PBS Show Lucky Chow Explores Chan through Monastic Cuisine at DDM

With a special feature on Taipei in their upcoming season, the team of PBS food documentary "Lucky Chow" came all the way from the U.S. to Taiwan, and visited Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM) Yunlai Branch Monastery on April 12^th. During the filming, Venerable Yang Ben (演本法師), Director of Yunlai Branch Monastery had a conversation with Danielle Chang, the producer and host of Lucky Chow. They explored the food and culture of Taiwanese monasteries, as well as the relationship between beliefs and food.

Questions raised by the host ranged from the characteristics of DDM's meditation methods, the selection of ingredients and cooking for vegetarian meals, vegetarian diets in Asia, and Buddhist rituals for eating, to the daily life and work of a Buddhist monk. The Venerable answered each one of the questions and indicated that the most important thing to keep in mind while eating is to be grateful and focused on the present moment, since eating is a part of Chan practice. As long as we return to the present moment, we can stabilize our body and mind, no matter where or when.


In addition to sharing the simple yet tasty monastic vegetarian meals, the connection between Buddhism and vegetarianism in Chinese Buddhism, and guiding everyone to explore the relationship between food and themselves, the Venerable also demonstrated the Buddhist prostration to the team step by step, and led the host in a brief experience of Chan meditation. It is hoped that overseas viewers can experience the spiritual feast in Taiwan by watching the show.






Original text written in Chinese and images by Fu Li-xian (傅莉嫻)
Translated by Siang-ling Li
Edited by YKL, Keith Brown