Visiting Shifu at Dharma Drum Mountain

David Brown and Hughie Carroll

David Brown's Account

It was raining in Hong Kong so we had no view of the city when we landed. After a nice spaghetti lunch with David and Rebecca in 'the free world' as Rebecca happily called it (Hong Kong is her original home before moving to New York) we got the 1.5 hour flight to Taiwan. Taiwan actually is much closer to Ningbo City which we had left that morning, but currently there are no direct flights between China and Taiwan. However, relationships have improved between the two countries and from July there will be direct flights.

It was again raining lightly in Taiwan when we landed. The bus journey North to Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM) took two hours. We went through slow traffic around Taipei City then through quite ugly ribbon development most of the way. There may be pretty places in Taiwan but this area isn't one of them. Taipei is in the North of Taiwan and DDM is even further North near the tip of the island. It is close to the North East Coast and parts of the campus have sea views.

We arrived at DDM at about 6.30pm and immediately had dinner then most of us went to bed as we were very tired and had an early start for 6am Morning Service the next day.

Morning service was attended by about 40 nuns and 20 monks, plus about another 50 lay people including us. The format was similar to that some of the monasteries we visited in mainland China, starting with the Surangama Sutra which accelerated in speed such that I was soon lost trying to follow the text. Then the remainder of the service was pretty much identical to that used at DDRC and at Maenllwyd, at normal speed and easy to follow.

The Morning Service was held in a very large modern-style hall. It is almost Japanese in its simplicity and clean lines, and totally unlike any of the older traditional halls we have seen on this trip. So whilst Master Sheng Yen went on a tour of China in 1999 to gather ideas for DDM, the result is a very modern, 21st Century complex of buildings of very high quality. I like the interior design a lot. John seemed less keen, preferring older styles. However, the exterior styling of the buildings is not inspired and could be any modern campus in the West. The buildings were a bit of a jumble, with no obvious plan to the layout, which made it very easy to get lost on this large campus. There is a little more building in progress but overall myimpression is that the DDM campus itself is close to completion. However there are plans to build a public university on adjacent land, offering standard courses but run on Buddhist principles. I heard that the money for the buildings has been raised but that building will not start until a large endowment fund is raised to guarantee ongoing running costs. I also heard that DDM itself does not have a sufficient endowment fund and is dependent on donations. Raising money appears to be a main priority for Master Sheng Yen.

The campus houses not only the usual buildings expected at a Monastery but also a Buddhist College which lay people can attend for the 2 year Masters in Buddhism Course. I was told there are about 20-30 students on each of the two years at the moment. The campus alsohouses the Sangha University which is basically a Seminary for training monks. It has a 4 year course that all must complete before being accepted as monks or nuns.

During the morning we had 1.25 hours with Master Sheng Yen. We had been told to wear face masks but after he entered he asked us to remove them so he could see us properly. He seemed very frail though Simon later told me he looks better now than he did 18 months ago. He has lost the bloated look he had that we saw in photos at DDRC. However, I still would not have recognized him as the person we last saw at the end of 2004. When he first spoke his voice was very weak, however he grew more spirited as the event proceeded. This was basically a question and answer session when we each had opportunity to ask him a question if we wished to do so. George Marsh presented him with a gift of three prints by William Blake. And Jannie Mead gave him a gift of her own calligraphy (she has just started learning). His face lit up in a big smile as she explained it was her own work, he clearly appreciated that.

Those members of the group who had not taken refuge did so at this meeting with Master Sheng Yen, including myself. Amazingly, despite 33 years of Buddhist practice, I had never done this ceremony.

We then went for coffee and lunch in a visitors dining area. I had a very good talk with Bhikshuni Guo-guang, who is 'Deputy CEO' and responsible for much of the administration at the Monastery. She said she would help us (David and Ann) find a suitable retreat to attend at DDM with English translation. It would be easier if a group of maybe 5-10 English speakers came together. Then Guo-yuan appeared and walked across to me with a very wide smile. It was lovely to see him again after nearly 4 years. He asked after Ann. I was surprised he remembered us. He also said he would help us find a suitable retreat at DDM. His English actually seems to have improved since he left DDRC and moved back to Taiwan.

The afternoon was taken up with a 2 hour session in which John and Simon spoke to the seminary students about the Western Chan Fellowship, contrasts between Chinese and Western cultures and answered questions, particularly about difficulties in training Westerners.

Later in the day Guo-yuan showed us the Chan Hall. There was a retreat in progress led by Chi-chern so we had to wait for a suitable time. The Chan Hall is simply stunning. It is more than twice the size of that at DDRC with a very high ceiling. It is made of stone, marble, wood and bamboo, with a beautiful pure white Buddha statue. But it is the 'presence' of the hall which is most stunning. It is deep and powerful in a way I have not experienced anywhere else. It is most affecting. Guo-yuan also said the same, stating that its overall effect is more powerful for meditation that the Chan Hall at DDRC. There are outer chambers surrounding the hall for walking meditation and a lovely grass walking area outside. There is tropical vegetation seen through the windows on two sides and tree-covered hills on the other sides. Overall the DDM site is nice but not special. However, the location of the Chan Hall is definitely very special, it is a gorgeous spot. I would love to meditate here. Guo-yuan told us how the spot was selected. Apparently before it was built it was a tree covered slope just like those visible outside the hall. Master Sheng Yen had been walking around the area trying to decide where to build the Chan Hall when he sat down on a rock. The story goes that he immediately went into deep Samadhi which lasted an hour. When he came out of it he said that the hall must be built there, with the Buddha statue located on the spot where the rock stood. The Chinese love stories like this and in any other place I would take it with a pinch of salt. But this Chan Hall does feel very special.

