A Good Deed Every Day

Master Xuecheng has long held the belief that Buddhist teachings should translate into solid actions and bring substantive good to the real world.

He advocates that monks and nuns should reach out from the monastery and go beyond sermonizing. Together with adherents, they should participate in improving social equality and bettering society through charitable work. With this in mind, Xuecheng co-founded the Ren Ai Charity Foundation in 2006. The foundation is committed to “bringing charity to within the reach of every person.”

Ren Ai carries out an eclectic range of activities. Besides extending material aid to those in need, the foundation also offers physical assistance and psychological counseling. Xuecheng says a successful charity must be flexible; by pursuing a multi-purpose mission, Ren Ai is able to help a large number of people.

In 2008 many natural disasters occured in China. It started off with the worst winter the south of China had seen in half a century; serious storms coinciding with Chinese New Year whipped 20 unprepared provinces, resulting in power outages and over 100 deaths. Three months later the Wenchuan Earthquake was a tragedy on a much lager scale; over 60,000 lives were claimed and hundreds of thousands of people were rendered homeless. In the wake of the Wenchuan earthquake Ren Ai raised RMB 16 million for victims of the two disasters.

After the Yushu Earthquake in 2010 Ren Ai built 3,500 square meters of prefabricated school dormitories, the largest such complex in the region, at a cost of RMB 2 million. Xuecheng personally held several prayer sessions, during which he wished for peace upon the dead and earthly bliss for the living.

These endeavors have given Ren Ai prominence in China’s charity circles. In 2011 it won the annual award of the Capital Philanthropy Federation for its exemplary role. Ren Ai’s secretary general Lin Qitai and his aide Wang Lu were named Beijing’s model philanthropists for that year.

Buddhism is all about cultivating the inner psyche. But the inner psyche is in no way insulated from the outside world. Embracing the changing times while staying committed to the Buddha’s timeless code of ethics has served as a successful model for custodians of Buddhism to ensure the religion stays relevant and meaningful to ordinary people’s lives. Master Xuecheng’s success in adapting his teachings to the Inernet is just the latest example of Buddhism’s ability to adapt.

By Tang Yuankai (China Today)