Four Heavenly Kings (Taiwan)

{{Main|Sheng-yen}}

Master Sheng Yen (22 January 1931 – 3 February 2009) was a Chinese Buddhist monk and religious scholar. He founded Dharma Drum Mountain, located at Jinshan District, New Taipei City, Taiwan in 1989. Dharma Drum Mountain focuses on educating the public in Buddhism with the goal of improving the world and establishing a "Pure Land on Earth" through Buddhist education.{{Cite journal|last1=Schak|first1=David|last2=Hsiao|first2=Hsin-Huang Michael|date=1 June 2005|title=Taiwan's Socially Engaged Buddhist Groups|url=http://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/2803|journal=China Perspectives|language=en|volume=2005|issue=59|doi=10.4000/chinaperspectives.2803|issn=2070-3449|access-date=30 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330070515/https://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/2803|archive-date=30 March 2019|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}

Born Chang Baokang near Shanghai in mainland China, he became a monk at the age of 13. During the Chinese Civil War, he left the monkhood and went to Taiwan in 1949 by enlisting in a unit of the Nationalist Army.{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweekly.com.tw/webarticle.php?id=35807|title=Reviewing Master Sheng Yen's Talk: The Strength to be at Peace|date=9 February 2009|magazine=Business Weekly Taiwan|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208141028/http://www.businessweekly.com.tw/webarticle.php?id=35807|archive-date=8 February 2009|url-status=live|access-date=9 February 2009}} After leaving the army Sheng Yen returned to monkhood and became recognized as a Dharma Heir in both the Linji and Caodong traditions. Sheng Yen was a 57th generational dharma heir of Linji Yixuan in the Linji school (Japanese: Rinzai) and a third-generation dharma heir of Hsu Yun. In the Caodong (Japanese: Sōtō) lineage, Sheng Yen was a 52nd-generation Dharma heir of Dongshan Liangjie (807-869), and a direct Dharma heir of Dongchu (1908–1977).{{cite web|url=http://www.dharmadrumretreat.org/aboutus.php?id=ourfounder|title=Dharma Drum Retreat Center: About Us: Meditation Classes, Meditation Retreat, Chan Meditation, Zen Retreat|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220110952/http://www.dharmadrumretreat.org/aboutus.php?id=ourfounder|archive-date=20 February 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=15 February 2012}}

Sheng Yen became a lecturer at Shan Dao Monastery in Taipei and then completed a master's degree (1971) and doctorate (1975) in Buddhist literature at Rissho University in Japan.[http://www.dharmadrum.org/master/master.aspx?cid=C_00000009 Chronology of Master Sheng Yen, ddm.org.tw] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070325230248/http://www.dharmadrum.org/master/master.aspx?cid=C_00000009|date=25 March 2007}}{{Cite book|url=http://www.khamkoo.com/uploads/9/0/0/4/9004485/encyclopedia_of_buddhism.pdf|title=Encyclopedia of Buddhism|last=Irons|first=Edward|publisher=Facts on File|year=2008|isbn=978-0-8160-5459-6|pages=441|access-date=3 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517061902/http://www.khamkoo.com/uploads/9/0/0/4/9004485/encyclopedia_of_buddhism.pdf|archive-date=17 May 2017|url-status=dead}} At the time Sheng Yen was the only major Buddhist figure in Taiwan to have earned a doctorate from a reputable foreign university.{{Cite journal|last1=Schak|first1=David|last2=Hsiao|first2=Hsin-Huang Michael|date=1 June 2005|title=Taiwan's Socially Engaged Buddhist Groups|url=https://chinaperspectives.revues.org/2803#tocto2n2|url-status=live|journal=China Perspectives|volume=2005|issue=59|doi=10.4000/chinaperspectives.2803|issn=1996-4617|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012062338/https://chinaperspectives.revues.org/2803#tocto2n2|archive-date=12 October 2016|access-date=31 December 2016|doi-access=free}} Sheng Yen became abbot of Nung Chan in Taiwan in 1978 and founder of the Institute of Chung-Hwa Buddhist Culture in New York City in 1979. In 1985, he founded the Institute of Chung-Hwa Buddhist Studies in Taipei and the International Cultural and Educational Foundation of Dharma Drum Mountain in 1989.

