Experience sharing
DDM Sydney - Personal reflection of 29/3 reciting meditation
Thank you sincerely to Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM) Sydney for organising the all-day Nian Fo reciting meditation. Through this event, it really enabled me to gain a greater understanding and awareness of how Nian Fo (Recitation of the Buddha's name) can be a form of meditative practice. I had the chance to gain first-hand experience of the benefits of Nian Fo recitation in the process. This means, understanding it is a dharma method of practice, how it can also assist in enabling o...
DDM Sydney 2024 March 23 & 24 Beginners Meditation Workshop Personal Recount
On 23 March 2024 and 24 March 2024, DDM Sydney Chapter welcomed three Venerables from DDM Taiwan to lead and teach a two-day beginner's meditation workshop at St Leonard's Library, Sydney, Australia. Both days were structured and packed with practical gems of wisdom. After explaining the 6 years of disciplined training and 3 years of practicals required to become Chan monastics teaching meditation classes, Venerables began the day explaining various sitting meditation postures fo...
2024 Lunar New Year Great Compassion Mantra Ceremony - Personal recount
I had the opportunity to attend the Lunar New Year Great Compassion Mantra (Da Bei Chan) Ceremony organised by DDM Sydney with fellow devoted practitioners on Sunday, 2024 February 11. It was a wonderfully auspicious occasion, enabling us to reflect on ourselves and collectively pray for blessings, good health, and happiness for all sentient beings in the process. Through this event, participants had the opportunity to reflect, extend, and improve upon their spiritual practi...
Reflection on the IMG Two-Day Retreat at Degui Academy, January 2024
By Ferdinand 20240128 I attended the retreat as an international, with very limited knowledge of the Chinese language. Nevertheless, I never had any problem understanding any instructions of Venerable or following the teachings, since everybody involved had an excellent command of the English language. Venerable master and Volunteers would help in this retreat, which was very useful because it made it much easier to understand instructions and the general structure of the retreat...
Personal Reflections on IMG Two-day Retreat on 1/27 & 28, Leah
It was beyond my expectations to be one of the retreatants of this two-day retreat, as I initially identified myself as a helper. However, since there were many experienced volunteers taking care of everyone, I had the opportunity to practice moving and sitting meditation. With the transition of my roles, I could not settle my mind at first, worrying my inexperience could cause problems for myself and others. Yet, under the gentle guidance of Ven. Guo Chii, I gradually immersed mysel...
5-Day Winter Retreat 2023 at DDMLA - Written by Deborah
I have been getting to know the DDMLA Chan community for about a year now, mostly through hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains together, but also through the English language meditation group and through other activities. For the hikes we take together, which my partner and I loosely lead, I have a few objectives. One: I want to introduce and deepen the knowledge of the local mountains and the plant and animal life they support to people who, like me, did not grow up with these particular plan...
DDM Beginners' Meditation Class reflections
"Should I travel to Taiwan from Singapore to attend a mediation class?", "What will the experience be like?", "Will I get a watered down version of the class because it's conducted in English?"—these were questions I asked myself when I saw that there was an opening for a two-day Beginners' Meditation Class conducted by the Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM) International Meditation Group (IMG). But first, why was I looking for a class in Taiwan when the...
Personal Reflections on the 2-day Meditation Class Oct. 28-29 2023
I often trouble myself with others' opinions that sometimes actually exist nowhere but in my own imagination, which might come from some unhealthy obsession with a perfect self image and the constant discrimination between desirable and undesirable. During the retreat, the Venerable reminded us to relax, be aware of our own bodily sensations, observe our own thoughts, and let them come and go. I tried to be a good student and follow her instructions, but I ended up getting even...
Reflections on Indonesian Chan Medan's Meditation activities
Lidya I am learning the real meaning of retreat. So learning the step by step meditation really help me to "retreat" and enjoying the present moment in meditation sessions. Also, Fashi's words at the end echo in my mind, "If you know that your conversation partner isn't real, why bother?" So when my mind starts to wander, I suddenly remember to withdraw... remember that it's not real Kurniady I am learning step by step to meditate, Even though we...
My Personal Reflections on IMG 1-Day Retreat
Thank you so much Ven. Guo Qi Fashi for your guidance during the one-day Chan retreat! I am still enjoying the fruits of our collected efforts, my practice seems to have been given a new push forward and my vows have become more sincere since I left the Chan hall. Meditation can be easily mistaken to be a solo practice, and although for most of us most of the time it turns out to be just that, I really felt how just one day of sincere and shared effort made a big difference in my per...