Venerable Ti Guang [体光] – Eminent Monk of
Chinese Buddhism!
Original Chinese Language Author - Zhang Dongcheng (张东成) – Posted 17.5.2024
(Translated by Adrian Chan-Wyles PhD)
(Translated by Adrian Chan-Wyles PhD)
Translator’s Note: The author and journalist - Zhang Dongcheng (张东成) – has provided an important service for students and supporters of genuine Chinese Ch’an Buddhism. Master Ti Guang was a Ch’an Master, a martial artist, and a personal disciple of Master Xu Yun. Indeed, Master Ti Guang was one of Master Xu Yun’s personal assistants – and was personally present when Master Xu Yun left his body during October, 1959 (Master Ti Guang was 35 years of age). I have translated the names of masters and temples precisely using British English – so that the reader can understand what is meant in the Chinese language. Normally, this time-consuming process is only performed in exceptional circumstances (I usually only give the correct Pinyin phonetic in English), but here, I think it fitting (out of a spirit of respect) to honour the memory of Master Ti Guang. I have omitted a substantial concluding section dealing exclusively with a precise and minute assessment of geographical considerations regarding the birth-place of Master Ti Guang (mentioned below near the beginning). Although this is interesting in and of itself, such detail only acts as a distraction for Westerners studying the biography of an important Chinese Ch’an Buddhist monk. Of course, anyone can access this extra data through the link provided below. I am grateful to Zhang Dongcheng (张东成) for providing unique photographs of Master Ti Guang that I have not encountered in my previous research upon this subject.
ACW (21.10.2024)
Venerable Body Light (释体光 – Shi Ti Guang) was born during April 1924 – and left his body on January 24th, 2005. He was a very well-known and respected Chinese Buddhist monk - and a prominent disciple of Ch’an Master Xu Yun (虚云). He was born into a lay-family which possessed the surname “袁” (Yuan). His first-names were “国旗” (Guo Qi). After ordination, he was generally known as “Ti Guang Dharma Master” (体光法师 – Ti Guang Fa Shi), “Ti Guang Old Respectable Master” (体光老和尚 – Ti Guang Lao He Shang), and “Ti Guang Ch’an Master” (体光禅师 – Ti Guang Ch’an Shi). He was born in Hanying (韩营) Village, near Moling (秣陵) Town, in the Yonghong (永红) Sub-District (now known as Qiangao Laojia - 前高老家) of Henan province’s Xiangcheng (项城) County.
Representative scholarly works penned by Master Ti Guang:
a) Ti Guang Old Respectable Master Dharma-Words Record (体光老和尚开示录 – Ti Guang Lao He Shang Kai Shi Lu)
b) Ti Guang Old Respectable Master Sayings Record (体光老和尚语录 - Ti Guang Lao He Shang Yu Lu)
There were many talented people who trained under Master Ti Guang’s guidance - including more than a hundred talented monks - including Miao An (妙安) and Miao Xin (妙心) – both of whom were personally ordained by him. Thousands of people received his teachings, and he accepted countless disciples (even “at a distance” – if individuals could not make the journey to be in his personal presence). In his later years, he presided over the restoration of Store Capital Temple (资国寺 – Zi Guo Si).
During his lifetime, Master Ti Guang served as the Vice Chairman of the Second Council of the Jiangxi Buddhist Association. And was the Deputy Director of the Advisory Committee of the Third Council. He served as the “Head Monk” (方丈 – Fang Zhang – literally “Occupy a Set Space like a Gentleman” ) or “Abbot” in Christian terminology - of the following monastic Buddhist establishments:
Pure Residence Ch’an Temple (净居禅寺 – Jing Ju Chan Si) situated on the Qing Yuan (青原) Mountain - near Ji’an (吉安) City – Jiangxi province
Store Capital Temple (资国寺 – Zi Guo Si) situated near Ji An (吉安) City – Jiangxi province
Divine-Sky Manifest Temple (天童寺 – Tian Tong Si) situated in Zhejiang province
True Reality Temple (真如寺 – Zhen Ru Si) situated on Yun Ju (云居) Mountain - Jiangxi province
He served as the “Chief Monk” (首座 – Shou Zuo – literally “First Seat”) or “Assistant to the Abbot (i.e. “Dean”)” in Christian terminology - of the following Buddhist monastic establishment:
East Forest Temple (东林寺 – Dong Lin Si) of Lu (庐) Mountain in Jiangxi province
At the age of 19 years old, he received the Full Precepts under the guidance of Chuan Zong Vinaya Master (传宗律师 – Chuan Zong Lu Shi) - a monk from the Treasure Passage Temple (宝通寺 – Bao Tong Si) situated in the Wuhan area of Hubei province.