Sheng Yen died from renal failure on 3 February 2009, while returning from National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei.{{cite news|url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2009/02/04/194518/Dharma-Master.htm|title=Dharma Master Sheng Yen dies at age 80|date=4 February 2009|work=China Post|access-date=22 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423062104/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2009/02/04/194518/Dharma-Master.htm|archive-date=23 April 2017|url-status=live}}

File:Shih Hsing-Yun.tif, the founder of Fo Guang Shan.|upright=0.75]]

{{Main|Hsing Yun}}

Master Hsing Yun (19 August 1927 – 5 February 2023) was a Chinese Buddhist monk. He founded the Fo Guang Shan monastery in Dashu District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 1967. The monastery is the largest Buddhist temple in Taiwan and is the most comprehensive of the "Four Great Mountains". The organization follows Humanistic Buddhism, which focuses on using Buddhism to improve the current world, as well as promotes Chinese culture, Buddhist education and charity. The temple is known for its use of modern technology and teaching methods.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5O32wwY6uokC&pg=PA283|title=Wild Geese: Buddhism in Canada|last1=Harding|first1=John S.|last2=Hori|first2=Victor Sōgen|last3=Soucy|first3=Alexander|date=29 March 2010|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP|isbn=9780773591080|pages=283|language=en|access-date=30 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829050824/https://books.google.com/books?id=5O32wwY6uokC&pg=PA283|archive-date=29 August 2018|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/24/world/asia/china-buddhism-fo-guang-shan.html|title=Is a Buddhist Group Changing China? Or Is China Changing It?|last=Johnson|first=Ian|date=24 June 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=25 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131042630/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/24/world/asia/china-buddhism-fo-guang-shan.html|archive-date=31 January 2018|url-status=live|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}

Hsing Yun entered the monastic life at the age of 12 and learned about Buddhist modernism in 1945 while studying at Jiaoshan Buddhist College.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5O32wwY6uokC&q=hsing+yun&pg=PA283|title=Wild Geese: Buddhism in Canada|last1=Harding|first1=John S.|last2=Hori|first2=Victor Sōgen|last3=Soucy|first3=Alexander|date=29 March 2010|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP|isbn=9780773591080|pages=282|language=en}} He fled mainland China to Taiwan in 1949 following the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War but was arrested along with several other Buddhist monastics. Hsing Yun and the others were eventually released after three weeks and Hsing Yun spent the next several years developing a large following and founding numerous temples. In 1966, Hsing Yun bought some land in Kaohsiung and started building a large monastery. After partial completion, the temple opened in 1967 and would later become the headquarters of Fo Guang Shan.{{Cite journal|last1=Schak|first1=David|last2=Hsiao|first2=Hsin-Huang Michael|date=1 June 2005|title=Taiwan's Socially Engaged Buddhist Groups|url=https://chinaperspectives.revues.org/2803#tocto2n1|url-status=live|journal=China Perspectives|language=en|volume=2005|issue=3|doi=10.4000/chinaperspectives.2803|issn=2070-3449|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012062338/https://chinaperspectives.revues.org/2803#tocto2n1|archive-date=12 October 2016|access-date=29 August 2018|doi-access=free}}

Fo Guang Shan entered mainland China in the early 21st century, focusing more on charity and Chinese cultural revival rather than Buddhist propagation in order to avoid conflict with the Chinese Communist Party, which opposes religion. Fo Guang Shan's presence in China increased under the premiership of General Secretary Xi Jinping after he started a program to revive traditional Chinese faiths. According to Hsing Yun, his goal in mainland China was to work with the mainland government to rebuild China's culture following the destruction of the Cultural Revolution, rather than promote Buddhism in the mainland.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/24/world/asia/hsing-yun-buddhism-fo-guang-shan.html|title=A Buddhist Leader on China's Spiritual Needs|last1=Johnson|first1=Ian|date=24 June 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=21 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126072513/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/24/world/asia/hsing-yun-buddhism-fo-guang-shan.html|archive-date=26 January 2018|url-status=live|last2=Wu|first2=Adam|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}

