Buddhist monk Hsing Yun, who built universities overseas and established religious communities, dies at age 95

Hsing Yun, a Buddhist abbot who established a thriving belief organization successful confederate Taiwan and built universities overseas, has died. He was 95.

He established Fo Guang Shan monastery successful 1967, aiming to propagate Buddhist humanitarian values. It would spell connected to run hundreds of temples and seminaries astir nan world, on pinch universities in Taiwan, Australia, nan U.S. and nan Philippines.

Hsing Yun died peacefully Sunday, Fo Guang Shan said. He had mostly withdrawn from nationalist life years agone pursuing declining wellness and a bid of strokes.

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Hsing Yun, laminitis of Taiwanese Fo Guang Shan, delivers a reside astatine nan opening of nan World Buddhist Forum connected April 13, 2006, successful Hangzhou, China.  (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Born Lee Kuo-shen successful mainland China’s Jiangsu state successful 1927, Hsing Yun first developed an liking successful Buddhism astatine property 12 while visiting a celebrated temple successful nan provincial capital, Nanjing.

Hsing Yun moved to Taiwan arsenic nan officially atheist Communist Party swept to powerfulness connected nan mainland successful 1949. He became a awesome philanthropist to Buddhist institutions connected nan mainland and advocated exchanges betwixt China and Taiwan.

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That, and his ain nationalist comments, led immoderate to explanation him an advocator of unification betwixt Taiwan and China, though he maintained beardown relations pinch politicians crossed nan spectrum.

Following his passing, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and Premier Chen Chien-jen, whose Democratic Progressive Party favors Taiwan's independence, expressed their condolences and praised his life of humanitarian work.