Ven. Guo Jun (果峻; Pinyin: Guǒjùn) (born 1974) is a Buddhist monk in Singapore, and one of the youngest

Dharma heir In Chan and Zen Buddhism, dharma transmission is a custom in which a person is established as a "successor in an unbroken lineage of teachers and disciples, a spiritual 'bloodline' ('' kechimyaku'') theoretically traced back to the Buddha hims ...

s of Chan Master

Sheng-yen Sheng Yen (), born Zhang Baokang (), (January 22, 1931 – February 3, 2009) was a Taiwanese Buddhist monk, religious scholar, and writer. He was one of the mainstream teachers of Chan Buddhism. He was a 57th generational dharma heir of Lin ...

. His complete Dharma name is Zhengyan Guojun (正彥果峻). He has published three books: ''Essential Chan Buddhism'', ''Chan Heart, Chan Mind'' and ''Falling is Flying: The Dharma of Facing Adversity'' together with

Ajahn Brahm Phra Visuddhisamvarathera ( th, พระวิสุทธิสังวรเถร), known as Ajahn Brahmavaṃso, or simply Ajahn Brahm (born Peter Betts on 7 August 1951), is a British-born Theravada Buddhist monk. Currently, Ajahn Brah ...

Education

Before and after his ordination, he earned degrees in various fields of study. He has a diploma in biotechnology from

Ngee Ann Polytechnic Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) is a post-secondary education institution and statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Education in Singapore. Established in 1963, the polytechnic is renowned for its business programmes. History Ngee An ...

, Singapore. He also earned his degree in

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

philosophy from Fu Yan Buddhist Institute,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and Master of Buddhist Studies from

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, Australia.

Life and religious training

Guo Jun started practicing

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

intensely in 1997. He studied various traditions of Buddhist practice, from

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

, and also Mahayana tradition, including

Ch'an Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), an ...

under the guidance of

. He entered solitary retreat in 1999 in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

at Hwa Gye Sa Buddhist Monastery and Song Kwang Sa Buddhist Monastery. After learning under personal tutelage of

from

Dharma Drum Mountain Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM; ) is an international Buddhist spiritual, cultural, and educational foundation founded by late Chan master Sheng-yen (1931 – 2009). The center focuses on educating the public in Buddhism with the goal of improving t ...

, Taipei, Taiwan, he got Inka Shomei (verification of attainment／印可证明). In 2005 he received lineage transmission as the 58th generation Dharma heir of Linji Chan school and 53rd generation Dharma heir of

Caodong Caodong school () is a Chinese Chan Buddhist sect and one of the Five Houses of Chán. Etymology The key figure in the Caodong school was founder Dongshan Liangjie (807-869, 洞山良价 or Jpn. Tozan Ryokai). Some attribute the name "Cáodòng" ...

Chan School of Chinese Buddhism. He also got Inka Shomei from Qinying from Fuhui Monastery, Taipei, Taiwan and received transmission as the 42nd generation of Dharma heir of Xianshou

Huayan The Huayan or Flower Garland school of Buddhism (, from sa, अवतंसक, Avataṃsaka) is a tradition of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy that first flourished in China during the Tang dynasty, Tang dynasty (618-907). The Huayan worldview is ...

and Cien

East Asian Yogācāra East Asian Yogācāra (, "'Consciousness Only' school" or , "'Dharma Characteristics' school") refers to the traditions in East Asia which developed out of the Indian Buddhist Yogachara systems. The 4th-century Gandharan brothers, Asaṅga an ...

schools of Chinese Buddhism. On the 28th of August 2013,

Hsing Yun Hsing Yun () (born 19 August 1927) is a Chinese Buddhist monk. He is the founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order as well as the affiliated Buddha's Light International Association in Taiwan. Hsing Yun is considered to be one of the most pr ...

, the founder of

Fo Guang Shan Fo Guang Shan (FGS) () is an international Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhist organization and monastic order based in Taiwan that practices Humanistic Buddhism. The headquarters, Fo Guang Shan Monastery is located in Dashu District, Kaohsiung, and is ...

, held the passing of doctrines ceremony for the 69 from the second generation of disciples at Tathagata Hall and Guo Jun was one of them. He is a member of

Australian Psychological Society The Australian Psychological Society (APS) is one of the professional associations for psychologists in Australia. The APS had more than 27,000 members in 2005, making it the largest professional body representing psychologists in Australia at ...

. He is also a spiritual and guiding teacher of Chan Community Canada, and Dharmajala Indonesia. He was the abbot of

Dharma Drum Retreat Center Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM; ) is an international Buddhist spiritual, cultural, and educational foundation founded by late Chan master Sheng-yen (1931 – 2009). The center focuses on educating the public in Buddhism with the goal of improving ...

Pine Bush, New York Pine Bush is a hamlet (and census-designated place) located in the Town of Crawford and adjacent to Shawangunk, New York, within Orange and adjacent to Ulster counties in the U.S. It is roughly coterminous with the 12566 ZIP code and 744 telepho ...

from 2005 to 2008. He was the abbot of Mahabodhi Temple in Singapore until 2017. In February 2017, Guo Jun stepped down as abbot of the Mahabodhi Monastery and now the president of the monastery's management committee. Jing Yao replaced him as the abbott, witnessed by senior monks from various countries.

Controversies

Court cases

Businessman Lee Boon Teow, who was also a trustee of the Mahabodhi Monastery and former vice-president of its management committee, has filed three lawsuits against Guo Jun. The two were in a dispute over the ownership of a Buddhist sculpture valued around over $1 million. Lee Boon Teow has sued the monk for defamation over a series of group chat messages that the former abbot had shared with other management committee members, where Guo Jun had allegedly implied that Lee's company was in financial difficulties and questioned if his cancer relapse was affecting his judgement and decision-making. Lee claimed that Guo Jun discredited him as he had uncovered the monk's alleged impropriety. Guo Jun countersued Lee, claiming ownership of the sculpture and asked for its return. The sculpture was returned to Guo Jun in December 2017. On 24 October 2017, a settlement was reached over the defamation lawsuit, with Guo Jun offering to pay $30,000 to Lee Boon Teow to settle the case, without admitting to any defamation or guilt. In November 2017, Lee sued Guo for return of A$240,000 which Lee had given Guo to study for a doctorate in Australia. Guo did not pursue the studies but used part of the money to buy property in Australia, which was subsequently sold for a profit. Guo believed that the money had been given to him as a gift for his own use, in a Buddhist practice known as dana. The court dismissed Lee's legal action.

Financial management

During the court proceedings for the lawsuits faced, Guo disclosed that he has at least A$3 million in assets in 2009, and that he has a "different interpretation" of Buddhist concepts of austerity; he believes he should manage his own financial assets and expenditure, without disclosing them to the monastery or its management committee.

CPIB report

Lee had also filed a

Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) is a government agency in Singapore under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The CPIB has the mandate to investigate into any acts or forms of corruption in the public and private sectors in Sing ...

(CPIB) report against Guo. Guo in an email interview with

Lianhe Zaobao ''Nanyang Sin-Chew Lianhe Zaobao'' (; literally "Nanyang Sin-Chew Joint Morning Paper"), commonly abbreviated as ''Lianhe Zaobao'' (; literally "Joint Morning Paper"), is the largest Singaporean Chinese-language newspaper with a daily circu ...

, replied that he had not been summoned by the police over the report.

Guo's press statement

In October 2017, Guo released a statement that in the past few years, he had been smeared and falsely accused which caused harm to the Mahabodhi Monastery and Buddhism and apologised for it. In order to protect the reputation, he had spent time and money to safeguard the reputation. In view of that, he would not respond to any rumors anymore.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guo Jun Dharma Drum Mountain Zen Buddhist spiritual teachers Chan Buddhist monks Singaporean Buddhist monks 1974 births Living people