Master Sheng Yan (1930 - 2009), commonly known as Zhang Baokang, was born in Nantong, Jiangsu Province. At the age of 13, he became a monk in Langshan Guangjiao Buddhist Temple, his former residence. He came to Taiwan in 1949, and after ten years of service, he shaved again under the old man's seat at the beginning of the East. In 1969, he went to Tokyo Lizheng University for further study. Six years later, he completed his MA and PhD degrees. The Chinese Buddhist Institute was founded in 1985, and the method of Gushan was created in 1989. In 2006, he acted as the spokesperson of "You Can Avoid Suicide", advising people who intend to commit suicide: "Think for two minutes, you can avoid suicide, and there are many ways to live."

　　 childhood

Master Sheng Yan was born in Xiaonianggang, in front of Langshan Mountain, Nantong County, Jiangsu Province, on the fourth day of the twelfth lunar month in 1930. His family name is Zhang. His grandfather is Zhang Xifan, his grandmother is Jiang, his father is Zhang Xuancai, and his mother is Chen. According to his parents, the Zhang family originally lived in the foot basin of Chongming Island, the outlet of the Yangtze River, and moved to the front of Langshan Mountain in Nantong due to the flood. Most of them lived in Nantong and Haimen. After 1931, most of them moved to Changyinsha, Changshu County, except some of them lived in Haimen County. There are six brothers and sisters in a mage's family, the youngest of which was born by his mother, Zhang, at the age of 42. There are three brothers and two sisters.

　　 juvenile

In the summer of 1943, Master Shengyan was 14 years old. A neighbor surnamed Dai came from Langshan Mountain in the north of the Yangtze River. It was said that the abbot of Langshan Guangjiao Temple asked him to look for the monk in the south of the Yangtze River. On the one hand, he was passive, but on the other hand, he voluntarily handed over the eight characters of his birthday to Dai Jushi to send him to Langshan Mountain for instructions. It was the autumn of this year, and Dai Jushi also took him to Langshan Mountain to become a monk.

On the north bank of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province, from Xuzhou in the north to Chongming in the south. In addition to the Yuntai Mountain in Lianyungang, only about nine kilometers south of Nantong City, there are five mountains facing the Yangtze River. From right to left: Huangni Mountain, Ma'anshan Mountain, Langshan Mountain in the middle, Jianshan Mountain and Junshan Mountain. Among the five mountains, Langshan Lingfeng stands out alone, which is regarded as a natural fortress for river defense by ancient military strategists, and also a Buddhist resort for people in northern Jiangsu to worship incense.

Master Sheng Yan only lived in Langshan until October 1944, and then went to Shanghai, and then returned to Langshan. In the spring of 1946, he left Shanghai again, and never returned to Nantong. When he finally left, Langshan had been garrisoned by the anti Japanese national army for several times, and it no longer saw the heyday of incense in the past.

In addition to the timely supervision of generations of elders, another mage who taught Zen Daily Recitation and a monk who taught four books and five classics taught knowledge and self-restraint. After that, I went to the Great Holy Temple in Shanghai and read every day for the benefactor's family to bless and prolong life and recommend the dead. In order to study, in the spring of 1947, the mage left Shanghai Dasheng Temple and went to Jing'an Temple Buddhist Academy, also located in Shanghai, to become a shift monk.

The curriculum of Jing'an Temple Buddhist College is about from middle school to college. English and mathematics are from senior primary school to junior high school, Chinese is senior high school, and Buddhism is about teaching Mahayana Uprising Belief Theory, Buddhist Sutra History of Indian Buddhism , the Outline of the Eight Classics, the Ode to the Eight Knowledge Rules, etc. The mage stayed in Jing'an Temple for five consecutive semesters until he joined the army in 1949.

