Luk, Charles (Lu Kuan Yü) (1898 )
Chinese-born teacher and writer on Chinese Zen Buddhism
and the yoga of Taoism. He was born on January 17, 1898, in
Canton, China, and his first master was the Hutuktu of Sikang,
who was the guru of two Tibetan Buddhists sectsthe Kargyupas
(White Sect) and the Nyingmapas (Red Caps)and also an
enlightened Great Lama. His second master was the Venerable
Chan Master Hsu Yun, Dharma-successor of all the Five Chan
(Zen) Sects of China and 119 years old when he died in October
1959 in a monastery in Kiangsi province.
Charles Luk was one of the leading authorities on Chinese
yoga and Buddhism. He lived in Hong Kong and spent many
years studying and interpreting traditional texts of Chinese
Buddhism and meditational practices, so that this teaching
would be preserved and made available in the West. His works
on Taoist yoga and meditation indicated that the basic principles
of kundalini, a teaching of Hindu tantric groups, were also
known and practiced in Chinese tradition.
Sources
Luk, Charles. Chan and Zen Teachings. Series 1, 2 & 3. London
Rider, 196062.
. Practical Buddhism. London Rider, 1971.
. The Secrets of Chinese Meditation. London Rider,
1964.
. Taoist Yoga, Alchemy, and Immortality. New York
Samuel Weiser, 1973.
. The Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra. Berkeley, Calif. Shambhala,
1972.
