Students of Syracuse University Experiencing Chan Practice at Dharma Drum Mountain
On Jan 27, 2019, Prof. Chan, Yuk Sim, Director of the Hong Kong Center of Syracuse University, led about 60 students from universities across America to visit Dharma Drum Mountain World Center for Buddhist Education for a glimpse of Buddhist architecture and statue craftsmanship. During their visit, they appreciated the cultural deposits of Chinese philosophy from a religious perspective, and by practicing exercises such as walking, eating, bowl-holding and sitting meditation,students sampled Chan mediation and felt the unity of body and mind.
“What is the Bodhi-mind?”
“Is enlightenment really achievable?”
“What is the Buddhist view on causes and conditions, and karmic causality?”
Students kept raising questions throughout their DDM visit. After experiencing Chan meditation, they were surprised that meditation practice can be so much beneficial to life.
As Skyler Beach shared,
“At the Pool of Wish Fulfilling Guanyin Hall, I was deeply impressed by the tranquility I had never experienced before.” For Grant Tilson, who had the noticeable sensation during bowl-holding meditation while circling the site of
“seventh Tathagata,” said that
“It was a moment when we interacted with the external environment. Bowl-holding was a simple movement yet required full awareness so as to refrain from spillage; whenever the wondering thoughts flash up, the mind has always to turn back and be focused on the bowl-holding movement, thus making it a very good practice in Chan mediation.” As for Kate Abogado, an experienced Chan practitioner having her groups practicing for the first time, the systematic instructions enabled her to relax and concentrate the mind.
“I opt to bring students here every year as I admire DDM’s idea of practicing Buddhadharma in daily life and applying it worldly.”