Lu Sheng-yen
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| Lu Sheng-yen | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Other name(s): | Living Buddha Lian Sheng Master Lu Huaguang Zizai Fo (Bright Flower Sovereign Buddha) |
| Born: | June 27, 1945 |
| Place of birth: | Chiayi County, Taiwan |
| Nationality: | Taiwanese |
| Religion: | True Buddha lineage Pure Land Buddhism Vajrayana Taoism |
| Title(s): | Grand Master Rinpoche |
| Teacher(s): | Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, the 16th Karmapa Thubten Nyima Kanjurwa Khutughtu Tai Situpa |
| Reincarnation of: | Padmakumara |
| Spouse(s): | Lian Hsiang |
| Website | |
| Website: | tbsn.org |
- This is a Chinese name; the family name is Lu.
Lu Sheng-Yen (盧勝彥, Lú Shèngyàn) (27 June 1945-), commonly referred to by followers as Master Lu is the founder and spiritual leader of the True Buddha School, a relatively new Buddhist sect with teachings taken from Sutrayana and Vajrayana (Tantric Buddhism), as well as Taoism. Master Lu has declared himself to be Living Buddha Lian Sheng (蓮生活佛, Liansheng Huófó) and is revered by his disciples as a Living Buddha.[1]
His organization says that over five million students have taken refuge as disciples under Lu. There are also more than three hundred local chapters of the True Buddha School, including thirty major temples, such as the Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple in Redmond, Washington, where he resides presently. The majority of his disciples hail from Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Lu is married to Lian Hsiang, who is also a vajra master, and is referred as Grand Madam Lu. Lu and Lian Hsiang have two children.[2]
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[edit] Life
Born in Chiayi County, Taiwan in 1945, Lu was raised a Christian, attending a Protestant school. His post-secondary education was at Chung Cheng Institute of Technology, and he graduated with a degree in Survey Engineering. In his early twenties he was both a survey engineer and a Sunday school Bible teacher.
He has written that his epiphany came in 1969 when he had a mystical experience, leading him to seek out a total of twenty-one human gurus in Taoism, Sutra, and Tantra. In 1982, Lu moved to the United States, and lived in the state of Washington.
To date, Lu has written over 200 books in Chinese on various topics, including feng shui and poetry.
According to his website, he went into seclusion in Tahiti for six years starting late 2000 and lived in Taichung, Taiwan.[3] Today he lives in the state of Washington.
[edit] Teachings
Lu teaches the Mahamudra method of attaining Buddhahood. His teachings follow the traditional stages of the practice of the Four Preliminaries, followed by Guru Yoga, Deity Yoga, the Vajra Practices, and finally Highest Yoga Tantra.[4] Lu has written that his spiritual gurus included the 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje and Tai Situ Rinpoche.[5]
He describes the state of enlightenment using the allegory of Padmakumara, whom he identifies with Amitabha Buddha and his own enlightened self.[6]
According to Noah Casey, Lu's teachings do not prohibit the consumption of meat and alcohol; however, "The consumption of alcohol is limited to quantities not resulting in intoxication, and the eating of meat is restricted to animals not butchered especially for the person consuming. Before consuming either of these, or any other nutritional substance, a special prayer is required. For meats, the spirit of the animal must be delivered."[7] However, this is seen as contradiction, in comparison with traditional Pure Land Buddhist teachings.
[edit] Controversies
Lu made headlines during an investigation by the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission into his cash donations to Chinese American politician Gary Locke, who Lu had hoped would run for the White House. Locke was cleared of any wrongdoing by the commission in 1998.[8]
He was also sued in civil court by a former disciple, who anonymously called herself SHC, a 41-year-old Malaysian immigrant, over allegations of sexual misconduct, after the King County, Washington prosecutor declined to file charges for lack of evidence. The case was dismissed by King County Superior Court Judge Kathleen Learned citing constitutional issues.[8] In the case S.H.C. v. Sheng-Yen Lu,[9] the Superior Court of King County granted the Temple's motion for summary judgment, and the Court of Appeals later "affirm[ed] the trial court's grant of summary judgment dismissing all claims against the Temple."
After a meeting in November 1996 with the Dalai Lama, Lu asserted that the Dalai Lama had endorsed him as an authority in Tibetan Buddhism. This was rebutted by sources close to the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, who asserted that it was merely an individual meeting. His claims that he has millions of disciples have also been heavily questioned by Tibetan sources, as well as his claim to have attained lineage from various Tibetan lineages. The source also dismissed claims made by Lu that he had been afforded an audience of between 1500 and 2000 lamas upon a 1996 visit to Tibet and India. Since then, Tibetan monasteries have been advised to avoid contact with Lu, so as to diminish the possibility that they could be misrepresented for his own benefit.[10]
Lu has also gained attention for his opulent lifestyle, with his vehicle being a Rolls Royce.[10]
He has been criticized by Tsering Phuri, the president of TIBETcenter, who said "People should not say, `I am a living Buddha'".[11]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Lu, Sheng-yen. Who is Sheng-Yen Lu
- ^ Rev. Pi Yan (2006). Grand Master and Grand Madam visited LSCT Temple Chicago Chapter on Nov 11, 2006
- ^ True Buddha News (Edition 609, page 2)
- ^ Lu Sheng-yen. Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra, ch. 2
- ^ Lu Sheng-yen. Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra, preface
- ^ Lu Sheng-yen. The Emergence of Padmakumara
- ^ Casey, Noah. The True Buddha School: A Field Research Report on The Chan Hai Lei Zang Temple
- ^ a b Anderson, Rick. Sex and the buddha in the Seattle Weekly, September 5, 2001.
- ^ S.H.C. v. Sheng-Yen Lu
- ^ a b ""The Buddha as a Grand Master"", New Delhi: Tibetan Review, March 1997, pp. 16.
- ^ Meyer, H Gregory. "Sect combines Tibetan rituals, Chinese custom", Chicago Tribune, 2002-09-20. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
[edit] References
- Casey, Noah. The True Buddha School: A Field Research Report on The Chan Hai Lei Zang Temple. Montreal Religious Sites Project.
- Lu, Sheng-yen (1995). A Complete and Detailed Exposition on the True Buddha Tantric Dharma. San Bruno, CA: Purple Lotus Society. ISBN 1-881493-04-0
[edit] External links
- True Buddha School Net (Official site)
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