History, Foundation, and the Founder:
The Blue Lotus Dharma Center was formally created in 2006. The institution was established when a group of students, who sought to develop their meditative abilities, asked the Fo Guang Shan for a teacher. The Fo Guang Shan is another Buddhist institution that predates the Blue Lotus Dharma Center. Consequently, the Fo Guang Shan sent Lama Chökyi Lodü, a Buddhist monastic, to St. Louis. This study group would eventually become the Blue Lotus Dharma Center, with Lama Chökyi Lodü as the founder.
Originally, Lama Chökyi Lodü had no intention of staying in St. Louis for a substantial period of time, but his group of students begged him to stay in Missouri for as long as possible. As a result, he stayed in St. Louis until 2016. At that time, Lama Chökyi Lodü traveled to Minnesota; however, he did stay connected with the Blue Lotus Dharma Center by becoming their spiritual advisor. Unfortunately, many of his disciples made the journey with him, and this decrease in membership caused the Blue Lotus Dharma Center to experience financial hardship. In an effort to preserve the institution, they moved to a different location. Today, the group is located within the Dutchtown Neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri on 3463 Itaska Street. The center itself is nothing extravagant. In fact, it is essentially a converted suburban home. However, community members have put significant effort into refurbishing the building via a “beautification project.” As a result, there are now two eternal knots on the front windows of the building, and their alter is adorned with a variety of sacred objects. The objects include, but are not limited to, a figure of the female Bodhisattva Tara, a picture of Lama Chökyi Lodü, and numerous figurines of the Buddha himself.
Lama Chökyi Lodü took his vows and received his teaching ordination from the Center for American Buddhist Practice. Lodü studied under the venerable Master Hsing Yun, who was the founder of the Fo Guan Shan, and Lama Jigmé Jinpa. Lama Lodü’s worldview and philosophy were also largely influenced by MaChik Labdrön Chöd. In fact, he integrated a large portion of Chöd’s lineage of Tibetan Buddhism into his own practice. However, Lama Lodü’s practice seems to most closely correspond with the Vajrasattva tradition. Unfortunately, his work is unpublished, which makes it difficult to gain a nuanced understanding of his beliefs. Finally, it is important to note that Lama Chökyi Lodü will be returning to the Blue Lotus Dharma Center from November 20th to November 22nd. Additionally, he serves as the Spiritual Head of the Sky-Iron Kila Society.
Practices and Scheduled Activities:
There are a number of classes that the Blue Lotus Dharma Center sponsors. Perhaps their most prominent class is their Dhammapada Course, which is offered every Thursday at 7:00PM. This course explores Thomas Cleary’s translation of the Buddha’s teachings and is open to anyone. The center also offers another class that is open to beginners: Book Club. Currently, this club is studying Lotus in a Stream: Essays in Basic Buddhism by Master Hsing Yun. The Blue Lotus Dharma Center also holds more advanced classes for its constituents. For example, the center is currently in the middle of a nine-month program on Lojong mind training, which is a Tibetan Buddhist technique that allows one to purify his / her motivations and demeanor.
In addition to these classes, the Blue Lotus Dharma Center puts on weekly Sunday services. These services seem to follow the Mahayana tradition, but they are advertised as nonsectarian. A typical service includes the following: sutra reading, chanting mantras, prayer, and silent mediation. Although the community references numerous mantras throughout the year, they primarily use the following six: a guru invocation, a mantra of totality, a mantra for blessings from the guru and progressions along one’s path, a mantra of Shakyamuni Buddha, a six-syllable mantra of compassion, and a morning mantra. Each Sunday service is centered around a particular topic. Previously covered topics include verses on the faith mind, lay followers of the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths, and Illusory Nature. However, their most popular topic is the Diamond Sutra, which has been studied twelve times since April of 2020. Recordings of these services can be found on their website.
Constituency:
The Blue Lotus Dharma Center notes that their current constituency is limited in size; in fact, their website notes that they usually only have ten to fifteen attendees. On their website, there is a picture of ten individuals, eight of whom are Caucasian. Thus, one can make the assertion that the group is of the majority white variety. Additionally, every person in that photo seems to be an adult. Consequently, one can make the assertion that the center is a convert community rather than an immigrant community. This assertion is further supported by the fact that there are no monastics within The Blue Lotus Dharma Center with the exception of their spiritual advisor: Lama Chökyi Lodü. Moreover, there seems to be no strict hierarchal structure associated with the center. Members have frequently stated that the institution is mostly community run, and leadership consists of a board that is comprised of approximately five members. There is no evidence of a gendered hierarchy, and classes are only restricted on a knowledge basis. Anyone has the potential to enroll in any class that is offered.
