By Cristian Vozza
On Vineyard Road in Edison, New Jersey, there is a brick building that almost looks like a small elementary school. It’s a few blocks off Route 1 and just before the exit to I-287. Edison, according to the 2020 Census, is a township made up of 50% ethnically Asian people with nearly a quarter of them being Indian American. Therefore, there is a wide array of faiths represented in the town, from Sikhs to Christians to Buddhists. The New Jersey Chapter of the Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association is made up of mostly Chinese and Taiwanese members and houses a few rooms for talks and meditation.
This chapter’s mission statement is to, “Uplift the character of humanity and build a pure land on earth.” The New Jersey Center was founded in 1992 and is one of over 30 chapters in North America of the larger Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association. Some of their regular programming includes: Meditation workshops, classes and practices, Singing/Chanting practices, Group studies and experience sharing, Senior centers and family visits, and community education at public libraries and colleges. Every Sunday morning, they have another form of educational event or chanting. A lot of the programs they offer are completely free and they seem to run completely off donations. Overall, according to the national organization’s website, they seem very welcoming and understanding of not only other sects within Buddhism but other religions as well.
Their spiritual leader and the founder of the national organization is Chan Master Sheng Yen. He was born and raised in China, becoming a novice monk when he was 13. However, due to World War II and the ongoing fight between Communist China and the Republic of China, he had to serve in the army for ten years. Once his service was over, he became a monk again and soon came to realize that many people would misinterpret the Buddhadharma. Understanding this, he went on a six-year retreat and went to complete his studies and get a Ph.D. from Rissho University in Tokyo, Japan. After he completed his studies, he was invited to the United States to be a board member of the Buddhist Association of the United States. A few years later, this turned into more and more positions which included being Vice President of the Association, Director of the Association’s Institute of Tripitika Translation, and Abbot of the Great Enlightenment Monastery. Master Sheng Yen established the Chan Meditation Center in New York in 1979 as what would become one of the first of the Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association’s footholds in the United States. He also helped establish a headquarters known as the Dharma Drum Mountain World Center for Buddhist Education in Jinshan Township, Taipei County, Taiwan.
Master Sheng Yen wanted to spread the practice of Chan meditation to both Asia and North America. He would lead massive retreats across the United States helping to expand the Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association that he founded. His organization tried to differentiate itself by translating the texts they used into English or the respective languages the centers were located in. Master Sheng Yen also made it a priority to create social movements that people could align with and take Buddhist concepts away from. Some of the concepts include Protecting the Spiritual Environment, Four Kinds of Environmentalism, the Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance Campaign, and the Six Ethics of the Mind.
Master Sheng Yen passed away in 2009 and his philosophy and mission will continue to be carried out by the Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association.
According to the New Jersey Center’s website, their philosophy is based on Chan Buddhism which falls under the Mahayana tradition. Chan Buddhism, the Association believes, helps cultivate daily mindfulness, and grow to be a self-aware and compassionate person. The Center’s mission is: to help people find their Peace of Mind, guide people who are on the way to awakening, provide a learning center for the communities to apply Chan to their lives, and continue Master Sheng Yen’s mission to uplift the character of humanity to the pure land on earth. Their guiding principle is a quote from their founder, “The Dharma is so good, yet so few people know about it and so many people misunderstand it.” As practitioners of their faith, they feel they pass down the teachings of the Buddha and the unique Chan way of life that Master Sheng Yen professed. And that providing that foundation for those interested in learning, they can at the very least uplift their lives to make themselves and those that they are helping better people.
There are links to other websites including the main Chan Meditation Center in New York as well as live-streamed events, lectures, or relevant Buddhist news. They have a link to volunteer which is seemingly updated through Google Forms. There is also a subsection entitled, “Dharma,” in which you can learn more about different sutras, Chan practices, or speeches given by recent visitors.
The Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association also wants you to understand their practice of Meditation. Master Sheng Yen said that one of the most important aspects of Chan meditation, that the New Jersey Center practices, is the importance of having the correct views regarding the aim and methods first. A practitioner must understand how one can fully benefit from incorporating Chan meditation and then integrate the practice into their daily lives. Once the foundation is understood, then a practitioner can incorporate regular meditation into their schedule and adjust it based on their special circumstances or needs. Chan meditation stresses the need to establish direct awareness of the mind and its innate wisdom. The New Jersey Center advertises group meditation every Sunday which can help beginners understand what they need to do and feel less intimidated when they do it by themselves. It also makes it a regular habit, therefore, creating a foundation which Master Sheng Yen said was so important. In these group sessions, they say you can, “…learn the foundations of uniting body, breath and mind, particularly through relaxation practice and moving meditation practice.” The benefits for those who engage in meditation regularly, according to Master Sheng Yen’s, “The Effects of Chan Meditation,” are the strengthening of willpower, enhancement of the power of thought, refinement of personality, rapid calming of the mind, mood stabilization, increased interest and efficiency in activity, improved physical health/wellness, reduction of anxiety, enhanced sense of well-being, increased empathy, having a greater sense of self-actualization, and a greater awareness of thought patterns and negative habits.
Master Sheng Yen defines how to practice Zuo Chan or Chan meditation. He first says that the term Zuo Chan most literally translated means “sitting chan” which means any type of meditation practice that is based on the sitting posture. According to their website, Zuo Chan was practiced in China long before Chan Buddhism and comes from techniques known as samatha-vipasyana. These techniques emphasize three aspects of meditation which are to regulate one’s body, regulate one’s breathing, and regulate one’s mind. One must know how to sit first to do all the rest and the website gives some information on how to do that (unfortunately the website is a little older and where certain information would have been it may come up as a broken link). Proper sitting posture comes from the Vairocana Seven-Points of Sitting and one of the first and most important aspects is how your legs are positioned on the floor. They go on to describe how if you are seated on the floor you must get into a Full Lotus or Half Lotus position. This involves a foot being crossed over the opposite thigh or calf depending on which one you choose, and then the other foot is placed underneath the raised leg. Then the next portion talks about if you are not on the floor and what to do if you are seated at a chair or are kneeling and how to best either accomplish the Full or Half Lotus or do something that encapsulates either. It is also important to have some sort of thick Japanese-style zafu or cushion to help with proper seating. The website then goes on to detail the other important steps but one can best learn this by attending their free classes.
The New Jersey Chapter of the Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association, while small, gives a complete picture of what it and its national organization are trying to spread. Their website and the information it provides help anyone understand how they can get involved and make it very accessible for non-Buddhists who speak English or Mandarin.
