Hsin Tao

Ashin Shih Hsin Tao (; born October 11, 1948) is a Burmese-born Taiwanese Buddhist monk from Linji School (Chan Buddhism), and the founder of the Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Society (LJM). He also founded the Museum of World Religions (MWR) and the NGO initiative ‘Global Family for Love & Peace’ (GFLP).

Biography

Early years Hsin Tao was born as Yang Hsiao-sheng (楊小生) in 1948 in Laikan Village, Laidaoshan Region, Lashio, Myanmar, to ethnic Chinese parents from the Yunnan province in China.

His father Yang Hsiao-cai was killed in 1952 and his mother Li Shu-jen went missing with his younger sister Yang Hsiao-; they were never heard from again. War-orphaned at the age of 4, Yang was first raised by his aunt Yang Hsiao-Si, who died shortly after, and his uncle-in-law Yin Hu-Nan took him along into the mountains as homeless until 1957, when Uncle Yin’s buddy army officer Lu Ding-Zhou encouraged the 9-year-old boy to join the guerilla army to have access to learning. His given name was changed to Yang Jian-Sheng but misspelled as Yang Jin-Sheng (Chinese: 楊進生) for formalities. He was admitted to the Hsin-Hsing Elementary School of Tan-zi Township in Taichung in early 1963 but later started schooling at the Yuan-Shu-Lin Elementary School in Da-si Township, Taoyuan, when the army base was moved to Taoyuan. The same year also saw him receive precepts at the Fa-Yun Temple in Miao-Li.

Founding the Museum of World Religions(MWR) Hsin Tao announced the Preparatory Office for the Museum of World Religions (MWR) in 1990. The Development Foundation of MWR was established in 1994 to help expedite the project. After more than a decade of dedicated work, the MWR was inaugurated on November 9, 2001, with its Opening Date officially marked as the LJM World Religions’ Day of Harmony.

He is also interested in interfaith dialogue, sitting on the Board of World Religious Leaders for the Elijah Interfaith Institute. Hsin Tao then traveled to Reykjavik, Iceland, to attend the second Spirit of Humanity Forum and address the importance of Love & Compassion in 2014.

Hsin Tao visited Vienna, Austria, in 2016 to share his interfaith experiences by speaking on “Loving the Earth, Loving Peace” at the KAICIID Dialogue Center.

In 2017, Hsin Tao made a visit to the Vatican to meet Pope Francis, and extended a personal invitation to the Pope to endorse the LJM peace campaign "Loving the Earth, Loving Peace". Hsin Tao instructed the LJM to co-work and curate the sixth International Symposium on Buddhist-Christian Dialogue with the theme of "Buddhists and Christians Walk Together Side-by-Side to Stop Violence" the same year.

Hsin Tao led the LJM in 2021 to participate in the teleconference series of “Faith and Science: towards COP26” co-organized by the Vatican, the UK, and the Italian Embassy to the Vatican. The telecon series was designed as an interfaith contribution to the COP26 Summit in Glasgow in late 2021.

In 2023, Hsin Tao attended Global Faith Leaders COP28 Summit, served as one of the six speakers to represent Buddhist leaders at the signing ceremony. He stated that the common bond among religions is spirituality, the foundation that allows different faiths to unite and work together to save the environment.

Education, culture, and charity The LJM Prajina Cultural Foundation was established in 1989. The LJM Dharmapalas Association was set up in 1990, and the LJM Charity Foundation came into operation in 1994. In 2003, Hsin Tao founded the Triyana Buddhist Academy. For followers in the general public in 2014, the LJM launched the four-phase Buddhist education based on interpreting Buddha’s teachings with Hsin Tao's Dharma realization.