This paper investigates Dharma Drum Mountain’s development in the United States of America through the mission that Master Sheng Yen (1931-2009) laid down for The Dharma Drum Lineage of Chan Buddhism ( 中華禪法鼓宗 ). Sheng Yen began to teach Chan meditation both in New York and Taipei in 1976, dedicating himself to the reinvigoration of Chinese Chan and becoming one of the very few Chinese Chan masters that are internationally known. With his focus on meditation, Dharma Drum Mountain appeals to Euro- Americans and moves beyond the usual cultural boundary of Chinese immigrant communities. This paper contains five sections: (1) The six regions and three organizational types of Chinese Buddhism in America; (2) Sheng Yen’s dissemination of the Dharma in the United States through Buddhist associations in universities and colleges; (3) College-town-based Buddhist associations in flux; (4) Characteristics of DDM Dharma centers and their followers; (5) Sheng Yen’s understanding of “Dharma heirs” and “Dharma lineage.” Through the DDM meditation groups in the United States and the “Dharma heirs” system set up by Sheng Yen, this paper will examine the process of Dharma Drum Mountain’s internationalization of Chinese Buddhism.
