(Amitabha Society of Philadelphia)

Background on Mituo Village

The Amitabha Buddhist Society of Philadelphia, or the Mituo Village, is located in Alburtis, Pennsylvania which is within Berks County. In 2014, they purchased the property from the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference (PSEC) of the United Church of Christ, as they wanted to expand from their previously small space in Philadelphia (Schlegel, 2023). The property was first built in 1822 as a mill by Adam and Catherine Mensch. The church had owned the property since 1928 and the property was known as Camp Mensch Mill; after issues with maintaining their budget, PSEC decided to sell (Sullivan, 2014). The entire property is 140-acres which was previously used for summer camps, worship services and leadership retreats. Now the property that Mituo Village is on has many of the same uses as it did almost one hundred years ago. Many of the congregation members felt a great sense of relief once they learned that Mituo Village would maintain the same atmosphere and buildings from when they attended summer camp as a child or attended weekly services. 

On a biweekly basis there are services on Saturday and Sunday from five to seven in the morning. The following is an example schedule from Mituo Village’s website (Amitabha, 2023):

週六 (Saturday)

4:30 AM 打板起床 (wake-up)

5:00-6:30 AM 第一支香 （1st period)

6:30 AM 早齋 (breakfast)

8:00-9:30 AM 第二支香 (2nd period)

9:30-11:00 AM  第三支香 (3rd period)

11:00 AM 午齋 (lunch)

2:00-3:30 PM 第四支香 (4th period）

3:30-5:00 PM 第五支香 （5th period)

6:00-7:30 PM 第六支香 (6th period)

9:00 PM 養息 (lights out)

週日 (Sunday)

4:30 AM 打板起床 (wake-up)

5:00-6:30 AM 第一支香 (1st period)

6:30 AM 早齋 (breakfast)

8:00-9:30 AM 第二支香 (2nd period)

10:00-10:50 AM 午供 (noon offering)

11:00 AM 午齋 (lunch)

2:00-3:30 PM 第三支香 (3rd period)

3:30-3:50 PM 迴向*（結束共修）(dedication/end of group practice)

There are anywhere between twenty and forty people that travel from around the East Coast for these services. Most of the members are middle-aged Chinese or Vietnamese immigrants with a few American practitioners and youth as well. Practitioners are led by three Buddhist Venerables in Pure Land Buddhism – a form of Mahayana Buddhism. These Venerables follow the teachings of the Dharma Master Chin Kung, who passed away in 2022 (Master Chin Kung). Master Chin Kung founded the Amitabha Buddhist Society of USA in 1989. Born in 1927 in Anhui Province, China, Master Chin Kung was ordained at Lintzi Temple in Taipei, Taiwan and has since lectured extensively as well as founded the Hwa Dzan Monastery, the Hwa Dzan Buddhist Library, the Hwa Dzan Lecture Hall and the Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation (Master Chin Kung). He emphasized interfaith cooperation and understanding which is further demonstrated in the relationship between the Buddhist community at Mituo Village and the Christian previous property owners. In 2014 during the sale of the property, then PSEC conference minister, Rev. Bill Worley said that UCC has “an exciting and extraordinary opportunity to continue our connection with what is for many in the PSEC, sacred ground, and to do so in partnership with new friends whose stewardship of the earth, quest for spiritual wellness, and respect for tradition, mirrors our own (Sullivan, 2023).”

The nuns live in the dormitories year-round and are supported entirely by donations. None of the retreats that run four times a year are charged for. I spoke to a layperson, Jeannie, who told me that the retreats typically run for about five days to a week and that practitioners are incredibly grateful and generous financially. But she emphasized that Mituo Village never asks people to pay as they understand that everyone’s financial situation is different (Jeannie, 2023). In addition to biweekly meetings and quarterly retreats Mituo Village holds cultural events such as the Lunar New Year celebration they held in January of 2023. The events spanned January 21 and 22 and included activities for kids, tours of the village and options to participate in religious activities. This was a great opportunity for neighbors to interact with the community at Mituo Village and many enjoyed the traditional dumpling and hot pot meals (Sullivan, 2023). Neighbors described in a local newspaper the mutual respect between the neighbors and Mituo Village. One neighbor that visited during the Lunar New Year celebrations said: “The warm welcome my family received from the Mituo community was incredible…I especially enjoyed sharing in the spiritual traditions … It’s been an enriching cultural experience for both me and my son (Sullivan, 2023).”

