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 | January 22, 1931 Nantong, Jiangsu, Republic of 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) (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.
Born on January 22, 1931 in Nantong, Jiangsu 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. After leaving the army Sheng Yen became recognized as a Dharma Heir in both the Linji and Caodong traditions and became a monk again in 1959. 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 (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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