Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association

Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association (DDMBA) GeneRally is considered the association of Dharma Drum Mountain branches and chapters that are based in the United States. Its founder is Venerable Master Sheng-yen.

History

After completing his doctorate degree from Rissho University in Japan, Master Sheng-yen visited United States for the first time in 1976. From being just a wandering monk with poor English, Master Sheng-yen managed to become a meditation teacher at a small temple in the Bronx, New York with around twenty students. With much help from philanthropist C.T. Shen, Master Sheng-yen formed the Chan Meditation Center in Queens, New York. Chan Meditation Center became the nucleus of DDMBA.

Since the passing of his teacher, Ven. Master Dongchu, in the end of 1977, Master Sheng-yen had to divide his time between his monastery in Taiwan and his organization in United States. Despite this, his followers continued to grow and in 1994, the community formed The Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association to promote further Buddhism in the West. Since then, over 30 DDMBA chapters have been started in all over the United States.

In 1997, Dharma Drum Retreat Center, located at a 130 acres of woodland in Pine Bush, New York, was founded. It then became the main retreat center for both DDMBA and other Dharma Drum Mountain affiliates in the west. DDMBA set its characteristic with emphasis on meditation and practice in daily life.

Starting from 2000, Master Sheng-yen led DDMBA to expand its role in interfaith dialogue, peace-building, protecting the environment, and developing youth leadership.

Mission and values

DDMBA is committed to serve humanity by working to relieve the various forms of human suffering - physical, emotional and spiritual. Its values are based on the "Four Kinds of Environmentalism", which include:

  • Protecting the spiritual environment
  • Protecting the living environment
  • Protecting the natural environment
  • Protecting the social environment

Activities

Meditation and retreats

Since its beginning, the emphasis of DDMBA is on meditation activity and promoting Ch'an practice in the daily life. It regularly holds retreats with different lengths for people with different levels of practices. Several concepts such as the Basic Methods, Three Stages of Ch'an Meditation, and Eight Form Meditation, taught by Master Sheng-yen, are applicable.

Global involvement, disaster relief, and environmentalism

However, aside from retreats, to implement its mission, DDMBA also hold various global-involvement programs, ranging from disaster aid and relief, to supporting scholarship research in Buddhism field, to international dialogue for peace-building in conflict zones, and leadership training for youth. DDMBA is contributing its international efforts to create a more equitable and peaceful world. It is supporting the cause to achieve the Millennium Development Goals in 2015. DDMBA raised and donated funds in several disaster zones such as Hurricane Katrina and 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Dharma Drum Mountain sent its volunteers and staffs in Indonesia several times during the tsunami and May 2006 Java earthquake.

In the environmentalism area, it supports the Earth Charter. At the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders in 2000, Steven Rockefeller, Council co-chair of the Earth Charter, invited Master Sheng-yen to a discussion meeting in recognition of his efforts and accomplishments in environmental protection. In this occasion, Master Sheng-yen stated his endorsement and full support of the charter.

Peace-building, Interfaith Dialogues, Youth Leadership

DDMBA is committed to various interfaith and intercultural peace-building efforts and dialogues. This firm stance is expressed explicitly by Master Sheng-yen to all global leaders, "if any sacred texts or ancient teachings of any peoples proposes tenets that go against the principle of peaceful coexistence for all humanity, then these texts must be reinterpreted."

The interfaith dialogues include Middle East-Asian Dialogue held at Beirut, Lebanon in early November 2006; Buddhist-Christian Dialogue at Louisville, Kentucky in mid-April 2002; Global Conference on the Use of Religion to INCITE Violence on May 21 2003 at Dag Hammerskjold Auditorium, United Nations; and many other.

Through the youth leadership training and youth dialogues, DDMBA hopes to support them also in the peace-building effort and to raise their awareness on environment. Some examples of these programs are the Sudan Youth Dialogue, held for seven days from March 1 to 7 2007 at Laikipia Nature Conservancy and Spiritual Center, Laikipia, Kenya; and Cambodian Young Leaders Summit from November 15-19 2007 at Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Centers and chapters in United States

  • Dharma Drum Retreat Center, Quannacut Rd., Pine Bush, New York. 3
  • Chan Meditation Center, Corona Avenue, Elmhurst, New York. 4
  • New Jersey Chapter, New Brunswick, New Jersey. 5
  • Chicago Chapter, Mount Prospect, Illinois. 6
  • Los Angeles Chapter, El Monte, California. 7
  • San Francisco Chapter, Sunnyvale, California. 8
  • Seattle Chapter, Bellevue, Washington. 9

For Dharma Drum Mountain affiliates in other countries, see DDM International Affiliates.

See also

  • Dharma Drum Mountain
  • Master Sheng-yen
  • Dharma Drum Retreat Center
  • Western Chan Fellowship