Master Hongyi’s past life is unknown.
Li Shutong was influenced by Buddhism when he was young. It is said that on the day he was born, a magpie carried a pine branch in its mouth to the delivery room. Everyone thought it was an auspicious gift from the Buddha. Later, Li Shutong carried this pine branch with him and never left it for the rest of his life. Both his parents believed in Buddhism, and when he was a child, he often studied the practices of monks at home with his third brother.
Introduction to Master Hongyi
When his name was Li Shutong, he was an all-rounder who could rival Leonardo da Vinci. He is proficient in poetry, lyrics, painting, writing, music, drama, and seal cutting. He is also involved in many fields such as education, philosophy, law, Chinese characters, sociology, advertising, etc., and has developed creatively. It has cultivated many outstanding talents including painter Feng Zikai and musician Liu Zhiping.
When he was called Master Hongyi, he was one of the most famous monks during the Republic of China. Wearing a tattered shirt, a pair of straw sandals, and a bundle of tattered mats, he traveled around the world.
He taught his disciples to "learn from hard work, cherish blessings, recite Buddha's name, and recite sutras." He conducted in-depth research on the Huayan Sutra translated by Jintang, and wrote "Three Hundred Collections of Huayan Sutras". Master Hongyi was famous for his calligraphy. At that time, everyone was vying for his love, and getting it was like finding a treasure. Lu Xun once recorded in detail in his diary his joy at receiving Master Hongyi's calligraphy.
Evidently he has gone through 4 relationships, but he saw through the world of mortals and abandoned his wife; he lived in a wealthy businessman's family and enjoyed endless glory, but he had to recite sutras and preach in ragged clothes; he had many talents in his life, but he had to abandon others. My only hobby is calligraphy. Maybe there is a true meaning here as he said, but he forgot to explain it.