Master Ti Guang also visited the following (great) monastic Buddhist establishments:
White Horse Temple (白马寺 – Bai Ma Si) situated in the Luoyang area of Henan province
Spirit Peak Mount Temple (灵岩山寺 – Ling Yan Shan Si) situated in Suzhou – Jiangsu province
High Divine-Sky Temple (高旻寺 – Gao Min Temple) situated in Yangzhou - Jiangsu province
Divine-Sky Manifest Temple (天童寺 – Tian Tong Si) situated in Ningbo – Zhejiang province
Cloud Gate Temple (云门寺 – Yun Men Si) situated in Guangdong province
Master Ti Guang trained under (or was close to) the following famous and eminent monks:
Empty Cloud Old Venerable Master (虚云老和尚 – Xu Yun Lao He Shang)
Complete Esteem Dharma Master (圆瑛法师 – Yuan Ying Fa Shi)
Achieve Result Ch’an Master (来果禅师 - Lai Guo Chan Shi)
a) Ti Guang Old Respectable Master Dharma-Words Record (体光老和尚开示录 – Ti Guang Lao He Shang Kai Shi Lu)
b) Ti Guang Old Respectable Master Sayings Record (体光老和尚语录 - Ti Guang Lao He Shang Yu Lu)
There were many talented people who trained under Master Ti Guang’s guidance - including more than a hundred talented monks - including Miao An (妙安) and Miao Xin (妙心) – both of whom were personally ordained by him. Thousands of people received his teachings, and he accepted countless disciples (even “at a distance” – if individuals could not make the journey to be in his personal presence). In his later years, he presided over the restoration of Store Capital Temple (资国寺 – Zi Guo Si).
During his lifetime, Master Ti Guang served as the Vice Chairman of the Second Council of the Jiangxi Buddhist Association. And was the Deputy Director of the Advisory Committee of the Third Council. He served as the “Head Monk” (方丈 – Fang Zhang – literally “Occupy a Set Space like a Gentleman” ) or “Abbot” in Christian terminology - of the following monastic Buddhist establishments:
Pure Residence Ch’an Temple (净居禅寺 – Jing Ju Chan Si) situated on the Qing Yuan (青原) Mountain - near Ji’an (吉安) City – Jiangxi province
Store Capital Temple (资国寺 – Zi Guo Si) situated near Ji An (吉安) City – Jiangxi province
Divine-Sky Manifest Temple (天童寺 – Tian Tong Si) situated in Zhejiang province
True Reality Temple (真如寺 – Zhen Ru Si) situated on Yun Ju (云居) Mountain - Jiangxi province
He served as the “Chief Monk” (首座 – Shou Zuo – literally “First Seat”) or “Assistant to the Abbot (i.e. “Dean”)” in Christian terminology - of the following Buddhist monastic establishment:
East Forest Temple (东林寺 – Dong Lin Si) of Lu (庐) Mountain in Jiangxi province
At the age of 19 years old, he received the Full Precepts under the guidance of Chuan Zong Vinaya Master (传宗律师 – Chuan Zong Lu Shi) - a monk from the Treasure Passage Temple (宝通寺 – Bao Tong Si) situated in the Wuhan area of Hubei province.
