang pretended that he didn’t want to be a monk anymore so his brother would not be too strict with him. But deep down, he was determined to become a monk. One day when his brother went out, Master Yinguang seized the opportunity and managed to return to the temple. Venerable Daochun told him to go to a faraway temple so his brother could not find him.

Master Yinguang traveled to the Lotus Temple in Hubei (莲花寺) and managed various kinds of work there. One day, he happened to encounter Longshu’s Pure Land text (龙舒净土文; Wang Longshu was a famous lay Buddhist in the southern Song dynasty who single-mindedly practised and propagated the Pure Land Dharma, and attained rebirth while standing). Master Yinguang was very inspired by this text. He understood the basics of the Pure Land Dharma and believed this to be the best Dharma gate for people in the current age. Reading this text deepened his faith in the Pure Land Dharma.

Whenever his eyes hurt, Master Yinguang would chant Nianfo and pray to Amitabha Buddha to help him. When the other monks slept, he would wake up and continue reciting Nianfo. When he chanted Nianfo, he felt relief from the pain in his eyes. Eventually, the Master’s eye disease was completely cured. Due to this miracle, he developed profound faith that the merit of reciting Nianfo was inconceivable.

From age 23 to 25, Master Yinguang lived like a hermit on Mount Zhongnan. At the age of 26, he went to Compassionate and Blessings Temple on Mount Hongluo as that was a temple which focused on practising the Pure Land Dharma and chanting Nianfo. This temple was where the 12th Pure Land Patriarch Master Che’wu (彻悟大师) stayed and taught the Dharma. Apart from chanting Nianfo, Master Yinguang also read and studied the Mahayana sutras. 

At the age of 33 (1893), he was invited by Venerable Huawen from the Dharma Rain Temple on Mount Putuo (普陀山法雨寺; Mt. Putuo is the Bodhimanda of Guanyin in China, Zhejiang Province) to reside and be responsible for maintaing the sutra hall. Master Yingiang would always chant Nianfo, and due to his diligent cultivation, he was deeply respected by others. People invited him to expound the Amitabha Sutra. After expounding the sutra, he would enter into a solitary Nianfo retreat. For six years, he even wrote the word “Death” (死) in his room to remind himself that impermanence can happen at any moment, hence one should diligently chant Nianfo. For over 30 years, he diligently cultivated Nianfo and immersed himself deeply in the Qianlong Tripitaka (乾隆大藏经, a Chinese Buddhist canon, also known as the “Dragon Tripitaka”). He did not associate with many people, nor did he wish anybody to know his name. Eventually, Master Yinguang realised Nianfo Samadhi.

At the age of 52 (1912), a lay Buddhist published a few of his articles in a Buddhist newspaper in Shanghai. No one knows who wrote these articles, as the signed name was ‘Often Repentant’ (常惭, the name Master Yinguang would use for himself), but the principles and wisdom revealed in the article are more than enough to inspire those who read them to give rise to faith in Nianfo and attain rebirth in the Pure Land.

Some lay Buddhists later collected many more of Master Yinguang’s articles and published them under the title “The Great Dharma Master Yinguang’s Collected Writings (印光大师文钞).” His writings were later deemed a “mini-Tripitaka,” as all his words came from the sutras. Due to his clear explanations, many people were able to understand the Dharma much more easily.

Many people came to know about Master Yinguang and many visited or wrote letters to him about their questions. Master Yinguang would reply with patience. Under the guidance of Master Yinguang, many people took the Three Refuges, practised Nianfo diligently and followed a vegetarian diet. Countless people attained rebirth in the Pure Land.

Master Yinguang lived a simple life, thrifty and selfless. When he received offerings from his countless disciples, even if they were gifts, he would immediately give them to others or to the temple.

If he received money, he would use it to print sutras and Dharma books. He eventually set up a publisher called the “Society of Spreading the Teaching (弘化社)” in Shanghai and Suzhou. He printed no less than four to five million sutras and Dharma books to distribute freely and widely to people from all walks of life. He also printed over 1 million images of the Buddha which were distributed freely.

In the year 1940, Master Yinguang displayed signs of a slight illness (we say “display” because this is the Bodhisattva’s skillful means in order to teach us about impermanence). He handed everything to the next abbot Venerable Miaozhen. Knowing the time of his rebirth far in advance, Master Yinguang gathered his disciples the night before and told them, “For the Pure Land Dharma, there is nothing difficult. As long as you have sincere faith and vow towards attaining rebirth, you will all be received by the Buddha (Amitabha), and be reborn (in the Pure Land) with your karma.” 

The following day at 1:30 a.m., Master Yinguang sat up on his bed and said, “If one recites Nianfo, one can definitely see the Buddha and will attain rebirth in the Western Pure Land." He then began to chant Nianfo loudly. At 2:15 a.m., he washed his hands, stood up and declared, “Amitabha Buddha has come to receive me! I will follow him and leave now. Everyone, you must recite Nianfo and vow to attain rebirth in the West!” Once he was finished speaking, he sat upright in a chair, and recited Nianfo. At 3 a.m., Venerable Miaozhen entered the room. Master Yinguang told him, “You need to take good care of the Bodhimanda (道场 daochang, also refers to the monastery where people cultivate the Dharma). You need to spread the Pure Land Dharma, and not learn from arrogant people!” After that, he said no more and devoted his attention to chanting Nianfo. Around 5 a.m., he entered a deep meditative concentration and with a smile, attained rebirth peacefully surrounded by the sound of the assembly chanting Nianfo. He attained rebirth at the age of 80.

