A New Hub for Promoting Chinese Chan Buddhism in North America: Dharma Drum Meditation Center Opens

▲ Venerable Guo Yuan (果元法師) guiding participants at the opening of Dharma Drum Meditation Center in Manhattan in experiencing the sound method. (Photo courtesy of Dharma Drum Meditation Center)
 
After years of dedicated aspiration and collective effort, Dharma Drum Mountain has established its first Chan practice center in the heart of Manhattan. On January 24, Dharma Drum Meditation Center held its grand opening ceremony. The event was presided over by Venerable Guo Yuan, Abbot of Dharma Drum Retreat Center, who conducted the purification ritual and led a full day of meditation activities. Nearly one hundred participants from all walks of life gathered joyfully to welcome this spiritual oasis in New York City and to mark a new chapter in the promotion of Chinese Chan Buddhism.
 
Following the completion of the purification ritual, Venerable Guo Yuan shared that, through long-term observation, he has recognized a widespread inner yearning among modern people for the Dharma and for a stabilizing force of the mind. This yearning is, in fact, the main inspiration behind establishing the center. He noted that many practitioners wish to relax, yet due to habitual physical and mental tension and overexertion, they often achieve the opposite effect. Drawing from his own experience of attaining deep relaxation and improved sleep through listening to sound, Venerable Guo Yuan guided participants in experiencing the sound method, teaching them to return to the present moment by simply "hearing" without judgment.
 
The afternoon program reviewed the journey of Dharma Drum Mountain's founder, Master Sheng Yen, who arrived in the United States in 1975 to begin spreading the Dharma in the Western world. Over the years, in addition to Chan Meditation Center in Queens, Master Sheng Yen had long hoped to establish a meditation center in Manhattan to make the Dharma more accessible to the general public as well as to reach more people in the city center with Chinese Chan Buddhism. That long-cherished aspiration has now been fulfilled.
 
Venerable Guo Yuan then led another meditation session. The practice began with the Eight-Form Moving Meditation, with the Venerable Guo Yuan personally demonstrating shoulder relaxation and forward-and-backward stretching to guide participants in gradually releasing tension. He then taught the Seven-Point Sitting Posture to help participants stabilize both body and mind. During the post-meditation sharing session, some participants expressed that they had finally found a spiritual refuge. Others shared that, while seated meditation coincided with a celebration in a neighboring building, they were able to use the meditation method to transform the surrounding noise into part of their practice, thereby experiencing the wisdom of a mind unmoved by external conditions. Another participant described a deep awareness of bodily changes during moving meditation and decided to begin practicing the Eight-Form Moving Meditation daily.
 

Dharma Drum Meditation Center has also planned a diverse range of meditation activities, including weekly Dharma talks, group sitting meditation, and outdoor walking meditation. Beginning in February, half-day meditation retreats will be held regularly, and starting in March, Venerable Chang Yuan (常源法師), Director of Dharma Drum Retreat Center, will lead Tea Chan sessions every Friday.
 
Venerable Chang Yuan expressed the hope that, as these activities unfold, Dharma Drum Meditation Center will become a spiritual landmark in Manhattan filled with positive energy—one where every visitor can find inner peace and strength, and carry that sense of calm and harmony back into their daily lives.
 

• Dharma Drum Meditation Center's website: https://www.ddmcnyc.org/
• Address: 122 West 26th St, Suite 801 New York, NY 10001
• Instagram: @ddmcnyc

Photos: Dharma Drum Meditation Center
Original text in Chinese:  Dharma Drum Monthly (法鼓雜誌) No. 434
Translation: Patricia Yang
Editing: Keith Brown