Experience sharing

​DDM Beginners' Meditation Class reflections

"Should I travel to Taiwan from Singapore to attend a mediation class?", "What will the experience be like?", "Will I get a watered down version of the class because it's conducted in English?"—these were questions I asked myself when I saw that there was an opening for a two-day Beginners' Meditation Class conducted by the Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM) International Meditation Group (IMG).

But first, why was I looking for a class in Taiwan when the same class is also held by Dharma Drum Singapore? And why would I want to go to Taiwan to attend a course in English?

The reason is because I have been wanting to join DDM One-day Retreat but the prerequisite is to have completed the Beginners' Meditation Class. I did try to sign up for the class in Singapore earlier this year but it was filled-up. Another class was later open for registration, but I could not commit to 2 hours for 6 weekends. So when I saw this opportunity in Taiwan where the class was offered in an intensive two-day format and conducted in English, I started considering the option. There were also two-day classes conducted in Mandarin that was also on the table, but because I am not as proficient in Mandarin, I was afraid that I would not be able to fully understand the teachings, especially when attending the class in a country where Mandarin is the main language.

I eventually cast my doubts aside and registered for the course a few months in advance. The anticipation built up and when I arrived in Qiyan, the neighborhood where the class was to be conducted, it was as high as the serene mountains I saw in the distance. Such was the environment that Yunlai Bieyuan, DDM's newest center in Taipei, was in. Besides mountains, there were sights of flowing water and sounds of birds chirping. All very conducive for meditation.

I entered the center and made my way up to the third floor, where the Chan Hall was. Stepping into the hall, a sense of calm can be felt especially with a meditative statue of Buddha in the center. Volunteers were working quietly but efficiently to set up for the class. The class started punctually at 9 AM with Venerable Guo Chii emphasizing how Chan Buddhism practices can be used in daily life. And that was reinforced with the methods that were taught to us: sitting meditation, walking (natural, slow, fast) meditation, standing meditation, lying meditation and moving meditation. We also learnt basic Buddhist etiquettes like when and how to bow and prostrate, which in itself can be taken as a form of exercise and meditation practice. The finale was an interesting session of water bowl meditation.

With the water bowl meditation, the focus was to walk with a fully filled bowl of water and avoid spilling it. I found that when I overly focused on a particular point, for example the edges of the bowl, I started spilling some of the water. This brought forth the realization that it is not worthwhile to grasp onto something too hard and I should have a more holistic awareness of my body, feeling, mind and physical/mental processes.

So back to the questions I asked myself. No, I did not think that the class being conducted in English was watered down. The experience I had and lessons I learnt in the two days made traveling to Taiwan a very invaluable decision. Special thanks to Venerable Guo Chii and the volunteers who facilitated the class as well as those who cooked delicious vegetarian lunch for us. Thank you all for taking time out from your precious weekend to help us get started on our Chan journey with Dharma Drum Mountain.


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Written by Jason Cheow