Albert Lin, The Merit Times staff writer
May 4, 2023

In order to express gratitude to other Buddhist groups who went to Fo Guang Shan(Singapore) to pay their respects and offer condolences after the passing of Venerable Master Hsing Yun, founder of Fo Guang Shan, and to interact with these Buddhist groups, Fo Guang Shan's abbot Most Venerable Hsin Bau visited Singapore on April 30th. This interaction is a significant milestone for Singaporean Buddhist community.

Most Venerable Hsin Bau and his group of nine people, including Venerable Hui Si, Fo Guang Shan Head of Cultivation Department, Venerable Miao Mu, the abbot of Fo Guang Shan(Singapore), Venerable Hui Xing, temple director of Fo Guang Shan (Malaysia) Ipoh Buddhist Centre and Fo Guang Shan (Malaysia) Penang Buddhist Centre, met with Venerable Guang Pin, the president of the Singapore Buddhist Federation, Venerable Ming Yi, the abbot of Foo Hai Ch'an Monastery, Venerable Fa Zhao, the chairman of the Singapore Chinese Buddhist Association, and Venerable Wei Yan, the abbot of Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery.
Most Venerable Hsin Bau(3rd from right) visited Singapore Buddhist Federation. photo／Fo Guang Shan (Singapore)

Most Venerable Hsin Bau(right) visited Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery and met with Venerable Wei Yan. photo／Fo Guang Shan (Singapore)

The attendees also included the President of the Buddha's Light International Association(BLIA) Singapore Zhou Yingxiong, Vice President Su Zhengwen, and Advisor Chen Youming.

Most Venerable Hsin Bau urged for unity, communication, and interaction among the Buddhist community because unity generates strength. He mentioned that Venerable Master Hsing Yun visited Singapore and Malaysia for the first time in 1963 and exchanged ideas with local Buddhist groups. He also introduced the universality of Humanistic Buddhism and proposed methods such as the Three Acts of Goodness, Four Givings, "Sounds of the Human World", which the lyrics written by Venerable Master Hsing Yun, and microfilms to make more people understand of Buddhism.

During the meeting, Venerable Ming Yi expressed his heartfelt appreciation. He said that Venerable Master Hsing Yun's passing impacted mot only Fo Guang Shan, but the entire Buddhist community as well.
Most Venerable Hsin Bau(left) talked to Venerable Ming Yi. photo／Fo Guang Shan (Singapore)

Venerable Fa Zhao expressed his hope that various Buddhist groups could keep interacting and communicating with each other.
Most Venerable Hsin Bau(3rd from right) met with Venerable Fa Zhao(4th from right), the chairman of the Singapore Chinese Buddhist Association. photo／Fo Guang Shan (Singapore)