Sheng Yen

Sheng Yen (1930–2009) was one of the most accomplished Chinese Chan masters of the modern era, a scholar-practitioner who combined deep meditative realization with rigorous academic training. Born in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, he was ordained as a child monk but his monastic career was interrupted by conscription into the Nationalist army and eventual relocation to Taiwan. He reordained in Taiwan and undertook a six-year solitary retreat in the mountains of southern Taiwan, during which he practiced with extraordinary intensity. He later earned a doctorate in Buddhist Studies from Rissho University in Japan, becoming one of the few Chan masters to hold an advanced academic degree.

Sheng Yen held dharma transmission in both the Linji and Caodong lineages, making him one of the rare modern masters with dual lineage authority. He founded Dharma Drum Mountain in Taiwan, which grew into a major international Buddhist organization encompassing monasteries, universities, and practice centers worldwide. In the West, he taught extensively in New York, establishing the Chan Meditation Center and attracting a diverse following. His teaching emphasized "protecting the spiritual environment" alongside the natural environment, and he articulated Chan practice in ways that were intellectually rigorous yet practically accessible. His numerous books, including "Getting the Buddha Mind" and "Hoofprint of the Ox," provide some of the clearest modern expositions of Chan meditation available in English.