Dharma Master Huijing

　　Master Huijing was born in Tainan, Taiwan, in 1950. As a child, he received the time-honored form of private tutoring, which gave him a solid grounding in the Confucian and Taoist classics as well as traditional Chinese culture. His exposure to the luantang folk beliefs of Taiwan instilled in him an abiding faith in the cause-and-effect workings of karma. Adulthood brought a belief in Buddhism; he enjoyed reading the sutras and delighted in reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha and in meditation.

　　In 1977, he took monastic vows under Master Hsing Yun at Foguangshan Monastery. He received the Dharma name of Xinyan and the informal name of Huijing.

　　In the spring of 1985 Master Huijing went into the hills for a retreat that lasted three years. His main practice was Amitabha-recitation, though he also studied the Writings of Master Yinguang and other works of the Pure Land tradition. It was during this time that he read Master Honen’s Collection on Choosing Buddha-Recitation According to the Fundamental Vow. It made him realize that the lineage of Master Shandao represented the purest form of Pure Land Buddhism, which accorded with both Amitabha’s fundamental wish to deliver all beings and the capabilities of all sentient beings.

　　In the autumn of 1988, Master Huijing was a visiting scholar at Otani University in Kyoto, Japan, where he studied the Pure Land thought of Master Shandao.

　　In the summer of 1993 he returned to Taiwan and began to teach the Pure Land lineage of Master Shandao. He made many speaking tours to such places as Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China and New Zealand.

　　Since November 2003, Master Huijing has been based in the practitioners’ community of Xiangshan, Taipei. The area is today an “Amitabha Village” where Amitabha-recitation takes place without cessation. Designating the community as the headquarters of the Pure Land School in Taiwan, he compiled The Pure Land Charter.

　　Master Huijing has an unassuming, down-to-earth and generous personality; he continually recites Amitabha’s name. The special integrity that arises from a life dedicated to his faith exerts a powerfully inspiring effect.

　　Master Huijing has written and edited a series of books and articles on Pure Land Buddhism. They total more than 20 titles, including The Complete Works of Master Shandao, The Complete Works of Master Honen, Discourses on the 18th Vow, Records of the Effects of Amitabha-Recitation, Collected Discourses and Collected Letters. Though the scope of his publications ranges from ancient to modern times and from China to Japan, they have consistent principles: a return to the teachings of Master Shandao, faith in the deliverance of Amitabha Buddha and exclusive recitation of Amitabha’s name. Comprehensively and deeply, they take the measure of Master Shandao’s thought.