An Introduction to Pure Land Buddhism

Mituo Village primarily stays in contact with other Pure Land Buddhist temples over email, and social media but with no official connections. Pure Land Buddhism is most practiced in Eastern Asia and emphasizes that enlightenment can come more quickly when practitioners are reborn in the Pure Land, a spiritual dimension that is the best place to be reborn. By putting their faith in Amida Buddha to guide them into an awakened state, they are able to reach the Pure Land. Pure Land Buddhism is a part of the Mahayana tradition and is based primarily on three scriptures that describe a monk who made vows that were fulfilled when he became a Buddha – one of these promised rebirth in the Pure Land to everyone that called on his name (What Does, 2023).

The Amitabha Society of USA describes Pure Land Study on their website as “the fastest and easiest way for anyone who wishes to transform this life’s pain, suffering, misery and misfortune into a life of happiness, fulfillment and prosperity with direction and purpose… Of all methods of cultivation, Pure Land Study uses the smallest number of sutras and commentaries, and requires the least amount of time. Although it is the easiest cultivation method, it results in incredible achievements (Master Chin Kung).” 

As demonstrated in the schedule above, the Amitabha Sutra, also known as the Shorter Sukhavativyuha Sutra, and the Infinite Life Sutra, also known as The Larger Amitabha Sutra or the Sukhavativyuha Sutra, are two of the primary focuses in Pure Land Buddhism as they are two of the three the core sutras. The other core sutra is the Contemplation Sutra, also known as the Amitayurdhyana Sutra (Britannica, 2021). These three sutras are the three teachings that help to ground the Dharma school of Pure Land Buddhism. The Infinite Life Sutra is what lays out Amitabha Buddha’s 48 vows and describes the way rebirth can be achieved by calling on his name (Pure Land Buddhism, 2022). The Contemplation Sutra further breaks down specific virtues, beneficial practices and the different levels of rebirth in the Pure Land. Finally the Amitabha Sutra discusses the recitation of Amitabha’s name (Pure Land Buddhism, 2022). After these sutras were delivered, the first person to teach Pure Land Buddhism was Nagarjuna, an Indian Bodhisattva that lived c. 150-250 CE. Another significant figure in Pure Land Buddhism is the Indian Bodhisattva, Vasubandhu, who lived c. 320-400 CE. He wrote the Treatise on Rebirth in the Pure Land which taught that rebirth in the Pure Land could be achieved through reciting Amitabha’s name only five times (Pure Land Buddhism, 2022). Throughout history more works were added to these three core sutras. During the Qing Dynasty, Wei Yuan added the Prayer of the Bodhisattva from the Huayan Sutra, also known as the Buddhavatamsaka Sutra, and then during the start of the twentieth century, Master Yinguang added the Great Trend to the Bodhisattva Reciting the Buddha of the Lengyan Sutra, also known as the Surangama Sutra.

Conclusion

I chose to research the Mituo Village for this project because it is located close to my childhood home in Pennsylvania. In Southeastern Pennsylvania there is a large Chinese and Vietnamese immigrant community, especially in Philadelphia, so I was interested to learn more about a heritage Buddhist community near me. As a Chinese double major, I thought this would also provide a good opportunity for me to learn more about a Chinese diaspora community as well as potentially practice my Mandarin skills. I decided on Mituo Village because I was also interested to learn more about a community that has nuns that live there full-time. While the Mituo Village website gives a good introduction to the community, I wanted to learn more so I emailed the general ‘contact us’ email and heard back quickly from a layperson – Jeannie. I also relied heavily on local papers that covered the sale of the property in 2014. Jeannie was my primary source and was more than happy to answer all of my questions as we spoke over the phone. As a fire destroyed many of the records, there is little knowledge of the origins of the Amitabha Buddhist Society of Philadelphia. What Jeannie told me was that a group of dedicated Buddhists in the 1980s founded the Society in order to increase access to Master Chin Kung’s teachings. I really enjoyed this project as I used to be a member of an interfaith group for highschoolers. This reminded me a lot of that experience and the generosity I experienced from Jeannie was particularly lovely.

