Yun Yang Temple
| Yun Yang Temple | |
|---|---|
 | |
Yun Yang Temple | |
| Information | |
| Main School | Mahayana |
| People | |
| Abbot(s) | BUORG-Names::Names::Venerable Master Ru-Sun |
| Contact Infotmation | |
| Address | 6-10 Reservoir Road Narre Warren North Victoria 3804 Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | service=google }} {{#geocode:6-10Reservoir RoadNarre Warren NorthVictoriaAustralia|format=float|service=google}} service=google }}The "_geo" type of this property is invalid |
| Map | {{#display_map:{{#geocode:6-10Reservoir RoadNarre Warren NorthVictoriaAustralia}}|height=250px|width=250px|zoom=18}} |
| Phone | Phone::03 9796 8079 |
| Fax | Fa03 9796 9969::03 9796 9969 |
| Website | Website::http://www.yunyangtemple.org.au/australia/ "Website" has not been listed as valid URI scheme. |
| Email::info@yunyangtemple.org.auURIs of the form "Email::info@yunyangtemple.org.au" are not allowed. | |
Yun Yang Temple
In December 1993, Venerable Master Ru-Sun was invited by Disciples to teach Buddhism in Australia. The Disciples responded with great enthusiasm and purchased a thirty-two acre plot of land that is bound by a creek, old pine trees and beautiful grassland. Yun Yang Temple (Australia) Inc. was established in April 1995.
Yun Yang Temple (Australia) Inc. is located at 6-10 Reservoir Road, Narre Warren North, 1 hour Southeast of Melbourne. Nestled in 32 acres of parkland and gardens, it is surrounded by fauna and flora. Being far away from the hustle and bustle of city living, it provides a conducive environment for Dharma practice. After basic renovations, the existing farm house was converted into a Ch’an practise Temple. In order to accommodate different devotees, Pure Land practice was also introduced. Due to the ever-increasing number of followers and visitors, the existing facilities were unable to meet demand. At the same time, there was a strong request from the devotees for a formal main shrine. Under these circumstances, the Temple committee decided to initiate a master plan for the construction.
The new Main Shrine Building is 14 meters high with the Reception and Lecture Hall on the ground floor. The first floor will be used as the Main Shrine, accommodating the Buddha statues and Thousand Buddha Altar. On both sides of the Main Shrine will be the Meditation Hall and Multi-function Hall. Forty meditation huts are also designed for the retreat requirements. In addition, the Buddhist Chinese garden consists of a white marble pagoda, bridge, pavilion, beautiful plants, lotus pond and a 1.7 kilometers track, which will provide an excellent environment for spiritual cultivation.
Temple's Aims
Buddhist Families
Yun Yang Temple encourages all families of its members and devotees to take refuge in the Triple Gems (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha) and to uphold the five precepts (refrain from killing, stealing, improper sexual conduct, improper speech and intoxication). Family practices are held every week to help and encourage friends and relatives of its members and devotees to learn, practice and spread the Dharma.
Respect for the Elders
Fulfilling filial duty (or paying respect to the elders) is a Chinese tradition. Birthday celebrations are held on a regular basis to promote the old ritual of children paying respect to their parents. The celebrations provide an opportunity for the children to express their gratitude to their parents for the hardship and sacrifices their parents endured in bearing them, bringing them up, providing for them and guiding them. It is a way of saying “thank you” to their parents. Transference of merits ritual is also held for the members and devotees on a regular basis to allow them to transfer their good deed to their deed relatives in order to relieve the deed relatives from suffering in endless kalpas.
Caring for the Old and Sick
The sick and dying people need care and support the most. Upon request by the family members, Venerable Master Ru-Sun leads his compassionate team to the hospital or the home of the old and sick to provide him or her emotional and spiritual support.
Recuperation
Yun Yang Temple cares for the health of its members and devotees by inviting experienced and skilful traditional Chinese doctors to the temple for consultation. Many members and devotees’ illnesses have been cured due to the compassion and the skills of these doctors. The Venerable Master Ru-Sun plans to establish a centre in Melbourne for convalescent persons to practice Buddhism and receive spiritual support from the temple.
Extending the wisdom of Buddha
Yun Yang Temple has established an education centre to propagate and advocate the Buddha’s teachings, to raise the Sangha (monk)’s talent and to promote Buddhist cultures and arts.
Setting up a cultural centre
Yun Yang School was set up to promote traditional ethical virtues and various kinds of arts and crafts.
