Dharma Master Yizhao

Venerable Dharma Master Yizhao (1927-2013) was born in Guangdong, China. He went to the Zhulin Zen Monastery of Hong Kong in 1940, and became a monastic in 1941 after receiving a tonsure. He received the transmission of Viyana from Master Xuyun at the Nanhua Temple in 1944. He then received the transmission of the Linji (Rinzai) Dharma lineage from Master Xuyun and became the 44th Dharma holder of the lineage. He established the Guyan Pure Monastery in Hong Kong in 1952, and returned to the Zhulin Temple to assist in the remodeling of the grand hall. Later, he became the Abbot of the Zhulin Temple. He passed away in liberation in 2013.

Venerable Dharma Teacher Yizhao is the successor to H.E. Dharma Master Xuyun. He is truly a person of holy virtue within present-day Zen Buddhism. Having realized the supreme fruit of Bodhi, the venerable one long ago extirpated all roots leading to his further reincarnation. In order to save living beings in the earthly realm from suffering, the elder monk emulated Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva by making the following vow: “As long as there is any living being in the earthly realm, I vow not to become a Buddha.” He has been praised as being the nirmanakaya of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. The venerable one received an Amrit Empowerment Initiation from H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and was praised by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III as being a rare, outstanding, and enlightened monk who abides by the precepts. Below is a photograph of Venerable Dharma Teacher Yizhao. While he received the Amrit Dharma Empowerment from H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, he witnessed the assembly of over a million wasps that did not dare to harm anyone there.