　　 Military Brigade

In his autobiography "Learning and Thinking", Master Sheng Yan mentioned that the main reason why he chose to join the military and enlist in 1949 and finally chose the communication company was as described in the book: "In the social and national situation at that time, in addition to having the money to bring his own air ticket and boat ticket to leave the mainland, only entering the military was the easiest way to Taiwan. I have neither believers nor savings, nor can I get the approval and support of the division commander, so I think again and again, and only choose to join the army. The officers at the recruitment station explained that as soon as all the recruits were recruited, they would sail to Taiwan to receive the training of the new army; Seeing that we are monks, it may not be convenient for us to go to the battlefield directly, so we are suggested to do the military logistics. "

The picture of Master Shengyan when he joined the army is a change of another way of life in the military life. As the mage declared on his own initiative in the army: "I am a monk, and I still want to be a monk!" So although life in the army is difficult, he can still maintain the space for self belief and cultivation every holiday. In that year, on May 19, we boarded the ship at the Bund dock in Shanghai and headed for Taiwan. After a two-day voyage, I landed in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Later, after one night's movement, they settled down in Hsinchu. After several times of relocation and stationing, the troops were distributed to the headquarters of 1016 Regiment of Seaside 339 Division in Jinshan Township, Taipei County as sergeant radio operators in June 1950. They lived in the coastal areas of Jinshan, Shimen and Xiaokelong for more than two years. Later, with the reorganization of the army and the promotion examination, he went to the Second Army Corps Headquarters in Fengshan Town, Kaohsiung County to serve as a warrant officer, which was in June 1954.

During this period, he successively published articles in such journals as "Learning Monk World", "Lion", "Contemporary Youth", etc. In 1953, he signed up for the Chinese Literature and Art Correspondence School sponsored by Dr. Li Chendong and enrolled in the novel class. At that time, there were six or seven famous contemporary literature and art writers, such as Xie Bingying, Shen Ying, Zhao Youpei, and so on. The works created in this period were only published in the two short stories of "Mother" and "Father" of "Literary World" magazine, which were included in "Buddhist Culture and Literature" published by the Buddhist Cultural Service. Since Wenbi Feng was transferred to the Ministry of Defense in the autumn of 1956, he began to read and publish a lot of articles. During this period, I contacted with Taixu Master's "human achievement is Buddha achievement" and Master Yinshun's "human Buddhism", and wrote many articles about Buddhism, which became the main idea of Buddhism and Buddhism in the future.

　　 Becoming a monk

Master Sheng Yan joined the army on May 8, 1949 and formally retired from the army in January 1960. This military career exceeded the years of the young monk, but he always thought he was a monk. This time, he became a monk by taking the old man in Dongchu (1907-1977 AD) as a shaving master, and gave the French school the name "Huikong Shengyan". Dongchu Old Man is a student of Master Taixu. He once served as the abbot of Dinghui Temple of Cao Dongzong, a famous temple in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province. He is also the 50th generation descendant of the founder of Cao Dongzong, Dongshan Liangjia. At the same time, the old man also studied in Changzhou Tianning Temple under Linji Zong, and became a monk in the temple of Putuo Mountain system of Linji Zong. Therefore, one person inherits the two teachings of Cao Dongzong and Linji Zong. In addition to receiving two lineages of inheritance from the Dongchu Old Man, on December 5, 1978, the Lingyuan Monk who inherited the lineage of Linji Sect gave the lineage of Dharma to Shengyan, whose name was "Know Righteousness but Be Soft", and gave a lineage inheritance spectrum "Star Lamp Collection", making it have inheritance relationship with the lineage of Linji Sect in Gushan Yongquan Temple, At the same time, he became the fifty seventh generation successor of Linji Yixuan.

Dongchu Old Man advocated the establishment of "human Buddhism" in order to inherit the legacy of Master Taixu, so he co organized the monthly magazine Life with several Buddhist youth. When the mage was cast under the seat of Dongchu Old Man, just when the editor in chief of Life asked to resign, the mage became the editor in chief from the contributor, and served it for two years. In August of the lunar calendar in 1961, the Dharma Master was elected as the head of the novice monk at the Haihui Temple in Badu, Keelung, under the seat of Elder Daoyuan Nengxin (1900-1988 AD), who asked for the Three Altars of the Great Commandments of Sami, Bhikkhu and Bodhisattva to protect the country.