Sources

Amitabha Buddhist Society of Philadelphia, 2023, www.mituovillage.com/. 

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Pure Land Buddhism”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Apr. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pure-Land-Buddhism. Accessed 27 November 2023.

Jeannie F., and Madelyn Bergin. 22 Nov. 2023. 

“Master Chin Kung.” Amitabha Buddhist Society of U.S.A., www.amtb-usa.org/english_inception.html. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023. 

Pure Land Buddhism, 2022, www.purelandbuddhism.org/plb/18/14.  

Schlegel, Bradley. “Buddhist Society Purchases Camp Mensch Mill Retreat and Conference Center.” Town and Country Newspaper – Article, 24 Aug. 2014, www.upvnews.com/news/article.ashx?article=12559.    

Sullivan, Dan. “Berks County Buddhist Center Mituo Village Welcomes Neighbors.” Lancaster Farming, 24 Jan. 2023, www.lancasterfarming.com/country-life/family/berks-county-buddhist-center-mituo-village-welcomes-neighbors/article_6f405fe6-9b7a-11ed-97ce-1f34822fe7e6.html.  

“What Does It Mean to Be a Pure Land Buddhist? .” Buddhism for Beginners, tricycle.org/beginners/buddhism/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-pure-land-buddhist/.  Accessed 27 Nov. 2023. 

The community that I consider to be a religious group that promotes traditional Buddhist ideals in the United States would be the Bhavana Society, which is located in Hampshire County, West Virginia. The discovery and establishment of this society took many years in the hope of building a new Buddhist retreat in America where many people could come to receive knowledge about the religion of Buddhism. Firstly, the founder of the Bhavana Society is an Indian man named, Bhante Gunaratana along with his friend and previous student Matthew Flickstein. Bhante Gunaratana is from Sri Lanka in 1975 he traveled to the Buddhist Vihara in Washington where he would continue to practice meditation rituals. The Vihara retreat likely had a profound influence on Bhante which eventually motivated him to start his own American Buddhist monastery. Also, his occupation of giving numerous talks on the Buddha dharma at universities, high schools, and organizations only proved his dedication to the religion. Although satisfied with public speaking, Bhante began to question if simply discussing the order and law of the cosmic world would be enough for his pupils to learn from. He soon convinced himself that personal experience would be the correct way to fully understand the workings of Buddhist meditation. A personal experience could demonstrate how to gain insight into the Buddhist world and provide healing to any person willing to accept a calamity.

Officially, the Bhavana Society was formed on May 13^th, 1982, in West Virginia but funds needed to purchase land and establish a permanent building within West Virginia were not earned until the 1990s. The amount of $18,000 was left in Bhante’s name, which he used to pay for land and to construct a building that could host his new Buddhist community. Donations provided by members of the Washington Buddhist Vihara Society along with those who had recently joined Bhavana helped with Bhante’s project. In the society’s early days, Bhante seemed to heavily rely on other American Buddhist societies to keep construction running and to keep expenses on the West Virginia land. To keep up with payments, Bhante took it upon himself to speak on traditional Buddha teachings in Buddhist societies across the United States, encouraging many to help him in his vision of creating a religious retreat center. He possessed a talent for appealing to a person’s compassion and understanding by using the Buddha dharma as his guide. Bhante managed to convince those that the teachings of universal love, should be enough to garnish support for an additional monastery in the name of Buddhism in America. Fortunately, Bhante lived to see the end of construction on his West Virginia land in 1994, where buildings that featured idolization of Buddhism took root in the heart of a secluded forest. As we would imagine, Bhante was pleased to put an end to his struggle and form a proper monastery that encouraged the education of Buddhism. The opening ceremony which was conducted shortly after the final building was completed, hosted three hundred guests of whom some were long-term Buddhist monks and nuns. 

