Gwang-Chin Master

Gwang-Chin Master Relic Master Gwang-Chin was born Huang Wen Lai in 1892 in Hui-An county, Fukien Province, China. Due to his family's extreme poverty he was sold to the Lee family. The Lees were not wealthy either and had a fruit growing business that allowed them to barely scrape together a living. His parents died in 1902 when he was just 11 years old. He realised how impermanent human life was and took refuge with Master Ray-Fang of Cheng-Tien Monastery in Chuen-Jo. In 1927 he took ordination at Cheng-Tien Monastery.

From the very beginning he was an ascetic practitioner. In the monastery one of his duties was to ring the morning wake-up bell. One morning he over-slept and missed ringing the bell at the correct time. After that he never lay down to sleep for the rest of his life.

At the age of 95, on the first day of the Chinese New Year, he called together all of his disciples who were in charge of his different monasteries. He told them that he would pass away soon and that they should divide his relics among Cheng-Tien Monastery, Gwang Ming Yen and Miaou Tong Nunnery. Then he went Miaou Tong Nunnery.

On the fifth day of Chinese New Year, with all his disciples gathered around him he told them to recite Amitabha Buddha's name. He said, "There is no coming and no going, nothing is happening." Then he smiled at his disciples and closed his eyes. He was so still that his disciples checked and discovered that he had passed away amidst the Amitabha chanting. The disciples had received his final teaching.

Relic and Source

These two relics were offered by Venerable Chwan Wen, the abbess of Miaou Tong Nunnery in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in March 2001.