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 Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning " meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and ...

. He was a 57th generational

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 him ...

Linji Yixuan Linji Yixuan (; ja, 臨済義玄 ''Rinzai Gigen''; died 866 CE) was the founder of the Linji school of Chan Buddhism during Tang Dynasty China. Línjì yǔlù Information on Linji is based on the ''Línjì yǔlù'' (臨濟語錄; Japanese: ...

in the

Linji school The Línjì school () is a school of Chan Buddhism named after Linji Yixuan (d. 866). It took prominence in Song China (960–1279), spread to Japan as the Rinzai school and influenced the nine mountain schools of Korean Seon. History Song ...

(Japanese:

Rinzai The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan ...

) and a third-generation dharma heir of

Hsu Yun Xuyun or Hsu Yun (; 5 September 1840? – 13 October 1959) was a renowned Chinese Chan Buddhist master and an influential Buddhist teacher of the 19th and 20th centuries. Early life Xuyun was purportedly born on 5 September 1840 in Fujian, Q ...

. In the Caodong (Japanese:

Sōtō Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngshān ...

) lineage, Sheng Yen was a 52nd-generation Dharma heir of

Dongshan Liangjie Dongshan Liangjie (807–869) (; ) was a Chan Buddhist monk of the Tang dynasty. He founded the Caodong school (), which was transmitted to Japan in the thirteenth century (Song-Yuan era) by Dōgen and developed into the Sōtō school of Zen. D ...

(807-869), and a direct Dharma heir of

Dongchu Dongchu (, 1907–1977) was a Chinese Ch'an Master in Mainland China and later in Taiwan, and also the teacher of respected modern-day Ch'an Master Sheng-yen. He is the 51st generation of Zen patriarch from the Caodong SchoolSee Lineage Chart. He ...

(1908–1977). Sheng Yen was the founder of the Dharma Drum Mountain, a Buddhist organization based in

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

. During his time in Taiwan, Sheng Yen was well known as a progressive Buddhist teacher who sought to teach Buddhism in a modern and Western-influenced world. In Taiwan, he was one of four prominent modern Buddhist masters, along with

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 p ...

Cheng Yen Cheng Yen (; born Chin-Yun Wong; 14 May 1937) is a Taiwanese Buddhist nun ( bhikkhuni), teacher, and philanthropist. She is the founder of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, ordinarily referred to as Tzu Chi, a Buddhist humanitar ...

and Wei Chueh, popularly referred to as the "

Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the a ...

" of Taiwanese Buddhism. In 2000 he was one of the keynote speakers in the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders held in the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

Biography

Early life (1931–1959)

Born as Chang Baokang on January 22, 1931, in Nantong, Jiangsu near

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater Chin ...

, he became a monk at the age of 13. During the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...

, he went to Taiwan in 1949 by enlisting in a unit of the Nationalist Army. After leaving the army Sheng Yen became recognized as a

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 him ...

in both the Linji and Caodong traditions and became a monk again in 1959.

Resuming monastic life

From 1961 to 1968 he trained in solitary retreat in southern Taiwan at Chao Yuan Monastery. Sheng Yen became a lecturer at Shan Dao Monastery in Taipei and then completed a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

(1971) and

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

(1975) in

Buddhist literature Buddhist texts are those religious texts which belong to the Buddhist tradition. The earliest Buddhist texts were not committed to writing until some centuries after the death of Gautama Buddha. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts a ...

Rissho University , one of the oldest universities in Japan, was founded in 1580, when a seminary was established as a learning center for young monks of the Nichiren shu. The university's name came from the Rissho Ankoku Ron, a thesis written by Nichiren, a pro ...

in Japan. At the time Sheng Yen was the only major Buddhist figure in Taiwan to have earned a doctorate from a reputable foreign university. Sheng Yen received full transmission in the Caodong tradition in 1975 and the Linji tradition in 1978. Sheng Yen became abbot of Nung Chan in Taiwan in 1978 and founder of the Institute of Chung-Hwa Buddhist Culture in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1979. In 1985, he founded the Institute of Chung-Hwa Buddhist Studies in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

and the International Cultural and Educational Foundation of Dharma Drum Mountain in 1989.

