Dharma Master Yin Shun

Dharma Master Yin Shun is the mentor with whom Master Cheng Yen took refuge. Tzu Chi people respectfully refer to him as "Shih Kung (Teacher Patriarch)." He was born in 1905. In 1930, he took refuge with Master Ching Nien at the Fu Chuan Monastery and became a monk. He was given the dharma name of Yin Shun and the title Sheng Cheng. By the age of thirty-one, he had completed reading the entire Buddhist canon of scriptures.

With respect to the Buddha's teachings, the Master's accomplishments, innovations and contributions have long been endorsed and revered by scholars, both at home and abroad. He has been a prolific author, having published such works as The Marvelous Cloud Collection and The Flower Rain Collection. In 1972, with his History of the Chinese Ch'an School, he became the first monk from Taiwan to receive a doctorate degree in literature in Japan, from Taisho University.

The Master devoted his entire life to promoting the idea of "human Buddhism," and he is recognized by all to be "an eminent monk in the style of India." He has also been praised with such titles as "modern pioneer of human Buddhist thought" and "modern leader of the Buddhist spirit."

The Ekottara Agama Sutra states: "All buddhas come from humanity; no one achieves buddhahood in heaven." This is the foundation behind the Master's concept of "human Buddhism."