Sheng-yen
| Sheng Yen 聖嚴 |
|
|---|---|
 |
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| Religion | Chan Buddhism |
| School | Caodong, Linji |
| Education | Rissho University (M.A., PhD) |
| Other names | Changjin (novice name) |
| Personal | |
| Nationality | Taiwan |
| Born | [?] December 4, 1930 Shanghai, China |
| Died | February 3, 2009 (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) (December 4, 1930 – 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 one of the progressive Buddhist teachers 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, popular 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.
Born near Shanghai in mainland China, he became a monk at the age of 13. During the Chinese Civil War, he went to Taiwan in 1949 by enlisting in a unit of the Nationalist Army out of necessity. He became a monk again in 1959 and from 1961 to 1968 he trained in solitary retreat in southern Taiwan. He then completed a master's degree (1971) and doctorate (1975) in Buddhist literature at Rissho University 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.
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