The Venerable Da Xin De Ben Shr is the Buddhist mentor and friend of Cloud Monk. Any of this work here is dedicated to him and to the Triple Jewel.
https://www.cloudmonk.io/wiki/doku.php?id=Da%20Xin%20De%20Ben%20Shr
‘Da Xin De Ben Shr‘ – He would not like anything at all to be said about him other than that he was an itinerant monk bhikshu of the American Jen Chen Buddhism lineage of Shen Khai Shr Fu of Taiwan.
- His Monk name (Ordination name) mean Da Xin + De Ben in Mandarin means “Great Awakening with a Firm Foundation in Virtue”
- His favorite Sutra is the Past Vows of Earth Store Bodhisattva (Ksitigarbha). This is why he likes Hakuin Ekaku, who also felt preventing one’s falling into hell realms is critically important.
- His favorite Arhat is Rahula since he “hides the light” even though he is Shakyamuni Buddha’s son.
- His favorite Chan tradition master is Hui Neng.
- His favorite Nalanda Tradition master is Shantideva.
- He loves reading the life stories of these monks Shakyamuni’s Shravaka Radha, Thai forest tradition master Ven. Ajahn Mun, Chan master Ven. Hsu Yun and Japanese Zen master Hakuin Ekaku.
Favorite Dharma Practices
- His favorite Dharma practice is Bodhichitta.
- Meditation – “No thought is the bomb.”
- Walking briskly in the foggy darkness up the Bear Mountain for 2 hours up and 1 hour down as an alternative to 108 prostrations. “Builds your Qi prior to meditation by tiring you out.”
- Animal liberation
- Sleep less to build your Qi in order to break through in meditation.
Favorite Buddhist Sayings
- “It’s easy to end all suffering. Simply accept everything with ease and let go completely.” If you can’t remember that he says just remember “Let go completely”.
- “In this life, give them one word of Dharma. In the next life give them a second word of Dharma.”
- “Hide the light.”
- “Stay busy, Don’t hurry, Don’t worry, Be happy.”
- “Don’t think, just do.”
- “No thought is the bomb.”
- “Benefit others more than yourself.”
Connection to Cloud Monk and this Website
From 1997 to 2011 Cloud Monk studied under the daily mentorship of Da Xin De Ben Shr. This site and any past, present and future good that Cloud Monk does is inspired by and dedicated to his life-long friend and mentor.