True Buddha School

rdf:langString True Buddha School

rdf:langString Zhēn Fó Zōng

rdf:langString Chin-hu̍t-chong

rdf:langString 真佛宗

rdf:langString The True Buddha School (Chinese: 真佛宗; pinyin: Zhēn Fó Zōng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chin-hu̍t-chong) is a relatively new (Vajrayana oriented) Buddhist sect, that includes practices and deities from Taoism, and thus could arguably be defined as a new religious movement. Its headquarters are in Redmond, WA, USA, and the school has a large following in Taiwan and East Asia. There are also many temples and chapters worldwide, except in Mainland China where the sect is among those persecuted. In 1975, Lu Sheng-yen (盧勝彥) established Ling Xian Zong (School of Efficacious Immortals) in Taiwan, a name with strong Taoist connotations. He officially changed its name to True Buddha School on March 1, 1983. Lu is said to be a fully enlightened buddha, known by his disciples as "Living Buddha Lian-sheng" (蓮生活佛) and Grandmaster Lu. Huófó (活佛), which literally means "living buddha", is the Chinese equivalent to tulku, a Tibetan term for a reincarnated teacher or deity. He is also referred to as the Root Guru by his disciples. Lu is a prolific author who has written 282 books [as of March 2021]. As of Feb 2013, the organization claims over 5,000,000 have taken refuge through him, although only a minority have become active students of the school and attendees at one of its temples.