The next day we went to Morning Service again, followed by breakfast. Breakfast comprised rice, vegetables and tofu, much as all other meals. After breakfast John and I went off to Master Sheng Yen's private house (the guides said that most monks don't even know it exists.) It was up a track above the Monastery buildings. The house, a single story bungalow, reminded me of property designs in parts of the USA. I had asked Rebecca to get me an interview to follow up Master Sheng Yen's request last time I met him that I should do so next time our paths crossed. The bungalow was swarming with photographers who took pictures of John and me arriving and leaving. However they were not allowed into the interviews, which Shifu regarded as personal Dharma interviews. Rebecca Li translated for both of us.

After our interviews John and I rejoined the group who were on a tour of part of the campus that we did not see yesterday, the Founding Hall, which is a museum outlining Master Shengyen's life story and the founding of DDM. Although likely historically accurate I could not avoid a feeling that a mythology is being created! However, this is important for fundraising and Master Sheng Yen is undoubtedly an expert at that. One can only be inspired by what he has achieved during his life, from very poor beginnings. One interesting fact is that a time capsule of 20/21st Century Buddhist artefacts has been buried beneath the Buddha Hall. Duplicates of the contents were on show in the Founding Hall. The capsule is destined to be opened in 1000 years, in the year 3000!

We left DDM mid afternoon, after a 48 hour visit, for Taipei airport to travel back to Hong Kong.

The weather at DDM was quite oppressive. It was 28-30 C as elsewhere in China but very, very humid. We were drenched in sweat almost immediately after leaving our air-conditioned rooms. This is the typhoon season and it is best to avoid coming here at this time of year. I had thought that a visit in winter may be best since I was told that temperatures range from 10C - 18C in winter; However Rebecca told me that is just as humid all year round and possibly even less pleasant when humid and cool.

Hughie's Account

Fly from Ningbo to Hong Kong, straight on to another flight to Taiwan and through the clouds and rain on a bus to Dharma Drum. We are greeted very beautifully, given nice rooms and are shown around. The roofs don't have the ornate carvings and turned up ends like we are used to. Everything is stone rather than wood. This lot won't burn down! The complex is very large and the buildings are very modern, the feel is like a university campus. John and Simon give a talk to the students. I feel very proud of them. We see the museum where there are mockups of the place where Shifu did his long, solo retreat. We visit the gorgeous Chan Hall. I see myself sitting there one day. Impressive quiet, a practice I understand at last. The retreatants were doing Silent Illumination.

We go to see Shifu. In the vestibule outside we sign a ledger with a fancy ink pen. We wear masks because he is very ill these days. We sit in more ornate chairs, all very posh. He is lead in and seems very doddery but has a lovely welcoming smile. It's great to see him again.

There are various greetings and formal cordialities. He asks us to take our masks off, a gesture that makes me really warm to him. Presents are given, beautiful calligraphy, meaningful Blake prints. We get into questions. I realise that this might be my only chance so I jump in -'sometimes I feel so radiant and wonderful, sometimes terribly lonely and miserable. How canI bring these two states together?' This has long been a kind of koan for me. Shifu popped it instantly! 'The two states are completely different and cannot be brought together. One is from unifying your mind with your surroundings, the other from rejecting something in your experience'. End! He actually solved my koan for me just like that. Very simple and very obvious and yet framed in a completely new way for me. I felt liberated.

I liked the questions and answers. His responses had a vigour about them that felt refreshing despite his frailty. We had a refuge ceremony. Seven of us gathered in front of him and took the three refuges and the precepts. There was great force behind the feeling engendered. The power of history was behind us and there was a great feeling of coming home to a universal 'rightness'. Individually we went up and knelt before him. He gave us a card with our new Dharma name on. I was very moved. My name was 'Chang Ke'. We were given necklaces with Sakyamuni on one side and Kuan-yin on the other, very beautiful. We were given lovely glass wrist malas. I was totally blown away with all this. Not just a high point of the trip but a centrally important pivot in my life. An old and wonderfully impressive nun later explained to me what 'Chang Ke' meant. 'Chang' is to do with constant, continuous, everlasting or eternal. 'Ke' is overcoming, surmounting problems or victory over difficulties, so it's something like 'Eternally Victorious'. She explained how the name is not necessarily a description of where you are but a hint about where you are NOT!

I leave Dharma Drum with the feeling that I will be back. There are mixed feelings. It is obviously the centre of our practice on some level but at the same time it is set up for Easterners. I'd really have to learn Mandarin if I was going to stay for any length of time. We start our return journey and begin to reflect on what it has all been about. In Hong Kong, as I fall into a poignant mood, we pass what we were told was the tallest building in the world! What a place!