Bhavana Society tends to focus on the mediation aspect of the Buddhist religion which helps in both mental and physical health that a person may wish to grow stronger in. The specific meditation practice that is most prominent within the society is the Theravada Forest practice, one of the oldest forms of Buddhism that centers around mindful insight. Dated to around 200 BC in Sri Lanka, Theravada incorporates forest retreats into the principles of Buddhist Mindfulness. Unfortunately, Theravada Buddhism has lost popularity in modern Asian regions due to its necessity of spending many hours in complete seclusion and being made to live in nature for an extended period than most people are used to. In the United States, however, an attempt to revive older forms of Buddhism was made possible by those who wished to establish religious monasteries in America. Since most people in the United States are unfamiliar with the Buddhist religion, people who wish to promote their native religion, such as Bhante, have the opportunity to educate and promote aspects of Buddhism that have dwindled in relevancy. Despite its downfall in its traditional homeland, Theravada seeks to encourage its followers to obtain Sila, the body’s self-restraint, samadhi, the ability to develop deep concentration, and Panna, having wisdom into the mind’s true nature. To achieve these three rules of the Buddhist Eightfold Path, Bhavana society offers meditative retreats that allow the person to understand himself and discover his life purpose once again. Since West Virginia is surrounded by dense forests, the society will be able to fully experience the traditional path of Theravada because of its choice of location and non-metropolitan setting. 

As an alternative, the members of its society can decide if they would like to participate in the forest retreat in small groups, but private walks taken in solitude are highly recommended by the society. Forms of group collaboration are discouraged in the Bhavana society since it has the potential of ruining concentration after attempting to only focus on yourself and your mental well-being. The temptation to socialize with fellow members of society during moments where silence is expected, could create problems with the meditative experience and discourage the person from achieving Sila, Samadhi, and Panna. For a layperson who is a part of the organization, it is especially important to live a secluded and monastic lifestyle for a fixed amount of time before being ordained as a Buddhist monk. 

The Bhavana society seems strict in their adherence to the Theravada meditation practice, but it should not be interpreted that other American Buddhist monasteries that follow different religious values are shunned completely. They are open to representatives from American Buddhist communities to speak on ethical values or the promotion of new forms of Buddhism such as the Mahayana practices. Although religiously tolerant, Bhavana will always prove to be a strong participant in Theravada Buddhism. In addition to their traditional beliefs, the society itself takes pride in the issue that Theravada Buddhism is practiced more in the United States rather than in Asia because of the high chance that other nationalities could be exposed to Buddhism.  

The Bhavana Society hopes to educate the American public on the study of Buddhism through daily lectures given by higher representatives of the society and calming rituals that follow tradition. To ensure the productivity and timing of the rituals offered within the community, each member is required to live by the traditional lifestyles of Buddhism that is still active in Asia. For example, Bhante has made it a rule that a person should only eat after noon each day and forbade cell phones from being used while on a meditative retreat or during prayer services. Members are also not permitted to wear shoes inside the Bhavana temple or any other buildings to protect the purity aspect of their religion. To maintain the secluded lifestyle the Bhavana society had chosen for themselves, local donations have been made to keep up with funds that are responsible for land payments and necessary commodities. The donations are usually contributed by Americans who may have heard of the society and the ideals they work to promote. Personally, money is also given to the Buddhist organization by its own members who are determined to see Bhavana financially stable and relieved from social pressures that could interfere with its internal peace. Without receiving the proper money required to keep the society from closing, members fear that its sudden closure could prevent those who live in West Virginia from engaging in Buddhist rituals. 

For the Bhavana society’s demographic, the majority of its members are American Caucasians who chose to learn about Buddhism through a hands-on experience that selected readings could not provide for them. The American members, most likely were never exposed to any forms of Asian religions in their lives and only recently came to recognize Buddhism as a religion to be taken seriously similar to Christianity, despite being of another nationality. Educating Americans about the Buddhist religion seems to be one of the greatest pride that the society is pleased over, but mentioning their Indian or Asian descent members is worth noting as well. As said before, Bhante, the founder of Bhavana, is from India himself and has offered those who are from the Asian region to come to the United States and join his Buddhist society after its establishment in 1982. A number of Asians were already Buddhist monks or lay people eager to contribute to the education of their American counterparts through their years of extensive Buddhist knowledge.  