File:105年4月30日 馬英九總統出席「慈濟五十無量義-經藏演繹：慈濟成立50周年會慶」活動(釋證嚴)(cropped).jpg

{{Main|Cheng Yen}}

Master Cheng Yen (born 14 May 1937) is a Taiwanese Buddhist nun (bhikkhuni), teacher, and philanthropist.{{cite web|url=http://tw.tzuchi.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=159&Itemid=198&lang=en|title=Biography of Dharma Master Cheng Yen|date=22 May 2014|publisher=Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721184449/http://tw.tzuchi.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=159&Itemid=198&lang=en|archive-date=21 July 2011|url-status=live|access-date=18 October 2010}}{{cite web|url=http://www.tricycle.com/blog/?p=2173|title=Diane Wolkstein on Dharma Master Cheng Yen|last1=Mowe|first1=Sam|date=12 August 2010|work=Tricycle: The Buddhist Review|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906090614/http://www.tricycle.com/blog/?p=2173|archive-date=6 September 2010}}{{Cite web|url=http://religion.vn/Plus.aspx/en/News/71/0/1010054/0/5049/%5BDownload%5D|title=Founder of Tzu Chi Receives Rotary International Hono|website=religion.vn|access-date=11 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829045921/http://religion.vn/Plus.aspx/en/News/71/0/1010054/0/5049/%5BDownload%5D|archive-date=29 August 2018|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/global/2010/0412/companies-cheng-yen-taiwan-philanthropy-widjaja-sister-of-charity.html|title=Sister of Charity|last=Chen|first=Shu-Ching Jean|date=12 April 2010|work=Forbes|access-date=11 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107040307/http://www.forbes.com/global/2010/0412/companies-cheng-yen-taiwan-philanthropy-widjaja-sister-of-charity.html|archive-date=7 January 2017|url-status=live|language=en}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2058044_2060338_2059983,00.html|title=The 2011 Time 100 Poll |date=4 April 2011|magazine=Time |access-date=11 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226045354/http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2058044_2060338_2059983,00.html|archive-date=26 February 2017|url-status=live|issn=0040-781X}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t--23FOImmIC|title=Tzu Chi: Serving with Compassion|last=O'Neill|first=Mark|date=17 May 2010|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9780470825679|pages=9|language=en|access-date=30 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330070514/https://books.google.com/books/about/Tzu_Chi.html%3Fid%3Dt--23FOImmIC%26source%3Dkp_book_description|archive-date=30 March 2019|url-status=live}} She was a direct student of Master Ying Shun, a major figure in the early development of Humanistic Buddhism in Taiwan. She founded the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, ordinarily referred to as Tzu Chi, in 1966.{{cite web |url=https://www.tzuchimerit.org.sg/en/about-us/the-origin-of-tzu-chi/ |title=The Origin of Tzu Chi: Work for Buddhism and for All Living Beings |publisher=Tzu Chi Merit |access-date=July 5, 2024}} The organization later became one of the largest humanitarian organizations in the world, and the largest Buddhist organization in Taiwan. Although still Buddhist in nature, the organization focuses primarily on charity and humanitarian work rather than Buddhist propagation.

Cheng Yen was born "Chin-Yun Wong"{{cite web|url=http://www.parabola.org/the-desire-to-relieve-all-suffering|title=The Desire to Relieve All Suffering|last1=Wolkstein|first1=Diane|date=2010|work=Parabola|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923002225/http://www.parabola.org/the-desire-to-relieve-all-suffering|archive-date=23 September 2010}} in 1937 in Kiyomizu Town, Taikō District, Taichū Prefecture, Japanese Taiwan (modern-day Qingshui, Taichung City, Taiwan). Unlike the other Four Heavenly Kings, Cheng Yen was born in Taiwan rather than mainland China.{{cite journal|last1=Schak|first1=David|last2=Hsiao|first2=Hsin-Huang Michael|date=2005|title=Taiwan's Socially Engaged Buddhist Groups|url=https://chinaperspectives.revues.org/2803#tocto1n1|url-status=live|journal=China Perspectives|volume=2005|issue=59|doi=10.4000/chinaperspectives.2803|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012062338/https://chinaperspectives.revues.org/2803#tocto1n1|archive-date=12 October 2016|access-date=15 September 2016|doi-access=free}} Cheng-Yen grew up under the Japanese occupation of Taiwan during World War II. Upon deciding to become a nun, Cheng Yen ran away to a temple in 1960, but was brought back home after three days. She ran away from home a second time in 1961 and wandered with a Buddhist master for two years until she encountered Venerable Master Yin Shun, whom she asked to be her mentor so she can be officially ordained. Master Yin Shun gave her the dharma name "Cheng Yen".

In 1966, Cheng Yen went to hospital in Fenglin and learned that a Taiwanese aborigine woman had a miscarriage and died when the family could not afford the 8,000 New Taiwan dollar deposit.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t529SPeue5MC&q=miscarriage&pg=PA24|title=Charisma and Compassion: Cheng Yen and the Buddhist Tzu Chi Movement|last=Huang|first=C. Julia|date=2009|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674031333|pages=24|language=en}} Later that year, Cheng Yen had a conversation with three Catholic nuns at Pu Ming Temple. While the nuns admitted the profundity of Buddhist teachings, they noted that the Catholic Church had helped people around the world by building schools and hospitals and inquired, "But what has Buddhism done for society?" These two events made Master Cheng Yen realize that Buddhism had to do more than simply encouraging private cultivation of people's souls.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t529SPeue5MC&q=miscarriage&pg=PA24|title=Charisma and Compassion: Cheng Yen and the Buddhist Tzu Chi Movement|last=Huang|first=C. Julia|date=2009|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674031333|pages=24–25|language=en}}

