In 1989, the internationally well-known Chan Master Sheng Yen elaborated a new concept which he called “Protecting the Spiritual Environment.” Protecting the Spiritual Environment, based on the philosophy and practice of Chinese Chan Buddhism, is not just a notion about a new lifestyle or the promotion of a social movement but, in itself, is a Chan device utilized in modern life. In the gradual approach of Indian Buddhism, practice is cultivated in sitting meditation. Through a transformation of the gradual approach, Protecting the Spiritual Environment can be applied to everyday life and developed into a new form of practice relevant to modern society. Moreover, Protecting the Spiritual Environment extends Chan practice to the realm of social ethics as well as to issues such as world religions, peace, mental health, economics and environmentalism etc. However, whereas media and researchers often focus on Protecting the Spiritual Environment in the context of social movements or as a novel lifestyle, the relationship of Protecting the Spiritual Environment to Chan Buddhism is seldom explored. This essay will consider the relationship between Protecting the Spiritual Environment and Chan Buddhism from three perspectives: Master Sheng Yen’s theory, Chan teaching history and its content, and contemporary ethics. In theory, Protecting the Spiritual Environment draws from concepts such as “ The purity of the Buddha-field reflects the purity of the bodhisattva’s mind” in the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa Sūtra, “ A samādhi of perfect unity of body and mind in all activities” and “Mind characterized by straight forwardness” in The