Buddha nature manifests in myriad forms

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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.

Master Hui Li and his love for Africa

Called by some the Albert Schweitzer of Chinese Buddhism, Venerable Master Hui Li vowed to devote five lifetimes to alleviating the problems of Africa.

Born in Pintong county, Taiwan in 1955 to poor farming parents, Hui Li was a strong, quiet, hardworking child. From junior high onwards, he financed his education by working at night. He learned early that life is fragile and precarious. Every day he saw funerals as people were buried in the cemetery next to his school. He knew about the sadness of old age, sickness and death.

While attending a Buddhist High School away from home, he stayed at a small Buddhist Temple. He became a vegetarian. In 1987 he took refuge under Master Hsin Yun, the founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order. The following year he ordained as a monk. In 1992 Master Hui Li took responsibility for the construction of Fo Guang Shan Temples on other continents. In fulfillment of Master Hsin Yun’s vow to build a Fo Guang Shan Temple on every continent of the world, Master Hui Li volunteered to come to South Africa to build the first Chinese Buddhist Temple on the African continent. He became the first abbot of the magnificent Nan Hua Temple in Bronkhorstspruit, near Pretoria.

Deeply concerned about the problems of Africa, Master Hui Li visited most African countries. The extreme poverty and hardship he saw awoke in him the desire to devote five lifetimes to helping Africa.

In the late nineties he survived a serious car accident in which his brother died. He also contracted malaria. In spite of these difficulties he did not falter in his determination to serve Africa. “If you don’t get malaria you have not got your passport to work in Africa”, he quipped.

In 1994 the African Buddhist College (the first Buddhist seminary in Africa) opened at Nan Hua Temple in Bronkhorstspruit with the intention of teaching Buddhist scriptures and practices to young men from the continent of Africa thus giving the students tools that might be useful in alleviating Africa’s problems. Master Hui Li visited Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Chad, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Liberia, Swaziland and Lesotho to recruit young men for the new College. The ultimate goal was to begin the long, difficult process of localizing Buddhism in Africa. It was hoped the young men would go back to their own countries and spread Buddhism in ways that were acceptable to the local people.

Master Hui Li began his charity work in Africa at this time, donating wheelchairs and sponsoring orphaned children. As they say in Chinese, “Master Hui Li walked into Africa”. He covered the entire Southern Africa from East to West.

When he visited Malawi in 1998 to make a donation of wheelchairs, he became aware of the terrible problem of HIV and Aids in this country. Forty percent of the population was HIV positive and over one million children had lost one or both parents to Aids. He decided that something had to be done for these children. He realized that there would be a whole generation of orphaned children, who, if they reached adulthood, would have no proper upbringing and very little education. The result of this could only be disastrous. It was from this motivation that the concept of the Amitofo Care Centres was born. He abdicated the abbotship of Nan Hua Temple in 2001 in order to dedicate himself more completely to his work in Africa.

Ven. Hui Li lost no time in activating his plan to help Malawi. Following successful negotiations with Malawi’s First Lady, a piece of land just outside Blantyre, in southern Malawi, was donated for this project. The Ground Breaking Ceremony took place on 28 November 2002. Construction of the first Amitofo Care Centre began the following year. Generous donors, mainly from Taiwan, provided financial support. By 2005 the first stage of construction was completed. One hundred and twenty, 3 to 12 year old children moved in. By 2008 the Malawi care Centre is looking after nearly 300 children.

Master Hui Re's teachings

You must remember this most important thing:

If you do not recite the Buddha's name, if you do not make Buddha karma, you are making worldly karma. Whether you make bad worldly karma or good worldly karma, it is still worldly karma. It is the karma to continue in this world indefinitely, over and over again, life after life after life, suffering in Samsara. Whether you are enjoying yourself in Samsara or suffering in Samsara, it is still Samsara. Over and over and over again. The only way out is to recite the Buddha's name.

Every single cause has its effect. You are constantly creating a new world for yourself.

Not reciting the Buddha's name is making karma in this world. It's just piling up shit. When its bad karma it stinks a lot more. When its good karma it does not stink as much. You are still carrying this bag of shit.

(Master Hui Re on Samsara, From the July 2007 retreat. Translated by Ben Le.)