Is there any place I can practice Buddhism in Taipei, or close enough, in English? Anyone know of teachers who speak English? It does not matter what sect, but someplace I can learn, or someone I can learn from?
Toni
Good suggestion by cfimages there. A friend of mine goes to their English sessions regularly.
i’m also interested. but i’m more into just plain meditation centers, where you can just go and sit down and have a nice session. is there anywhere that lets you do that without telling you to donate everywhere?
Buddhanet’s World Directory listings for Taiwan
There should be something in there to suit everyone.
I’ve been at Dharma Drum Mountain for nearly three months now and I have not been badgered into giving donations. They have donations boxes in strategic locations (like outside the dinning hall) and the name of generous patrons are prominently displayed but that’s about it. It could be that I’m visibly a foreigner and the staff dealing with donations assumes I speak no Mandarin and is too embarrassed to try their English on me. (Edit: Or perhaps they assume I’m not a Buddhist…) I don’t know.
In my view, you should donate according to your capacity to donate. If you truly are broken, then don’t donate. If you are filthy rich, then be generous. Adjust depending on your situation.
I’ve been at Dharma Drum Mountain for nearly three months now and I have not been badgered into giving donations. They have donations boxes in strategic locations (like outside the dinning hall) and the name of generous patrons are prominently displayed but that’s about it. It could be that I’m visibly a foreigner and the staff dealing with donations assumes I speak no Mandarin and is too embarrassed to try their English on me. (Edit: Or perhaps they assume I’m not a Buddhist…) I don’t know.
In my view, you should donate according to your capacity to donate. If you truly are broken, then don’t donate. If you are filthy rich, then be generous. Adjust depending on your situation.[/quote]Yeah, my friend hasn’t said anything about them pressuring people. And I think they’re pretty used to dealing with westerners, so perhaps they realize that our attitude towards such things is a bit different. In general, westerners can sometimes be put off by the way in which such things are handled in Taiwan, even in very authentic Buddhist centres.
As you say, you have to do what you feel comfortable with. Of course, making offerings, supporting the monastic community and the teachers, etc., is a very important part of Buddhism. But if all someone can afford is something very small, that’s fine.
Looking for a handout, huh?
I’m curious as to what sort of “services” you want from a center? (Just the cushion and a roof? An active singles’ group? Child care?) I mean, you can meditate by yourself in the mountains…
Most of the Tibetan centers are oriented towards financing visiting lamas (or resident lamas) and their pet projects. The main reason to go is to do those long boring chanting rituals, listen to lamas talk, and maybe receive some empowerments. Some have explicit membership fees and price-lists, some just do the red-envelope thing.
i just want a bunch of cushions in a quiet area where people are free to come and meditate. Of course I would donate, I just don’t want it to be in my face all the time.
How does one get into the Dharma Drum Mountain? What is done there exactly?
cfimages provided a link to Dharma Drum Mountain’s web site. That’s the authoritative source for the questions you have.
Well, this week (US Thanksgiving) Dharma Drum itself is kind of a zoo, with like 10,000 extra people chanting womma womma womma all day. Might be interesting to see, but don’t plan on achieving any quiescence. They’ve got centers in various other places, such as Taipei.
Actually, now that I’m right in the middle of it, I can say it is not half as bad as people were warning me it would be. Yes, there is a lot of people but it seems pretty well organized.
The only thing though is that at this point it would be hard for someone who has not registered ahead to participate in any of the rituals. I was able to get a pass yesterday but that’s because I’ve been at Dharma Drum for 3 months and I know people who know people who know people, etc.
went to dharma drum mountain and really enjoyed the atmosphere there. Also checked out the international meditation group at jian tan. Are there similar practices up on the mountain?
I don’t know what is going on at Jiantan, so I would not be able to answer that. But since you mention “international”, I do know that from time to time there are retreats tailored for foreigners.