Master Cheng Yen established the Tzu Chi Foundation in 1966 as a group of thirty housewives who saved money to help needy families. Tzu Chi extended the scope of its work from helping needy families to medical aid in 1970. In 1986, Tzu Chi established its first Hospital in Hualien, and gradually expanded its work to disaster relief and environmental protection.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t--23FOImmIC&q=Tzu+Chi:+Serving+with+Compassion.|title=Tzu Chi: Serving with Compassion.|last=Mark.|first=O'Neill|date=1 January 2010|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9780470825679|pages=26|oclc=940634655|access-date=30 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319200557/https://books.google.com/books?id=t--23FOImmIC&dq=Tzu+Chi:+Serving+with+Compassion.&source=gbs_navlinks_s|archive-date=19 March 2017|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-taiwan-recycling-20141117-story.html|title=Taiwan Buddhists transform plastic waste|last=Jennings|first=Ralph|date=17 November 2014|website=Los Angeles Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116175356/http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-taiwan-recycling-20141117-story.html|archive-date=16 January 2017|url-status=live|access-date=15 January 2017}}

Tzu Chi is most well known for its work in disaster relief, one of the most iconic attributes of Tzu Chi disaster relief efforts is that volunteers not only provide short-term aid but also partake in long-term projects to rebuild affected communities. Tzu Chi often builds new homes, schools, hospitals, and places of worship (including churches and mosques for non-Buddhists) following a disaster.{{Citation|title=Dharma Master Cheng Yen - Discovery Channel Documentary 證嚴法師 - Discovery 頻道 (中文字幕) 480p|date=1 March 2014|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHsDjv5JqbU|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525233639/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHsDjv5JqbU|url-status=live|access-date=29 April 2017|archive-date=25 May 2017}}

File:Master Wei-Chueh.png, the founder of Chung Tai Chan]]

{{Main|Wei Chueh}}

Master Wei Chueh (1928 – 8 April 2016) was a Chinese Buddhist monk. He founded the Chung Tai Shan Buddhist order in 1987, with its headquarters, the Chung Tai Chan Monastery in Nantou, Taiwan, being completed in 2001. Chung Tai Shan emphasizes meditation practice to purify the mind and encourages people to join the monastic life.{{Cite journal|last1=Schak|first1=David|last2=Hsiao|first2=Hsin-Huang Michael|date=1 June 2005|title=Taiwan's Socially Engaged Buddhist Groups|url=http://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/2803|journal=China Perspectives|language=fr|volume=2005|issue=59|doi=10.4000/chinaperspectives.2803|issn=2070-3449|access-date=30 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330070515/https://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/2803|archive-date=30 March 2019|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}

Wei Chueh was born in 1928 in Xikang (modern Sichuan), in mainland China. In 1963, he was ordained under Master Lin Yuan at the Shi Fan Da Jue Chan Monastery in Keelung, Taiwan.{{cite news|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2016/04/10/2003643599|title=Buddhist Grand Master Wei Chueh dies|date=10 April 2016|work=Taipei Times|access-date=10 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411023636/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2016/04/10/2003643599|archive-date=11 April 2016|url-status=live}} He received the higher ordination in 1967 at Daijue Temple in Keelung, Taiwan. He offered many retreats in Yilan, Hsinchu, and Hong Kong before settling into solitary seclusion at Yangmingshan near Wanli District, New Taipei. Master Wei Chueh became popular among people in the area in the 1980s for his meditation classes and retreats.

In 1987, he founded Lin Quan Temple in Taipei County. Wei Chueh became known for organizing seven-day Zen retreats and dharma assemblies, as well as his "lively and flexible" preaching style.{{cite news|url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201604090009.aspx|title=Founder of Chung Tai Chan Monastery passes away (update)|last1=Lu|first1=Kang-chun|date=9 April 2016|access-date=9 April 2016|agency=Central News Agency|last2=Chen|first2=Jay|last3=Wu|first3=Lilian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411114717/http://focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201604090009.aspx|archive-date=11 April 2016|url-status=live}}

Due to the continuing growth of both lay disciples and monastic disciples, he founded the Chung Tai Chan Monastery in Nantou, Taiwan, in September 2001. Chung Tai Shan is the least socially engaged of the major Buddhist organizations, emphasizing purifying one's own mind and religious study over charity or disaster relief.

Master Wei Chueh died at the age of 88 on 8 April 2016.{{cite news|url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201604090001.aspx|title=Founder of Chung Tai Chan Monastery is dead|date=9 April 2016|access-date=9 April 2016|agency=Central News Agency|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420012501/http://focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201604090001.aspx|archive-date=20 April 2016|url-status=live}}

• Buddhism in Taiwan
• Humanistic Buddhism

{{Reflist}}

{{Four Great Mountains}}

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Category:Buddhist organizations based in Taiwan

Category:Taiwanese religious leaders

Category:Religious service organizations

Category:Groups of Chinese people

Category:Quartets