Telegram from the Yuanming Lecture Hall, Shanghai

To: Manager Dharma Master Heng Lyu and others
Tathagata Monastery
The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas
Talmage, California, USA

I was surprised to learn that my elder brother in the Way, the Elder Master To Lun Hsuan Hua, completed the stillness yesterday at three o’clock in the afternoon. When I learned this sad news, I was deeply grieved. Today we are holding a Dharma assembly and everyone is gathered to recite the Buddha’s name for one day. At two o’clock in the afternoon we bowed to the Buddhas. Over one thousand people took part. We all wish that the Venerable Master will see the Buddha when the flower blooms and ascend to the lotus seat. But as he enjoys the eternal spring in the Buddhaland, we hope he will compassionately turn his boat around and come back again to vastly rescue living beings. I’m sending this telegram to express my condolence. I also wrote a mourning couplet today, but because there is not enough time, I am first sending a draft of it (on a separate telegram).

If there is any error in the date or time of the Venerable Master’s completion of stillness, please send us a telegram so that we can make the correction.

Ming Yang, leading the fourfold assembly of disciples, bows in respect Vice-Chairman of the Buddhist Association of China
Honorary Director of the Buddhist Association of Shanghai

September 26, 1995

Dear Venerable Sirs,

During my stay in the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association, I really appreciated the filiality shown by the disciples towards the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua during the forty-nine days of mourning period.

I also visited Vancouver in Canada, Venerable Master Hsuan Hua’s temple, where the disciples were seriously chanting the Flower Adornment Sutra. Over there, I also observed that the disciples were very disciplined and showed filiality to their Master.

Yours in Dharma,

Seck Boon Keng
Chief Abbot
Ang Hock See Buddhist Temple, Penang, Malaysia

August 22, 1995

Committee Honoring the Nirvana of the
Venerable Master Hsuan Hua
Dharma Realm Buddist Association
Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas
2001 Talmage Road
Talmage, CA 95481-0217

Dear Reverent Disciples:

At its meeting of August 21, 1995, the Burlingame City Council observed a moment of silence and then adjourned its meeting in memory of the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua, founder of the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association.

Sincerely,

Judith A. Malfatti
City Clerk

AMITA EDUCATION FOUNDATION
OF THE PHILS., INC.
151 Kaliraya St., Quezon City (temporary office)
Tel. 731-3633; 732-2328; 732-0163; 712-2821; Fax 732-0171

June 27, 1995

The Abbot
The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas
2001 Talmage Road
Talmage, CA 95481-0217
U. S. A.

Dear Sir:

With sadness we learned of the “passing away” of Venerable Master Hsuan Hua.

In more ways than one, he was instrumental in the organization of AMITA EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION OF THE PHILS., INC. He was our spiritual inspiration. We look up to him in our cultivation.

Venerable Master Hsuan Hua surely has gone to the other shore, but in our memories, he lives on.

Bows in respect,
AMITA EDUCATION FOUNDATION OF THE PHILS., INC.

CO YEK CHUAN
President

July 21st 1995

The Committee Honoring The Nirvana of
The Venerable Master Hsuan Hua
Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas
2001 Talmage Road
Talmage, CA 95481-0217

Dear Committee Members,

We feel a great loss in the endeavor of spreading Buddhist Dharma in America with the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua passed into the stillness on June 7, 1995.

We thank you for the notification you sent us in regards to the Dharma assembly to be held from July 26 through 28 in California in honor of the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua. Unfortunately we are unable to participate in the assembly, and we are enclosing herewith our contribution of $200.00 in memory of the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua. Please allocate our contribution in whatever category you see appropriate.

Once again, we would like to express the great loss we feel in the passing of the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua. We hope all of the Venerable Master’s disciples would now work even harder to spread his teachings in the West, and the East, and Worldwide.

In the Dharma,

Ven. Guo-gu Shi
Resident bhikshu
Program Coordinator

INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST INFORMATION BUREAU
OFFICIAL INFORMATION SERVICE
OF THE UNIFIED BUDDHIST CHURCH OF VIETNAM
25 rue Jaffeaux - 92230 Gennevilliers (France) Tel.: Paris (1) 47 93 1081
Fax: Paris (1) 47 91 41 38

The Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas
Dharma Realm Buddhist Association
Talmage, California. 95481-0217
United States of America.

Paris, July 22 1995

We are deeply grieved to learn that the Most Venerable Master TUYEN HOA entered Nirvana on June 7, 1995.

The Most Venerable Master made an inestimable contribution to the propagation of the Faith by making Lord Buddha’s teaching accessible to the Western world. His merits are boundless, and his absence will be felt by Buddhists all over the world, regardless of their origins or nationality.

Yet, though the Most Venerable Master is departed, his teachings remain. They will continue to shine within each and every one of us as a guiding light.

On behalf of the International Buddhist Information Bureau in Paris, we present our most sincere condolences to you all, and pray that the spirit of the Most Venerable master TUYEN HOA will continue to guide us from the Pure Land, Sukhavati.

