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Ǎitíng 靄亭 (1892-1947)
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Ǎitíng 靄亭 (1892-1947) was a follower of Yuèxiá 月霞. Active in the Jiāngnán 江南 region in the 1920s and 1930s, in the mid 1930s he moved to Hong Kong and helped establish a major nunnery there.
Biography
Ǎitíng's mother died when he was very young, and his father died when he was only 10 suì 歲. His brother took over the family business, and Ǎitíng worked at it as well, but his brother was not a competent businessman and they lost everything. At 19 suì, Ǎitíng was tonsured by Zhìguāng 智光 and Wénxīn 文心 at Hóngkāi Temple 宏開寺 in his home county (this was in 1911). He was fully ordained on Mt. Bǎohuá 寶華山 in 1913 and then entered the Confucian-Buddhist Primary School 儒釋初高小學.
In 1914, Ǎitíng began to follow his tonsure-master Zhìguāng. First they enrolled in Huáyán University 華嚴大學, which was headed by Yuèxiá 月霞. After they graduated in 1916, they followed Yuèxiá as he gave lectures at various Buddhist temples.
In the fall of 1917, the two monks began studying Chán 禪 under Yěkāi 冶開 at Tiānníng Temple 天寧寺 in Chángzhōu 常州. In 1923 they settled at Dìnghuì Temple 定慧寺 on Mt. Jiāo 焦山 in Zhènjiāng 鎮江. Shortly thereafter, Ǎitíng and one Hòukuān 厚寬 were recommended to Miàozhì 妙智, abbot of Zhúlín Temple 竹林寺, who transmitted the dharma to them, at which point Ǎitíng became superintendent 監院 of the temple. Ǎitíng succeeded to the position of abbot in 1927. One of his first tasks was to set about establishing the Zhúlín Buddhist Seminary 竹林佛學院, which opened the following year.
In 1932, Ǎitíng retired as abbot and traveled to Hong Kong 香港, where he helped Ms. Zhāng Liánjué 張蓮覺 establish the Bǎojué Buddhist Research Society 寶覺佛學研究社, which sought to teach Buddhism to young women. The following year they established the Tung Lin Kok Yuen 東蓮覺苑 Nunnery and in 1934, the Society was moved there. This served as Ǎitíng's base of operations for the next 12 years. From here he established various schools in the Hong Kong/Macau area and also oversaw the publication of Rén hǎidēng 人海燈 from 1935.
After the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Ǎitíng left for the mainland (in August 1947). He visited his old teachers and acquaintances, as well as the temples where he had lived and studied. He was deeply saddened by the devastation wrought by the war. In Tài County, Ǎitíng caught a cold, but was treated and thought nothing of it. Since he felt better and had already purchased his ticket, he boarded the boat from Shǎnghài 上海 to Hong Kong. Sadly, he never reached Hong Kong, dying on the journey over. He was buried at sea.
Notes
References
- Yú Língbō 于凌波, ed. Xiàndài Fójiào rénwù cídiǎn 現代佛教人物辭典 (A Dictionary of Modern Buddhist Persons), 2 vols. Taipei: Foguang, 2004. Pp. 2.1801a-1803b.