A Journey of Learning and Insight: An Autobiography of Chan Master Sheng Yen 聖嚴法師學思歷程(英譯版)

I am an ordinary Buddhist monk born in 1930 at a village in Jiangsu Province, Nantong County. The second year after my birth, there was a great flooding of the Yangzi River, which washed away our home and everything we owned. We were impoverished. My family then moved to the south bank of the Yangzi River. I was always weak in physique and prone to illness since childhood. I entered school at the age of nine, and left school when I was thirteen. I became a
monk when I was fourteen [thirteen according to the Western way of recording age]. The basic education I received was equivalent to that of a fourth grade primary school student. While the other teenagers were studying at high school and university, I was busy working as a young monk and performing ritual services. Later, I served in the military for the country. Nevertheless, since I was young, I realized the importance of knowledge and education. I would take hold of any opportunity for self-study, and read many books. Meeting the educational requirements
along with my published work, I was enrolled in Rissho University in Tokyo. Within six years time, I completed both a master’s and a doctoral degree in Buddhist iterature.

From the time I realized that the sutras are used to provide knowledge and methods to purify society and the human mind, I felt lament. I thought, “The Dharma is so good, yet so few people know about it, and so many people misunderstand it." Ordinary people treat Buddhadharma as something secular or mystical; at best they treat Author’s Preface it as an academic study. Actually, Buddhism is a religion that applies
wisdom and compassion to purify the human world.

Thus, I vowed to use contemporary ideas and language to introduce to others the true meaning of the Dharma that was forgotten, and to revive the spirit of Shakyamuni Buddha. As a result, I read a variety of books, especially Buddhist texts, which I studied and later wrote about assiduously.

Since my early years, I started submitting articles for publication, the materials ranging from literature and art to theoretical, from religious to theological, from articles on secular knowledge to academic theses on specific subjects. I have written for over 50 years and published over 40 books including those written in Chinese, Japanese, and English.
They were published in Taiwan, Tokyo, the United States, and London, etc. In addition, several of my publications have been translated into Italian, Czech, and Vietnamese, and other languages. Buddhism is a religion that emphasizes practice. Through the cultivation of one’s mental stability and calmness, one can achieve balance of the body and mind, improve one’s character, lessen self-centeredness, care for others, and purify society. As a result, the objective of my personal reading and writing was to clarify and to give guidance on the theoretical concepts and practice methods. Primarily, my works follow the guidelines of placing emphasis on upholding moral precepts, teaching Chan practice, and clarifying concepts. I am personally compelled to follow the path of placing equal weight on the three Buddhist disciplines of precepts, meditation and wisdom. Thus, I would not be limited to the scope of what ordinary people would call Precepts Master, Chan Master or Dharma Master. For myself, I would always assume the status of Dharma Master because it is best to take its meaning of “taking the Dharma as one’s master.”

Due to the depth and extensiveness of Buddhadharma, one discovers through academic research that it is truly a great treasure in the history of world culture. To enhance the educational level and academic status of Buddhists, I have undertaken endeavors in Buddhist education and Buddhist research. I have been a professor at the Institute of Buddhist
Studies of Chinese Culture University and Soochow University. I was invited to teach thesis writing to students in the doctorate program at the Graduate school of National Chengchi University. I have also established the Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies, which has been accredited by the Ministry of Education, to nourish professional Buddhist academic and educational talents. Beginning in 1990, our institute held the First Chung-Hwa International Conference on Buddhism hosting it again every two to three years, with Buddhist Traditions and Modern Society as the permanent topic. We gather leading Buddhist scholars worldwide to do research and hold discussions in various professional fields, for the purpose of practical application in today’s society.

It is through the opportunity of holding International Conferences on Buddhism that I became associated with the famous Professor Fu Weixun at Temple University. He and his friend Prof. Sandra A. Wawrytko attended our International Conference twice, and gave us many suggestions. After the two conferences, they assisted in compiling both the Chinese and English versions of all the papers. They also helped promote the publishing of our conference papers through
Dongda Publishing Corp. and the Greenwood Press, thus allowing the papers to receive attention from academic circles worldwide.

Currently, Prof. Fu Weixun was invited by Chuang Hui-Ming, the chief editor of Cheng Chung Books, to compile the book series, The Study and Thought of Contemporary Academics (Dang dai xue ren xue si li cheng). I am honored that Prof. Fu selected my writings for submission to represent the Buddhist community and for the religious community to gain identity within acade mic circles. It is a true honor in my life. When I submitted my manuscript, I left out the preface due to my busy schedule. Now before publishing, in light of the editor’s
request, I have c ompleted this preface after my trip to Mainland China, passing through Hong Kong, and on my way to America.

Master Sheng Yen
Rio Hotel, Hong Kong,
April 26, 1993