Yun Yang Values
Accommodate with Conditions
One should accept one’s destiny without objections. For example, if one is destined to be the children’s father or mother, then one must play the role of a father or a mother well, be responsible in providing for the children and bringing the children up as good members of the community. As fathers or mothers, you do not complain about hardship and sufferings the children have caused you to endure. This is because the children and yourselves are destined to meet in this world. The union of the children and yourself as a family unit at the present time is the result of the “cause and effect” (karma) of your past lives. This goes on to say that when your destiny appears in whatever forms, do not reject it; and when your destiny disappears in the thin air, do not regret it.
Accommodate with Happiness
Whatever forms your destiny is in, accept your destiny with joy. Whether the condition of your present life is harsh or easy, whether your life is long or short, your life is the cause and effect or karma of your past doings. One should accept one’s good or bad karma with joy and spend time and effort now in performing good deeds for the benefit of all humanity. By doing so, one’s bad karma can be reduced or prevented and good karma can be created.
Accommodate with capabilities
One should accept one’s present position and fulfil one’s responsibilities and duties. Do not be conscious about others who are in a better or worse position than you and do not place any attachment to the status. Carrying one’s responsibilities and duties according to one’s ability wholeheartedly will benefit both oneself and others. For example, if one has the ability to do the work but one is not doing it, then one is not fulfilling one’s responsibilities and duties. On the other hand, if one does not have the ability to do the work but force oneself into doing it, then one is not fulfilling one’s responsibilities and duties neither.
The Abbott
Venerable Master Ru-Sun has been studying Buddhism since childhood During his adolescence, he practised Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism with his Dharma friends. He also studied both the Ch’an (Zen) and Pureland methods of meditation. He received full ordination and took Bhiksu’s precepts with the 40th Linji Sect patriarch, Ch’an Master Bai Yun. After having completing his studies at Ch’an Master Bai Yun’s Chief Sun Monastery, he travelled to many places to further his studies. On several occasions, Venerable Master Ru-Sun has travelled to Thailand, India and China to learn Dharma and the origins of Buddhism from great Masters.
Venerable Master Ru-Sun & Yun Yang Temple
In 1991, Venerable Master Ru-Sun arrived at the “Whitehorse Mountain”. The quiet environment of the mountain allowed him to practise diligently and to cultivate on his own until he was discovered by the local people. Upon request by local devotees, the White Horse Temple (Today’s Yun Yang Temple in Taiwan) was established in the area. Since then, Venerable Master Ru-Sun has dedicated his life to propagating the teachings of Buddha (The Dharma).
In May, 1992, the Taipei Temple was established near Yin He Cave in Xin Dian, following the request of the disciples from Jing Mei and Xin Dian areas. In December 1993, upon the invitation of the Melbourne devotees, Venerable Master Ru-Sun came to Australia to propagate the Dharma. In July 1994, some Melbourne devotees purchased a 32-acre land and in April 1995, Yun Yang Temple (Australia) Inc. was established. In July 1996, the Malaysian devotees invited Venerable Master Ru-Sun to Malaysia. Hence, the Ipoh Temple and the Kuala Lumpur Puchong Temple were established respectively. In order to help the disciples living in Taipei, Jing Mei, Zhong He and Song Shan, the Tong Guang Temple in Xin Dian, the Miao Zhi Temple in Zhong He and the Guang De Temple in Song Shan were established respectively.
Venerable Master Ru-Sun always advises his disciples:
“Learning Buddhism is to be responsible for your own life, and to understand that your suffering is created by your own self. The Good and the Bad have its specific way. One must always adjust his Five Aggregates, Mind and Body, so that we can live in peace, harmony and happiness. All things are created by our mind. If our mind is peaceful, then we will be happy.”
Venerable Master Ru-Sun’s wishes to all sentient beings:
“May all beings cultivate both merit and wisdom!
May all beings achieve Buddhahood”Our Grandmaster
Venerable Bai Yun comes from the Linji Sect of Buddhism, the sole lineage of the Xuyin Ch’an Master. At the age of seven, he was ordained as a Buddhist novice. At 21, he graduated from the Hunan National University majoring in Chinese Literature. In the same year, he was officially ordained as a monk at the Guaiyuan Temple in Hanyang, a Vinaya Sect Monastery. For the three years that followed, he travelled widely in China, paying homage to accomplished monks of various orders and visited reputed temple sites for cultivation. At 24, he became resident Abbot at Leiyin Temple in Fuqiu Mountains. Four years later, he was seconded to take charge of “The Little South Heaven” at Fanyin Temple in Tianyue Mountains.
