LINEAGE MASTERS
Venerable Benhuan
Venerable Benhuan (1907–2012) was one of the most respected Chan Buddhist masters of modern China and a 44th-generation lineage holder of the Linji School. After receiving full ordination in 1930, he studied Chan practice under the renowned Master Laiguo at Gaomin Temple in Yangzhou for seven years. In 1937, he undertook a three-step-one-bow pilgrimage to Mount Wutai, where he later spent many years in intensive practice. He subsequently studied under Venerable Master Xuyun and received the Linji lineage transmission from him.
Beginning in 1942, Venerable Benhuan entered a three-year retreat at Mount Wutai, devoting himself to intensive practice and the study of Buddhist scriptures. He also copied Buddhist sutras in his own blood, including the Śūraṅgama Sutra, Kṣitigarbha Sutra, Diamond Sutra, and Samantabhadra’s Practices and Vows, completing nineteen volumes—an extraordinary expression of his dedication and spiritual resolve.
He later served as abbot of several important monasteries, including Nanhua Temple, Guangxiao Temple, Hongfa Temple, and Fourth Patriarch Temple. He devoted much of his life to Buddhist education, monastic training, temple development, and the propagation of the Dharma, and later served as Honorary President of the Buddhist Association of China.
Through a lifetime of disciplined practice, compassion, and dedication to the Dharma, Venerable Benhuan left a profound spiritual legacy and remains an important lineage master in our tradition.
Venerable Shouye
Venerable Shouye (1907–2001), a native of Wuxi, Jiangsu, was an influential master of modern Chinese Buddhism, a 44th-generation lineage holder of the Linji Chan School, and a lifelong practitioner of the Huayan tradition and the Avatamsaka Sutra.
In 1928, he entered monastic life under Venerable Desong at Puji Temple in Shanghai. He later received full ordination at Baohua Mountain in Nanjing and continued his Chan study and practice at Tianning Temple in Changzhou and Jinshan Temple in Zhenjiang. In 1939, at Bishan Temple on Mount Wutai, he received the Linji lineage transmission from Venerable Guanghui.
Venerable Shouye placed great emphasis on direct practice and had a profound devotion to the Avatamsaka Sutra. He spent many years in intensive practice and study and copied the entire Avatamsaka Sutra in his own blood as an extraordinary expression of faith and dedication. Throughout his life, he regarded himself as a “Huayan practitioner,” with Huayan practice at the heart of his spiritual path.
After 1949, Venerable Shouye propagated the Dharma in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Southeast Asia, and the United States. He established and led Buddhist centers abroad and later served as Abbot of Mahayana Temple in New York, making an important contribution to the early development and transmission of Chinese Buddhism in the United States.
Rooted in the Linji Chan lineage and deeply devoted to the Huayan tradition, Venerable Shouye’s life of practice and Dharma service forms an important part of the spiritual lineage carried forward by the International Hua-Yan Buddhist Federation.
LINEAGE MASTERS
Venerable Mixian
Venerable Mixian was a modern Chinese Buddhist master who received extensive training in Chinese Buddhist teachings before traveling to Kham with Venerable Genzao to seek further teachings. There, he studied under renowned Tibetan Buddhist masters, including Vidyadhara Master Guangming Vajradvipa and Gyalse Rinpoche. Vidyadhara Master bestowed upon him the Dharma name Konchok Dargye.
Under Gyalse Rinpoche at Angzang Monastery, Venerable Mixian received the empowerments and complete teachings of the Nyingma Dzogchen Nyingthig tradition, becoming a 54th-generation lineage holder. After returning to Shanghai, he and Venerable Genzao co-founded Changle Hermitage, where they transmitted Nyingma teachings. He later served as Vice President of the Shanghai Buddhist Academy.
In 1985, Venerable Mixian and Venerable Genzao were invited to the United States and Hong Kong to teach and transmit Dzogchen Nyingthig. Throughout his life, he embraced both Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist traditions, emphasizing both understanding and direct practice, and contributed significantly to Buddhist exchange between the two traditions and to the transmission of the Dharma abroad.
MONASTIC TEACHERS
Abbot & Buddhist Teacher
Khenpo Ngawang Dorje Lama
Khenpo Ngawang Dorje Lama is a Nepalese Buddhist monk and teacher with nearly three decades of Buddhist study and practice. He received his formal Buddhist education at Ngagyur Nyingma Institute, affiliated with Namdroling Monastery, where he completed advanced studies in Buddhist philosophy and the Nyingma tradition, earning his Master of Buddhist Philosophy in 2012. He was formally awarded the title of Khenpo in 2023.
In 2016, he founded Palyul Theckchen Ling Society in Nepal and has since devoted himself to Buddhist education and the training of young monks. He currently serves as President and Abbot of the Harmony Peace Foundation in Kathmandu, where he oversees monastic education, Buddhist practice, and the development of a new monastery dedicated to the education of future generations of monks.
LEADERSHIP
Co-Founder & Chairman
Nanren Shi
Nanren Shi has devoted much of his life to Buddhist education, practice, and the transmission of traditional Chinese culture. A former Buddhist monk who was ordained for 15 years, he received his formal Buddhist education at The Buddhist Academy of China, where he later taught Buddhist philosophy.
After coming to the United States in 1987, he continued his involvement in Buddhist education and cultural activities while developing his lifelong practice of Chinese calligraphy. His works have been exhibited and collected by Buddhist organizations and communities in the United States and internationally. He also brought a handwritten Song-dynasty edition of the Diamond Sutra associated with Su Shi (Su Dongpo) into publication and distribution in China, helping preserve and share an important expression of Buddhist scripture and traditional Chinese calligraphic culture.
Co-Founder & Secretary General
Pingping Victoria HuangVictoria Huang is Co-Founder and Secretary General of the International Hua-Yan Buddhist Federation. Since its founding in 2014, she has played a central role in the Federation’s development, Buddhist education, international exchange, cultural initiatives, and community engagement.
Drawing on decades of Buddhist study and practice, as well as her professional experience in finance and entrepreneurship, Victoria focuses on making Buddhist wisdom accessible and relevant to contemporary life through direct experience and practical application. Her current work centers on Mind Education and Zen Tea Meditation, helping people observe and understand how their minds work and bring greater awareness into everyday life.
She is also the author of several books, including a bilingual Chinese-English plain-language interpretation of the Diamond Sutra, created to help contemporary readers understand the essential meaning of this important Buddhist text in clear and accessible language.