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| dharma_realm_buddhist_university_drbu [2026/11/14 20:22] – created Vajra Patience | dharma_realm_buddhist_university_drbu [2026/11/14 20:24] (current) – Vajra Patience |
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| #redirect [[Dharma Realm Buddhist University (DRBU)]] | #redirect [[Dharma Realm Buddhist University (DRBU)]] |
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| | [[Dharma Realm Buddhist University]] ([[DRBU]], [[法界佛教大学]] / [[法界佛教大學]] - [[Fajie Fojiao Daxue]], rendered in [[Sanskrit]] as [[धर्मधातुबौद्धविश्वविद्यालय]] - [[Dharmadhātubauddhaviśvavidyālaya]], and in [[Tibetan]] as [[ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབྱིངས་ཀྱི་ནང་པའི་སློབ་གྲྭ་ཆེན་མོ།]] [[chos kyi dbyings kyi nang pa'i slob grwa chen mo]] [[Chökyi Yingkyi Nangpay Lopdra Chenmo]], universally recognized across the [[United States]], [[China]], [[Taiwan]], [[Hong Kong]], [[Malaysia]], [[Singapore]], [[Australia]], and the global [[Buddhist]] world as the pioneering accredited institution of higher learning founded by [[Ven. Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua]]), acclaimed throughout modern [[20th century]] and [[21st century]] [[Buddhist]] educational history as a transformative liberal arts and Buddhist studies university located at the [[City of Ten Thousand Buddhas]] ([[CTTB]]) in [[Talmage]], [[Mendocino County]], [[California]], stands as a living bridge between classical East Asian contemplative training and Western humanistic inquiry. Founded in [[1976]] alongside the establishment of the [[City of Ten Thousand Buddhas]] under the auspices of the [[Dharma Realm Buddhist Association]] ([[DRBA]]), [[DRBU]] was envisioned by [[Ven. Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua]] ([[宣化上人]], [[year of birth]] [[1918]], [[year of death]] [[1995]]) as an educational sanctuary where students from around the world could cultivate innate [[wisdom]], moral integrity, and genuine [[awakening]] while examining the perennial human questions of [[anicca]], [[dukkha]], and liberation across the [[six realms]]. |
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| | From its inception in [[1976]], [[Dharma Realm Buddhist University]] broke away from conventional narrow specialization by uniting rigorous academic study with daily contemplative practice, voluntary service, and strict [[ethical conduct]] grounded in the [[precepts]] of the [[Buddha]], the [[Dharma]], and the [[Sangha]]. Achieving full institutional accreditation from the [[WASC Senior College and University Commission]] ([[WSCUC]]) in [[2018]], [[DRBU]] offers an accredited Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts, a Master of Arts in Buddhist Classics, and a Graduate Certificate in Buddhist Classics, attracting an international community of monastic and lay students who live, study, and practice together within the serene four-hundred-and-eighty-eight-acre valley campus of the [[City of Ten Thousand Buddhas]]. |
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| | At the heart of the academic pedagogy of [[Dharma Realm Buddhist University]] is a shared, discussion-based great books curriculum modeled on collaborative close reading, shared inquiry, and direct engagement with primary foundational texts rather than passive lectures. Students read unabridged classics from both [[Asian]] and [[Western]] civilizations side by side—exploring the [[Mahayana]] and [[Theravada]] canons alongside [[Confucian]], [[Daoist]], ancient Greek, and modern European philosophical works—while developing fluency in classical [[Sanskrit]], classical [[Chinese]], or [[Pali]] to engage directly with original scriptural sources. |
