Guatemalan President Visits Dharma Drum Mountain to Experience Chan Meditation

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo and First Lady Lucrecia Peinado, accompanied by officials from Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visited the Dharma Drum Mountain World Center for Buddhist Education on the evening of June 7. DDM Abbot President Venerable Guo Huei (果暉法師), Managing Director of the Center Venerable Guo Gau (果高法師), other monastic members of the DDM Sangha and nearly 100 volunteers warmly welcomed the distinguished guests.

This visit was inspired by the First Lady's trip to Taiwan in 2024, during which she was invited to attend the National Day celebrations and visited Dharma Drum Mountain's Nung Chan Monastery in Beitou. Deeply moved by the ideals and Chan teachings of DDM's founder, Master Sheng Yen, she expressed a desire to learn more about this Buddhist organization.

The Abbot President personally led the President, First Lady, and accompanying officials in paying homage to the Buddha statues and offering incense at the Gran Buddha Hall. He presented them with a Spiritual Environmental Protection scroll and two books: "A Commitment to World Peace by World Religious Leaders", which contains speeches delivered by Master Sheng Yen at the United Nations, and "Protecting the Spiritual Environment". He specially gifted a replica of The Heart Sutra handwritten by Master Sheng Yen to the First Lady, wishing her a compassionate heart like Guanyin Bodhisattva, as well as the compassion and wisdom of the Buddha.

The Abbot President also guided the presidential couple around the center, introducing the academic departments and educational system of Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts. The Abbot President explained that Dharma Drum Mountain is a world center for Buddhist education that welcomes international talent, combining advanced academic education with public Buddhist education, in addition to social care education, monastic training, and intensive spiritual cultivation. "Spiritual Environmental Protection means using the compassion and wisdom of the Dharma to purify people's minds and society, protect the earth's natural environment, and promote world peace," remarked the Abbot President. He said that regardless of one's religious background, everyone can improve themselves, contribute to society, and help build a Pure Land on earth.
"I hope this spiritual journey can remind every member of our delegation that we must recover goodness in society and live altruistically," said President Arévalo. He expressed gratitude for Dharma Drum Mountain and the Abbot President for welcoming the visiting delegation with Buddhist rituals, saying the visit brought him a deep sense of inner peace. In today's chaotic world, he emphasized the need to recover our inner strength and wisdom to lead meaningful lives.

The delegation then visited the Wish Fulfilling Guanyin Hall. "The statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva with one foot on the ground and inclined head as if listening attentively and being ready to help all sentient beings", First Lady Peinado explained its significance to President Arévalo upon seeing the statue. In response to the Abbot President's words of encouragement: "Let great compassion arise" and "serving in public office is a great opportunity to do good deeds", the President of Guatemala was deeply moved and said to his delegation, "this is our duty: to consider the public's needs, and to work for their well-being with compassion and a sense of responsibility."

Under the guidance of Venerable Chang Zhan (常展法師), director of Meditation Activity Department, the delegation sat on cushions or chairs beside the pool of the Wish Fulfilling Guanyin Hall, listened to the sounds of wind and water in nature, relaxed body and mind, practiced mindful breathing, and experienced the calmness, serenity, and ease of Chan Meditation. Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, the delegation concluded their visit with the blessings of the Dharma.


Original text in Chinese: 楊仁惠
Photos: 李東陽
Translation: Patricia Yang 
Editing: Keith Brown