From May 17 to May 20, 2018, Dharma Drum Mountain Chan Meditation Center held its 8th Bodhisattva Precepts Ceremony for lay practitioners in the Dharma Drum Retreat Center in New York. Abbott President Ven. Guo Dong (果東法師), Ven. Guo Yuan (果元法師) and Ven. Guo Xing (果醒法師) hosted the ceremony as the “Three Bodhisattva Dharma Masters.” (受戒三師) The Bodhisattva precepts ceremony lasted for four days and three nights and was attended by 76 lay practitioners who were seeking to receive bodhisattva precepts and supported by 14 monastics from the Eastern and Western coasts of the United States and 23 lay volunteers.

During March 31 to April 5th, Venerable Hui-Min, the Principle of Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts, made a special trip to the States to share his insights of the Dharma. Initially invited by Department of Asian Language and Culture, University of Michigan, he shared a series of curriculums of “Chan and Brain Science “; and gave a public speech for nearly 120 participants, on the topic of “Mindful Dying: Hospice care in Taiwanese Buddhism” in Rackham Amphitheater.

DDM followers in Michigan were taking this precious opportunity to meet Venerable Huimin, also invited him to give a lecture of “The Compasses to Pleasures, Chan practices, and Brain Science “in Lansing Buddhist Association Amitabha Village Retreat Center.

On March 1 to 3, 2018, the First International Workshop for Buddhism Dictionaries was jointly hosted by Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional studies, University of Copenhagen, and Buddhism Studies Department, University of Poona, India.

All representative scholars were coming from Hamburger University, School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris, The University of Tokyo, Deccan College, and Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts in Taiwan; they joined altogether so as to explore the better ways of making compilations and studies of Critical Pāli Dictionary, which brings significant benefits to better comprehend and learn Buddhism literature in Pali.

For a long time, I searched for answers about the meaning of life. In 1975, I happened to participate in a meditation course led by two Lamas, and heard them say, “You don’t have to believe anything I say. You should still think about it and put it into practice, to see whether what I have said benefits you.” From then on, I developed an interest in Buddhism.

On March 31st, 2018, Theravāda Buddhist Council of Malaysia (TBCM) and Nalanda Institute Malaysia (NIM) co-hosted the “2018 Inaugural Summit of Buddhist Leaders” . The summit’s objective was to enable Buddhist leaders to get to know their mission, and to identify the spirit and mindset required for the mission. The leaders built a model of Buddha Dharma practice to provide positive direction and influence to their own organizations. The leaders interacted with each other through courses, games and discussions. Nearly 80 English-speaking Buddhist leaders attended the summit from all over Malaysia.

From February 7th to 11th, the fourth “IDCC- Inner Dimensions of Climate Change- Asian / Pacific Youth Ecologists Forum” was held jointly by Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association (DDMBA), The Global Peace Initiative of Women (GPIW), and Earth Charter. The forum was held at the Asian headquarter of United Nations in Bangkok, Thailand and Sathira Dhammasathan.

On February 3, 2018, Ven. Chang Zao, Director of Dharma Drum Mountain Malaysia Center, together with Ven. Yan Xiang were at Sunway University to conduct a training and meditation session. This training program, themed “Discovery Journey of the Mind”, was organized by the Buddhist Association of Sunway University for the preparatory committee of Musical Drama. There were 25 participants altogether.

As part of his significant initiatives to spread Chinese Buddhism to the world, Master Sheng Yen, the founder of Dharma Drum Mountain, led Chan practices in person at the Wujimen Martial Arts School in Russia in 1998 and 2003.

Over the past two decades, in memory of Master Sheng Yen’s grace, the practitioners of Wujimen School have keep practicing Chan and translating the Master’s books. This dedication continued when, with earnest gratitude for the Dharma, Ivan Kapalin, the disciple of the founder of Wujimen, led a pilgrimage of seven members of the Wujimen School and with one Swiss dharma friend to the World Center of Dharma Drum Mountain and the branching monasteries in Northern Taiwan, during the period of January 9th to January 23th, 2018.

Interview with Bhikkhu Bodhi-Part III
Question:
Sutra translation and sutra study play a key role for Buddhism to take roots in the adopted culture, but most Buddhist practitioners in the US don’t actually read and study sutras. What can be done in this regard? In the context of various cultural systems, how can Buddhist ideas be translated and transmitted in their true sense?

Interview with Bhikkhu Bodhi-Part II:
Questions:
Lay Buddhism has become quite popular in the west.
As a monastic practitioner, how do you look at lay sanghas as opposed to monastic sanghas?
What are their respective features and restrictions?
Is lay Buddhism going to be a dominant form of Buddhist practice in the west?