Master Hui Re Biography

Venerable Hui Re comes from the Peng-hu County, Taiwan ROC. He became a disciple of Grand Master Hsing Yun in 1986 and left home to become a monk at the Fo Guang Shan Order main Monastery in Gao-Xiung, Taiwan. From 1987 to 1989, after graduating from the Taiwan Fo Guang Shan Buddhist College he worked at the Fo Guang Shan Male College as Director of Education then as Director of Student Affairs and later as the Director of the Fo Guang Shan Sramanera (novice monk) Seminary.

In 1994, after running the seminary for many years he requested to do a solitary retreat to deepen his meditation, but was asked to first build a Ch'an meditation Center on Fo Guang Mountain. Upon completion of the Meditation Center he was asked to run the center which he did for six years. Everyday he led students, monastics and the public in meditation. He hosted over 200 seven day Ch'an (Zen) retreats and was also an active member of the Fo Guang Shan Religious Affairs Committee. Finally, in 1999, he was granted permission to enter a three-year solitary meditation retreat at the secluded Fo Guang Shan Bei-Hai, North Taiwan, mountain monastery in Taiwan. After only one year causes and conditions changed and he had to leave his retreat and come back to work.

Much to the benefit of budding African Buddhism, Master Hui Re came to South Africa for a short visit and stayed. He has now been in South Africa for over seven years. At first he lectured at the African Buddhist Seminary and taught Buddhism and meditation at Nan Hua Temple. In 2003 he started rebuilding a small farmhouse about a kilometer from the Temple which became the Chan Lin (lit. Chan Forest Hermitage) Meditation Center. Master Hui Re became the resident Meditation Master, teaching seminary students meditation, guiding practitioners during the monthly beginner and intermediate meditation retreats and quarterly 7 day advanced meditation retreats for seminary students and the public.

At the beginning of 2006 Master Hui Re disentangled himself from all external responsibilities and cloistered himself at Ch'an Lin to do a three-year quiet living retreat. He did not leave the grounds of the center but still taught seminary students meditation and lead retreats at Ch'an Lin. During this time he spent seven to twelve hours a day practicing in the Meditation Hall.

Between 2004 and 2007 the master changed his practice from Chan to Pure Land. Pure Land Buddhism is the form of Buddhism most commonly practiced in the East. It relies on the infinite compassion of the Buddha Amitabha to help deeply afflicted beings escape the endless cycle of suffering. His three-year retreat was aimed at deepening his understanding and realization of the Pure Land Dharma.

In 2007, after a visit to the Amitofo Care Centre (ACC) in Malawi, that provides a home for nearly 300 children left destitute by Aids and poverty, Master Hui Re decided to join Master Hui Li, the founder of ACC. Like Master Hui Li, he vowed to devote his life to helping Africa; in his view, the most neglected and suffering continent in the world.

The masters formed the Amitofo Charity Association, (ACA) the umbrella organisation for the care centres that aims to build care centres in every country in Africa offering loving care and education to vulnerable, needy children. Master Hui Li builds the physical structures of the children's homes: Master Hui Re helps develop systems and structures to ensure their efficient and effective running.

Master Hui Re is dedicated to teaching Buddhism to all who wish to learn. Starting with the basic teachings common to all sects of Buddhism, the master will give instructions in Ch'an and Pure Land Buddhism. Ch'an, or Zen, is quite well know in the West. However, Pure Land, sometimes called the Buddhism of wisdom and faith, is the most common practice in the East and is now beginning to come West. In South Africa it is taught only at Nan Hua Buddhist Temple and ACA.