Hsuan Hua

Hsuan Hua
Hsuan Hua in Ukiah, California
Religion	Chan Buddhism
School	Weiyang Chan School
Lineage	9th generation
Dharma names	An Tzu Tu Lun
Personal
Nationality	Chinese
Born	(1918-04-16)April 16, 1918 Jilin, China
Died	June 7, 1995(1995-06-07) (aged 77) Los Angeles, United States
Senior posting
Title	Chan Master, Founder and abbot of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, President of the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association, Rector of the Dharma Realm Buddhist University
Religious career
Teacher	Hsu Yun
Students	Heng Sure, Heng Lyu, Heng Chau, Heng Lai

Hsuan Hua (Chinese: 宣化; pinyin: Xuānhuà; literally: "proclaim and transform"; April 16, 1918 – June 7, 1995), also known as An Tzu and Tu Lun, was a monk of Chan Buddhism and a contributing figure in bringing Chinese Buddhism to the United States in the 20th century.

Hsuan Hua founded several institutions in the US. The Dharma Realm Buddhist Association (DRBA) is a Buddhist organization with chapters in North America, Australia and Asia. The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (CTTB) in Ukiah, California, is one of the first Chan Buddhist monasteries in America. Venerable Master Hsuan Hua founded Dharma Realm Buddhist University at CTTB. The Buddhist Text Translation Society works on the phonetics and translation of Buddhist scriptures from Chinese into English, Vietnamese, Spanish, and many other languages.

Hsuan Hua, a native of Shuangcheng County of Jilin (now Wuchang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang), was born Bai Yushu (白玉書) on April 16, 1918. His parents were devout Buddhists. At an early age, Hua became a vegetarian like his mother, and decided to become a Buddhist monk.

At the age of 15, he took refuge in the Three Jewels under the Venerable Chang Zhi. That same year he began to attend school and studied texts of various Chinese schools of thought, and the fields of medicine, divination, astrology, and physiology. At 19 years of age, Hua became a monastic, under the Dharma name An Tzu. (安慈)