Associations with other Buddhist Communities and Influential Traditions:
The Blue Lotus Dharma Center is a member of the Buddhist Council of St. Louis, which is an organization that collaborates the efforts of twenty different Buddhist groups within the metropolitan St. Louis area. Moreover, the center also maintains a connection with the Center for American Buddhist Practice, which is an organization that attempts to spread the teachings of the Shakyamuni Buddha. The Blue Lotus Dharma Center itself is not tied to any one tradition of Buddhism. The community asserts that they support all reasonable Buddhist traditions. However, they fail to define ‘reasonable Buddhist traditions.’ It is also important to note that the center advertises itself as a temporary temple for practicing Buddhists. In other words, the Blue Lotus Dharma Center believes that it is a ‘home away from home’ for practitioners from nearly any lineage or tradition. It does not appear that the Blue Lotus Dharma Center is connected to any Buddhist Communities outside of the United States; this lack of a connection is most likely a result of their non-secretarian nature.
Although the center welcomes any reasonable Buddhist tradition, the organization seems to champion some traditions and lineages over others. First, it is noticeable that there is a significant influence from the Vajrayana tradition. This influence can be easily spotted in their list of previous Sunday sermons. Their elaborate study of the Diamond Sutra invokes the idea that Vajrayana ought to be considered as the diamond vehicle to enlightenment, and their study of illusory nature and ultimate & relative reality are consistent with the Vajrayana idea that conventional truth and ultimate truth are two sides of the same coin. Additionally, their focus on the Bodhisattva Tara also suggests that they have a strong connection to the Vajrayana tradition
However, the Blue Lotus Dharma Center’s belief of non-sectarianism suggests that they do not assert that there is only one vehicle to enlightenment. This belief suggests that they assert that all three traditional vehicles, monastic vows, bodhisattva vows, and tantric vows, possess the capability to guide an individual within cyclic existence to enlightenment. Consequently, this center cannot be labeled as exclusively Vajrayana.
There is also an obvious Mahayana influence within the Blue Lotus Dharma Center. In fact, their name eludes to this influence since it includes the word ‘Lotus,’ which is a reference to the fundamental sutra of the Mahayana tradition: The Lotus Sutra. Their idea of a non-sectarian community could be seen as an extension of the Lotus Sutra’s parable of the three carts because they recognize that individuals are motivated by different methods. Moreover, the Blue Lotus Dharma Center emphasizes the importance of compassion, which is harmonious with the tenets of the Mahayana tradition. Finally, the community identifies their Sunday Service as a Mahayana Service, which demonstrates some degree of familiarity with the tradition.
Finally, there are numerous other traditions that have influenced the Blue Lotus Dharma Center. Jesse Berg, a sermon assistant with the center, has stated that the community often uses texts from the Chan tradition, which is a variant of a Chinese form of Zen Buddhism. Additionally, the community has engaged with aspects of Tibetan Buddhism. For example, the community’s nine-month class on Lojong mind training, which is rooted in the Tibetan tradition, demonstrates that they are somewhat familiar with this tradition. Moreover, since their spiritual advisor, Lama Chökyi Lodü, descends from a line of Tibetan Buddhist masters, it can be assumed that he has introduced members of the Blue Lotus Dharma Center to Tibetan doctrine.
Conclusion:
The Blue Lotus Dharma Center is a small non-sectarian Buddhist group in St. Louis, Missouri. Although the center is not officially aligned with any Buddhist tradition, it seems as if members are prominently influenced by Mahayana, Vajrayana, and Tibetan traditions. There are no monastics who live at the center, and the constituency can be described as a convert, majority white, and democratic Buddhist community.
Bibliography:
- “The Blue Lotus Dharma Center.” https://www.bluelotusdharmacenter.org/.
- “Blue Lotus Dharma Center.” Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/BlueLotusDharmaCenter/.
- “Blue Lotus Dharma Center.” Local Prayers, n.d. https://www.localprayers.com/US/St.-Louis/193985133992394/Blue-Lotus-Dharma-Center.
- Buddhist Council of Greater St. Louis. http://www.buddhistcouncilstl.org/.
- Hackett, Anna, Rettig, Andrew and Latham, Aidan. “Blue Lotus Dharma Center.” Arch City Religion. https://www.archcityreligion.org/blue-lotus-dharma-center.
- Hackett, Anna, Rettig, Andrew and Latham, Aidan.INTERVIEW WITH JESSE BERG, SERMON ASSISTANT. https://www.archcityreligion.org/blue-lotus-dharma-center.
This report was written by Austin A. Hillebrandt