　　 Commandment

In the autumn of 1961, after receiving the Three Jars' Great Commandments, Master Sheng Yan returned to the Chinese Buddhist Culture Museum in Beitou in late October. After less than a week's stay, he said goodbye to the old man at Dongchu and also resigned from the editorial staff of Life. Then the mage went to the "Chaoyuan Temple of Daxiong Mountain" in Guanglin, Meinong Town, Kaohsiung County to practice Buddhist scriptures and precepts. During this period, I studied the "Four Ahan Sutras" related to discipline, that is, the "Long Ahan Sutra", the "Middle Ahan Sutra", the "Add One Ahan Sutra", and the "Miscellaneous Ahan Sutra", laying the foundation for discipline in the future. During this period, the Dharma Master published articles on discipline in Buddhist Culture and Literature: In June 1961, he published How to Become an Ideal Bodhisattva at Home after Reading the Sutra of Yoposai; In March 1962, Master Hongyi published "After Reading 33 Kinds of Laws", in this article, he had the following views on Bodhisattva precepts: "The Yingluo Sutra said that if there are precepts to be violated, it is a Bodhisattva, and if there are no precepts to be violated, it is a layman; therefore, if there are precepts to be violated, it is better than if there are no precepts to be violated; The person who has received the Bodhisattva's precepts and issued the Bodhicitta will be punished even if he has violated the precepts. But he will definitely become a true Bodhisattva and even achieve the supreme Buddha's fruit because he has received the Bodhisattva's precepts... So I hope that all the Zaiga disciples can send their hearts to the top and ask for the Bodhisattva's precepts. "

Later, a 190000 word Outline of Discipline was written and handed over to the Buddhist Cultural Service Office of Master Xingyun for distribution. The book is divided into seven chapters in order: Introduction, Conversion to the Three Treasures, Five Commandments and Ten Virtues, Eight Pass Retreat, Ten Commandments of Sami and Six Methods of Modality, Precepts of Bhikkhu and Bhikkhuni, and Precepts of Bodhisattva. At present, it has become a famous discipline teaching material between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits at home and abroad. Nanjing Jinling Sutra Carving Office also reprinted the book for circulation.

　　 Religious Debates and Writings

In the face of the Buddhist environment being polluted and misunderstood by both inside and outside Buddhism, Master Shengyan was grateful for the deterioration of the environment and the lack of teaching, so he started to write a text to correct Buddhism. In the early stage of that stage, Master Zhuoyun mainly made a public speech in the park about the comparison between Buddhism and Christianity, but with his poor health, Master Zhuoyun also stopped fighting. At the same time, another elder, Master Yinshun, was originally a Christian. After thirty years of learning Buddhism, someone came to him to challenge him and preach to him. Master Yinshun felt that he wrote two long articles: "God loves the world" and "God loves the world again". Later, Father Du Erwei introduced Buddhism into the belief of the moon god, It also led to an article titled "Fawei in the Oriental Pure Land".

The "comparison between Buddhism and Christianity" that Monk Zhuoyun said in Tainan Park was later recorded by Jushi Li Zhigang and became a Buddhist trend in the 1950s. Later, a Christian Mr. Wu Enpu, who was the chief writer of the Christian Life Bimonthly, wrote a book "Refuting the Comparison between Buddhism and Christianity" in response to Master Zhuoyun's remarks. The content was full of criticism, and this book "Refuting the Comparison between Buddhism and Christianity" was handed over to the master. After reading it, the master believed that there were many biased arguments, So he took ten days to write the book "Criticism and Refutation of the Comparison between Buddhism and Christianity" for the article, in order to dispel the biased remarks.

Later, in 1959, he wrote an article about the religious beliefs of Hu Shi's thoughts, pointing to Mr. Hu Shi's religious views; Write "On the Similarities and Differences between Buddhism and Christianity" to correct the confusion between Buddhism and Christianity in the magazine "Jingfeng" published by the "Christian Chinese Religious Research Society" in Daofeng Mountain, Hong Kong, and then publish another article "On the Similarities and Differences between Buddhism and Christianity" to correct the situation.

