At 9:30 am on April 5, DDM’s abbot president Ven. Guo Dong and vice abbot president Ven. Guo Yuan, among other DDM Sangha monastics, together with Korean student monks currently studying at Dharma Drum Mountain, welcomed visitors from the abbots council of head temples of the Korean Jogye Order, including Venerables Zheng Nian and Ding Yu. The visiting guests, chiefs of the Order’s various administrative districts and also responsible for offering spiritual guidance to the military, hoped to learn more about the practice styles and management of Buddhist groups and organizations in Taiwan.

On March 2, 2016, Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs David Y. L. Lin (林永樂部長) presented the certificate of gratitude to DDM Social Welfare and Charity Foundation, among other NGOs, for its long-term contribution to the government’s efforts in humanity care and environmental protection, thereby promoting Taiwan’s participation in international cooperation affairs. Mrs. Ko Bi-Yao（柯碧瑤女士）, deputy chairperson of the Foundation, attended the award ceremony, in which she expressed appreciation to the public for their support while encouraging DDM to keep learning and further devote itself to the benefit of people and society.

The director of Bureau Français de Taipei, Mr. Benoît Guidée, and his wife visited Dharma Drum Mountain World Center for Buddhist Education with a colleague in the afternoon on February twenty-fourth. The abbot president of DDM, Ven. Guo Dong, together with Dr. Po Chang Chen, the dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, greeted the director alongside other representatives of Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts.

Dharma Drum Mountain held the Transmitting the Light of Dharma ritual at Nung Chan Monastery and several other branch monasteries in Taiwan, at 7 p.m. on February 20, to commemorate DDM founder Master Sheng Yen’s lifelong practice, as well as his compassionate wisdom in inspiring people to enter the gate of the Dharma.

A magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck southern Taiwan at 3:57 a.m. on February 6, causing many buildings to collapse. Dharma Drum Mountain Social Welfare and Charity Foundation, together with DDM’s monastics and volunteers in the Tainan area, immediately set up disaster service centers in Yongda Road and at the Kunshan Village Activity Center, near the collapsed buildings, to assist with rescue operations by the military, police, and firefighters and provide tents, flashlights, hot meals, blankets, body warmer packs, and drinking water to the rescue workers and victims. Starting from one day before the Chinese New Year’s Eve, volunteers worked around the clock to provide necessary materials to the disaster areas. At the National Cheng Kung University Hospital, the Chi Mei Medical Center, and in the disaster areas, DDM’s monastics gave out free prayer beads and Great Compassion Mantra Water. They also chanted the Buddha’s name and provided blessings, to console the anxious and grieving families, helping them restore peace in the face of life’s impermanence.

Following the earthquake that hit the Yaan City, Sichuan Province, China, in April of 2013, Dharma Drum Mountain launched a relief project to help rebuild schools in the area. On the morning of January 22, 2016, an opening ceremony was held at the Minxing High School in the Xiushui Township to celebrate the completion of the school’s library and sports field, along with the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of its table-tennis center. The project to rebuild the Duogong Central Elementary School in the Tianquan County, Yaan, was also completed, with an opening ceremony held on the morning of January 21, attended by local residents, as well as teachers and students at the school.

Ven. Panyalinkara, abbot of the Chinese Buddhist Temple in Nalanda, India, visited Dharma Drum Mountain World Center for Buddhist Education together with five members of Taiwan’s Dharma Zen Center, at 9:30 a.m. on January 20, 2016. Ven. Changxue (常學) of the Sangha Education Department and Ven. Changji (常寂) of the International Relations Office welcomed the guests on behalf of DDM, who visited the Wish-Fulfilling Guanyin Hall, the Founding History Memorial Hall, and the Grand Buddha Hall, with detailed explanation by Venerables Changxue and Changji about the ideals of DDM as a practice center and its calming and peaceful environment featuring the spirit of Chan.

At 10:00 am on January 13, 2016, His Holiness the 37th Drikhung Kagyu Kyabgon Chetsang visited Dharma Drum Mountain’s Nung Chan Monastery, together with Tsai Desheng (蔡得勝), former director-general of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, and Zhang Pingzhao (張平沼), president of Taiwan General Chamber of Commerce, among other distinguished guests. The group of 10 guests was warmly welcomed by DDM’s abbot president Ven. Gong Dong.

At 11 in the morning of January 14th, Rev. Joshin L. Bachoux, abbot of la Demeure sans Limites, visited Dharma Drum Mountain World Center for Buddhist Education together with Sakyadhita Taiwan. Dedicated to sharing Zen teachings as Dharma Drum Mountain is with Chan teachings, the Reverend, who visited Taiwan for the first time, said that Dharma Drum Mountain projects a calming energy that enables people to feel joy, while DDM monastics praised her for being able to engage in the challenging task of propagating the Dharma in Europe with a firm determination.

【 A Tale of Two Futures - Planetary Realism in the Time of Climate Change 】 By Tim Dai

Introduction

Venerable Chang Ji just delivered an amazing talk at Dharma Drum Vancouver Center, and the talk was closely related to each one of us. It’s on Global Climate Change of our common home - earth. As you may already know, in December 2015 there was an important international conference took place in Pairs regarding Climate Change – COP21. Venerable Chang Ji, representing DDMBA US, attended the full conference which lasted for almost 12 days, and we were very lucky to have her sharing with us what she learned. Unfortunately, some people weren’t able to attend her talk. Therefore, here is my report on her talk and hopefully it can give you a little taste of her talk and this important topic