Buddhist Master Sheng Yen (聖嚴法師), founder of the Taipei-based Dharma Drum Mountain Culture and Education Foundation, died at 4pm yesterday at Dharma Drum Mountain in Taipei County’s Jinshan Township’s (金山). He was 79 years old.
On the foundation’s Web site, an announcement said: “Though the Master’s body passed today … Master Sheng Yen has not left us. His preachings touch our daily lives; at this time, what we need most is to calm our hearts and recite Buddha’s name.”
The foundation said Sheng Yen had been battling with chronic kidney ailments and had been on dialysis at National Taiwan University Hospital. After being diagnosed with urological cancer in December, Sheng Yen was hospitalized on Jan. 5.
PHOTO: CNA
The hospital said Sheng Yen voluntarily checked out of the hospital at around 3pm on Monday to return to his temple.
Although Sheng Yen had been advised by the hospital about the option of a kidney transplant, speaking of his illness in 2007, he said he declined the surgery because, “The kidney fails as a function of nature; there is no need to do unnecessary and extra procedures to [prevent it].”
Sheng Yen was named as one of the 50 most influential people in Taiwan’s history by Common Wealth magazine in 1998 and advised politicians, business leaders and celebrities.
Born in 1930 in China’s Suzhou Province, Sheng Yen was tonsured as a monk at the age of 13.
His religious career was interrupted for 10 years when he was drafted into the army during China’s Civil War. He came to Taiwan in 1949 and became a monk again in 1959.
Sheng Yen, who received masters degree and a doctorate in Buddhist literature from Japan’s Rissho University, began to preach to large crowds of followers in 1985 as the founder and the director of the Institute of Chinese Buddhism Study in Peitou (北投), Taipei.
He founded the Dharma Drum Mountain Culture and Education Foundation in 1989, emphasizing attention to techniques to command one’s “mental ways” and “self-extrication.”
The temple went through a 16-year construction process before being opened in 2005 and now has branches worldwide.
One of Sheng Yen’s unfinished legacies is the Buddhist University, a project he announced in 1996 but has yet to receive sufficient funding to establish.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) paid a visit to Dharma Drum Mountain last night to pay tribute to Sheng Yen.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
RSS