The monks kept Master Yingguang’s body for 100 days before conducting the cremation ceremony. More than a hundred beads of relics consisting of five colours were obtained, which were round and crystal clear. There were also large and small flower relics and blood relics, totalling over a thousand beads. The disciples enshrined the Master’s relics in the relics pagoda in Lingyan Mountain.

Because of Master Yinguang’s diligent cultivation, his realisation of Nianfo Samadhi, and his great contribution towards propagating the Pure Land Dharma; particularly through his writings; he is now regarded as the 13th Pure Land Patriarch by the faithful.

How do people know Master Yinguang is the manifestation of Bodhisattva Dashizhi in our world?

There was an 18-year-old high school student from Shanghai called Yang Xinfang (who was not a Buddhist then). She had a good friend named Zhang Xiaojuan. On the 23rd of November, 1936, after school, Yang Xinfang stayed at Zhang’s home. That night, she had a dream and saw Bodhisattva Guanyin standing on an island, adorned with jewels with her hand holding a vase with willow, just like the paintings people often see. Yang was on a small boat which was floating towards the island. Bodhisattva Guanyin waved at her and said: “Bodhisattva Dashizhi is now teaching sentient beings in Shanghai. How can you be so deluded? Why don’t you go and listen to him expounding the Dharma?” Guanyin added, “Master Yinguang is Dashizhi Bodhisattva. After four years, he will finish his teachings here.” After speaking, Guanyin Bodhisattva disappeared.

The next day, Yang told Zhang’s mother (a devout Buddhist) about her dream and asked, “Is there a Bodhisattva named ‘Dashizhi,’ and is there a master named ‘Yinguang?’” Mrs. Zhang explained that Bodhisattva Dashizhi is one of the three sages in the Western Pure Land and that Master Yinguang is an enlightened master from Mount Putuo.

Yang asked if Master Yinguang was in Shanghai. The next day, they saw in the newspaper that Master Yinguang had indeed been invited to Shanghai to host a Dharma Assembly. So they all went to see him and took the Three Refuges under the guidance of Master Yinguang. Yang also told the Master about her dream, and he told her never to say such a thing. He was only an ordinary being.

After four years, Master Yinguang indeed attained rebirth, exactly like what Guanyin told Yang in her dream.

Another female disciple of Master Yinguang called Zhang Ruzhao (张汝钊) also saw the Master with his golden body in a great hall in her dream after his rebirth, and she asked him, “Are you Bodhisattva Dashizhi?” He answered, “Yes,” and exhorted her to spread the Pure Land Dharma, and that he would come to receive her at the time of her rebirth. Some disciples also witnessed Master Yinguang appearing to receive them to the Pure Land, together with Amitabha and Guanyin.

Master Yinguang also included The Chapter of Bodhisattva Dashizhi’s (Mahāsthāmaprāpta) Perfect Realisation on Nianfo Samādhi (an extract from Chapter Five of the Surangama Sutra, 大势至菩萨念佛圆通章) as one of the five Pure Land sutras. He often taught people how to recite Nianfo according to Bodhisattva Dashizhi.

You can also read the English translation of some of Master Yinguang’s writings here and his Treatise Resolving Doubts About the Pure Land here.

The following is a well-known letter from Patriarch Master Yinguang to serve as a daily guide for Pure Land practitioners:

“Whether at home or becoming a monk, one should pay respect to the elders and live harmoniously with others. One must bear what others can't bear, and do what others can't do, to help others and be in accord with others. When sitting silently, one must reflect on one's own mistakes and not gossip about the rights and wrongs of others.

Whether one is walking, sitting or sleeping, getting dressed or eating, from dawn to dusk and dusk to dawn, one should always recite Nianfo (the Name of Amitabha Buddha) uninterruptedly, either in a low voice or silently. Apart from Nianfo, do not give rise to other thoughts. If delusional thoughts arise, one must eliminate them immediately.

One should frequently give rise to a heart of repentance and a heart of shame. Even if one has cultivation, one should feel that one's practice is shallow and never boast. One must only mind one's own business and not the business of others. One must only look at the good in others instead of their shortcomings. Perceive that everyone is a Bodhisattva, and that ‘I alone am an ordinary person.’ If one can practice according to what I say, one can definitely attain rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.”

无论在家出家，必须上敬下和。忍人所不能忍，行人所不能行。代人之劳，成人之美。静坐常思己过，闲谈不论人非。行住坐卧，穿衣吃饭，从朝至暮，从暮至朝，一句佛号，不令间断，或小声念，或默念，除念佛外，不起别念。若或妄念一起，当下就要教它消灭。常生惭愧心及忏悔心。纵有修持，总觉我功夫很浅，不自矜夸。只管自家，不管人家。只看好样子，不看坏样子。看一切人都是菩萨，唯我一人实是凡夫。果能依我所说修行，决定可生西方极乐世界。

Namo Dashizhi Bodhisattva!

Namo Amitabha Buddha!