Buddhism in Africa - Amitofo Care Center (ACC) Master Hui Li
Amitofo Care Center (ACC) 阿彌陀佛關懷中心
A Brief insight into the life and work of venerable Master Hui Li (慧禮法師) - The driving force behind a revolutionary new approach to the orphans of Africa - providing them with an incredible environment in which they receive love, an education, and hope for their futures.
These Orphanages are being built across Africa - each working with the local community to create an environment where the orphans can prosper.
A Buddhist monk is taking a stand against poverty, giving hope to those who have no one else to turn to by building buddhist orphanages across Africa - teaching the kids an array of skills; from farming to mathematics, buddhism to biology, and preparing them for successful lives.
One of the skills that the orphans learn - to help build self-mastery, and a sense of pride and self worth - is Kung Fu.
Under the tutelage of Shaolin Monks, these children are becoming formidably skilled - and are using those skills to give back to the orphanage that they call home.
To find out how you can get involved and support the Amitofo Care Centres projects, visit:
English: http: //www.amitofocc.com/
Chinese: http: //www.acc.org.tw/
ACC Master Hui Li and his Kung Fu Kids 
ACC children chanting Buddhism Heart Sutra in Mandarin
NamoAmitofo
Comments
Thank you for sharing. This is very uplifting.
What a wonderful story. It has reminded me once again of how widespread the efforts to help and comfort by the truly compassionate are.
Does anyone else find it slightly disturbing, the imposition of an alien culture onto children with impressionable minds, being taught things which are an entirely foreign concept and totally different premise to their lives in Malawi?
While I do not dispute for one instant the good that this project is doing, it seems that attention paid to their national cultural education is scant, while heavy emphasis is placed on the teaching and imprinting of a language and religion that was hitherto totally unheard of.
It is rather like the Christian Missionaries of old, travelling to 'do good' in foreign and remote places, and recruiting vulnerable and poor people into Christianity, very often to the detriment - at times, destruction - of local culture, colour, variety and customs.
This is great. But part of it worries me.
I think you make a very valid point. Though this is not exactly like Christian Missionaries striving to save the souls of the heathen and carry the white mans burden.
There is on their website a message box. I don't how if the answer you would receive would address your concerns. Some of the Taiwanese in their outreach can seem very messianic. I know some of these people well. Some are on a mission to Buddify the world if you will.
Too cynical @federica ...
... or the Chinese have a long term strategy to move its factories to a cheaper labour force than its own agriculture based poor. Guess where?
So it will need people able to speak Mandarin, be aware of Chinese culture, ethics and indebted to Chinese self interest benevolence. A sort of kung fu fit middle management ...
Happily this model is potentially kinder than the former colonial model ... which you partly mention in the following post ...
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/chinas-investments-in-africa-whats-the-real-story/
Christian Missionaries were very much in evidence even 25 years ago.
When my eldest daughter was around 5, I adopted a young boy in Africa, via Christian Aid, and his name was Omuniakol Okhuru. I submitted all the paperwork, and began a monthly payment to Christian Aid, and subsequently, I received some pictures and a crudely-written (in a cute way!) little letter from the child, whose picture accompanied all the paperwork.
I also had a cover letter from Christian Aid, who explained that 'my' ..."little boy, _Benjamin _ Omuniakol was happy and being looked after by a local family of Converts to Christianity." I quote the letter.
I don't have the letter.
I was so appalled by the tone and contents, that I called Christian Aid up, and asked them what would happen if somehow, I could not keep up with the monthly payments? They responded that care for the child would continue, and the funding would be taken over by the Charity.
I withdrew my support and wrote and told them why.
I received a reply explaining that adoption into the church and conversion to Christianity was standard policy, and part of the programme. They could not legitimately do their work, if part of their work (Ministering, proselytising and gathering 'sheep to the fold') was compromised or suspended.
However, I believe this charity has since ceased this practice. But I detail it to highlight that "Christian Missionaries striving to save the souls of the heathen and carry the white mans burden" are not confined to the glorious Victorian epoch, and the ancient pages of History.
And I think this Pure Land practice is similar, and it leaves me uneasy, as does the whole Sect
"It is also noted for its hardline opposition to any other form of Buddhism, which Nichiren saw as deviating from the Buddhist truth he had discovered."
From here.
Basically, this sect is doubtless helping hundreds, maybe thousands of young children, undeniably in need of care and support. But it has in its grasp thousands of young minds which can be honed, moulded and 'programmed' to follow a single specific line of thinking which to me, smacks a little of brainwashing.
My own experience with the Chinese Pure Land is that it is not a stand alone practice. It is often practiced with other forms. But the Chinese seem to like these combinations and certainly see no contradictions. But I'm just an old gwai-loh. So what can I know.
