Shen Shuwen
Shen Shuwen 申書文 (1903-1997) was a Manch female lay Buddhist master of the Karma Kagyu lineage.[1] She was a dharma descendant of Gankar Rinpoche 貢噶呼圖克圖 (1893-1957).
Born to a noble Manchu family she became interested in Buddhism while studying with Taixu and Xuyun. Through Taixu she gained access to the Sino-Tibetan Buddhist Institute in Chongqing to study Tibetan. This led to Shen traveling to Kham, Sichuan and going into meditation retreat for three years from 1942-1945 at Mt. Gongga under Gankar Rinpoche's guidance. After he passed in Beijing 1957, she left for Taiwan founding the Gongga Vihara 貢噶精舍 in Taibei in 1959, one of the earliest Tibetan institutes in Taiwan. She would also found the Zhengfayan Buddhist periodical, the first Tibetan Buddhist periodical in Taiwan.
She was mummified after her death.
- ↑ Wu, Wei. Esoteric Buddhism in China: Engaging Japanese and Tibetan Traditions, 1912–1949. United States, Columbia University Press, 2024.
