Master Sheng Yen, who was forced to drop school at age 13, had been self-taught most of the time, and eventually obtained a PhD in Japan. Realizing the importance of education and constantly learning, he had a long-term plan for the DDM sangha by designing a wide range of study subjects, including developing inner compassion, external codes of conducts and behavior, as well as daily life skills and other specialized knowledge to meet the needs of society, laying a solid foundation for its monastics to carry out tasks of sharing the Dharma in the future.