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今年七月廿三日(農曆六月十四日)星期二晚間十時五十分，上海龍華寺與圓明講堂前任方丈明暘老法師，在龍華寺示寂，世壽八十七歲，僧臘七十六歲，戒臘七十二夏，法臘五十秋。老法師為臨濟宗第四十一世傳人，兼曹洞宗第四十七世傳人，師承圓瑛法師。
老法師生前多次應邀前來萬佛城參加水陸空法會，並擔任三壇大戒三師七證之一。一九九五年宣公上人涅槃時，老法師特地遠從上海前來美國加州萬佛聖城，親自主持封棺荼毘儀式，猶記老法師當時主法時所念之法語：「一靈不滅等虛空，即是當人舊主翁。無去無來常不動，青山原在白雲中。」荼毘法語：「舉起三昧火，燒卻幻化身；一塵都不染，清淨自安然。」
七年後的今天，老法師本人的荼毘儀式於七月廿九日(農曆六月廿日)星期一，在寧波天童寺舉行。法界佛教總會特別推派萬佛城方丈恒律師及比丘近巖師，代表前往參加致意，一切正如老法師為上人舉封條封棺時所說法語：
「葉落歸根見本源，浮生大夢了無痕；
從茲一夢渾無事，幻滅之時真自存。」
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Elder Dharma Master Ming Yang, the former
abbot of Longhua (Dragon Flower) Monastery and the Yuan Ming
Lecture Hall in Shanghai, manifested passing into stillness
at Longhua Monastery at 10:15 p.m on Tuesday, July 3 (lunar
date 6/14) this year. He was 87 years old; he had been a
Sangha member for seventy-six years, had been ordained for
seventy-two years, and had received the Dharma for fifty
years. He was an heir of the forty-first generation in the
Linji School, and an heir of the forty-seventh generation in
the Caodong School. His teacher had been Dharma Master Yuan
Ming.
Elder Dharma Master Ming Yang had
accepted numerous invitations to participate in the Water,
Land, and Air Dharma Assemblies at the City of Ten Thousand
Buddhas (CTTB), and had served as one of the three precept
masters and seven certifiers during ordinations at the City.
When the Venerable Master Hua entered nirvana in 1995, the
Elder Dharma Master came all the way from Shanghai to
preside over the cremation ceremony. We recall the verse he
recited upon sealing the casket:
"His spirit is unextinguished, equal to
empty space-
The original owner of his person.
Neither going nor coming, perpetually unmoving,
The green mountains have always been in the white clouds."
Upon lifting the torch, he recited
another verse:
"The fire of samadhi is lighted
To burn the illusory body.
Undefiled by a single speck of dust,
One is pure and naturally at ease.
Seven years later, Elder Master Ming
Yang's cremation ceremony was held on Monday, July 29 (lunar
date 6/20) at Tian Tong (Heavenly Youth) Monastery in
Ningbo. Dharma Realm Buddhist Association sent Heng Lyu Shi,
Abbot of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, and Bhikshu Jin
Yan Shi, to attend the ceremony and express their
condolences. It is just as Elder Master Ming Yang said:
"Like falling leaves returning to their
roots, one sees the source. This fleeting life all a great
dream
completely without traces.
In this one dream, there is nothing at all.
When the illusion ends,
the truth continues to exist."
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