Dharma Realm Buddhist Association
Encyclopedia
Hsuan Hua
Hsuan Hua , also known as An Tzu and Tu Lun, was a Chan Buddhist monk and a contributing figure in bringing Chinese Buddhism to the United States in the 20th century....
in 1959 to bring the orthodox teachings of the Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
to the entire world. DRBA has branch monasteries in many countries and cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Seattle, and Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, as well as in Malaysia, Taiwan
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
History
The Sino-American Buddhist Association was founded in San Francisco, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1959. A small temple, the Buddhist Lecture Hall was started. The Venerable Master Hsuan Hua
Hsuan Hua
Hsuan Hua , also known as An Tzu and Tu Lun, was a Chan Buddhist monk and a contributing figure in bringing Chinese Buddhism to the United States in the 20th century....
came over from Hong Kong in 1962 by plane, stopping over at Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
before arriving at San Francisco.
From 1962 to 1968 the Venerable Master lectured on the Lotus Sutra
Lotus Sutra
The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...
, the Diamond Sutra
Diamond Sutra
The Diamond Sūtra , is a short and well-known Mahāyāna sūtra from the Prajñāpāramitā, or "Perfection of Wisdom" genre, and emphasizes the practice of non-abiding and non-attachment...
, and the Amitabha Sutra
Amitabha Sutra
The Amitābha Sūtra is a popular colloquial name for the Shorter Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra. The Amitābha Sūtra is a Mahāyāna Buddhist text, and it is one of the primary sūtras recited and upheld in the Pure Land Buddhist schools.-History:...
among many other Buddhist sutras
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
and texts.
In June 1968 he began a 96-day intensive Study and Practice Summer Session for students and faculty from the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in Seattle. After the session had concluded, many of the participants remained in San Francisco to continue their studies with the Venerable Master. In that year five Americans (three Bhikshus, two Bhikshunis) were ordained, marking the beginning of the Sangha
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In 1970 Gold Mountain Monastery, one of the first Chinese Buddhist temples in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was founded in San Francisco, and a Hundred Day Chan
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
Session was begun. Vajra Bodhi Sea, a monthly journal of DRBA about Buddhist topics and teachings, was also founded in 1970.
In 1972 the first Threefold Ordination Ceremony for the transmission of the complete precepts was held at Gold Mountain Monastery.
In 1973 the Institute for the Translation of Buddhist Texts and Instilling Goodness Elementary School were founded in San Francisco. In the same year, Bhikshus Heng Ju and Heng Yo began a Three Steps One Bow pilgrimage from San Francisco to Seattle to pray for world peace - a hard journey over 1,000 miles. This was the first such pilgrimage in the history of American Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
.
The site of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas
City of Ten Thousand Buddhas
The City Of Ten Thousand Buddhas is an international Buddhist community and monastery founded by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua, an important figure in Western Buddhism...
was purchased in 1974, and in November of that year the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua led a delegation to propagate the Dharma in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
and other places. The delegation lasted for three months, ending on January 12, 1975.
Gold Wheel Monastery was founded in Los Angeles in 1975.
In 1976 the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas completed the second Threefold Ordination Ceremony. Developing Virtue Secondary School
Developing Virtue Secondary School
Developing Virtue Secondary School is a private Buddhist school located in the town of Talmage, California, and also the first Buddhist high school founded in the United States....
s and Dharma Realm Buddhist University were also founded. The next year Dharma Masters Heng Sure and Heng Chau began a second Three Steps, One Bow pilgrimage from Gold Wheel Monastery to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas.
United States
- The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas萬佛聖城 -Talmage, CA
- The City of the Dharma Realm 法界聖城 - West Sacramento, CA
- Gold Mountain Monastery 金山聖寺 -San Francisco, CA
- Institute for World Religions & Berkeley Buddhist Monastery 法界宗教研究院 - Berkeley, CA
- The International Translation Institute 國際譯經學院 - Burlingame, CA
- Gold Wheel Monastery 金輪聖寺 -Los Angeles, CA
- Long Beach Monastery 長提聖寺- Long Beach, CA
- Blessings, Prosperity & Longevity Monastery 福祿壽聖寺-Long Beach, CA
- Gold Sage Monastery 金聖寺- San Jose, CA
- Gold Summit Monastery 金峰聖寺-Seattle,WA
- Avatamsaka Vihara 華嚴精舍- Bethesda, MD
- Gold Dharma Monastery 金法寺 - Kenner, LA
Canada
- Avatamsaka Monastery 華嚴聖寺-Calgary, Canada
- Gold Buddha Monastery 金佛聖寺 - Vancouver, Canada
Malaysia
- Dharma Realm Guan Yin Monastery 法界觀音聖寺 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Prajna Guan Yin Monastery 般若觀音聖寺 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Dharma Affinities Monastery 法緣聖寺 - Selangor, Malaysia
- Lotus Vihara 蓮華精舍- Selangor, Malaysia
- Malaysia Dharma Realm Buddhist Association - Penang Branch 馬來西亞法界佛教總會檳城分會- Penang, Malaysia
Taiwan
- Dharma Realm Buddhist Books Distribution Society 法界佛教印經會 - Taipei, Taiwan
- Amitabha Monastery 彌陀聖寺 - Hualien|Hualien, Taiwan
- Dharma Realm Monastery 法界聖寺 - Liugui, Taiwan
See also
- Hsuan HuaHsuan HuaHsuan Hua , also known as An Tzu and Tu Lun, was a Chan Buddhist monk and a contributing figure in bringing Chinese Buddhism to the United States in the 20th century....
- Buddhism in America
- Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United StatesTimeline of Zen Buddhism in the United StatesBelow is a timeline of important events regarding Zen Buddhism in the United States. Dates with "?" are approximate.-Early history:* 1893: Soyen Shaku comes to the United States to lecture at the World Parliament of Religions held in Chicago...