Propagation of Buddhardharma in the West

Sheng Yen taught in the United States starting in 1975, and established Chan Meditation Center in Queens, New York, and its retreat center, Dharma Drum Retreat Center at

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 telep ...

in 1997. He also visited many countries in Europe, as well as continuing his teaching in several Asian countries, in particular Taiwan. Sheng Yen gave dharma transmission to several of his lay Western students, such as John Crook, who later formed the Western Chan Fellowship, and several other Western disciples such as Simon Child, Max Kalin, and Zarko Andricevic. Sheng Yen's health was poor in the last couple years of his life, although he still gave lectures in Taiwan.

Death

Sheng Yen died from

renal failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

on February 3, 2009, while returning from National Taiwan University Hospital in

. He had endured the illness for many years, but refused a kidney transplant. In accordance with

East Asian age reckoning Countries in the East Asian cultural sphere (China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and their diasporas) have traditionally used specific methods of reckoning a person's numerical age based not on their birthday but the calendar year, and what age one is ...

, the Dharma Drum Mountain organization states that Sheng Yen died at the age of 80. Officially, according to the Western way of reckoning age, Sheng Yen died at the age of 78. Hours after his death, tributes from eminent Buddhist monks and Taiwanese politicians and celebrities, including President

Ma Ying-jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei from ...

, Vice President Vincent Siew, DPP Chairwoman

Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician serving as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served a ...

, kung fu star

Jet Li Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, martial artist, and retired Wushu champion. He is a naturalized Singaporean citizen. After three years of ...

, and actress

Brigitte Lin Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia (; born 3 November 1954) is a Taiwanese actress. She is regarded as an icon of Chinese language cinema for her extensive and varied roles in both Taiwanese and Hong Kong films. Biography Lin was born in Chiayi, Taiwan. ...

, began to pour into Dharma Drum Mountain monastery. As stipulated in his will, Sheng Yen forbade the use of extravagant funeral services, including the construction of memorials or monuments. Sheng Yen received a simple Buddhist ritual attended by the President and dignitaries, and was buried in the Life Memorial Garden near the monastery. His ashes were divided into five sections, with each section filled by the Abbot, senior disciples, President Ma, Vice President Siew, and other laity.

Dharma heirs

Monastics: Monks: * Chi Chern * Guo Ru * Guo Yuan * Guo Pin * Guo Dong * Huimin * Guo Xing *

Guo Jun Ven. Guo Jun (果峻; Pinyin: Guǒjùn) (born 1974) is a Buddhist monk in Singapore, and one of the youngest Dharma heirs of Chan Master Sheng-yen. His complete Dharma name is Zhengyan Guojun (正彥果峻). He has published three books: ''Essen ...

Nuns: * Guo Jing * Guo Kuang * Guo Yi * Guo Zhao Western Lay practitioners: * Jimmy Yu (Guo Gu) * John Crook, PhD, DSC * Simon Child * Max Kalin * Zarko Andricevic * Gilbert Gutierrez In the Chan lineage of Sheng Yen, a "Dharma heir" receives the dharma transmission based on his or her selfless administrative contributions to Dharma Drum Mountain and practice of Chan.http://www.ddm.org.tw/maze/190/page1.asp 交付傳持佛法的任務 However, a Dharma heir may not have had a personal experience of self-nature or

Buddha-nature Buddha-nature refers to several related Mahayana Buddhist terms, including '' tathata'' ("suchness") but most notably ''tathāgatagarbha'' and ''buddhadhātu''. ''Tathāgatagarbha'' means "the womb" or "embryo" (''garbha'') of the "thus-gone ...

, the nature of

śūnyatā ''Śūnyatā'' ( sa, शून्यता, śūnyatā; pi, suññatā; ), translated most often as ''emptiness'', ''vacuity'', and sometimes ''voidness'', is an Indian philosophical concept. Within Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and other p ...

, in which case the person would also receive ''yinke'' (Jp. inka shōmei), the seal of approval. Among the Dharma heirs, there are only a few who have both Dharma transmission and yinke. Among Sheng Yen's senior disciples, there are also those who have received yinke but no dharma transmission for various reasons.

