Venue：First Floor, SKY Hotel（Next to Karamusing Maybank Headquater）
All are welcome!
Introduction： Buddhist Meditation in Modern Life
In order to meet the needs other than materialistic requirements, of the people who live in modern societies, various theories and practices have been developed, such as neuroscience, psychological therapy, yoga etc.
Buddhist meditation is one of the methods cultivating the human spirit, which brings tremendous benefit to one’s mind and physical body. In the last few decades Buddhist meditation has gradually become well accepted and embraced by Westerners of every socioeconomic status. Due to what reasons have Westerners, especially those who hold high educational and professional qualifications, become attracted to Buddhist meditation? And what is the uniqueness of Buddhist meditation that allows Westerners to become interested in the theory and practice of Buddhist teachings?
Ven Dr. Dhammadipa will explain the methods of Buddhist meditation based upon meditation systems in the Buddhist tradition in such a way that one who attends his talk will leave with a comprehensive understanding of Buddhist meditation. Last but not least, Ven Dr. Dhammadipa will discuss the vision and foreseeable impact of Buddhist meditation in modern society.
Venerable Dr. DhammadipaSak (Fa Yao), Abbot of Temple of Enlightenment, New York, and Vice President of Buddhist Association of the United States,who is a scholar in early Mahāyāna and Theravāda Buddhism and an expert in Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma and Theravāda Abhidhamma. Besides conducting meditation retreats at Chuang Yen Monastery and Temple of Enlightenment annually, he has been invited to provide meditative instructions on Four Immeasureable (Brahmavihāras) and Mindfulness of Breathing (Ānāpānasati) at Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Maryland, Indiana, Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and etc. He has taught in English as medium of instruction, Path of Purification (Visudhimagga), Introduction to Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma (Abhidharmāvatāra), and various topics related to Buddhism in the Western societies. He used to be a senior professor and lecturer on Chines Āgama, PāliNikāya, and Abhidharma at some of the most prestigious graduate Buddhist institutes in Taiwan as well asa visiting professor of Anthropology and Philosophy Departments at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China.
He was born to a Chinese family in Taiwan and brought up in Malaysia, where Islam is the major religion. He then became a monk in 1987 and earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Buddhist studies and Philosophy in Sri Lanka over a course of nearly ten years. He has acquired commend in various languages such as Pāli, Sanskrit, English, Chinese, French, Japanese. Following by earning his PhD in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at University of Bristol in England, he spent more than two years researching Buddhist commentaries in Harvard University.
Possessing extensive interests, such as Western Philosophy, Christianity, Islamism, Judaism, he has engaged in conversation with scholars and congregation alike. The years spent in Europe and the United States of America allowed him to understand Buddhism in the West and Western culture.
