Most Venerable Bhikkhuni Ru Rui
China
Most Venerable Bhikkhuni Ru Rui
China
Born in 1957 in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China, she had the good fortune to meet Elder Master Tongyuan in her youth. Deeply moved by his compassion and great vows, she resolved to follow him and dedicate her life to the service of Buddhism. She became a novice in 1981 and a full Bhikkhuni in 1984. After the passing away of her teacher in 1991, she faithfully adhered to his teachings and took on the mission of rebuilding Pushou Monastery on Wutai Mountain.
Most Venerable Bhikkhuni Ru Rui leads by example and strictly follows the precepts. She consistently practices with the principles of “offering to the Triple Gem with sincerity, serving all beings with compassion, maintaining humility in self-discipline, and emulating the actions of the Buddha.” She actively advocates and implements the spirit of “faith, enthusiasm, responsibility, endurance, and perseverance,” setting an excellent example for the new generation of monastics.
She notes that the “precepts are like the earth – they are not all things, but give rise to all things. Precepts are not meant to bind people but to help them eliminate negative habits and tendencies, leading to true freedom and happiness.”
Most Venerable Bhikkhuni Ru Rui created the “Three Plus One Monastic Education” concept and established the Wutai Mountain Buddhist Institute for Nuns. The “Three” refers to Pushou Monastery (the cultivation base), Dasheng Monastery (an educational facility), and the Bodhi Love Association (a charitable organization), and “One” refers to “Qingtaiyuan,” (a charity project managed by the association). She created a plan for monastic education that involved collaboration between the monastery and secular universities, in order to train nuns to meet the demands of modern society. She created a process for: practice, education and charity. Most Venerable created “World Wisdom Day,” the fourth day of the fourth lunar month, which is Manjushri Bodhisattva’s birthday, to reflect auspiciousness and harmony for humanity. Wutai Mountain is Manjushri’s sacred site of transformation. Most Venerable Bhikkhuni Ru Rui holds an honorary doctorate in Buddhism from Mahachulalongkorn University, 2017, and in the same year was awarded the “Chinese Cultural Figure Award” by the China Cultural Promotion Association and Phoenix TV. Currently, she serves as the Vice President of the Buddhist Association of China, Vice President of the Shanxi Buddhist Association, and Dean of the Wutai Mountain Buddhist Institute for Nuns.