Between 1964 and 1966, Lu Lu continued to write several articles, which were submitted to Buddhist magazines such as Haichaoyin, Jueshi and Hong Kong Buddhism for publication. After 1967, they were submitted to the Buddhist Cultural Service Office for collection and publication. The book was called "Research on Christianity". In his "Self Preface", it was mentioned that because of the challenge of Christianity, Only then did I become interested in studying Christianity, which led me to write a book. Therefore, the author of this book should be a Christian who attacks Buddhism. In order to write this book, I have read more than 50 kinds of Chinese and Western works. My attitude is to introduce the religion that Westerners believe in based on the views of Western scholars. It is to use the orthodox materials of Christians to explain the true appearance of the content of Christianity. At the same time, it also makes an objective and rational guidance on some important issues between Buddhism and Christianity. I don't want to promote Christianity, nor do I intend to attack Christianity. I just calmly analyze and study Christianity from a historical perspective.

The appearance of this book has received both positive and negative reactions from the religious community, and the fundamentalists of Christianity are strongly criticized. Since then, monographs on religion have been published successively: Comparative Religion was published in 1968, and the first volume of General History of World Buddhism was written in August 1969. These two books are still commonly used in Buddhist education courses in Chinese regions.

　　 Overseas Study

On March 14, 1969, Master Shengyan left Taipei for Tokyo without any support. When he first arrived in Tokyo, he went through enrollment procedures with the Buddhist Department of Lizheng University in Shinagawa District. At that time, the mage was already 30 and 9 years old.

In 1971, Master Sheng Yan determined his master's thesis: "Research on Mahayana Stop Watching Method", which consists of three chapters: 1. the organization and content of Mahayana Stop Watching Method, 2. the authenticity of Mahayana Stop Watching Method and its author, 3. the basic ideas of Mahayana Stop Watching Method. After the completion of the paper, Mr. Sato Daxuan of Kuzawa University and Mr. Makuhuan of Niuchang were invited to polish it, and a copy was sent back to Taiwan for publication in Haichao Yin magazine. The book was translated into Chinese in October 1971 and published by Dongchu Publishing House in 1979.

In 1973, a retired professor of Lizheng University, Mr. Niuchang Zhenxuan, translated Master Yinshun's History of Chinese Zen into Japanese, sent it to Lizheng University, and applied for a doctor's degree on his behalf. Since Master Shengyan had close contact with Mr. Zhenxuan of the cattle farm at that time, he took his place. In that year, Master Yinshun's monograph passed the doctor application, which also led to the birth of China's first doctor monk. For this reason, Master Sheng Yan wrote down the epoch-making Doctor Picchu.

After Master Sheng Yan graduated from his master's degree, Master Ouyi was chosen as the research subject of his doctoral thesis for the following reasons: 1. Master Ouyi was one of the four masters at the end of the Ming Dynasty. He was not only a scholar, but also a practitioner. The so-called correspondence between action and solution is the standard principle of Buddhism. 2. Everyone believes that Master Ouyi is the last great achiever of the Chinese Tiantai Sect. I am very longing for the equal emphasis on teaching and the double movement of stopping and watching advocated by Tiantai Sect. Because this is the complement of Buddhism and Zen, and it is also a kind of spirit required by Buddhism today. 3. When I chose the topic of my thesis, I asked guidance professor Yukio Sakamoto for advice. He said: He wanted to write, but now he is old, so he once encouraged another Chinese student to write, but there is still no news. Now if I can write, it would be great!

Therefore, in 1972, he began to collect the paper data. However, in 1973, Professor Sakamoto, the guidance professor, died, and Jin Cang Yuanzhao and Nomura Yaochang, the thesis guidance professors, took over as the chief and associate guidance professors. The first chapter of the paper is about the background of Ou Yizhixu, the second chapter is about Zhixu's career, the third chapter is about Zhixu's belief and practice, the fourth chapter is about Zhixu's works, and the fifth chapter is about the formation and development of Zhixu's thoughts. In January 1975, the Master presented his doctoral thesis, which was passed on February 12 of the year after strict examination by Lizheng University. On the morning of March 17 of the same year, he was awarded the "Degree Record" (that is, the certificate for conferring the doctor's degree). The official publication of the paper was not published in Japan until November 23 of that year.

