School Linji school
Tantrism Other names Nenghai Master (能海上师) Nationality Chinese Other name Nenghai Master (能海上师) | Temple Shancaidong Temple Dharma names Nenghai Died 1 January 1967 | |
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Religion Chan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism | ||
Nenghai (Chinese: 能海; pinyin: Nénghaǐ; 20 January 1886 - 1 January 1967) was a Buddhist monk and religious leader in China. He was vice-president of the Buddhist Association of China. He was a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a delegate to the 1st and 2nd National People's Congress.
Biography
Nenghai was born Gong Xueguang in Hanwang Town of Mianzhu city, in Sichuan province, to Gong Changyi (龔常一), a peddler. He had an elder sister. When he was a child, both his parents died, leaving only him and his 10-year-old sister. By age 14, he became an apprentice in Hengshengtong (“恒升通”匹頭業), and studied Classic and history under the proprietor. In 1905, he enrolled at the Army Academy (now Army War College), where he studied alongside Liu Xiang and Liu Wenhui. After graduating in 1907 he became a drillmaster at Yunnan Military Academy, both Zhu De and Yang Sen were his student. Then he served as regimental commander in Sichuan government, holding the position until he was transferred to the Beijing General's Office (北京將軍府). In 1910, Nenghai went to Japan on a political and industrial investigation. The expedition to Japan gave him exposure to Buddhism. After half year, Nenghai returned to China and studied Buddhism under Zhang Kecheng (張克誠) at Peking University. In 1917, Nenghai moved to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, founded the Shaocheng Society of Buddhist Studies (少城佛學社).
In 1924, he went to Tianbao Temple, the Buddhist monastery where she received the tonsure ceremony under abbot Fo Yuan (佛源), as the 44th lineage of Rinzai school, and received complete ordination under abbot Shi Guanyi (釋貫一), in Baoguang Temple. In the fall of 1928, Nenghai went to Tibet to studied Tibetan Buddhism under Khangser Rinpoche.
In 1937, he founded Jinci Temple in the suburb of Chengdu.
After the establishment of the Communist State, he lived in Guangji Temple , in Beijing. In October 1951, he attended the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference as a specially invited delegate.
In the summer of 1966, Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution, Nenghai lived in Shancaidong Temple, he was labeled as a gangster and suffered political persecution, he and his disciples were mistreated and tortured. On January 1, 1967, Nenghai died in Shancaidong Temple, aged 81.