Living Buddha Dechan Jueren (得禅觉人-大日如来法王) is the current lineage holder of Hanmi, He is the MahaVairocana Dharma King, the 49th Lineage Holder of the Esoteric School. He is also the 47th Lineage Holder of the Linji Chan School, and the honorable abbot of the 1000-year old Longquan Monastery in Inner Mongolia’s Chifeng, the vice-abbot of Wendu Monastery in Qinghai Province. He is a 9th generation Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor, and acknowledged as a Living Buddha in China.
Dechan Jueren is also known by his given name and called Master Yu Tianjian. He is Manchurian Chinese from the north eastern province of Liaoning, city of Chaoyang. At the age of 39, he attained self-realization under the guidance of the 48th Mahacharya of the Esoteric School, Grandmaster Huiling of Putian, Fujian Province.
Dechan Jueren attained the highest awareness, he sees the past, the present and the future, and understands his mission as the Dharma Lineage Holder. When his master found him in 1989, he resigned his position as a plant manager in China, and donated all his savings of over one million RMB to the cause of reviving Buddha-Dharma. He said, “I want to let people know the truth of the Buddha-Dharma again.”
He experienced all kinds of hardship as he journeyed over great rivers and mountains in order to transmit Dharma and to heal people. He has left indelible impressions everywhere.
In 1989, a discovery was made in the heaven palace of the North Pagoda at Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province. They found Sharira, or the bone relic of the Buddha himself, sutra and tantra engraved in silver plates in Chinese, two Chinese Stupas of the Vajradhatu and the Garbhadhatu, and the Stupa of the Five Wisdom Buddhas.
Later, a mandala of The Esoteric School was also discovered in the crypt, the earth palace, of Famensi, or Dharma Doorway Temple at Fufeng County, Shaanxi Province. These discoveries predicted the revival of The Esoteric School. Grandmaster Huiling found Dechan Jueren on the 99th day after the discovery. Dechan Jueren received complete empowerment and transmission, and became MahaVairocana Dharma King, the 49th Mahacharya of The Esoteric School.
Dechan Jueren visited Los Angeles for the first time to attend the International Association of Integrated Medicine at the University of Southern California on July 26, 1998. His thesis on calcium enrichment through meditation practice won the golden award.
On April 1, 1999, the Dari Rulai Temple was founded as the seat of the MahaVairocana Dharma King.
Dechan Jueren attended the United Nations Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders. He was appointed as a Special Advisor of the World Council of Religious Leaders in 2007.
On August 15, 2008, the 105-year old Grandmaster Fozhi, the abbot of Yingtian Monastery in Chengdu, Sichuan, passed on the Dharma Lineage Holder-ship of the Linji School of Chan/Zen Buddhism to Dechan Jueren. Master Dechan Jueren became the 47th Dharma Lineage Holder of the Linji Chan/Zen Buddhism, and the 16th Lineage Holder of the renowned Zhaojue Monastery.