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Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c15.s2.t17: Fa-Fang

Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c15.s2.t17

Language
English

Fa-Fang

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Fa-fang (1904 - October 3, 1951) was a modern Chinese Buddhist and Buddhist scholar. Born in Jingxing, Hebei Province, his secular family name was Wang. He was ordained and admitted by Beijing Fayuan Temple in 1921. He received full ordination from Master Daojie. He became one of the first phase students of Wuchang Buddhist College in 1922 and graduated in June 1924. He taught in Beiping Bolin Buddhist Academy and held the post of the secretary of the preparation office of the world Buddhism in 1930. He was engaged in the propaganda of Buddhism reforming with Master Taixu since 1931. He was appointed as the Director of World Buddhist Center Library in 1932. During 1935-1940, he led the compiling of *Sound of Sea Tide* for three times. He was admitted to Sichuan

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*Entire Collection of Fa-fang*

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Sino-Tibetan Buddhist Institute in 1937, and hosted the Buddhist affairs there for three years.

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With the coordination of Master Taixu and the support of the Department of Education, he set out to India to study in September 1940. He hadn’t arrived in India until February 1942 due to the war. During his stay here, he studied Pali, Sanskrit and English while teaching in Cheena Bhavan, Visva-Bharti and Mahabodhi Society. Meanwhile, he visited Buddhists and personages of other religions everywhere to popularise Chinese Buddhism and promote Chinese culture. He left India for Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka) in 1943, where he was admitted to Vidyalankara to further study Pali as well as the Southern Buddhism classics such as *Abhidhammattha-sangaha* and *Visuddhimagga*. Invited by Tan Yunshan, the Dean of Cheena Bhavan of Visva-Bharati University, he returned to India to teach Buddhism in June 1946, where he finished the translation of *Abhidhammattha-sangaha*. He returned home from India in the spring of 1947. Invited by University of Ceylon, he returned to Ceylon to teach Chinese Buddhism History in 1951, during which he participated in the compiling work of *The Complete Book of Master Taixu*. He attended the 1st World Fellowship of Buddhists in Ceylon as a representative of Chinese Buddhists in May 1951.

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His major writings include *Chittamatra and Philosophy* (1950), *The Buddhist View on Life* (1980), *Speeches on Prajna Paramita Diamond Sutra* (1981), *A Procedure to Learn Buddha Dharma* (1994) and *Indian Intellectuals*, etc. His major translation works include *Abhidhammattha-sangaha* and *Mangala Sutta*. In 2011, the six volumes of *Collected Works of Fa-fang* were published by Jincheng Press with nearly 2 million characters in total, collecting the major works of Master Fa-fang.

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(*Jiang Jingkui*)

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