During October 14 to 16,” the First International Buddhist-Christian Dialogue for Nuns” was held in Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Monastery (佛光山寺) and was organized by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), in collaboration with the Association of the Major Superiors of Religious Women in Taiwan, and Dialogue Interreligieux Monastique ; in the theme of “Contemplative Action and Active Contemplation: Buddhist and Christian Nuns in Dialogue”.

Move the body:

Some people think that meditation means sitting totally motionless and static but this is not necessarily the case. With a proper sitting and posture the body is active in its stillness. This relaxes the muscles of the whole body, the joints, the nervous system, and stimulates the endocrine, digestive, and circulation systems to promote overall health. People seek massage to relax their muscles but the mind may still be restless, whereas sitting meditation thoroughly relaxes the mind as well. Sitting meditation can have healing benefits for some conditions such as high-blood pressure, arthritis, and neurasthenia etc. It is not surgery or a panacea, but it can improve health without one’s being aware of it.

On August 23, based on the subject "My two years at Harvard: Religious exchange and dialogue between the East and West", Venerable Chang Shen (常諗法師)shared her observations as a visiting scholar from three perspectives.

The Living Environment of Human Beings

Among the important living environment for human beings are these four: the meterial, the spiritual, the social, and the natural.

Bearing hardship means accepting torments, while bearing the loss of pleasure demands the self-discipline of a higher will.

By being able to endure the seemingly unendurable, we are able to observe the precepts purely.

[Notice]

For your kind reference, DDM World Center for Buddhist Education in Jinshan Township, New Taipei City, will be closed for the Great Compassion Liberation Rite for Water and Land (大悲心水陸法會), from Nov.25 to Dec 3, 2018, to uphold the gracious atmosphere for the practitioners.

Having faith in the Three Jewels is certainly the most characteristic feature of a Buddhist. Followers of other, theistic religions either believe only in God (i.e., Jews and Muslims), or in the Holy Father, Holy Son, and Holy Spirit (i.e., [Protestant] Christians), or in this trinity plus the Holy Mother (i.e., Catholics). Because Buddhism is an atheistic religion, Buddhists do not worship the Buddha as a deity, nor do they regard him as the one and only Buddha or as the creator of everything who can absolve all the sins of humankind. Rather, the Buddha is a teacher who can help students change their dispositions, acquire knowledge, and cultivate their bodies and minds; he cannot, however, learn for the students or take entrance examinations for them.

[ Notice ]

Nung Chan Monastery will be closed for the event of Chan Run , from 6.00-14.00 Nov.3rd, 2018., to uphold the gracious atmosphere for the practitioners.

For your kind reference, the monastery wouldn't be avaiable for the non-registered, the relatives, and the public. We apologize for your inconvience.

Please have our best welcome for your visit after 14.00 in the afternoon of Nov. 3rd.

Nung Chan Monastery

On Oct 21, 2018, a Puyuma Express (普悠瑪) derailed near Xinma Station in Suao, Yilan, (宜蘭蘇澳新馬站), killing at least 18 people and injuring nearly 200.

Venerable Chang-Fa (常法法師), Director of DDM Lanyang Branch Monastery, along with local volunteers immediately went to visit the crash site and gave solace to those sent to hospitals. Volunteers also provided a deathbed chanting service for the deceased, at Suao Branch of Taipei Veterans General Hospital (台北榮總蘇澳分院).

At the invitation of Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM), Zarko Andricevic, one of the Western Dharma Heirs of DDM’s Founder, Master Sheng Yen, and the Founder of Dharmaloka in Croatia, led a 7-day Bilingual Silent Illumination Chan Retreat at DDM World Center for Buddhist Education on September 23-30, 2018.


More than 130 practitioners enthusiastically partook in the retreat, of which about half were foreigners, coming from the US, the UK, Germany, France, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mainland China and Hong Kong; as well as many local Taiwanese participants.