Master Sheng Yen played a key role in reforming and developing Zen Buddhism, blurring boundaries between religion and society and between researching and propagation, to develop a system that embraces believers of different cultural backgrounds and educational levels.
整體而言，聖嚴法師對佛教的改革與發展貢獻良多，乃因他以禪宗為本，跨越宗教與社會、研究與弘法的界線，渾然自成系統，故能接引不同文化背景、教育程度的信眾。