Cizhou (1915-2003)
Cízhōu 慈舟 (1915-2003) was the late abbot of Lóngchāng Temple 隆昌寺 on Mt. Bǎohuá 寶華山, and a living link in the Chinese vianaya tradition from before to after the Cultural Revolution.
Biography
Cízhōu was tonsured by Héngjìng 恒淨 in 1927, and was ordained a monk in 1934 at Lóngchāng Temple 隆昌寺 on Mt. Bǎohuá 寶華山. The following year he tested into the Jiāoshān Buddhist Seminary 焦山佛學院 in Zhènjiāng 鎮江. He graduated three years later, at which point he returned to Qīnglóng Hermitage 青龍庵 in his hometown.
In 1942 he entered Jiāngtiān Temple 江天禪寺 on Jīnshān 金山. He stayed there, holding various offices, until 1954. In that year, he went to Běijīng 北京 and entered the Buddhist Academy of China 中國佛學院. After graduating, he returned to Jīnshān.
During the Cultural Revolution, Cízhōu was forced to return to lay life, but in 1980, he once again returned to Jīnshān in order to reestablish the monastic center there. He became abbot in 1984. He worked tirelessly to rebuild the temple and he traveled extensively both within China and abroad in order to raise the funds to do so.
In 1994, Cízhōu established the Jīnshān Buddhist Seminary 金山佛學院 at Jiāngtiān Temple. Cízhōu became the principal, with Xīnchéng 心澄 acting as vice principal and head of curriculum, which included Indian Buddhist history, chanting, basics of Buddhism, ancient Chinese language studies, Chinese history, politics, and calligraphy. The seminary was run very strictly, and in addition to formal meals, students were required to practice meditation for at least two periods each day.
At that time, Cízhōu also served as the principal for the Mt. Bǎohuá Vinaya Seminary 寶華山律學院. The vice principals were Línxiáng 林祥 and Xīnpíng 心平. At that time there were eight teachers and fifteen students. 70% of their coursework consisted of Buddhists subjects such asvinaya studies, while the other 30% of their coursework was comprised of cultural classes such as English, law, history, and calligraphy.
Cízhōu died at 3:03 a.m., on February 10, 2003 in the Lankāvatara Room 楞伽丈室 at Jiāngtiān Temple.
Important Works
Notable Students
References
- Template:XFRC Pp. 2.1279c-1280c.
- 茶語清 Entry
