Venerable Master Hsuan Hua was born in China in 1918. At the age of twelve, the Master began bowing every morning and evening to his parents, wishing to repent for his wrongdoings and to repay their kindness. At the age of sixteen, he explained the sutras for those who were illiterate. When he was eighteen, he started a free school for those who were poor and

needy. At nineteen, He left the home life and was given

the Dharma name An Tse and style name To Lun. Since

then, Venerable Master Hua had been committed to the

promotion of education. In 1962, Venerable Master Hua

arrived in San Francisco with determination to propagate

proper Dharma. Based upongreat kindness and

compassion, he promoted education in order to realize

his vision.

 

He said, "To promote world peace, we have to start with

education. The destinyof the world lies in the hands of

young people. If we devote less than our full attention to

their education, the consequences will be dire indeed!"

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Over the years, the Venerable Master Hua spread the

Proper Dharma in the West, while establishing Sangha

and branch monasteries, translating sutras, promoting education, and interfaith activities. The Master established the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association (DRBA) and its numerous affiliated monasteries and centers. Dharma Realm Buddhist Association purchased the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (CTTB) in 1974 and established its headquarters there. The Master founded the elementary school, middle school and university at CTTB to promote Education. 

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When the Master taught disciples and exhorted students, he was helping them to purify their minds and to apply effort so that they could become productive people and advance towards a bright future for the sake of all living beings.

 

The Master said: The basis of education should be teaching children not to fight, not to be greedy, not to seek, not to be selfish, not to want personal advantage, and not to lie; they should also be taught not to drink, take drugs, or be promiscuous. If this can actually be done, then there is hope for reviving education… In fact, the most thorough and fundamental national defense is education. If education is not heeded, whatever national defense you have is useless. This group of ours is a group that goes everywhere to propagate the education of the Buddhadharma. The education of the Buddhadharma is an education that saves people’s inherent natures, rescues their souls, and also saves their lives. We go around giving clarion calls to wake people up and urge them to reform education, to pull our next generation back from the brink of death, and to avert the danger of the extinction of humanity and of the nations of the world. Now I want to travel among all nations with these eight virtues of filiality, fraternity, loyalty, trustworthiness, propriety, righteousness, incorruptibility, and a sense of shame, using this elixir to save the souls, lives, and inherent natures of all young people throughout the world.