Sheng-yen

Sheng Yen 聖嚴
File:Sheng-yen xinhuanet.jpg
Religion	Chan Buddhism
School	Caodong, Linji
Education	Rissho University (M.A., PhD)
Other names	Changjin (novice name)
Personal
Nationality	Taiwan
Born	January 22, 1931 Nantong, Jiangsu, Republic of China
Died	February 3, 2009(2009-02-03) (aged 78) Taipei, Taiwan
Senior posting
Title	Chan master
Religious career
Teacher	Dongchu, Ling Yuan

Sheng Yen (聖嚴; Pinyin: Shèngyán, birth name Zhang Baokang, 張保康) (January 22, 1931 – February 3, 2009) was a Chinese Buddhist monk, a religious scholar, and one of the mainstream teachers of Chan Buddhism. He was a 57th generational dharma heir of Linji Yixuan in the Linji school (Japanese: Rinzai) and a third-generation dharma heir of Hsu Yun. In the Caodong (Japanese: Sōtō) lineage, Sheng Yen was a 52nd-generation Dharma heir of Dongshan Liangjie (807-869), and a direct Dharma heir of Dongchu (1908–1977).

Sheng Yen was the founder of the Dharma Drum Mountain, a Buddhist organization based in Taiwan. 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, Cheng Yen and Wei Chueh, popularly referred to as the "Four Heavenly Kings" 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.

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

• Dharma Drum Retreat Center in Pinebush, New York
• The Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies
• Dharma Drum Mountain in Taiwan
• The Western Chan Fellowship (UK)
• Sheng Yen education foundation

---