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| | Deeply integrated with the scriptural mission of the [[Buddhist Text Translation Society]] ([[BTTS]]) located on the same campus, [[Dharma Realm Buddhist University]] immerses students in the canonical literature of the [[Chinese Tripitaka]] and [[Tibetan Tripitaka]]. Through close textual seminars, students examine foundational scriptures including the [[Avatamsaka Sutra]] ([[Taisho Number 279]] in the [[Chinese Tripitaka]], corresponding to [[Toh Number 44]] in the [[Tibetan Tripitaka]]), the [[Shurangama Sutra]] ([[Taisho Number 945]]), the [[Saddharmapundarika Sutra]] ([[Lotus Sutra]], [[Taisho Number 262]], corresponding to [[Toh Number 113]]), the [[Prajnaparamitahrdaya Sutra]] ([[Heart Sutra]], [[Taisho Number 251]], corresponding to [[Toh Number 21]]), the [[Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra]] ([[Diamond Sutra]], [[Taisho Number 235]], corresponding to [[Toh Number 16]]), the [[Pali]] [[Dhammapada]], [[Nagarjuna]]'s [[Mulamadhyamakakarika]] ([[Taisho Number 1564]], corresponding to [[Toh Number 3824]]), and [[Huineng]]'s [[Platform Sutra]] ([[Taisho Number 2008]]). |
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| | Guided by a dedicated faculty of scholar-monastics and lay professors—including senior disciples of [[Ven. Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua]] such as [[Bhikshu Heng Sure]], [[Bhikshu Heng Lyu]], [[Bhikshuni Heng Chih]], and [[Bhikshuni Heng Yin]], alongside visiting scholars from across [[North America]] and [[Asia]]—[[DRBU]] emphasizes the cultivation of character alongside intellect. Every student and faculty member participates in daily campus stewardship, vegetarian community dining, and optional morning and evening recitation, [[Chan]] [[meditation]], [[mindfulness]], and [[concentration]] sessions at [[Jewel Hall]] and [[Wonderful Enlightenment Hall]], embodying the classical Chinese educational ideal that true learning transforms conduct rather than merely accumulating information. |
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| | Philosophically and contemplatively, [[Dharma Realm Buddhist University]] bridges the luminous [[Huayan]] vision of unobstructed mutual interpenetration associated with [[Vairocana]] [[Buddha]] and the sudden introspective inquiry of [[Chan]] with [[Nagarjuna]]'s [[Madhyamaka]] dialectics regarding [[emptiness]] ([[शून्यता]] - [[śūnyatā]]; [[སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།]] [[stong pa nyid]] [[Tongpanyid]]) and [[dependent origination]], [[Asanga]] and [[Vasubandhu]]'s [[Yogacara]] phenomenology, and the innate [[Buddha-nature]] ([[tathagatagarbha]]) teachings of [[Maitreya]]'s [[Uttaratantra Shastra]] ([[Toh Number 4024]], and [[Taisho Number 1611]]). Guiding students to dissolve attachment to the [[five aggregates]], [[anatta]], [[emptiness of self]], [[karma]], and [[rebirth]] across [[samsara]] and [[nirvana]], [[DRBU]] fosters intellectual humility and direct experiential insight. |
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| | Anchoring its entire educational philosophy in [[Shakyamuni]] [[Buddha]]'s foundational teachings on the [[Four Noble Truths]], the [[Noble Eightfold Path]], [[right view]], [[right intention]], [[right speech]], [[right action]], [[right livelihood]], [[right effort]], [[right mindfulness]], and [[right concentration]], [[Dharma Realm Buddhist University]] encourages students to live by [[Ven. Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua]]'s six guiding principles of non-contention, non-greed, non-seeking, non-selfishness, non-pursuit of personal advantage, and truthfulness, cultivating [[generosity]], [[merit]], [[loving-kindness]], [[compassion]], [[equanimity]], [[non-attachment]], [[skillful means]], and universal [[bodhicitta]] to uproot the [[three poisons]] of greed, hatred, and delusion. |
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| | Nearly fifty years after its founding in [[California]], [[Dharma Realm Buddhist University]] stands in the [[21st century]] as a uniquely transformative institution of higher education—proving that rigorous liberal arts inquiry, classical linguistic scholarship, and authentic contemplative practice can flourish together in modern [[North America]]. Carrying forward the educational vision of [[Ven. Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua]], [[Ven. Xuyun]], [[Huineng]], and [[Xuanzang]], [[DRBU]] continues to nurture thoughtful, ethical leaders dedicated to peace, mutual understanding, and the timeless path of the [[Middle Way]]. |
