Hsu Yun (Chinese: 虚云; pinyin: Xūyún; born Xiao Guyan Chinese: 萧古巖; 26 August 1840? – 13 October 1959) was a renowned Chinese-born Chan Buddhist master and one of the most influential Buddhist teachers of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Hsu Yun was born on August 26 in Fujian, Qing China. His mother died during childbirth. In the 30th year of the reign of the Daoguang Emperor (1850), when he was eleven years old, his father returned to Quanzhou. The aging grandmother of the Chou clan was determined that her grandson would have a wife. In order to continue both his and his uncle's lineage, Hsu Yun was to marry one woman from the Tian family and one from the Tan family.
His first exposure to Buddhism was during the funeral of his grandmother. Soon afterward he began reading Buddhist sutras and later made a pilgrimage to Mount Heng, one of the most important Buddhist sites in China.
When he was fourteen years old, he announced that he wished to renounce the material world in favour of monastic life. His father did not approve of Buddhism and had him instructed in Taoism instead. From the start, Hsu Yun was dissatisfied with Taoism, which he felt could not reach the deeper truths of existence. The storerooms of his house were full of very old books. Going through them, he found a volume called the 'Story of Incense Mountain', which described the life of Guanyin. After reading the book, he was deeply influenced and was aspired to go forth from the home to monkhood to practice Buddhism.
Away i fall to you
To stay silent no more
Anyone with a clue wouldn't do as i've done
But the fear that you know is the fear you become to love
I want to say
I want to go
I'm so afraid
To be alone
All right, it's time for the truth
My love means more than i ever will
Anyone this confused needs someone show them the way to
If i just find the strength to forget myself
I want it all
I want nothing
I'm so afraid
I'm so afraid
I want to stay
I want to go
I'm so afraid
To be alone
Is this how my life is supposed to be
It's not enough, but too much for my heart to hold
Is this how my life is supposed to be