At 37, Venerable Bai Yun arrived in Taiwan where he started his life with a 10 year service in the military before returning to his former status as a monk to work on his Ch’an cultivation of breaking free of form, judgement and attachment. In autumn of 1964, he was sent to Biyun Temple at Kwanchailing where he stayed till 1973 when he was invited to be Abbot of the Bodhi Temple. In the following year, on request of his Master Xu Yin, Venerable Bai Yun founded the Qianfoshan (Thousand Buddha Mountain), a new order in the line of the Linji Sect of Fuqiu branch was born in Taiwan. From 1998 onwards, all monks ordained under Venerable Bai Yun would inherit and follow the Tianyue Mountain school of Pingyangtong.
In order to bring Buddhist teachings closer to city people in Taiwan and in response to the popular demands, Qianfoshan Kaoshiung Lecture Hall was established on the 4th August 1991. This was followed by the opening of the Taipei Lecture Hall and the Taichung Lecture Hall in 1994 and 1995 respectively. Today, branches of the Qianfoshan United Merits Foundation can be found all over Taiwan. They include the Taipei Lecture Hall, Tianyue Mountain Tucheng Lecture Hall, Sanxia Qianfoshan Huade Ch’an Temple in the north; Qianfoshan Taichung Lecture Hall, Fuqiu Mountain Kooyan Ch’an Temple and Tianyue Mountain Ka Yi Lecture Hall. In Southern Taiwan, there are the Tai Nan Bodhi Temple, Jiaxian Tianyue Mountain Fanyin Ch’an Temple, and Meilong Foohui Temple in Central Taiwan; Qianfoshan Kaoshiung Lecture Hall and Nazi Lecture Hall in the south.
In addition to the new venues for teaching, Venerable Bai Yun also founded the Chinese Buddhist Society, the Qianfoshan Charity Foundation Incorporated and the Jinqxi Broadcasting Company. As a disciple of the Buddha, Venerable Bai Yun has inherited the Tathagata line of Buddha’s teaching and vowed to carry on the Buddha’s legacy. As the guardian of Qianfoshan, he has pledged to observe the Buddha’s vows as his own, taken on the Buddha’s goals as his own and carried on the Buddha’s work as his own, such as the commitments he has undertaken in his vocation in spreading the Buddha’s wisdom to benefit all sentient beings in this Dharma Ending Era.
The Temple
The Main Shrine is situated on the first floor of the 14 meter high Main Shrine Building. When facing the shrine from the front door, in the middle is the 4.5 meter high sandal cedar wood Sakyamuni Buddha Statue. On both sides are the 3.5 meter high sandal cedar wood Sariputra Statue and Maudgalyayana Statue. Both Sariputra, well known for his wisdom, and Maudgalyayan, well known for his supernatural power, are the foremost disciples of the Buddha. All of these statues were specially crated and imported from China.
Sariputra
Sariputra was from a Brahmin family, born in a village in Magadha, Southern India. At the age of eight, Sariputra was able to understand all the books he read. Once, he was invited to a banquet held by a wealthy man to entertain the royal families, ministers and scholars. The eight year old impressed everyone at the banquet with his eloquent speech and great wisdom. The King awarded him with a village.
At age twenty, he left home and began searching for the Truth. During his venture, he met Maudgalyayana and became the best of friends, both with the same ambition to search for the truth.
One day while walking on the streets, he came up Venerable Assaji. Sariputra was so impressed by his dignified manner, he asked Venerable Assaji who was his teacher and what was his teaching. Venerable Assaji told Sariputra that his teacher was Sakyamuni Buddha and his teaching was; all things arise and fall according to causes and conditions, and all things are impermanent. On hearing the words of Venerable Assaji, Sariputra suddenly saw the light and all his doubts about the universe were dismissed.
Maudgalyayana
Maudgalyayana was one of Buddha Sakyamuni’s closest disciples. He is considered the second of the two foremost disciples of the Buddha, together with Sariputra.
Of all the Buddha’s disciples, Maudgalyayana was the most accomplished in the various supernatural powers. These abilities included being able to use the mind-reading for such things as detecting lies from truths, transporting himself from his body into the various realms of existence and speaking with ghosts and gods. He was also able to do things like walking through walls, walking on water, flying through the air, and moving with a speed comparable to the speed of light.
Varying accounts in the Pali Canon show Maudgalyayana speaking with the deceased in order to explain to them their horrific conditions and give them an understanding of their own suffering, so that they may be released from it or come to terms with it.
The Ullambana Sutra is the main Mahayana Sutra in which Maudgalyayana is mentioned. The sutra covers the topic of filial piety and was a discourse given to Maudgalyayana by the Sakyamuni Buddha.
Others
Also in the Main Shrine, is the Thousand Buddha Mandala a representation of Compassion, Manjusri Bodhisattva representation of Wisdom and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva representation of great strength in the practise of the Six Perfections.
