Venerable Master Jianying, the abbot of Chung Tai Chan Monastery, obtained his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from The Ohio State University. In 1998, he was ordained as a monk under the guidance of Grand Master Weichueh, the founding abbot of Chung Tai. He then delved deeply into the sutra treasury and learned to apply the principles of Buddhadharma in practice. Later, with the aim of further contributing to the spread of the Dharma, Master Jianying returned to the United States to pursue advanced studies. He studied Sanskrit at the University of California, Berkeley, before earning a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Rice University, Texas.

Master Jianying has served in key positions such as the vice abbot of the Chung Tai Zen Center of Houston, the vice abbot and abbot of the Chung Tai Zen Center of Sunnyvale, the director of the Chung Tai translation committee, the vice abbot of dharma affairs, and the vice abbot of research and development. His extensive scholarship and profound vows have earned him recognition and support from his peers.

Under the guidance of Grand Master Weichueh, Chung Tai Chan Monastery became a place to demonstrate the principle of mind, embody the Dharma, and provide refuge for the sangha in their mission of liberating others. To ensure the continuity of the Chan tradition’s Dharma lineage, Chung Tai established a system for transferring the abbotship, along with a clear direction for spreading the Dharma. On May 21st, 2005, the founding abbot personally entrusted the abbotship to Venerable Master Jiandeng, who tirelessly led the monastery for eighteen years. On May 26th, 2023, Abbot Jiandeng passed on the responsibility of abbotship to the third abbot, Venerable Master Jianying. Abbot Jianying will continue to lead Chung Tai’s bodhisattva sangha in teaching and demonstrating the Chan principle of mind, as well as guiding Chung Tai World as it enters a new chapter in its history.

Since his ordination, Venerable Master Jianying has upheld the Grand Master’s vows, harmonizing inwardly with the unsurpassed seal and unwaveringly practicing the Bodhisattva Way. He teaches the Dharma guided inwardly by the Way and never forgets the beginner’s mind to sincerely create wholesome affinity and pure Dharma affinity with others. As he assumes the role of abbot, Venerable Master Jianying is expected to lead with the Tathagata’s right view and the mind-Dharma of the patriarchs, guiding the monastery to integrate Chan-mind with bodhisattva practice in their daily cultivation, strive to realize the unsurpassed bodhi, and carry out the Grand Master’s compassionate instructions: preserve the monastery, deepen cultivation, and spread the Dharma. It is now Abbot Jianying’s responsibility to lead the fourfold assembly to overcome myriad delusions, abide on the intrinsic Chung Tai (lit. middle platform) of their self-nature, continue the Universal Transmission of Chung Tai and allow the Dharma to take root wherever it lands. Under his leadership, Chung Tai Chan Monastery will walk the one upward path, so the light of Chan may always shine.