Overall, the Bhavana Society is a fairly recent Buddhist community in West Virginia that goes against the expected role of trying to relate to newer generations by promoting twentieth-century ideas about the Buddhist Religion. Theravada meditation is at the core of this Buddhist society which all members hope that followers of Buddhism will practice at least once in their lives. The bond Bhavana members form with one another, despite rules of seclusion, contributes greatly to the dharma principle in that a person should revolve around the sense of compassion for other beings.  

Citations

Bhavana Society

Bhavana Society

Author

Amiyah Wright

The theory of two American Buddhism(s) has been somewhat useful to understand the cultural differences of practices in the States, but what it fails to account for are those communities that create space for practitioners from all backgrounds and transcend this dualistic idea. The Plum Village tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh does just that. With three centers around the United States, the teachings of Plum Village have had an immeasurable effect on how Americans conceive of Buddhism, not only in the localities of these practice centers but across the country. The main American center is located in upstate New York, affectionately referred to as Blue Cliff Monastery. The teachings which come out of these centers reach quite a large audience, both directly and on a wider, cultural scale. Adapting Vietnamese Zen teachings for the modern Western audience, the tradition of Plum Village and Thich Nhat Hanh aims to make Buddhism accessible to all, instead of catering to “one type” of practitioner.

            The tradition of Plum Village started in 1982 outside of Bordeaux, France.[1] This was not Thich Nhat Hanh’s first visit to the West, but it was his first time completely moving to the West. The monastery started as a small, rural farmstead and is said to be where Thay (another name for Thich Nhat Hanh) saw his dream coming to fruition: “creating a healthy, nourishing environment where people can learn the art of living in harmony with one another and with the Earth.”[2] It has now grown into a large community of monks and nuns, with different hamlets around the world. One of the most popular outside of Bordeaux is Blue Cliff Monastery in New York. This center is home to thirty monastic and lay practitioners who work to share the teachings of mindfulness with visitors. Blue Cliff presents itself as “a place to quiet the mind, look deeply, and enjoy the wonders of life within and around us through the practices of sitting meditation, walking meditation, mindful eating, deep relaxation meditation, and sharing togetherness.”[3] This mission is evident across all of Thich Nhat Hanh’s work and comes into physical manifestation at the monastery.

            Thich Nhat Hanh’s life story has played a big role in shaping both the teachings of Plum Village and how they have come to be spread in the world. Born in Vietnam, Thay had an early draw to Buddhism when at the age of nine, an image of the Buddha left him with a deep sense of peace and a strong urge to become like the Buddha, who he described as: “someone who embodied calm, peace, and ease, and who could help others around him to be calm, peaceful, and at ease.”[4] At sixteen, with his parent’s permission, he left to begin novice training under Master Thich Chan That, as part of the Vietnamese Zen tradition in the Linji school. As he was completing his novice training, Thay witnessed the Japanese occupation of Vietnam and the Great Famine of 1945. These events inevitably had an impact on his training and started to sow the seeds of his connection between Buddhism and social action. This would continue through the First Indochina War, when he affirmed his aspiration to be a bodhisattva of action.[5] In 1950, he helped to cofound An Quang Pagoda which housed a reformist Buddhist Institute, his first official foray into his efforts for an action-oriented practice. During this time he published his first book, contributed to and edited Buddhist magazines, and began teaching. In 1961, he was offered a Fulbright Scholarship to study Comparative Religion at Princeton Theological Seminary, which is where he first began to realize his path was to teach in the West.[6] In 1964, Thay returned to Vietnam as a leader in the Buddhist movement for peace and social action. As the Vietnam War broke out, Thay advocated for peace, refusing to take a side, leading to both armies seeing him as a threat to their cause. He wrote to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who later became an outspoken critic of the war and nominated Thay for a Nobel Peace Prize, which played a massive role in elevating his fame in the West. After years of advocacy in Vietnam, Thay left in 1966 to give a lecture series at Cornell, but eventually was blocked from returning home due to his advocacy.