　　 Travel

At the stage when the Master published his thesis, he was invited back to Taiwan to participate in the "Fourth National Construction Research Association of Overseas Scholars", at which he raised three questions:

1. Religious education should be incorporated into the university education system.

2. Social education should pay attention to the rectification of the weathered areas and the dredging of the underworld.

3. Pay attention to spiritual education, that is, humanities and science and technology should develop in parallel.

Although the meeting did not achieve any specific results, the Buddhist community at that time had a doctor among monks, and the reaction was full of polarization after all. In addition, the mage thought that there was not much that could be done at that stage, so after returning to Tokyo at the end of the session, he went to the United States to preach on December 10, 1975 at the invitation of the Buddhist monk Shen Jiazhen of the United States.

The Buddhist Association of the United States was organized by Shen Jiazhen, a Buddhist monk in the United States. Through the arrangement of the Buddhist Association, the Buddhist monk was assigned to Dajue Temple in Bronx District, New York City. The Dharma Master lived in Dajue Temple for less than two years. However, because Westerners value reality, the promotion of Buddhism focuses on practicing secret mantras and learning Zen meditation. Until now, when Westerners contact Buddhism and practice Buddhism, they still take Tibetan Buddhism and Japanese Zen as their mainstream.

In December 1977, Master Sheng Yan's shaver, the old man Dongchu, passed away in Taiwan. After receiving the news, the Master immediately returned to China to take care of the afterlife, and inherited the Taoist Temple under his orders. He became the head of the Chinese Buddhist Culture Museum. Since then, he has traveled in the United States and Taiwan, giving consideration to both east and west. Later, the Dharma Master set up a Zen Center in New York, compiled a Zen Experience for teaching needs, and successively issued two regular publications in English: Ch'an Magazine (quarterly magazine of Zen Magazine) and Ch'an Newsletter (monthly magazine of Zen Newsletter). By the end of 1992, Zen Magazine had issued 58 issues, and Zen Newsletter had also issued 96 issues. Since 1978, the Chinese Buddhist Culture Museum and Nong Chan Temple in Beitou, Taiwan, have held meditation activities for young college students and general social figures, and published seven kinds of books on Zen, including Zen Life, Nianhua Smile, Zen and Enlightenment, etc. Therefore, many people at home and abroad regard Master Sheng Yan as a Zen master.

　　 Master Shengyan - Chronicle of Events

Born in 1930 in Jiangsu Province under the name of "Baokang";

In 1943, at the age of 14, he became a monk in Langshan Guangjiao Temple in Nantong, and his legal name was "Chang Jin";

In 1949, he joined the communication company of the army and boarded a boat from Shanghai to Taiwan;

In 1959, after ten years of military service, he became a monk again under the old man's seat at the beginning of the East;

In 1961, he closed his door in Meinong Chaoyuan Temple in Kaohsiung for six years, and went deep into scriptures;

In 1969, he studied at Nisei University in Japan and got a doctor's degree in literature six years later;

In 1976, when he arrived in the United States, he opened a Sunday sitting class and held the first Zen Seven the next year;

In 1977, the old man returned to Taiwan after his death and inherited the Chinese Buddhist Culture Center and the Nongchen Temple;

In 1981, he served as a professor in the Research Institute of the University of Culture and the University of Political Science;

In 1985, the "Chinese Buddhist Institute" was founded at the Chinese Buddhist Culture Museum in Beitou;

In 1989, Fagu Mountain was founded;

In 1990, the first international academic conference was held;

In 1993, it put forward the core concept of "environmental protection of the soul";

In 1994, "etiquette and environmental protection" was proposed;

In 1997, he attended the 11th International Peace Conference of Religious Leaders, visited the Vatican and met with Pope John Paul II at that time;

In 1998, he was selected by Tianxia Magazine as one of the 50 most influential figures in Taiwan in the past 400 years, and held a "Sino Tibetan Buddhist Century Dialogue" with the Dalai Lama in New York;

