Welcome to the website of the Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association, the Chan Meditation Center (CMC), the Dharma Drum Retreat Center (DDRC) and their affiliates. Our founding teacher is the late Venerable Master Sheng Yen (Shifu), who taught Buddhism in the West for over thirty years. Other teachers include guest lecturer Venerable Master Jen-Chun, founder of Bodhi Monastery in New Jersey, and CMC's resident monastics.

Our mission is to bring about the caring of life as a whole through cultural and educational activities, as well as the practice of meditation. We promote four environmental goals -- spiritual, social, living, and natural -- to help practitioners achieve peace and harmony of the body, the mind, the family and their careers. It is hoped that upon participating in our activities, practitioners from all over the world will be able to enjoy tranquility and peace, and lead lives full of dignity and stability.

Our site offers information regarding ongoing programs (which include retreats at the Dharma Drum Retreat Center, located south of the Catskills, NY), publications (which include teachings of Master Sheng Yen in text and multimedia formats for free distribution), as well as other original material that you will find useful in your practice.

Resident Monastics:

• Venerable Guo Xing, Abbot of CMC and DDRC, is one of Master Sheng Yen's Dharma heirs. Venerable leads retreats at DDRC, and gives dharma talks at CMC, and is responsible for developing our Chan programs.
• Venerable Chang Hwa, Director of CMC and supervisor of Dharmapala Groups, is responsible for outreach programs and the development of Dharmapala Groups nationwide. Venerable also gives dharma talks and leads meditation programs.
• Venerable Chang Yi, Deputy Director of CMC, supervises daily operations of the Center and is responsible for our financial accounting department. Venerable also teaches dharma classes and Beginners' Meditation Classes.
• Venerable Chang Sheng develops curriculum, teaches dharma classes and manages promotional materials.
• Venerable Chang Lv is responsible for our ritual ceremonies.
• Venerable Chang Min manages the kitchen.

If you are new to Buddhism in general, or to Chan Buddhism in particular, you may find  the following articles helpful: