From revolution to religion

I was saddened by the news that Master Mingxue, abbot of Lingyanshan Temple in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, had passed away on Dec 2 at the age of 93.

In August, I visited the 1,700-year-old temple to write a story about the nursing home it has operated since 2012 which is home to more than 60 lay Buddhists, most of them age 75 or older.

During the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), the land on which the nursing home stands was a State farm, and Master Mingxue, then-manager of the monastery, and the other monks worked the land for a decade.