death_date death_place birth_place color nationality title background birth_date article_title name
15 december 1977 republic of china jiangsu , china black republic of china -lrb- taiwan -rrb- venerable #ffd 068 22 september 1908 dongchu
 dongchu 東初
dongchu

dongchu -lrb- , 1907 -- 1977 -rrb- was a chinese ch ` an master in mainland china and later in taiwan , and also the teacher of respected modern-day ch ` an master sheng-yen .
he is the 51st generation of zen patriarch from the caodong school -lrb- see lineage chart -rrb- .
he also established several monasteries and organizations in taiwan that continue to exist and expand to this very day , including chung-hwa institute of buddhist culture -lrb- chibc -rrb- and nung chan monastery .
he was born in jiangsu province , china .
at his early education period , he studied with various prominent monks such as master aiting and master nanting from the zhulin buddhist institute in zhenjiang .
he then pursues his study further at minnan buddhist institute in xiamen , and studied under renowned scholar-monk and modernist master taixu .
his peers in the institute include master yinshun , zhumo , and cihang -lrb- tzuhang -rrb- -- all of whom also became influential monks .
after graduated from minnan buddhist institute , ven .
dongchu then became dean of the prestigious school jiaoshan buddhist institute .
at the same time , he was abbot of the dinghui monastery in zhenjiang , jiangsu province .
dinghui monastery -lrb- `` monastery of samadhi and wisdom '' -rrb- was a very famous ch ` an monastery in china , it stands on an island in the yangtze river , on a hill called `` floating jade mountain '' .
it was first built around 194-195 ce and changed names several times before finally became dinghui monastery during qing dynasty .
he also taught classes at several other buddhist institutes , including jingan si -lrb- `` quiet calm '' -rrb- academy in shanghai -- at which young sheng-yen , who was studying there , first encountered him .
ven .
dongchu had a reputation as a progressive thinker who , unlike most monks at his time , would n't hesitate to criticize others .
he was also known as a fierce teacher and his students gave him the nickname the ` big gun ' .
his paradigm was much influence by his teacher , taixu .
he also became the first permanent council member in the buddhist association of the republic of china in 1947 .
but it did n't last long as within the next couple of years , the communist party drove nationalists out of the mainland china , and many religious leaders , in fear of the communists ' persecution , fled overseas -- including ven .
dongchu , who fled to taiwan at 1949 .
he took temporary shelter at beitou , near taipei , at the fazang monastery .
three months later , his passion for buddhist education and culture led him to start the `` humanity '' magazine -- the first buddhist periodical in taiwan .
its mission is to `` purify the minds of the people and establish life buddhism . ''
by the early 1950s , it had grown very popular and its circulation reached southeast asia and east asia , and america .
ven .
dongchu established his first monastery in taiwan at 1955 .
it was located in beitou , near taipei , and was completed a year later .
instead of naming it a ` monastery ' , he named it chung-hwa institute of buddhist culture -lrb- chibc -rrb- to establish a foundation for cultural work .
in 1956 , he started a charity program called ` winter relief drive ' to collect donations to buy rice , oil , and winter clothing for poor families and orphanages in beitou , tamsui , sanchong , yilan , taoyuan , and xinzhuang .
therefore they could celebrate chinese new year with warmth and meal .
ven .
sheng-yen , who previously was an active writer in the `` humanity '' magazine under his pen-name `` xing shi jiang jun '' -lrb- `` world awakening general '' -rrb- , became ven .
dongchu 's disciple in 1959 .
ven .
sheng-yen was a soldier in the intelligence unit at that time , he joined the army unwillingly in order to escape from mainland china .
despite his position in the intelligence , ven .
sheng-yen 's request to be dismissed from his post was accepted by his superior with ven .
dongchu 's help .
aside from his intellectual and charity activities , ven .
dongchu did n't spend much time leading buddhist ceremonies or rituals .
in his later years , he rarely went out to focus on his writings .
thus , he did n't have many followers and disciples .
however , he was persistent and in the 1960s he bought a 2.5 acres of land in the guandu plain , near taipei .
in the beginning it only serves as a farmland cultivated by ven .
dongchu and his two disciples -- ven .
sheng-yen was in solitary retreat at southern taiwan by the time .
step by step , he built a farmhouse , and after four years of works , he succeeded to establish another monastery , nung chan monastery in 1975 .
in nung chan , meaning `` farming ch ` an '' , the residents practice ch ` an while grow their own food .
they live by the famous aphorism by zen master baizhang huaihai , '' `` a day without work is a day without food '' '' .
the monastery was dedicated to bodhisatva manjusri , which symbolizes great wisdom .
in 1976 , ven .
dongchu had a chance to visit his disciple ven .
sheng-yen at new york .
ven .
sheng-yen was an abbot of a small monastery at the bronx and he succeeded to gain a number of western followers .
they both had parted long before .
ven .
sheng-yen went to six-years solitary retreat in 1961 .
he then studied in japan for some years and earned doctorate degree before arriving in united states .
ven .
dongchu died in 1977 in sitting position with no clear illness .
in his last will he passed down the abbotship of chibc and nung chan to ven .
sheng-yen .
his ashes , which were kept in chibc before , were buried in the life memorial garden of dharma drum mountain in 2007 .
