Our Goal

Middle Path Buddhist Temple of Calgary (MPBT) is a registered charity in Canada. Under the kind advice of grand master Reverend Zhenhua, who was the former principal of Fuyan Buddhist Acadamy in Taiwan, masters Ruyuan and Ruli founded the charity in 2008. MPBT aims to share with people the wisdom of Buddhism through dharma teaching and meditation, in order to help people understand and live the buddhist way of life.

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Mentor of Middle Path

Master Zhenhua

Master Zhenhua, family given name as Baosheng Liu, and later changed toFuyu Liu after his immigrationto Taiwan, was born on March 13, 1922 in Shanchengji town, which is now
the town called Mangshan in the Shangqiu city of Yongcheng province in Henan.

  • 14 yo/ He renounced laity and took refuge under master Jingwen who named him Zhenhua, who also had a title called Miaojie—the elegant and pure one.
  • 24 yo/He was fully ordained at Longchang Temple at Mount Baohua in Nanjing.
  • 25 yo/ He studied in Tianning Buddhist Institute in Jiangsu. Later inspired by the great master, Master Yingguang, he travelled to Lingyan Monastery in Suzhou and took up a position as a receptionist. When the civil war broke out, he left Lingyan Monastery and travelled to Mount Putuo.
  • 28 yo / He was coerced into military service during his stay in Mount Putuo and later brought to Taiwan by the KMT.
  • 32 yo / After he returned to the monastic life, he went to Maitreya Institute in Xizi.
  • 75 yo/ He resigned his 18 year duty as the principal at Fuyan Buddhist Institute and retreated into Middle Path Monastery.
  • 78 yo/ At the age of 78, he was invited to teach at Jade Buddha Temple in Houston, where he received a good samiritan award.
  • 91 yo/On October 5, 2012 at 4:10 pm, he passed on peacefully in the chanting of Amitabha Buddha.
  • During his 78 years of monastic life, he remained fully ordained for 68 years after his 10 year apprenticeship as a novice.

Master Zhenhua believed that education was one of the most effective ways to improve the overall development of the monastic community. As a result, he devoted his life to education, offering numerous young monks and nuns the opportunity to pursue higher goals in Buddhist academia. Over the course of his life, he taught at a total of twelve Buddhist institutes and monasteries.
Maintaining that propagating Buddhism is the duty of the monastic community, he traveled all over the world, conducting consecrations, ordinations, and dharma talks. He was a teacher, mentor, and principal at many monasteries and schools, such as Fuyan Buddhist Institute, Pure Land
Research Institute of Yuan Guang Buddhist College, the century-old Fahua Temple in Taichung, and many others.
One of his works, Memoirs of A Buddhist Pilgrim (《參學所談》）, has received widespread recognition in the Buddhist academia. His book not only details his life-long learning experience, but it also reflects the turbulent time of Chinese Buddhism between the early Republican era and WWII. Evidently, it is a valuable source of history for scholars studying modern Chinese Buddhism.

Middle Path Monastery Abbot

Master Ruyuan

Master Ruyuan, also titled as Xuejing, was born in Yilan, Taiwan. He was ordained under Master Zhenhua in 1993 and was given the Dharma name Ruyuan. In 1999, he graduated with a master’s degree from the Fuyan Buddhist Institute, which is among the most prestigious Buddhist institutes
in the Chinese Buddhist community of Taiwan, founded by Master Yin Shun.

Having earned a master’s degree in Buddhist studies, Master Ruyuan aspired to further his academic training and expand his global perspective on Buddhist studies overseas. Immediately after his graduation from Fuyan in 1999, he pursued his dream in Canada and began his study at the University of Calgary.

In 2013, he earned a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of Calgary. Currently, he serves the abbot of the Middle Path Monastery and a teacher of the Middle Path Buddhist Association of Canada (also known as Middle Path Buddhist Temple of Calgary). Additionally, he is the head of the
Yilan Middle Path Buddhist Association in Taiwan.

President of the Middle Path Buddhist Association of Canada (aka Middle Path Buddhist Temple of Calgary)

Master Ruli

Master Ruli was born in Singapore. He was ordained as a monk in 1992 and went to Taiwan’s Chaoyin Chan Temple to receive full ordination a year later. In September of the same year, he enrolled in the Fuyan Buddhist Institute in Taiwan, which was founded by Master Yinshun. After 6 years of study, Ven. Ru Li graduated from the senior division of Fuyan Buddhist Institute.

In September 1999, Master Ru Li went to Canada for further studies and became a disciple of Master Zhenhua. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from the University of Calgary in 2005, followed by a master’s degree from the same university in 2008. In 2009, he completed his
doctoral coursework and in 2010, he passed his PHD Candidacy Exam.

He is currently the president of the Middle Path Buddhist Association of Canada (also known as Middle Path Buddhist Temple of Calgary) and is responsible for meditation, Cantonese, and English Dharma teaching, as well as all administrative affairs.

The Development of
Middle Path Meditation Center

  • 2000 / The beginning of Buddhist teaching and meditation in Calgary by Master Ruyuan and  Master Ruli.
  • 2008 / Master Zhenhua’s visit and influence for the establishment of a Buddhist study association. In the same year, our nonprofit organization, Middle Path Buddhist Temple of Calgary, was established.
  • 2010 / Middle Path Buddhist Temple of Calgary was registered as a Canadian charity.
  • 2013 / Middle Path Buddhist Association Of Yilan was established in Taiwan.
  • 2015 / The purchase of land for the building of Middle Path Meditation Center.
  • 2017 / Groundbreaking and consecration ceremony.
  • 2019 / The grand opening and consecration of the Buddha hall.