We have delegated Mr. Truong Phan, representative of the International Buddhist Information Bureau for California, to attend the funeral ceremonies on our behalf and pay our last respects.

Vo Van Ai
Director

To the Managers of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas:

I received your letter dated June 28. I was shocked to hear that the Venerable Master Hua had entered Nirvana. The religious teacher of a generation has left the world.

Ten million faithful disciples have lost their place of reliance. My heart is deeply pained. It is difficult to express my feelings. I hope that you will carry on the Venerable Master’s will and universally rescue all living beings in this turbid world.

With this note I convey my deepest respects. Peace in the Way.

Respectfully,
Lin Yanggang
July 10, 1995

The Office of the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas:

We are shocked and saddened to learn that Venerable Great Master Hua has completed the stillness. We are deeply grieved and in painful mourning. The Great Master’s completion of stillness is a tremendous loss to Buddhism. We resolve to diligently propagate the Buddhadharma and work energetically to requite the Great Master’s concern and support for the renovation of Baoxiang Monastery of Wenshang County and to realize the Great Master’s wishes as early as possible. The renovation of Baoxiang Monastery of Wenshang county will be completed as soon as possible so that the holy relics of Buddhism can be placed on their altars. The Venerable Great Master Hua’s meritorious virtues will be boundless. We sincerely pray and hope that his spirit is in the Lotus Land, paying homage to Amitabha Buddha.

Committee for the Renovation of Baoxiang Monastery
in Wenshang County, Shandong Province, China
Overseas Affairs Office of Wenshang County, Shandong Province, China
Buddhist Fundraising Committee of Wenshang County,
Shandong Province, China
June 12, 1995

To the Memorial Committee for the Venerable Master Hua

I was shocked to hear the sad news:
The Venerable Master Hua has completed the stillness, and we have painfully lost our place of reliance. The Venerable Master was a contemporary great master, and people in China and abroad respected him as one of great virtue. Throughout his life he practiced ascetism and cultivated the three studies of precepts, samadhi, and wisdom together. Although his affinities in teaching are finished and he has returned to the Land of Eternal Stillness and Light, as his disciples we have not repaid his kindness, so we are weeping in sadness. We should transform our sadness and pain into vigor and practice in accord with his teaching, using that to repay the four types of kindness.

Disciple Guo Yuan, Zhi Can bows in respect
Jenjiang, Jiangsu Province, The People’s Republic of China

Professor Tsu:

How are you? After I returned to Jining from a business trip, I was shocked to learn of the Venerable Master’s completion of stillness. I am deeply grieved, and I send this telegram to offer my condolences and to express my profound memories of the Venerable Master.

On July 5 of both 1993 and 1994, I had the opportunity to visit the Venerable Master and personally listen to his instructions, which will benefit me for the rest of my life. Even last year when he was sick, he still received us warmly and gave financial aid to this university. There are no words to express our gratitude to him. Although my contact with the Venerable Master was brief, I deeply feel that he was a patriotic Sangha member who “kept his nationality and traced his roots back to their source.” He paid attention to education and was devoted to peace, rescuing the world and its people. We will always remember his state of egolessness and fearlessness and his model of handling affairs, and we will always learn from this model.

He crossed over living beings with kindness, compassion, joy,
 and renunciation.
He cleared away the distinctions between self and others
until not a speck of dust was left.
Practicing in accord with conditions, he certified to Bodhi.
After attaining the proper fruition, he also propagated
the Dharma.

These few words can hardly express my feelings. Please convey my deepest prayers for the Venerable Master.

Li Weiguo
Representative of Jining College and
Jining Municipal Government of Shandong Province
June 15, 1995

July 12, 1995

Dear Committee Members:

It was with great sorrow that my husband and I learned of the death of the Venerable Abbot. Our family grieves with you and shares your loss. The Venerable Abbot was, and will continue to be, a guide to so many people in their spiritual life and surely an inspiration to people around the world. On a more personal note, he was the mentor for our son, Dharma Master Heng Sure, and we are proud that we can call him our friend.

Since the early days of the group at Gold Mountain Monastery, the Venerable Abbot has been the leader of Heng Sure and the other young people who gathered around him for his wisdom and guidance. With his leadership, the organization has grown in influence and stature. We remember the excitement of finding the facilities that became the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas and other widely scattered temples that now are part of the Dharma Realm. With each new monastery came a new group of these followers to uphold the standards the Abbot has set.

We remember the Venerable Abbot as a kind, gentle man who never let sentiment stand in the way of teaching a lesson. My husband and I were very concerned when Heng Sure and Heng Ch’au set out on the Three Steps One Bow pilgrimage. Later, when we met the Abbot, we felt his deep compassion and knew that he and the Dharma had protected the monks on their journey.

Even though our meetings were few, we will miss the Venerable Abbot. His presence was always felt, and we are sure it will continue to be. You have been fortunate to have had such a remarkable person in your lives.

