CNBC Television Series Karma Trekkers visits DDM
At the Dharma Drum Mountain World Center for Buddhist Education, Taiwan, on September 17 -18, 2007, producer and host of CNBC's Karma Trekkers paid a special visit to the Mountain to conduct interviews with the sangha's monastics and to film footage of the campus, with the plan of doing a short 5 –10 minute piece on DDM, to be aired on their television program, which broadcasts worldwide in English.
Of the monastic participants, included were Abbot President Venerable Guo Dong, Venerables Guo Yuan, Chang Zhi, Chang Hwa, Chang Ji, and Chang Wen, some of whom did a short interview, and others who followed alongside the Trekkers for 2 days, speaking about the history, purpose, ethos, concepts, and practices of DDM, for example, the 5-Fold Spiritual Renaissance, and the story behind the building location of the Chan Hall.
There was time even to do a short introduction to the Eight Forms of Moving Meditation and sitting meditation, of which the host of Karma Trekkers, Damon as well as the Producer Kevin particularly found useful, commenting that the audience of the show can immediately get a taste of Chan practice and spur the interest in pursuing self-cultivation.
After the two days of filming and interviewing, alongside the monastics, members of DDM's International Relations Dept., as well as the travel consultant for the Trekkers, who just so happened to be a ardent disciple of DDM, the Trekkers were moved by the warm and friendly hospitality, as well as the light and relaxed sense of humor of the group, and had enough footage for an hour or so of television broadcast.
Consequently, they found the visit so inspiring that they plan to make a full-length documentary of DDM, in addition to the short on Karma Trekkers, to be distributed worldwide, to interested television stations.
Therefore, in order to get a more comprehensive coverage of DDM's activites, they plan to go to the Dharma Drum Retreat Center as well as the Chan Meditation Center, to interview the sangha there, and get some footage of DDM's activities in the States. Initially, with just an intention to make a short piece for the television series, the Karma Trekkers, motivated by a vow to "Help bring peace to a restless world", are diligently working on sharing the wisdom of Dharma Drum Mountain through the proposed documentary.
Thus with this short collaborative effort, not only have a few visitors benefited from the teachings of Chan, but in the future, the message of DDM's Chan Dharma will be shared with the world on a broad scale, bringing the Dharma into the lives of a countless people.
May the benefits of these efforts be shared with all sentient beings!
(contributed by Venerable Chang Wen)
