In ancient China, Buddhist monasteries often served as venues where the Buddhist Scriptures in Sanskrit or Pali were translated into literary Chinese. The major Buddhist monasteries in China today should perform the same rendition duty as their predecessors did many centuries ago. Since most ancient Chinese intellectuals knew no Sanskrit, they wanted to have the Buddhist Scriptures written in Sanskrit rendered into the ancient literary Chinese language which was familiar to them. But nowadays only a small number of my contemporaries know the ancient literary Chinese language. In other words the majority of my contemporaries are unable to read the Buddhist Scriptures translated into the ancient literary Chinese language. Therefore it is incumbent upon us, all the contemporary Chinese Buddhists, to organize the translation of the Buddhist Scriptures, which are ancient-Chinese version of their Sanskrit original, into the present-day vernacular Chinese, so that the current Chinese population can have easy access to the Buddhist canon. In ancient China, Buddhist monasteries served as venues where Buddhism was preached. So should major Buddhist monasteries in present-day China play the same role as their ancient predecessors.By “preaching Buddhism” is meant both the truth uncovered by Sakyamuni with regard to life and the path a Buddhist votary should take for the purpose of realizing the truth uncovered by Sakyamuni. 

A Buddhist monastery, given its awe-inspiring precincts, its sublimity which is imparted by the statues of Gautama Buddha and bodhisattvas enshrined within the precincts, and its very touching scenes of worshipping ceremonies performed by visiting Buddhist votaries, can sometimes serve very well as a catalyst to bring about the conversion of the common people to Buddhism and to deepen votaries’ understanding of Buddhism. But a Buddhist monastery should not set great store by its awe-inspiring precincts or its statues of Gautama Buddha and bodhisattvas as these are, in a sense, mere ostentation which is in essence a delusion and to which no attachment should be indulged. What is the most important task for a Buddhist monastery to fulfill is propagating the truth uncovered by Gautama Buddha and advising the public on the path leading to the successful recognition of the truth.(From My Heart My Buddha)