The Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Society (LJM) first established ties with Nepal in 2015, when the country was struck by a mega-quake. LJM dispatched a relief mission almost instantaneously. When the LJM Founding Abbot, Dharma Master Hsin Tao, went to Nepal to promote Zen meditation in person in 2019, he was greeted by Mr. Raja Shrestha, the President of the Joy Foundation Nepal, and the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Sankhu, Mr. Subrana Shrestha and Mr. Sukra Laxmi, who expressed their gratitude for LJM’s contributions to Nepal.

Joy Foundation President Raju Shrestha observed that the time since the major earthquake on April 25, 2015 has been exceedingly challenging for Nepal, with civilians in the millions left homeless and traumatized. LJM not only dispatched its highly experienced relief team for medical support, but offered drinking water and food and assisted the Community Child Rescue Centre (CCRC) in Patan in their mission of looking after orphans. LJM’s concrete contributions to helping people rebuild their homes and in the provision of livelihood necessities are greatly appreciated. In return, Dharma Master Hsin Tao said that the heart of compassion recognizes no national boundaries and availed himself of the occasion to highlight the LJM Buddhist Society, its plans for the Milarepa Meditation Center, and the great things expected of the Milarepa Center with its continued and on-going contributions to Nepal.

Dharma Master Hsin Tao further noted that LJM first established its unique Museum of World Religions (MWR) some 18 years ago as a platform to facilitate interfaith exchanges. When the unprecedented Boxiing Day Ttsunami struck the ASEAN countries, LJM again co-ordinated 10 religious organizations to shoulder the task of creating one thousand units of composite homes to accommodate the homeless. LJM was in overall charge of the mission and oversaw the construction, handled the administration, and supervised the financial transactions to make things work. Dharma Master Hsin Tao also said that the MWR has been conducting interfaith dialogues for the last 14 years while moving toward the ultimate goal of religious harmony and holding potential disputes at bay.

For quite some time now, the Venerable Master Hsin Tao has been focusing on a major project which is parallel to the other duties of the LJM Buddhist Society: the University for Life & Peace. It will be a future university of ecological ethics designed and steered by a think-tank consisting of internationally acclaimed cross-disciplinary scholars, including experts from the University of Munich, Germany, and Harvard University of the US, among other elite institutions. The syllabus and curriculum are under discussion and careful review within an overall framework of ecology to make them uniquely fit for the university’s future students to focus on the salvation of our planet. The Experimental Winter School, a forerunner of the University for Life & Peace, has already taken place in 2018 and 2019, achieving its distinct objectives. A government certificate for its status as a Buddhist university has recently been granted, and the University for Life & Peace will commence its formal development based on the Buddhist spirituality of compassion.

The Master also observed that the University project has kept him from revisiting Nepal sooner, but now is the proper time to do so. Nepal enjoys political stability and positive karma. The outstanding workforce in place testifies to the conviction that LJM will be able to make concrete contributions to Nepal across three major domains: improved agriculture, tourism initiatives, and not-for-profit charity enterprises.

In the agricultural component of LJM’s programs, the transfer and sharing of farming know-how will augment efforts to help local farmers cultivate economically valuable crops with steady yields that are suitable for local farms . 

Master Guang Chun, a standing member of the LJM Commission of Religious Affairs, pointed out that Nepal is Buddha’s birthplace, and 84 gurus reached their enlightenment in Nepal. To reach the goal of conservation of holy sites and their revitalization by injecting positive karma collectively, LJM has plans for an international meditation facility named after the great Milarepa, located some 17 kilometers south of Kathmandu in Sankhu. 

For tourism, Dharma Master Hsin Tao stressed that meditation is what he does and promotes, and quite a bit of the international network has been built up over time. The Master hopes to channel such international resources to Nepal, with the Milarepa Meditation Center as the interface. The Center will have a grand meditation hall featuring a 9-foot tall bronze statue of Milarepa. Twenty-plus smaller units for individual retreats will be available as well. The Center and the historic site of the cave where Milarepa conducted his retreat will most certainly attract international tourists and meditators alike, which in turn will benefit both inbound tourism and peripheral charity enterprises. LJM’s initial contact with Nepal was for disaster relief and it is hoped that more concrete help for Nepal can materialize from this program.

An international meditation facility must meet the basic criteria of area size as well as other relevant conditions that render the place suitable for meditation. The Milarepa International Meditation Center occupies a land area of 13 hectares, rivaling the LJM home monastery Wu Sheng in size. The fact that many gurus of Vajrayana Buddhism achieved their enlightenment in Nepal indicates that its magnetic field is fit for meditation. The Milarepa Meditation Center will be developed into a bio-park for the aforementioned University for Life & Peace as a home base for hands-on experiences that will complement the university’s academic pursuits. Therefore, there is the acute need for volunteers with architecture and environmental protection in their background. We extend a warm invitation to all qualified individuals to join the LJM for the construction of the Milarepa International Meditation Center.

Chinese 中文 → https://tv.093.org.tw/news-detail/408