Dharma Master Yongding was a direct disciple of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, personally taught by His Holiness. A monk of true cultivation and realization, Dharma Master Yongding lived a life of noble deeds and profound spiritual accomplishments. He embodied the virtues of the ancient enlightened monks—pure in conduct, boundless in compassion, and unwavering in his commitment to benefiting all sentient beings.
Before becoming a monk, Dharma Master Yongding was known as Li Xiangchen, a kind-hearted and widely respected man from Dayi County in Sichuan Province. His compassion and moral character were already legendary even in his youth.
During a catastrophic drought, in Li Xiangchen‘s hometown, one the region hadn’t seen in a hundred years—Buddhist and Daoist masters prayed for rain for months, but to no avail. Not a single drop of water could be found.
Then, one night, two villagers had the same dream. A divine being told them that only with the signature of a man named Li Xiangchen could rain be summoned. The two searched everywhere and eventually found him. After they delivered his signed name to the altar and burned the paper, a torrential rain fell instantly, ending the long drought. The event left villagers in awe and firmly established Li Xiangchen’s reputation as a man of virtue and divine affinity.
During China’s devastating three-year famine in the 1960s, emergency food rations were being distributed. When officials asked Li how much his household needed, he replied that his family still had food and didn’t need any. His wife, stunned by this answer, brought the official to their home. There, they found only two catties (a little over two pounds) of rice left.
When asked why he had lied, Li quietly responded,
“So many people are starving. I just can’t bring myself to eat while others go hungry. I only feel at peace if everyone can survive this together.” His selflessness deeply moved everyone who heard his words.
In another act of compassion, while working at the Jin Dongzi Reservoir where laborers received rice rations, Li Xiangchen gave all his rice to his struggling friend Pei Yinchang, who was raising two young children. When Pei noticed that Li was growing increasingly frail, he begged him to keep some rice for himself. Li refused.
Pei later visited the reservoir to learn how Li was surviving. The workers there told him, “Mr. Li survives by digging wild roots and vegetables to make porridge. No one knows what happened to his rice.” Pei was stunned and moved to tears.
Later on, Li Xiangchen began studying Buddhism under a master. He observed the precepts with great discipline and practiced with a heart of sincerity and humility. His compassion became so palpable that even animals responded to it.
One day, while walking down a mountain, a vicious dog leapt at him. Calmly, he said:“Go ahead and bite me. This is a matter of karmic cause and effect.” As the dog neared, just two or three feet away, it suddenly stopped, yelped, tucked its tail, and ran away.
After becoming a Buddhist, Li Xiangchen adopted a vegetarian lifestyle. On one occasion, his master encouraged him to eat a little meat because he appeared thin and weak. But Li simply smiled and ate only plain rice.
When asked later why he didn’t follow his master’s advice, he replied:
“Please tell my master:
First, I deeply respect Him, but I carry heavy karmic debts and dare not eat meat.
Second, if gaining the Dharma and achieving liberation requires me to disregard the lives of sentient beings, then I would rather not attain liberation—I’d rather fall into hell.
Third, I cannot harm others just to benefit myself. If I did, I would no longer be a true practitioner.”
His integrity and compassion deeply touched his master, who later transmitted to him the sacred practice of the Four-Armed Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezig). Through dedicated practice, he reached a level of spiritual realization said to rival the great Milarepa himself.
In 1990, when his karmic conditions ripened, Li Xiangchen became a disciple of Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III. His Holiness personally expounded to him the profound meaning of Prajna (transcendent wisdom). As a result, he awakened great wisdom and thoroughly realized the state of Prajna.
His attainments became unfathomably profound. He could connect with Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and had deep spiritual communion with heavenly realms.
When the Dayi County government began construction of the Master Yi Yungao (H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III) Museum in 1994, Dharma Master Yongding consulted with the Heavenly Emperor about the upcoming three months of weather. Every day, he wrote forecasts in the worksite dining hall—and for three full months, not a single forecast was wrong.
On another occasion, with a mere wave of his hand, he split a tree trunk a kilometer away. The tree was so thick it would take two people to encircle it. Witnesses were astounded.
Dharma Master Yongding lived by the principle that the Dharma must be obtained through a pure and selfless heart, without the slightest trace of falsehood. He placed the interests of all living beings before his own and upheld the precepts with unwavering resolve.
He was a true practitioner of great compassion, an exemplar of moral discipline, and a living model for all Buddhist disciples. His life reminds us that genuine realization comes not from words, but from the way we live, love, and serve others.
Peace LiLy 