In 1999, "put forward the May 4th Movement - the 21st Century Life Proposition", led Fa Gushan to invest in the 921 earthquake relief work, and actively launched the "Post disaster People's Heart Reconstruction Movement";

In 2000, the only representative of Chinese Buddhism participated in the "Millennium Peace Summit of World Religious and Spiritual Leaders", won the 20th Executive Yuan Cultural Award, and held the "Forty ninth Meditation" at Xianggang Taoist Temple in the United States;

In 2001, the "49 silent meditation" was held in Fagushan Park, Jinshan Township, Taipei County;

In 2002, he attended the "World Economic Forum Conference" held in New York, was the only invited Buddhist leader, attended the "Council of World Religious and Spiritual Leaders" held in Bangkok, Thailand, and won the Sun Yat sen Academic Writing Award for his book "The Heart Key of the Heavenly Platform - The Focus of the Religious Outlook";

In 2003, the Fagu Mountain Humanities and Society Award Academic Foundation cooperated with Peking University to set up "Fagu Humanities Lecture". At the invitation of the Council of World Religious Leaders, he attended the first preparatory meeting of the "World Youth Peace Summit" in Kyoto, Japan, and won the Second Presidential Cultural Award;

In 2004, the Fakushan Humanities and Society Award Academic Foundation cooperated with Taiwan University and Tsinghua University in Beijing to set up "Fakushan Humanities Lectures"; Preside over the groundbreaking ceremony of Fagu College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Attended the "Council of World Religious Leaders" and the "Asia Pacific Youth Peace Summit" held in Bangkok; Attended the "Council of World Religious Leaders" held in Jordan; Served as the general convener of the "Taipei Forum of the World Youth Peace Summit";

In 2005, attended the World Bank "Faith and Development Conference" held in Dublin, Ireland; Promote the Fagu Mountain Humanities and Society Award Academic Foundation to cooperate with Taiwan Chenggong University and Nanjing University to set up "Fagu Humanities Lectures"; Speeches at Peking University in China, Tsinghua University in Taiwan, Nanjing University and Sun Yat sen University in Guangzhou; Awarded the honorary doctorate of Thailand Chulalongkorn Sangha University; The Fagu Mountain World Buddhist Education Park was inaugurated.

　　 Death

At 4:4 p.m. on February 3, 2009, Master Sheng Yan, founder of Fagu Mountain in Taiwan, died of organ failure at the age of 80.

Master Sheng Yan was born in Nantong, Jiangsu Province in 1930. He is a doctor of Japan's Lizheng University. He established Fagu Mountain in Taiwan in 1989. He was once selected by Taiwan's Tianxia Magazine as one of the 50 most influential figures in Taiwan in 400 years.

Master Shengyan, the 80 year old spiritual leader of Fagu Mountain, was admitted to the NTU Hospital for treatment due to a recurrence of kidney disease on January 5, 2009. In order to pray for the master, the disciples of Fagu Mountain once held a 10 day prayer meeting for the master. Many believers went all the way to the meeting to pray for the early recovery of Master Shengyan. Unexpectedly, at 4:4 p.m. on February 3, 2009, the news of unfortunate death came out.

Master Sheng Yan cut off the left kidney because of a malignant tumor in the left kidney. About three years ago, the right kidney also suffered from severe calcification, which led to serious deterioration of renal function and anemia. He had to wash the kidney. He was once admitted to the hospital of Taiwan University for treatment. Since then, he regularly washed the kidney three times a week, and regularly returned to Taiwan University for follow-up treatment.

As early as the end of 2007, when Jet Li paid a visit to Master Shengyan, Shengyan publicly disclosed that he had kidney disease for the first time. At that time, he said that he was "ready to die at any time", which was very hard to hear from believers. On the New Year's Eve of 2008, Shengyan explained for the first time that his left kidney had been cut off. He refused to replace the kidney because he felt that there was not much future.

On December 31, 2008, Shengyan went to the hospital for regular examination and found that he had urinary tract related cancer. Finally, he was hospitalized with the advice of medical staff. Unfortunately, he died at 4:00 p.m. on February 3, 2009.