Luk, Charles (Lu K'uan Yü) (1898-?)
Luk, Charles (Lu K'uan 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 sects—the Kargyupas (White Sect) and the Nyingmapas (Red Caps)—and also an enlightened Great Lama. His second master was the Venerable Ch'an Master Hsu Yun, Dharma-successor of all the Five Ch'an (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. Ch'an and Zen Teachings. Series 1, 2 & 3. London: Rider, 1960-62.
——. 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.