Sri Lankan Amarapura Nikāya Elders Visit Dharma Drum Mountain

On May 19, Venerable Katangoda Saddhananda from the Amarapura Nikāya*, together with ten senior monks, visited Dharma Drum Mountain accompanied by Venerable Zong Dao (宗道法師), Abbot of Puxian Temple (普賢寺) in Sanxia, Taiwan. Upon the delegation's arrival at the Grand Buddha Hall of the Dharma Drum Mountain World Center for Buddhist Education, Abbot President Venerable Guo Huei (果暉法師) joined them in offering incense, presented commemorative gifts, and posed for group photographs.

*The Amarapura Nikaya is a Sri Lankan monastic fraternity (a lineage of ordained monks) founded in 1800.

The Abbot President remarked that Sri Lanka has preserved the lineage of the sacred Bodhi Tree associated with the Buddha's enlightenment, as well as the teachings of the Tāmraparṇīya*, making it "the second homeland of Buddhism." He also noted that amid today's turbulent global situation, Buddhists of different traditions need to work more closely together to bring the compassion and wisdom of the Buddhadharma to more people and contribute to the well-being of society. He expressed great joy at the visit of the senior monks and looked forward to more opportunities for mutual exchange and learning in the future.
 
*The Tāmraparṇīya was one of the early schools of Buddhism and a Sri Lankan branch of the Vibhajyavāda (ancestor of the Theravāda) school based in Sri Lanka.

The Amarapura Nikāya is the largest monastic organization in Sri Lanka and has longstanding ties with the Buddhist community in Taiwan. The visiting elders had been invited to Taiwan by Venerable Zong Dao to attend the consecration ceremony of a Sacred Tooth Relic Stupa. Venerable Zongdao had previously visited Dharma Drum Mountain founder Master Sheng Yen on multiple occasions and deeply admired Dharma Drum Mountain’s educational ideals, which led him to specially arrange this exchange visit.



Earlier that morning, the delegation first visited Nung Chan Monastery in Beitou, where they toured the Original Farmhouse and learned about the historical origins and Dharma lineage of Dharma Drum Mountain. During the guided tour, they were introduced to how Master Sheng Yen transformed the ancient wisdom of Buddhism into modern concepts and methods accessible to contemporary society, such as "Spiritual Environmentalism" and the "Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance." The elders nodded frequently in agreement and expressed deep appreciation for Master Sheng Yen's vision of integrating Buddhist teachings into modern life.



At noon, the delegation arrived at Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts, where they were welcomed by President Chen Ting-ming (陳定銘) and Department Dean Teng Wei-ren (鄧偉仁) of the Department of Buddhist Studies. They also toured the Library and Information Center to view the institute's extensive Buddhist collections and various editions of the Buddhist canon. As the visiting elders themselves serve as abbots and are engaged in Buddhist education and propagation work, they showed particular interest in Buddhist education and the preservation of scriptures, leading to lively exchanges throughout the visit.



Later, accompanied by Vice Abbot Venerable Guo Pin (果品法師), the delegation continued their tour of the Founding History Memorial Hall, the Wish Fulfilling Guanyin Hall, and the Smiling Chan Life Hall. Through guided introductions, they gained a deeper understanding of Dharma Drum Mountain's founding history, its ideals of spiritual environmentalism, and the practical spirit of faith in Guanyin. The delegation's visit strengthened the Dharma friendship between both sides and opened favorable causes and conditions for further exchanges and cooperation in the future.

 
◎Original text in Chinese：釋演穩
◎Photos：李東陽、賴秀英、傅莉嫻 
◎Translation：Patricia Yang 
◎Editing：Keith Brown