            From this point on, Thay focused his efforts in the West, building up the Plum Village community, traveling around the world to share his teachings, and publishing many books through his company, Parallax Press. His philosophy shifted from: “demonstrations and press conferences to the deeper work of transforming consciousness through mindfulness retreats and community living.”[7] In the 1980s, he founded Plum Village in southern France and began to ordain a lineage of monastic disciples. He also became known as a renowned Buddhist scholar, offering translations of the Heart Sutra, Diamond Sutra, Ānāpānasati Sutta, and the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta. As his name became increasingly common knowledge in the U.S., he led many peace talks and retreats for members of the government along with special sessions to respond to the global tragedies that would unfold over the years. During all this time, he always stayed grounded in his philosophies that he practiced during tumultuous times in Vietnam: interbeing, Engaged Buddhism, and compassion.

            It was not until 2005 that he was eventually able to return to Vietnam after 35 years of exile. He was greeted by an eager crowd of monks and laypeople ready to hear his teachings, along with intrigued political leaders. Unfortunately, this growing popularity, especially among young monks and nuns, scared the communist government which forcibly dispersed Thay’s monastery in 2009.[8] For the rest of his life, he continued to teach around the world, reaching a large and diverse audience of students. At the beginning of 2022, Thay passed away, but his legacy has remained strong, flourishing through the Plum Village communities around the world, his books, recorded dharma talks, and so much more. The West owes Thich Nhat Hanh a large debt of gratitude for bringing Buddhist teachings to popular culture. 

Before the end of his life, Thay became a globally recognized teacher, but for a long time his teachings had not been as popular in the East. He defied strict categorization as Zen, Pure Land, or Theravada and preferred to refer to himself as: “taking Mahayana Buddhism to bathe in the waters of early Buddhism.”[9] Though he was purposeful in teaching to a Western audience, there was always a bit of tension between Eastern and Western thought. For example, as mindfulness rose in popularity in the West, some of his students asked him to remove the Buddhist ethical code and Five Precepts from his teachings as they were “inappropriate for modern Buddhism in the West,” but Thay held firm that ethics and mindfulness could to be separated.[10] This would not be the only run-in he would have in this area, but he always insisted that while it was important to be sensitive of the culture to which one was teaching, Buddhism should never be diluted.

Overall, Thich Nhat Hahn is still known as a popular Western teacher, meaning that a place such as Blue Cliff Monastery draws a largely Western audience. However, it is often forgotten that there is a large tradition of Vietnam monastics across Plum Village Centers, with an especially large influx after Thay’s return to Vietnam. Another notable representative of the Plum Village community is Sister Chan Khong, who is the first fully-ordained monastic disciple of Thich Nhat Hanh. She met Thay back in Vietnam and has been a powerful collaborator throughout Plum Village history. Her famous saying is to “view life as the teaching,” and this is present across the offerings at Blue Cliff Monastery.[11] Hosting multiple retreats a year, Blue Cliff offers a space for newcomers and seasoned participants. Retreats typically range from anywhere from a week to three months for specific occasions such as seasons, rain retreats, or a pilgrimage. They are open to both lay practitioners and monastics and are typically run by the local monastic population. Retreats are the only opportunity to stay at the monastery. Before the pandemic, there were Days of Mindfulness which offered a shorter opportunity to visit the monastery, but they have not recovered to the same frequency since. Through this model, one can infer that Blue Cliff is attempting to make itself accessible to all types of practitioners while making sure that there is some level of commitment to the practice for those who choose to spend time in their facilities. Blue Cliff Monastery works to uphold the teachings and practices of Thich Nhat Hanh, through their continued support of Plum Village’s principles and opportunities for seekers to learn about this lineage.

Bibliography

Team, Plum Village. n.d. Plum Village. Accessed November 30, 2023. https://plumvillage.org/#filter=.region-na.

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[1] Plum Village Team, “About Plum Village,”  Plum Village, https://plumvillage.org/about/plum-village.

[2] Team, “About.”

[3] Team, “About.”

[4] Plum Village Team, “Thich Nhat Hanh: Extended Bio,”  Plum Village, https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/biography/thich-nhat-hanh-full-biography.

[5] Team, “Bio.”

[6] Team, “Bio.”

[7] Team, “Bio.”

[8] Team, “Bio.”

[9] Team, “Bio.”

[10] Team, “Bio.”

[11] Andrea Miller, “The Life and Teachings of Sister Chang Kong,” Plum Village, https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong

Alice Mun