Lu Sheng-yen

Lu Sheng-Yen (, born 27 June 1945), commonly referred to by followers as Grand Master Lu (師尊), is a Taiwanese-born American Buddhist teacher who is the founder and spiritual leader of the True Buddha School, a new religious movement with teachings from Buddhism, Confucianism and 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’s sect claims to have more five million followers worldwide, of whom the majority hail from Taiwan, China, Macau, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. Lu Sheng-Yen holds dual American and Taiwanese citizenship, and often travels between the two countries.

Life
Lu Sheng-Yen was born in present-day 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 for the Taiwan military 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 he had a Zen-style instant awakening to the first stage of enlightenment by the Golden Mother of the Jade Pond in 1969, who opened his third eye during a visit to a Taoist temple, revealing to him his true nature and purpose. She directed him to follow the instructions of Reverend Liao Ming 清真 (of the Taoist Ching Zhen Sect, also a lineage holder of the Kagyu school of Vajrayana Buddhism) and the Three Mountains and Nine Marquis.

Lu is a prolific author and has produced a large body of work over a span of 40 years. This has resulted in 240 books published in Traditional Chinese.

Personal life
Lu Sheng-Yen is married to Lian Hsiang, who is also a vajra master, and is referred as Shimu in Chinese, which translates as Grand Madam in English, the standard Chinese title for a woman married to a Grandmaster. Prior to becoming a monk, the couple already had two children.

Differences between teachings and other Buddhist sects
In 2007, the Buddhist Federation of Malaysia, the Malaysian Buddhist Youth Association, the Malaysian Buddhist Dharma Promotion Association, the International Buddha's Light Association Malaysian Association, the Ceylon Buddhist Advancement Association, Buddhist Tzu Chi Merit Association and Malaysian Vajrayana issued a joint statement, criticizing the True Buddha Sect as a heretic Buddhist group, and questioned Lu Shengyan´s claim to be a Buddha and the supreme power of Dharma. They argue that these claims are misleading, and his personal behavior is not in line with the Buddhist system.

Allegations of money-making fraud
In 2007, seven Buddhist groups in Malaysia criticized Shengyan Lu's gatherings for conducting monetary transactions in a statement. For example, the Buddhist hat worn by Shengyan Lu was priced at 300,000 USD, and the cassock worn by Mr. Lu was priced at 100,000 USD. Moreover, the proceeds from the auction were handed over to Lu Shengyan himself. In 2012, in New Taipei City Banqiao District, a church leader from the True Buddhist Sect promised to help believers invest in stocks and guaranteed that the investment would be profitable. Lee, accused of violating Banking Law.

Collective cash donation to then-Governor Gary Locke
Lu made headlines during an investigation by the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission, prompted by media reporting, into a collective cash donation to then-Governor Gary Locke after a speaking engagement at the Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple. Lu hoped Locke might eventually run for the White House. Locke was cleared of any wrongdoing by the commission in 1998. Further, this did not affect Locke in his pursuit for confirmation as U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

Criticism
In 2007, the Buddhist Federation of Malaysia, the Malaysian Buddhist Youth Association, the Malaysian Buddhist Dharma Promotion Association, the International Buddha's Light Association Malaysian Association, the Ceylon Buddhist Advancement Association, Buddhist Tzu Chi Merit Association and Malaysian Vajrayana Buddhist Association issued a joint statement, criticizing the True Buddha Sect as a Buddhist heretic rather than orthodox Buddhism, and stating their view that Lu Sheng-yen claimed to be Buddha and claimed the supreme power of Dharma.

Prof. Wai Lun Tam of the Chinese University of Hong Kong has conducted on-going research into True Buddha School and his studies question the use of the term "new religion", finding instead that it was simply "a new Buddhist movement".