Chung Tai holds the flower, all sentient beings smile.
In 1987, the Grand Master Wei Chueh built Ling Quan (Spiritual Spring) Monastery in northern Taiwan in response to his disciples’ needs for a place of spiritual cultivation and refuge. With an inimitable aura of calmness, a penetrating mind, and the ability to clearly elucidate the profound wisdom of the Buddha, the Grand Master was instrumental in revitalizing Chan (Zen) Buddhism in Taiwan. Soon Lin Quan Monastery was too small to accommodate the ever-increasing number of followers eager for his teaching.
In the Grand Master’s compassionate vow to provide a complete environment for all who wish to learn the Buddha Dharma, the design of Chung Tai Chan Monastery began in 1992. After three years of planning and seven years of construction, under the Grand Master’s leadership and with the devotion and generous support of disciples and friends, this landmark building opened its doors in September 2001, initiating a new era for the propagation of Buddhism at Chung Tai.
Viewed from afar, Chung Tai resembles a cultivator surrounded by mountains, sitting in meditation, majestic and serene. The architecture of Chung Tai Chan Monastery expresses a harmony of the arts, culture, science, and the teachings of the Buddha. As one of the largest Buddhist monasteries and sangha in the world, Chung Tai integrates the Dharma teaching into three fronts: Sangha education, social education, and school education. The Chung Tai Buddhist Institute trains the sangha to be qualified teachers of the Dharma; meditation centers in local communities provide Chan Buddhism classes; Pu Tai Elementary, Junior High, and Senior High Schools set up a model of a well-rounded school education for today’s youth. The three-front approach in education brings the benefits of Buddhism to all levels of society.
Under the guidance of the Grand Master, and with his unified and practical approach, Chung Tai now has established more than 100 meditation centers and branches in Taiwan and abroad in the hope of bringing a pure land in a mundane world for all generations to come.
From living in isolation in a single small hut to the founding of Chung Tai, the awe-inspiring Chung Tai Chan Monastery, and from leading 4 ordained sangha and 300 lay disciples in 1987 to overseeing over 1,000 ordained sangha and hundreds of thousands lay disciples today, Ven. Wei-Chueh has revived the Chinese Chan (Zen) tradition in Taiwan and has tirelessly brought the Buddha’s teachings to those in need. An heir of the Linji (Rinzai) lineage, the Grand Master’s teaching is straightforward, flexible, and timeless. A word, a gesture, or even silence inspires students.
Under the guidance of the Grand Master, Chung Tai Chan Monastery had established a comprehensive system and direction of cultivating and disseminating the Dharma. In 2005, the Grand Master passed on the helm of Chung Tai to our current abbot, the Venerable Master Jiandeng.
Abbot Jiandeng was ordained under the Grand Master in 1991. Through the years, he has solemnly followed the Grand Master’s vow and vision with tenacity, receiving recognition for his compassion and leadership ability. He led the efforts to complete the construction of Pu Tai Senior High School, and the Chung Tai World Museum, expanding the monastic operations in order to promote the Chan practice with the “Five Directions of Spreading Buddhism” established by the Grand Master. Under his leadership, Chung Tai continues to deepen its foundation, bringing the Dharma to communities far and wide.
The Buddha Dharma is vast and deep and offers many possible paths. To lead his disciples onto the path to enlightenment, the Grand Master established the following guiding principles for personal cultivation and organizational leadership:
Three Links of Cultivation helps us cultivate merits, wisdom and concentration on the bodhisattva path.
Four Tenets of Chung Tai helps us develop our intrinsic virtues when interacting with others.
Five Approaches to Sharing the Dharma makes the Dharma available to people from all walks of life.
