Bhiksuni Ji Zun

Malaysia

Bhiksuni Ji Zun has focused her monastic efforts on contributing primarily to two Buddhist organizations: the Malaysian Buddhist Institute and the Malaysian Buddhist Association, and a temple, Tzu Yun Kong Temple.

Born in 1965; she was active in Buddhist Sunday Dharma classes when in primary school grade 5. By the time that she went to high school, she pioneered the establishment of the Buddhist Society at her high school. Then she enrolled in the Malaysian Buddhist Institute and became a Samaneri under Master Zhuk Mor of the Triple Wisdom Hall, Penang. Her Bhikshuni ordination followed at Kek Lok Si Temple, Penang when she was 20 and then she went on to Taiwan to study and graduate from Hua Yen College.

By graduating solidly from both distinguished Buddhist educational institutions, she earned the position of a teacher at the Malaysian Buddhist Institute. Her motivation and talents brought her the duties of Head of Administration, and later Head of Academic Affairs at M.B.I. The Malaysian Buddhist Institute teaches and cultivates in monastics the Buddha's wisdom.

She helped to set up Hui Lin Yuan with a total of 15 Bhikkhunis in residence and later took over Tzu Yun Kong Temple and modernized it to begin teaching Chinese painting and floral arrangement in addition to Buddhist studies, and today the center, after 10 years under her management, has grown to 100 regular devotees at the Adult Buddhism Class, Sunday School, and Youth Section.

Her career with the Malaysian Buddhist Association is also most noteworthy having been appointed as a Dharma Propagating Officer, Education Officer, and then Honorable Secretary. The M.B.A. is the headquarters for national unity of Buddhists in Malaysia and builds good relationships and ethnic harmony while revitalizing the Buddhist teaching system.

In addition in 2011 Kek Lok Si Temple, where she became a Bhiksuni, invited her to set up a school which she did successfully. It is the He-Shan Institute of Penang, which offers Chinese calligraphy, Chinese music and Buddhism classes.