I get your concern, @Federica. but aren't we all 'brainwashed' (conditioned) no matter where we're born and to whom? I think a lot of us are able to come out from our conditioning to varying degrees as we mature, but if we got to choose...
"Gwai-loh" is a Chinese Pidgin-English pronunciation of 'yellow' if I'm not much mistaken. I read Martin Booth's book. Sadly, he died in 2004, but the book was brilliant...(However, I could be wrong about the Pidgin-English bit. His book title is actually "Gweilo"....)
I digress. Your comment took me outside the box.
Apologies.
No, I don't think we are. First of all, we're not taken from our social circle into an institutionalised existence 24/7. Secondly, we are open to all manner of different influences.
Sure, because we had choices we would make. We had different bytes of information to analyse, digest and discern.
Doesn't look as if these children have those options.
True to say though that in any institution providing a "Good" environment, you will always get the 'rotten apple" failure... no institution ever has a 100% success rate...
I have been referred to a gwai-loh a few times. Meaning a barbarian not capable of much understanding. So I came up with this little ditty, Hi ho,Hi ho I'm just a bad qwai-loh. It did raise a few eyebrows.
Yes, it raises some tricky questions. Years ago I supported a Tibetan boy in Dharamsala, I think he was an orphan being looked after by monks, which seemed OK to me.
One comment from the interview video part 1 raises the same question/concern also.
**
Ven. Hui-Li interivew in 2011 (5 parts)**
Fill the World with Love (2011)
Thanks.
I'm even less impressed now.
He's given himself a 300-year project?
"The one who deserves my pity also deserves my hatred"...?
I haven't had the time to watch them all, but so far, (not) so good....
I've watched the first one most of the way (up until the kid sings).
Yeah that is a laugh - a 300-year project.
I think in spite of his saying how bad the western world is for taking advantage of Africa's riches without improving the lives of the slaves, the teachings of kung fu and other stuff will be of great benefit to the kids just for their own learning discipline etc.
China also has become westernized - and yet their own history is chock-full of horrible things done by the rulers so I don't know where he gets off saying the West is worse.
Welcome to the world of Fo Guang Shan. They actually try hard to create meaningful change. As the Chinese Mahayana is a separate world unto itself sometimes you just have to take some of it seriously some not. Also Fo Guang Shan is very influenced by major players in Taiwan.
@silver. Where you thinking about death by a thousand cuts?
I like the stylized Buddha cutouts on the first picture of the orphanage.
I'm not so worried about the cultural trappings of the Chinese orphanages. While stories of children being ripped from their families and forced to learn another language and religion and culture have given us a bad taste for missionary schools, I also have to consider that most African countries do not have social programs to care for orphans. And since many of these orphans are the result of civil wars and migrant refugee populations, it's not likely the local governments will step up to help out the street kids in the future. I guess I look at the alternative, and feel I can't be the one to judge.
They're clean, fed, educated, and provided a stable environment. If they're not abused (I'm thinking of the terrible Irish orphanages) then they can make a decision later in life what they want to do. It's not like the Chinese want a foreign labor force. They want the raw material and places to put their mines and factories, and they export their own Chinese laborers to work the mines and such. I suppose time will tell.
You'll have to explain to me what that means.
Death by a thousand cuts was a punishment performed in public to indicate extreme Imperial disfavor. It did not end until the national revolution under Dr. Sun Yet Sen.
Master Hui Li is from "Taiwan" not mainland China...
Who has said he was not from Taiwan?
No one........ But I just thought it's important to keep this in mind when discussing this thread...
I actually wasn't aware of that. The Shau-Lin Monks reference threw me off. I know that temple is in China.
Africans are not a simple, innocent people, closer related to our supposed hominid ancestors.
L'enfer est plein de bonnes volontes ou desirs.
Nest-ce pas...?
Ou est la gare?
We are all brainwashed ahem ... socialised.
Ideally we learn to read and that of course gives us access to knowledge and hopefully choices. The kids are already displaying a very high level of physical mastership. So their physical needs are taken care of. Will they have internet when they are older and access to deviant dharma threads? I hope so.
Evangelical Buddhist indoctrination is not my preferred education model. Secular education devoid of lamaism, islamism, creationism, patriotism, capitalism, communism or fish propaganda would be my ideal ... But hey, this is DukkhaWorld not Disney Academy ...
We do what we can ...
I don't think you can get entirely away from -ism's at school. I was educated mostly at Steiner schools and even there there was a noticeable Christian influence... Although it was counterbalanced by time spent at Osho communes, lol.
But even such a thing as a focus on "mind studies" versus physical education and arts and crafts training leaves it's mark, mostly as a tendency towards scientific materialism. Which is the most successful paradigm of our times and a worthy one in defeating millennia of superstition, but it comes at the cost of a balanced view on spirituality.
I can imagine secular Buddhism being very successful as an educational system though...