Books

In alphabetical order of the books' title: * Sheng Yen, ''A Journey of Learning and Insight'', Dharma Drum Publishing Corp, 2012. * Sheng Yen, ''Attaining the Way: A Guide to the Practice of Chan Buddhism''. Shambhala Publications, 2006. . * Sheng Yen, ''Complete Enlightenment - Zen Comments on the Sutra of Complete Enlightenment''. Shambhala Publications, 1998. . * Sheng Yen, ''Dharma Drum: The Life & Heart of Ch'an Practice''. Shambhala Publications, 2006. . * Sheng Yen, ''Faith in Mind: A Guide to Chan Practice''. Dharma Publishing, 1987. . * Sheng Yen, ''Getting the Buddha Mind: On the Practice of Chan Retreat''. North Atlantic Books, 2005. . * Sheng Yen and Dan Stevenson, ''Hoofprint of the Ox: Principles of the Chan Buddhist Path As Taught by a Modern Chinese Master''. Oxford University Press, 2002. . * Sheng Yen (ed. John Crook), ''Illuminating Silence: The Practice of Chinese Zen''. Watkins, 2002. . * Sheng Yen, ''Orthodox Chinese Buddhism''. Dharma Drum, 2007.
Online text
* Sheng Yen, ''Ox-herding at Morgan's Bay''. Dharma Drum, 1988. . * Sheng Yen, ''Setting in Motion the Dharma Wheel''. Dharma Drum Publications, 2000. ASIN B001HPIU4K. * Sheng Yen, ''Shattering the Great Doubt: The Chan Practice of Huatou''. Shambhala, 2009. . * Sheng Yen, ''Song of Mind: Wisdom from the Zen Classic Xin Ming''. Shambhala, 2004. . * Sheng Yen, ''Subtle Wisdom: Understanding Suffering, Cultivating Compassion Through Ch'an Buddhism''. Image, 1999. . * Sheng Yen, ''The Infinite Mirror: Commentaries on Two Chan Classics''. Shambala, 2006. . * Sheng Yen, ''The Method of No-Method: The Chan Practice of Silent Illumination''. Shambhala, 2008. . * Sheng Yen, ''The Poetry of Enlightenment: Poems by Ancient Chan Masters''. Shambala, 2006. . * Sheng Yen, ''The Six Paramitas: Perfections of the Bodhisattva path, a commentary''. Dharma Drum, 2002. ASIN: B0006S8EYU. * Sheng Yen, ''The Sword of Wisdom: A Commentary on the Song of Enlightenment''. North Atlantic Books, 2002. . * Sheng Yen, ''There Is No Suffering: A Commentary on the Heart Sutra''. Dharma Drum, 2002. . * Sheng Yen, ''Things Pertaining to Bodhi: The Thirty-seven Aids to Enlightenment''. Shambhala, 2010. . * Sheng Yen, ''Zen Wisdom''. North Atlantic Books, 2002. . Autobiography of Master Sheng Yen: * Sheng Yen, ''Footprints in the Snow: The Autobiography of a Chinese Buddhist Monk''. Doubleday Religion, 2008. . History of the Dharma Drum Lineage: * Yu, Jimmy
Reimagining Chan Buddhism: Sheng Yen and the Creation of the Dharma Drum Lineage of Chan.
Routledge, 2021.

ISBN The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier that is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency. An ISBN is assigned to each separate edition and ...

978-1-03204-844-4.

References

Bibliography

* Yu, Jimmy (2010)
A Tentative Exploration into the Development of Master Sheng Yen's Chan Teachings
Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal 23, 3-38.

External links

*

an

of Chan Master Sheng Yen at the website of the Chan Meditation Center in New York
Dharma Drum Retreat Center
in Pinebush, New York
Dharma Drum Mountain in TaiwanThe Western Chan Fellowship (UK)Sheng Yen education foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheng Yen 1931 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Buddhist monks Chan Buddhist monks Chinese Civil War refugees Deaths from kidney failure Dharma Drum Mountain Military personnel of the Republic of China Republic of China writers Rinzai Buddhists Soto Zen Buddhists Taiwanese Buddhist monks Taiwanese people from Shanghai Taiwanese religious leaders Taiwanese Zen Buddhists Writers from Nantong Zen Buddhist spiritual teachers Zen Buddhism writers