About the Woodenfish Program and HBMLP

The Woodenfish Program aims to build a bridge between East Asian Buddhism and young people from around the world through education. The Woodenfish Project started as a month-long summer program at Fo Guang Shan Monastery in 2002 but after eight years has expanded to include programs in Japan, the United States, China, and New Zealand, as well as a sutra translation project.

About Fo Guang Shan

Ven. Master Hsing Yun founded Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Taiwan in 1967, propelled by a vision to disseminate Buddhist values for the benefit of humanity. Fo Guang Shan follows the traditions of Chan (Zen) Buddhism. Venerable Master Hsing Yun is the 48th patriarch of the Chinese Linji (Rinzai) Lineage.

Today there are over 200 branches of Fo Guang Shan throughout the five continents. Together, Fo Guang Shan strives to serve the congregations and communities by providing educational opportunities, sponsoring cultural events, engaging in charity work, and conducting worship and meditation services. Guided by the principles of Humanistic Buddhism and the ideals of the Buddhist Pure Land, its ultimate goal is to foster peace and harmony among all people of the world. For more information about Fo Guang Shan, please visit these websites:

www.fgs.org.tw " style="   www.blia.org    www.hsilai.org    www.uwest.edu

About Venerable Master Hsing Yun

Ven. Master Hsing Yun was born in Chiangtu, Chiangsu province, China, in 1927. Tonsured under Ven. Master Chih Kai at age twelve, he became a novice monk at Chi-hsia Shan, a mountain monastery in Nanjing, China.

After arriving in Taiwan in the spring of 1949, the Ven. Master became the chief editor of Life Journal, Awakening The World, Buddhism Today, and a host of other publications. In 1952, while staying at Lei-yin Temple of Ilan, he initiated chanting groups, student and youth organizations, children's Sunday school, and various Dharma teams that eventually laid the foundation for his future efforts in Buddhist propagation.

In 1957, the Ven. Master established a Buddhist cultural center that became today's Foguang Cultural Enterprise Co., Ltd. in which a variety of Buddhist books are being published with training tools such as audio and visual aids. Subsequently, the founding of Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order in 1967 actualizes the Ven. Master's vision of Humanistic Buddhism via education, cultural activities, charity, and religious practices that "" style="foster talent, propagate the Dharma, provide relief aid, and cultivate morality in people." Since then, over one hundred and fifty branch temples have been established worldwide. Among them are Hsi Lai Temple, Nan Tien Temple, and Nan Hua Temple, the biggest temples ever built in North America, Australia, and Africa, respectively. In addition to art museums, libraries, publishing houses, and bookstores, the Ven. Master also established a free medical clinic, a Buddhist research institute, two high schools (Chih-kuang and Pu-men High Schools), the Hsi Lai University in the United States, as well as Fo Guang University and Nan Hua University in Taiwan. In 1970, 1975, and 1987 respectively, the "Ta Tzu Children's Home," "Fo Guang Light Lodge," and "Compassion Foundation" were formed to provide for orphans, abandoned children, senior citizens, as well as the poor and needy in Taiwan. Fo Guang Tripitaka Editing Committee was also formed in 1977, and has continued to work diligently toward the publication and advancement of the "Fo Guang Buddhist Canon" and "Fo Guang Encyclopedia." In 1997, "Excerpts of Chinese Buddhism Tripitaka in Modern Texts" was successfully completed with the "Fo Guang Encyclopedia" on CD, followed by the formation of Buddha's Light TV Station and Buddha's Light Internet Network as BLIA advanced in line with modern technology. Books authored by the Ven. Master that are widely distributed include The Life of Sakyamuni Buddha, The Buddha's Ten Great Disciples, Hsing Yun's Ch'an Talk, The Buddhism Volumes, Ven. Master Hsing Yun's Lectures Series, The Buddhism Textbooks, Beads of Pearl - Prayers for Engaged Living, etc.

Today, more than one thousand monastic disciples have been tonsured under Ven. Master Hsing Yun who has over a million followers worldwide. Throughout his life, the Ven. Master has dedicated himself to propagating the ideals of "Humanistic Buddhism" and being "a global person" in which the spirits of joy and harmony, integration and coexistence, respect and magnanimity, equality and peace are widely disseminated. Upon the inception of Buddha's Light International Association on February 3, 1991, Ven. Master Hsing Yun was elected to assume its presidency. As of 1997, over one hundred international chapters of BLIA have been established to carry out the Ven. Master's ideal of "letting the Buddha's Light shine over the three thousand realms and the Dharma's current flow throughout the five continents."

Over the years, the Ven. Master has been recognized with numerous awards. In addition to the highly acclaimed honors received in his home country, the Republic of China, the Ven. Master has also gained international prestige for his selfless dedication and contributions. For example, he is the first person from the ROC to be granted an honorary Ph.D. by the University of Oriental Studies in 1978, and was awarded the "Buddhist Gem Award" by the Indian National Buddhist Assembly in 1995. In May of 1997, the Ministry for Internal and Foreign Affairs honored him "the top award" in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to society, his country, and Buddhism at large. In February of 1998, the Ven. Master hosted the Triple Platform Full Ordination Ceremony along with the Five and Bodhisattva Precepts Ceremonies in Bodhgaya, India so as to restore the Theravada bhiksunis precepts, which had been lost for over a millenium. On April 8, 1998, he was bestowed the Buddha's tooth relic which he personally escorted from India to Taiwan where it would remain. The Ven. Master's contribution toward Buddhism is truly phenomenal, and has helped Buddhism gain a better understanding from society amidst current trends of institutionalization, modernization, humanism, and globalization.

For detailed information please visit: http://www.buddhanet.net/masters/hsing_yun.htm

About Venerable Yifa, Ph.D

Venerable Dr. Yifa, the program director, has been a nun at Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Taiwan since 1979. She received her PhD in religious studies from Yale University in 1996 and was awarded the “Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award” in Taiwan in 1997, the “Outstanding Women in Buddhism Award” in 2003, and the “Julia Hollister Award” in 2006 given by the United Nations for her contribution in Peace and Interfaith Education. She has been an administrator at Fo Guang Shan Buddhist College in Taiwan, and at Hsi Lai University in Rosemead, California. She has been a visiting scholar at the University of California Berkeley and Harvard University, a lecturer at Boston University and a faculty member at National Sun Yat-Sen University in Taiwan. She taught at McGill University as the Numata Visiting Professor in the spring of 2005 and served as the chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of the West in Los Angeles and currently is the Editor-in-chief of Buddha’s Light Edition English Sutra Translation Series.

Dr. Yifa has been engaged in interfaith dialogue and was supported on some occasions by UNESCO. She was also a contributor to the “Safe Motherhood Project” by the UNICEF South Asia Office. Dr. Yifa is a frequent guest lecturer on subjects including Chinese Buddhist philosophy, thanatology and ethics. Her current research focuses on Buddhist monasticism and women in Buddhism. She is the author of The Origin of Buddhist Monastic Codes in China; Safeguarding the Heart: a Buddhist Response to Suffering and September 11; Authenticity: a Buddhist Perspective on Junk; and Discernment: Educating the Mind and Spirit.