From Self-Awakening to Making Vows: Young People from Around the World Gather at the Awakening Camp to Explore Life’s Direction

"Who am I? Where do I come from, and where am I going?" From February 1 to 8, Dharma Drum Sangha University (DDSU) held the 23rd Awakening Camp. Carrying these fundamental questions about life, 149 young participants from the United States, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and other countries gathered at the Dharma Drum Mountain Chan Hall. Through communal living, participants rediscovered themselves—experiencing monastic life and Buddhist practice within a structured daily schedule and curriculum—gradually dispelling the fog surrounding life's deeper questions.

Venerable Guo Guang (果光法師), Vice Dean of the Female Division of DDSU, served as the Camp Director for this year's Awakening Camp. The program included teachings by Venerable Master Sheng Yen, founder of Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM), on the meaning of monastic life, the mindset of renunciation, and the practice of pure conduct. Members of the monastic community also took turns giving Dharma talks on topics such as "Buddhist View of Life and Self-Awakening", "Discipline and Monastic Living", "Buddhist Etiquette and Practice", "Chanting and Cultivation", "Founder's Compassionate Vows", and "Guidance in Chan Meditation". Step by step, participants were guided to establish correct understanding of the Dharma and to learn meditation methods.

The camp also arranged working meditation, prostration pilgrimage, sitting meditation, ceremony of repentance prostrations, and hall discussions, allowing participants to learn to apply the methods in walking, standing, sitting, and lying down. Through this, they cultivated self-awareness and stability of body and mind, and came to embody the spirit of the practice of "self-awakening and awakening others."

One of the most anticipated sessions, "An Appointment with the Dharma Masters," took place on February 7. Venerable Guo Yi (果毅法師), Managing Director of DDM's Public Buddhist Education Center; Venerable Chang Kuan (常寬法師), Vice Dean of the Male Division of DDSU; and Venerable Yan Qian (演謙法師) were specially invited to share their personal journeys toward monastic life.

Venerable Guo Yi first reflected on how, from adolescence, she had persistently questioned the origins of life and the universe, seeking answers in literature, philosophy, and even mathematics—only to fall into deeper anxiety. Everything changed when she read "Orthodox Chinese Buddhism" by Master Sheng Yen. The Master's response to the origin of the universe—“without beginning and without end--a seemingly "answer without an answer," instantly dissolved years of accumulated confusion. Letting go of her pursuit of knowledge, she devoted herself fully to Buddhist practice. While working at Nung Chan Monastery, and later during an intensive Chan retreat, she personally experienced how, despite intense leg pain and scattered thoughts, the Chan method clearly pointed out the way to liberation. This became the decisive factor in her choice to ordain as a nun.

For Venerable Chang Kuan, the causes and conditions for learning Buddhism arose during his studies in the United States. Drawn simply by the color green, he picked up the "Complete Works of Dharma Drum" with its green cover. While reading "Stories of the Noble Ones", he became as absorbed as if reading a Chinese martial arts novel, thereby developing a deep admiration for a life of Buddhist practice. After returning to Taiwan, he left behind a high-paying job in the computer industry and joined Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation as a warehouse manager. He described that period as training in a "Buddhist scripture repository," with a simple and grounded lifestyle. What ultimately solidified his determination to ordain was hearing Master Sheng Yen remark in a Dharma talk: "Marriage is like jumping into a pit of fire". This sparked a strong sense of renunciation and led him onto the monastic path.
In contrast to the previous two Dharma masters' active searching of the answers to life, Venerable Yan Qian's ordination was a journey from resistance to awakening. Raised with great care and affection, she was introduced to Buddhism by her parents, who also hoped she would become a nun—yet monastic life was never part of her own plans in life. Caught between a secular career and family expectations, she chose to enter monastic life as a way to honestly examine her heart. After becoming a nun, while caring for her ill parents, she deeply experienced how the Dharma becomes a source of strength when facing impermanence. This affirmed her conviction that ordination was the most significant transformation of her life. Venerable Yan Qian’s heartfelt sharing moved the audience to both laughter and tears, thereby allowing them to feel the pure and grounded power of monastic life.

Chantal Lengua, from Italy, shared that she had originally imagined monastic life to consist mainly of sitting meditation and chanting Buddhist scriptures. Only through direct participation did she realize that spiritual practice is highly active and action-oriented. Whether through working meditation, prostration pilgrimage, or chanting together, each activity became a process of facing oneself and contemplating the mind. Moreover, everything done here was not only for oneself, but for the benefit of others—a realization that deeply moved her. Coming from a Catholic cultural background, she was especially struck by the repentance prostrations: "In Buddhism, repentance is not heavy self-blame, but a hopeful renewal. It brings lightness to oneself and inspires a greater willingness to give to others."

Malachai York, currently a student at Yale University, shared that the most memorable experience for him was the meditation guidance session. The Dharma Masters started by raising two questions, encouraging the participants to reflect: "What kind of world do we live in?" and "Why do we need to practice?" This was followed by guided prostrations, a process that deeply moved him. He gradually realized that a sense of shame and a sense of gratitude are not opposites. Rather, they are two aspects of the same whole. "Shame is not about denying oneself, but about reminding oneself that there is still room to grow and improve. Gratitude allows practice to naturally move from self-reflection toward caring for others and benefiting all beings."

Kuan-Chen (寬珍), who had been exposed to Dharma Drum Mountain since childhood, was familiar with Buddhism, yet only in adulthood—during hospital internships and direct encounters with birth, aging, illness, and death—did she begin to reexamine the meaning of life. "I didn't realize that monastic life could be so simple and yet so fulfilling," she said. The camp's greatest inspiration, she said, lay in experience—living sincerely and steadily, allowing oneself to truly quiet down, settle, and reflect. Such a mode of practice is especially precious in modern society.

Chen Kuan-Le (陳寬樂), from Malaysia, noted that communal living allowed him to clearly see how easily he is influenced by the external environment. The brief eight days of monastic life mirrored society at large, thereby reminding him that only by integrating the Buddhist teachings into daily life can one remain stable amid challenging circumstances and truly become the master of one’s own mind.

The eight days and seven nights of group practice and monastic experience guided participants from self-awakening toward the unfolding of aspiration. It is believed that the seeds of practice planted at Dharma Drum Mountain will continue to grow within these young people.



Original text in Chinese: Venerable Yan Wen (釋演穩)
Photos: Lee Fan (李東陽)、Lee Jia-chun (李佳純)
Translation: Patricia Yang 
Editing: Keith Brown