Lu Sheng-Yen (, 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 religious movement with teachings from Buddhism & 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 says that it has five million followers worldwide, of whom the majority hail from Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Hong Kong. There are more than four hundred local chapters of the True Buddha School over the world. He holds dual American and Taiwanese citizenship, and often travels between the two countries.
Lu Sheng-Yen is married to Lian Hsiang, who is also a vajra master, and is referred as Grand Madam Lu in Chinese. Prior to becoming a monk, the couple already had two children.
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 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 his third eye was activated by the Golden Mother of the Jade Pond in 1969, and followed the instructions of Monk Liao Ming (of the Taoist Ching Zhen Sect) and the Three Mountains and Nine Marquis. The Three Mountains is said to represent Dharmakāya (Vairocana Buddha) Sambhogakaya (Locana Buddha), Nirmanakaya (Sakyamuni Buddha) while "Nine Marquis" represents a combination of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, each corresponding to different directions. They are named to be, Mahavairocana Buddha (Centre), Aksobhya Buddha (East), Ratnasambhava Buddha (South), Amitābha Buddha (West), Amoghasiddhi Buddha (North), Samantabhadra Bodhisattva (South East), Manjushri Bodhisattva (South West), Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (North West), Maitreya Bodhisattva in the (North East).
He then actively practiced Taoism, Geomancy, Sutrayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, through which he cited that a mystical experience led him to seek twenty-one human gurus in Taoism, Sutra, and Tantra. In 1982, Lu and a small following of his disciples moved to the United States, settling in the state of Washington.
Lu Sheng-Yen is a prolific writer who has authored two hundred and eighty-five (as of June 2021) Chinese books. His books have also been translated into Japanese, English, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Bahasa Indonesia, Spanish and other languages. All these books have been made available to read for free online. Lu's paintings have also been compiled into nine volumes. Prior to the internet, his sermons were recorded into various formats and distributed worldwide. His weekly ceremonies are now broadcast live on YouTube in Chinese with realtime English translation.
He went into retreat for six years in late 2000, spending most of his time in Tahiti, and to a lesser extent in Taiwan. Today he predominantly lives in Taiwan and Redmond, Washington. In a sermon, he told his disciples that he aspires to never abandon any sentient being.
Teachings
Lu Sheng-Yen teaches the Mahamudra method of attaining Buddhahood. His teachings contain the traditional stages of the practice of the Four Preliminaries, followed by Guru Yoga, Deity Yoga, the Vajra Practices, and finally Highest Yoga Tantra. Lu has lineages from Chinese Buddhism, & all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, namely Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug, though instruction is imparted in Chinese, translations, including into English, are almost always available. Lu's documented spiritual gurus include the Monk Liao Ming, the 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, Dezhung Rinpoche, and Tai Situ Rinpoche among others.
He says he is an emanation of Padmakumara, which he explains, is itself a transformation body of Amitabha Buddha.