Sincerely,

Theodore O. & Deborah C. Metcalf

The International Translation Institute/
Buddhist Text Translation Society

To whom it may concern,

In response to your request, I am writing to relate our experiences with the late departed Venerable Master Hsuan Hua. In 1973 I was enrolled in Dr. Ronald Epstein’s class in Buddhism at San Francisco State University. That September, at a seminar he hosted, my wife and I viewed the Master for the first time. When the meeting ended, we got up from our seats and stood in the aisle. At that moment we saw the Master rushing up towards us, an enormous smile on his face. We were overwhelmed and turned and ran from the room.

We felt terrified, amazed; never had someone looked through us like that. I had felt absolutely naked with my every fault exposed. And from that moment on everything changed. We both agreed that this man displayed awesome powers and must certainly represent the true dharma. We started investigating Chan and Pure Land Buddhism. Several months afterwards we experienced insights that were sudden and profound.

During the winter session in 1981-82 at Wan Fwo Chan, we took refuge with the Master before the Dharma Assembly in the 10,000 Buddhas Hall. As an artist, I was moved to begin painting a portrait of the Master in seated meditation, against the backdrop of a view of the bay area from on high, looking at the sun rise over the Berkeley Hills. It was to represent the true dharma arising in the west.

For some reason it was never completed. The years went by, and even though we constantly cultivated mindfulness and followed the dharma, I couldn’t bring myself to finish it. Several weeks ago while in my art studio, I was suddenly compelled to bow three times before the picture and heard myself take a vow to complete the picture once and for all. This seemed a strange occurrence, and I mentioned it to my wife. One week later we received your newsletter and learned for the first time that the Master had died. This, combined with the incident I just mentioned, caused me immense sorrow as well as astonishment. We immediately made plans and went up to Wan Fwo Chan to bow and pay our respects the following Saturday. Afterwards we felt as though a great wave of energy had passed over and through us.

Yours in the Dharma,

Thomas Preble
Roberta Heidt
209 Lincoln Way #7
San Francisco, CA 94122
Phone: 415-665-3859

Keow Hiang Lim Temple
No. 503 Hill Railway Road
11500 Penang, Malaysia
June 16, 1995

To Dharma Realm Buddhist Association, the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas:

We were shocked to hear that our Upadhyaya (Precept Master), Venerable Master Hua, has completed the stillness, and we are deeply saddened.

During this time when people are lost and unsettled, a bright light has gone out and we have lost our good teacher. There are no words to express our pain and sorrow.

We respectfully send our deepest condolences and hope that everything is well.

Bowing in respect,
Disciples in precepts
Chwan Rong and Chwan Ben

Committee in Memory of the Venerable Master Hua

I was shocked to hear the sad news:
The Elder Dharma Master Hua’s completion of stillness has left us in extreme grief. We are pained to lose such a Greatly Virtuous One. The Elder Dharma Master was renowned in China and abroad for his virtue and observance of precepts. The merit and virtue of his propagation of Dharma in America is truly monumental.
I hope all of you Dharma Masters will transform your pain and sorrow into strength and unite singlemindedly to establish monasteries, carry on the Elder Dharma Master’s resolves, propagate the Buddhadharma, and protect the Way-place.

Li Suohuan
General Manager, Jenjiang Export Company

Correspondence Secretary/Dharma Master:

Our teacher, the Venerable Master Hua, left Hong Kong and went to America to propagate Buddhism many years ago. He established the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in California, turned the great Dharma wheel, raised the Dharma banner on high, and opened the frontiers of American Buddhism, thus earning monumental merit.

We disciples also received his teaching from afar. When we heard the bad news that our teacher had already completed the stillness, we felt the utmost grief! Because we are unable to attend the funeral, we hereby kneel and respectfully send this letter as a token of our feelings.

Disciples Hou Guoxu (Ming), Wu Guoyuan (Shixiang), Lin Guohe (Jinhe)
bow together in respect June 13, 1995

To the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas:

When Upasakas Zhou Xuande and Zhu Shilung were alive, through their introduction I met the Great Master Hua several times and received much praise and encouragement from him. After the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas was completed in Ukiah, I went with my wife, daughter, and son-in-law to worship the Buddhas there. This year Professor Yang Fusen notified me of the Venerable Master’s birthday celebration and said the Master might come to Long Beach to attend the celebration. I was planning to go. But the Venerable Master, for reasons of poor health, was unable to receive the worship of the guests from all directions. When I received the obituary from Professor Yang, my grief knew no bounds. I have sent a couplet in mourning to express my respect.

May the Dharma Realm have a limitless future.

Respectfully,
Lao Gan
July 15, 1995

Further, the Venerable Master instructed that his ashes be scattered in empty space out of a wish to be modest and frugal. However, I wonder if you could take the feelings of the faithful laity in the ten directions into consideration, and bury the Master’s ashes according to ordinary custom, without building a temple or pagoda. That would be more economical than scattering the ashes in space, which would require a plane. Please consider this suggestion.

On the completion of stillness of the Great Master Hua

We can trace his name back to the shores of the Sea of Liao.
In this time when it is so difficult to propagate the Dharma,
Where can we hear the Lion’s Roar again?
To save the world, one must have cultivation as a basis.
Gazing at the chaos and disorder all around,
I send my recollections far away to Vulture Peak in the clouds.

In respectful mourning,
Lao Gan