The Influence on Buddhism on Chinese History and Culture

Bowers Museum holds a lecture on the influence of Buddhism.

This lecture is in Chinese with English translation.

Venerable Hui Chi, Abbot of the Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, presents an informative lecture describing the spread of Buddhism from India into China starting at the end of the Han dynasty and moving into the Tang dynasty. He will discuss how Buddhism gradually became universally accepted and part of the fabric of daily life. Several of the artifacts in Warriors, Tombs and Temples: China’s Enduring Legacy, will be featured, including reliquary boxes from the Famen Monastery, founded by 555 CE, which housed an important relic of the historical Buddha in the form of a finger bone. The lecture is sponsored by the Chinese Cultural Arts Council.

The Hsi Lai Temple is the largest Buddhist monastery in the United States, built in 1988. Its purpose is to serve as a spiritual and cultural center for those interested in learning more about Buddhism and Chinese culture. The words, "Hsi Lai," in Chinese means "coming to the West," signifying that Buddhism is coming to the West from the East.  The temple is a monaterial operation of the International Buddhist Progress Society, a non-profit organization incorporated in California.

Venerable Hui Chi was born and raised in Taiwan. The Venerable started graduate studies in Chinese Buddhism in Fo Guang Shan from 1986, and in 1988, tonsured under Venerable Master Hsing Yun at Hsi Lai Temple.  Since 1990, the Venerable has been assigned to Vancouver in Canada, Deer Park in New York, and Hsi Lai Temple in Los Angeles, America.  Besides being the Abbot of Hsi Lai Temple and Trustee at the University of the West, the Venerable is also the Vice Secretary General of Buddha’s Light International Association World Headquarters, overseeing the chapters in western part of North America