Master Ti Guang also visited the following (great) monastic Buddhist establishments:
White Horse Temple (白马寺 – Bai Ma Si) situated in the Luoyang area of Henan province
Spirit Peak Mount Temple (灵岩山寺 – Ling Yan Shan Si) situated in Suzhou – Jiangsu province
High Divine-Sky Temple (高旻寺 – Gao Min Temple) situated in Yangzhou - Jiangsu province
Divine-Sky Manifest Temple (天童寺 – Tian Tong Si) situated in Ningbo – Zhejiang province
Cloud Gate Temple (云门寺 – Yun Men Si) situated in Guangdong province
Master Ti Guang trained under (or was close to) the following famous and eminent monks:
Empty Cloud Old Venerable Master (虚云老和尚 – Xu Yun Lao He Shang)
Complete Esteem Dharma Master (圆瑛法师 – Yuan Ying Fa Shi)
Achieve Result Ch’an Master (来果禅师 - Lai Guo Chan Shi)
Master Ti Guang was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk in his own right - in modern times. He lived in the Zhen Ru Temple on Yun Ju Mountain - for more than 30 years. From 1990, at the invitation of believers in Ji'an, Jiangxi Province - he became the “Head Monk” at the Jing Ju Temple in Qing Yuan Mountain. He passed away at 4:38 p.m. on January 24th, 2005, in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, at the age of 81 years old (62 years Dharma-age as an ordained Buddhist monastic). His disciples respectfully treated and enshrined his body (sat upright) in a burial bell-shaped jar (缸 – Gang) placing it in a brick-tomb for veneration – positioned next to the Pagoda remembering the Seventh Patriarch of the Temple – the Pure Residence Ch’an Temple (净居禅寺 – Jing Ju Chan Si) situated on the Qing Yuan (青原) Mountain - near Ji’an (吉安) City – Jiangxi province. It is rumoured that when chanting the mantra “Namo Amitabha Buddha!” (阿弥陀佛 – E Mi Tuo Fo) – Master Ti Guang is said to have possessed the ability to “hide his body” – or make his body “invisible” (隐身 – Yin Shen) - through applying a special “spell”( 术 – Shu).
©opyright: Adrian Chan-Wyles (ShiDaDao) 2024.
Chinese Language Source Text: https://www.meipian.cn/53pqktz
©opyright: Adrian Chan-Wyles (ShiDaDao) 2024.
Chinese Language Source Text: https://www.meipian.cn/53pqktz
About the Author: Zhang Dongcheng (张东成)
Zhang Dongcheng, born in the 1970s, was born in Moling, near Xiangcheng City. He graduated from Xiangcheng Teacher Training School and studied (as an External Student) through the Zhengzhou Pastoral College. He is a Member of the Zhoukou (Xiangcheng) Internet People Association, and a Member of Xiangcheng Federation of Literary and Art Circles, as well as a respected (amateur) Journalist and Media Commentator. In the early 1990s, he served as the Secretary-General of the Xiangcheng "Greenery" Literary Society - and has had several years of teaching and business experience. He is currently working for the Beijing Huijunfu Catering Co., Ltd. His works are printed in a number of Newspapers and Periodicals such as the "Liaoning Youth", the "Education Times", the "Henan Science and Technology News", the "Zhoukou Daily" - and scattered throughout platforms such as "Meipian" and "Confucius Old Books Network" (Douyin), etc. He is known as the "Moling Learned Information Messenger"
Zhang Dongcheng, born in the 1970s, was born in Moling, near Xiangcheng City. He graduated from Xiangcheng Teacher Training School and studied (as an External Student) through the Zhengzhou Pastoral College. He is a Member of the Zhoukou (Xiangcheng) Internet People Association, and a Member of Xiangcheng Federation of Literary and Art Circles, as well as a respected (amateur) Journalist and Media Commentator. In the early 1990s, he served as the Secretary-General of the Xiangcheng "Greenery" Literary Society - and has had several years of teaching and business experience. He is currently working for the Beijing Huijunfu Catering Co., Ltd. His works are printed in a number of Newspapers and Periodicals such as the "Liaoning Youth", the "Education Times", the "Henan Science and Technology News", the "Zhoukou Daily" - and scattered throughout platforms such as "Meipian" and "Confucius Old Books Network" (Douyin), etc. He is known as the "Moling Learned Information Messenger"