Dharma Drum Mountain facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Dharma Drum Mountain

法鼓山
Dharma Drum Mountain logo: three mountain peaks and a meditating monk; combined, the logo forms a hand.
Monastery information
Full name	Dharma Drum Mountain Fagushan
Order	Mahāyāna
Established	1989
People
Founder(s)	Ven. Chan master Sheng-yen
Abbot	Ven. Guo Huei (past: Ven. Guo Dong)
Site
Location	Jinshan District, New Taipei City, Taiwan

Dharma Drum Mountain headquarters in Taiwan

Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM; Chinese: 法鼓山; pinyin: Fǎgǔ Shān; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Hoat-kó͘-soaⁿ) is a worldwide Buddhist group. It focuses on teaching people about Buddhism to make the world a better place. This group was started by a wise teacher named Sheng-yen (1931–2009). The main center for Dharma Drum Mountain is in Jinshan District, New Taipei City, Taiwan.

DDM is one of the most important Buddhist groups in Chinese Buddhism. In Taiwan, Master Sheng-yen was seen as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Buddhism. Dharma Drum Mountain was also known as one of the "Four Great Mountains." This means it's one of the four biggest Buddhist groups in Taiwan, along with Tzu Chi, Fo Guang Shan, and Chung Tai Shan.

History of Dharma Drum Mountain

Before the big center in Jinshan was built, Dharma Drum started from two older places. These were the Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Culture (CHIBC) and Nung Chan Monastery. Both places were started by a famous monk named Dongchu. He was a student of another well-known monk, Grand Master Taixu.

The CHIBC began in 1956. It mainly shared Buddhist ideas by publishing magazines like Humanity Magazine. Nung Chan Monastery was set up in 1975. When Dongchu passed away in 1977, his student Sheng-yen became the new leader in 1978.

Under Sheng-yen's guidance, both places grew very quickly. So many people wanted to learn that the buildings became too small. Because of this, in 1989, they bought a hilly piece of land in Jinshan. This was to build a new, larger monastery. Sheng-yen named this new place Dharma Drum Mountain. This is how the Dharma Drum Mountain organization began.

The design for the new monastery took seven years. The building work took even longer. Sheng-yen wanted the buildings to fit in with the natural shape of the hills. This meant they didn't change the land much. He watched over all the details himself. The first part of DDM started being built in 1993. The main part of the complex was finished and opened in 2001. In 2006, Master Sheng-yen's student, Venerable Guo Dong, became the new leader.

The main goal of the organization is to teach Buddhism to help make the world better for everyone. Dharma Drum Mountain also helps with charity projects. They often do this by giving money to other charities. By 2005, it was thought that the group had about 400,000 members.

What You Can Find at Jinshan

The Dharma Drum Mountain center in Jinshan is a large area with many monasteries and learning centers. It is the main headquarters for Dharma Drum Mountain worldwide. It is also home to several universities and colleges. These include Dharma Drum Sangha University (DDSU) and Dharma Drum Buddhist College (DDBC).

DDSU is a special school for monks from Taiwan and other countries. It teaches different subjects like Basic Training and Chan Study. DDBC is for both monks and people who are not monks. It offers advanced programs in Buddhist Study and Buddhist informatics.

The DDM complex in Jinshan has many buildings and features:

• Building II
  • The first floor has a bus station.
  • The second floor has a visitor center and a book store.
  • The third floor has the Guanyin Hall with a peaceful pond.
  • The fourth floor has a vegetarian dining hall.
• Building I
  • The third floor has a hall about the founding history.
  • The fourth floor has an art display area.
  • The fifth floor has a room for different exhibitions.
  • The sixth floor has the Grand Buddha Hall.
• Chan Hall
• Library and Audio-Visual rooms
• Monks and Nuns quarters

The DDM Complex also has special outdoor features:

• A large rock with the DDM symbol.
• A stone with the words "A Spiritual Mountain and Sublime Environment."
• A statue of Guanyin welcoming visitors.
• The world's largest Lotus bell.
• A statue of the Medicine Buddha.
• Seven walking paths that go through streams, a bamboo forest, and thick woods. You can see many birds and insects there.

Ideas and Goals

Vision and Spirit

Dharma Drum's main goal is to "make people better and build a pure land on earth." Their spirit is to "give of ourselves for the benefit of all." This means helping everyone.

Three Ways of Learning

Dharma Drum teaches in three main ways:

• Learning through Schools – This helps train talented Buddhist scholars and teachers.
• Learning through Public Events – This shares the Buddha's teachings through things like meditation and chanting. It also includes modern cultural activities.
• Learning through Helping Others – This means improving how they help people through education. They also use helping others to reach their teaching goals. DDM has helped with natural disasters in Taiwan and other countries. This includes the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake.

Four Kinds of Environmentalism

Dharma Drum promotes four types of environmentalism. These ideas come from Buddhism and help guide people in modern times.

• Protecting the Spiritual Environment:
  • This includes Ch'an meditation.
  • It also involves the Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance Campaign.
• Protecting the Natural Environment:
  • This means recognizing and cherishing blessings.
  • It also means nurturing blessings and sowing seeds of blessings.
• Protecting the Living Environment.
• Protecting the Social Environment:
  • This includes the Six Ethics of the Mind.
  • It also involves Buddhist-Style Joint Weddings and other community events.

Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance Campaign

This campaign has four main parts:

• Four Fields for Cultivating Peace – Ways to make people better:
  • A peaceful mind comes from wanting less.
  • A peaceful body comes from working hard and being careful with money.
  • A peaceful family comes from love and respect.
  • Peaceful actions come from being honest.
• Four Steps for Handling a Problem – Ways to solve life's difficulties:
  • Face it: Look at the problem directly.
  • Accept it: Understand the problem is real.
  • Deal with it: Solve the problem wisely and kindly.
  • Let it go: After solving it, don't worry about it anymore.
• Four Practices for Helping Oneself and Others – Ways to get along with people:
  • Be thankful for chances to grow.
  • Be thankful for chances to practice.
  • Improve yourself through Buddhist teachings.
  • Help others by doing good things.
• Four Ways to Cultivate Blessings – Ways to increase good fortune:
  • Knowing your blessings is the greatest happiness.
  • Valuing blessings is the best way to save.
  • Nurture blessings, and you will always be blessed.
  • Share blessings so everyone can have them.

Six Ethics of Mind

These are rules for how to act in different parts of life:

• Family Ethics
• Living Ethics
• School Ethics
• Environmental Ethics
• Workplace Ethics
• Ethics between Different Groups of People

Where DDM Is Around the World

Dharma Drum Mountain has centers and temples in fourteen countries. You can find them in North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

See also

• Buddhism in Taiwan
• Four Great Mountains (Taiwan)
• Four Heavenly Kings (Taiwan)
• Guo Yuan
• Guo Xing
• Nung Chan Monastery