Dharma Drum Berlin Organizes Its First Dharma Propagation Event

Ven. Guo Xing leads first batch of Three-Day Chan Retreat, elaborately guiding participants in the steps of Chan meditation (Photo courtesy of Dharma Drum Berlin)

Dharma Drum Berlin was established at the end of April this year, and under the active promotions of its head person Winona Lin (林琬千). Beginning June 27, for three consecutive weeks, Dharma propagation events were organized, inviting Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts associate professor from the Department of Buddhist Studies, Venerable Guo Xing (果幸法師), to personally lead three batches of Three-Day Chan Retreat as well as a lecture on Spiritual Environmentalism. This series of events allowed local Chan practitioners to reconnect with Master Sheng Yen's teachings, marking an important chapter in DDM's Dharma propagation efforts in Europe.

In 1999, Master Sheng Yen accepted the invitation of the Buddhist Society of Berlin (Buddhistische Gesellschaft Berlin, in German) to lead a Seven-Day Chan Retreat in Germany, thereby creating a profound impact there. After twenty six years, Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM) finally established a liaison office in Germany, and co-organized Chan practice activities together with the Buddhist Society of Berlin, namely three batches of Three-Day Chan Retreat on June 27 – 29, July 4 – 6 and July 11 – 13 respectively. The contents of these retreats included the basic concepts and methods of Chan practice, history of the Chinese Chan Buddhism, differences between Chinese and Japanese Chan, and explanation of the Silent Illumination Inscription and Silent Illumination Practice, deepening the understanding of Chinese Chan Buddhism and practical application of Chan methods for the European practitioners.

On the evening of July 2, a lecture on "Spiritual Environmentalism" was held at the Taipei Representative Office in the Federal Republic of Germany, with approximately forty audiences including Taiwan's representative to Germany, Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉), and his wife, overseas Taiwanese and local residents. The Venerable pointed out that modern society is over-developing outwardly, yet neglecting its inner needs, hence leading to an imbalance between body, mind and the environment. The concepts and methods of "spiritual environmentalism" are exactly in urgent need at the moment. In addition, the Venerable also led everyone in a short Chan meditation session. The Venerable lead all the participants to adjusting sitting posture and experiencing each breath. She then proceeded to guide the participants to relax and cultivate awareness. The participants' feedback from the experience was positive. 

Participants in the Three-Day Chan Retreats included university faculty members, art curators, engineers, international students etc. In full attendance was President of the Buddhist Society of Berlin, Dr. Rainer Noack. His wife indicated that the Society's Chan practitioners are getting older by the year, and it's worrisome if there was no one to carry on the Chan lineage. Today, with DDM returning to Berlin, and witnessing the young people engage in participation, she was filled with hope, with expectations of continuous interaction and cooperation with DDM in the propagation of Chinese Chan Buddhism.





◎Original text in Chinese: Dharma Drum Monthly No. 428
◎Foto: Dharma Drum Berlin 
◎Translation: 張振郁 (Cheng-Yu Chang)
◎Editing: Keith Brown, YKL