Editing True Buddha School

{{Short description|Buddhist organization}}
{{Primary sources|date=November 2023}}
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[[File:Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple - exterior.jpg|thumb|250px|The school's main temple, the Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple in [[Redmond, Washington|Redmond]].]]
[[File:Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple - interior.jpg|thumb|The main shrine in the main temple]]

The '''True Buddha School'''  ({{zh|t={{linktext|真佛宗}}|p=Zhēn Fó Zōng|poj=Chin-hu̍t-chong}}) is a [[Mahayana Buddhist]] sect founded in the 1970s. While predominantly focused on Buddhist teachings and practices, it also includes practices and deities from [[Taoism]]. Its headquarters are in [[Redmond, Washington]], USA, and the school has a large following in Taiwan and East Asia.{{sfnp|Ho|2015}} There are also many temples and chapters worldwide. In [[China]], the sect is reportedly on a list of banned religious organisations.{{sfnp|Yang|2018}}

In 1975 [[Lu Sheng-yen]] established Ling Xian Zong (School of Efficacious Immortals) in Taiwan and he officially changed its name to True Buddha School in 1983.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=True Buddha School Introductory Handbook|url=https://en.tbsn.org/uploads/download/2021_02_23/7950e4a1f658fe2934cf3a1d9f1c089d.pdf#page=21}}</ref> Lu's followers call him "His Holiness Living Buddha Lian Sheng." Lu has written 306 books [as of May 2025].<ref>{{Cite web|script-title=zh:真佛般若藏 |url=https://tbboyeh.org/cht#/store|access-date=2021-03-12|website=tbboyeh.org}}</ref>

True Buddha School's funding relies heavily on donations, supplemented by the income from the publication from Lu's books. The money is distributed through the Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation |url=https://sylfoundation.org/ |access-date=2023-05-16 |language=en-US}}</ref> and the Lotus Light Charity Society, which has branches in Vancouver and Singapore.

==Teachings ==
The True Buddha School teachings follow a specific sequence of spiritual cultivation. The first level involves 100,000 sessions of the outer practices of the four preliminaries, (known as [[Ngöndro]] in Tibetan Buddhism). These preliminaries include [[Vajrasattva]] yoga, a great repentance yoga to purify bad karma. This is followed by [[Guru Yoga]] and Personal [[Deity yoga]].<ref name=":0" />

The second level contains the inner energy practices, similar to those found in Tibetan Buddhism, such as Treasure Vase Energy Yoga,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lu |first1=Sheng-yen |title=An overview of the Buddhadharma |last2=Chow |first2=Janny |date=1997 |publisher=Purple Lotus Society |isbn=978-1-881493-06-8 |edition=1st |location=San Bruno, CA}}</ref> followed by the Inner Fire practice to open the central channel.<ref name=":0" />

The third level (the "Secret Practices") is the opening of the five [[Chakra|chakras]], and the [[Heruka]] practices.<ref name=":0" />

The final level (the "Most Secret Practices") is the [[Great Perfection]] of Dzogchen.<ref name=":0" />

== Chapters ==
The school has chapters in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Latin America. The main temple, the Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple, is located in Redmond, Washington, USA.

The majority of the school's followers are in Asia, and in North America, Australia, and Europe the majority of the students are Asian immigrants or of Asian descent.{{sfnp|Ho|2015}}

==References==
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===Works cited===
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* {{Cite thesis |degree=PhD |last=Ho |first=Jacqueline |date=2015-05-01 |title=Insular Buddhist Communities and Attendance Patterns: The True Buddha School and the Calgary Pai Yuin Temple's Outreach to the Wider Community |doi=10.11575/PRISM/26564 |doi-access=free |publisher=University of Calgary}}
* {{Cite book |last=Yang |first=Fenggang |title=Atlas of Religion in China: Social and Geographical Contexts |date=2018 |publisher=Brill |others=J. E. E. Pettit |isbn=978-90-04-35885-0 |location=Leiden |oclc=1028838788}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
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*{{cite web |last=Casey |first=Noah |url=http://www.mrsp.mcgill.ca/reports/html/ChanHai/ |title=The True Buddha School: A Field Research Report on The Chan Hai Lei Zang Temple |website=Montreal Religious Sites Project |access-date=2025-01-18}}
* {{cite book |last=Lu |first=Sheng-yen |author-link=Lu Sheng-yen |year=1995 |title=A Complete and Detailed Exposition on the True Buddha Tantric Dharma |place=San Bruno, California |publisher=Purple Lotus Society |isbn=1-881493-04-0}}
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==External links==
{{external links|date=January 2025}}
{{Commonscat}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* True Buddha School Official website in [http://en.tbsn.org English] and [http://www.tbsn.org Chinese]. Includes texts of practices and further information about the school.
* [https://www.tbboyeh.org/eng#/index TBBoyeh] - free repository of all of Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu's books, in Chinese, English, Vietnamese, and Indonesian.
* [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLl20r-KQlapX_5fT-N3cOw/videos TBSseattle YouTube] - live broadcasts and videos of the weekly ceremonies.
* [http://www.tbsseattle.org/english/ Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple Seattle] - the main temple of TBS, in Redmond, WA, USA.
* [https://www.facebook.com/TBSkyNews TBSky News in English] - official Facebook page for posting of teachings and articles
* [https://tbs-rainbow.org/ Rainbow Temple] - venue for larger ceremonies in North Bend, WA, USA.
* [https://www.truebuddhasutra.org True Buddha Sutra] Teachings on the True Buddha Sutra given by Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
* [https://www.vajrasutra.org The Vajra Sutra] Exposition on the Vajra Sutra given by Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
* [https://surangamasutra.org The Surangama Sutra] An exposition by Living Buddha Lian Sheng
* [https://www.highkingsutra.org High King Avalokitesvara Sutra] Teachings on the High King Avalokitesvara Sutra given by Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
* [https://www.tbsn.org/world/index.html True Buddha School World Wide Chapters]

[[Category:Buddhist new religious movements]]
[[Category:Buddhist organizations]]
[[Category:Mahayana]]
[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in Redmond, Washington]]
[[Category:Schools of Buddhism founded in Taiwan]]
[[Category:Taoism]]
[[Category:New religious movements established in the 1970s]]