Lu Sheng-yen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lu Sheng-yen |
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|---|---|
| 盧勝彥 (蓮生活佛) | |
| Religion | Buddhism |
| School | True Buddha School |
| Other names | Living Buddha Lian Sheng Grand Master Lu Huaguang Zizai Fo White Lotus Padmakumara |
| Personal | |
| Nationality | Taiwan United States |
| Born | June 27, 1945 (5th month, 18th day of the Lunar Calendar) Tainan Prefecture, Taiwan under Japanese rule (now Chiayi County, Republic of China) |
| Spouse | Lu Li-hsiang (Lian Hsiang) |
| Senior posting | |
| Based in | Redmond, Washington State |
| Title | Grand Master |
| Religious career | |
| Website | TBSN |
Lu Sheng-Yen (Chinese: 盧勝彥; pinyin: Lú Shèngyàn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lô Sèng-gān, born 27 June 1945), commonly referred to by followers as Grand Master Lu (師尊) is the founder and spiritual leader of the True Buddha School, a new Buddhist movement with teachings from Buddhism and Taoism. Lu is known by the sect as Living Buddha Lian Sheng (蓮生活佛, Liansheng Huófó) and is revered by his disciples as a Living Buddha.
Lu Sheng-Yen's sect claims to have more five million followers worldwide, of whom the majority hail from Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. Lu Sheng-Yen holds dual American and Taiwanese citizenship, and often travels between the two countries.
Life
Lu Sheng-Yen was born in Chiayi County, Taiwan in 1945. Lu was raised a Christian and attended a Protestant school. He graduated from Chung Cheng Institute of Technology with a degree in Survey Engineering. In his early twenties he was both a survey engineer for the Taiwan military and a Sunday School Bible teacher. Though his parents were not Christians, he had joined Kaohsiung New Presbyterian Church, in which he became an active member.
In a biography, Lu wrote that he had a Zen-style instant awakening to the first stage of enlightenment by the Golden Mother of the Jade Pond in 1969, who opened his third eye during a visit to a Taoist temple, revealing to him his true nature and purpose. She directed him to follow the instructions of Reverend Liao Ming 清真 (of the Taoist Ching Zhen Sect, also a lineage holder of the Kagyu school of Vajrayana Buddhism) and the Three Mountains and Nine Marquis.
Lu is a prolific author and has produced a large body of work over a span of 40 years. This has resulted in 240 books published in Traditional Chinese.
Personal life
Lu Sheng-Yen is married to Lian Hsiang, who is also a vajra master, and is referred as Shimu in Chinese, which translates as Grand Madam in English, the standard Chinese title for a woman married to a Grandmaster. Prior to becoming a monk, the couple already had two children.
