Wei Chueh (, 1928 – 8 April 2016) was a Chinese ''
Bhikshu
A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist c ...
'' (
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 ...
monk) from
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 ...
. He is the founder of the
Chung Tai Shan
Chung Tai Shan () is a Taiwan-based international Chan Buddhist monastic order founded by the Ven. Wei Chueh in 1987. The monastery headquarters, Chung Tai Chan Monastery (or Chung Tai Chan Buddhist Temple, 中台禪寺), completed in September 20 ...
monastery and Buddhist order. Wei Chueh is often credited for reviving the traditional teachings 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 So ...
.
Wei Chueh was born in 1928 in
Yingshan County, Sichuan
Yingshan County () is a county in the northeast of Sichuan Province, China. It is the easternmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Nanchong
Nanchong (; Sichuanese: lan2cong1) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of S ...
. In 1963, he was ordained under Lin Yuan at the Shi Fan Da Jue (“Great Enlightenment”) Chan Monastery in Keelung, Taiwan.
He was fully ordained as a monk in 1967 at Daijue Temple in
Keelung
Keelung () or Jilong () (; Hokkien POJ: '), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with its neighbors, New Taipe ...
. He offered many retreats in
Yilan
Yilan may refer to:
China
* Yilan County, Heilongjiang (依兰县), county of central Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China
* Yilan Town, Heilongjiang (依兰镇), seat of Yilan County
* Yilan, Jilin (依兰镇), town in Yanji
Taiwan ...
,
Hsinchu
Hsinchu (, Chinese: 新竹, Pinyin: ''Xīnzhú'', Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan Province not among the special municipalities, with estimated 450,655 inhabi ...
, and Hong Kong before settling into solitary seclusion at
Yangmingshan
Yangmingshan National Park is one of the nine national parks in Taiwan, located in both Taipei and New Taipei City. The districts that are partially in the park include Taipei's Beitou and Shilin Districts; and New Taipei's Wanli, Jinshan ...
near
Wanli District, New Taipei
Wanli District (), known in Basay as Masu, is a rural district on the rocky seacoast in northeastern New Taipei City in northern Taiwan. Wanli is a popular tourist destination and the site of the Cape Yeliu Miocene Formation which features dis ...
.
He lived under extremely poor and primitive conditions, but continued to practice the Dharma. In 1987, he founded Lin Quan Temple in Taipei County.
Wei Chueh became known for organizing seven-day Zen retreats and dharma assemblies, as well as his "lively and flexible" preaching style. As his popularity increased, his temple was unable to fit more people.
Due to the continuing growth of both lay and monastic disciples, he planned to build a larger monastery in Puli in Central Taiwan. The
Chung Tai Chan Monastery
Chung Tai Chan Monastery () is a Buddhist monastery located in Puli Township, Nantou County, Taiwan. It is the headquarters of Chung Tai Shan, an international Chan Buddhist order. It is the tallest and one of the largest monasteries in both ...
was inaugurated in September 2001.
Wei was one of eight venerables who proposed the
World Buddhist Forum
The World Buddhist Forum () was held in Hangzhou City and Zhoushan City, Zhejiang Province, China, from April 13 to April 16, 2006. It was the first major international religious conference in China since the founding of the People's Republic of ...
in China in 2004, a suggestion that won support from Buddhist circles in countries like
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
.
In 2005, the Grand Master appointed his disciple Jian Deng to be the abbot of Chung Tai.
Wei died at the age of 88 on 8 April 2016.
References
External links
Story of Wei Chueh and Chung Tai founding
1928 births
2016 deaths
Chan Buddhist monks
Taiwanese Zen Buddhists
People from Nanchong
Taiwanese people from Sichuan
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