Finding Serenity in a Bustling Age
In May 2024, the Bhikkhu Sangha officially took up residence at Kongshan Temple in New York. Guided by the daily rhythm of the temple bells and monastic routine, this practice center—a seamless fusion of Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist traditions—lights a beacon for modern souls seeking to return to their inner peace.
The Origin of Lineage: A Thirty-Year Trust of Compassion
The establishment of Kongshan Temple carries a profound karmic connection within the Dharma. Over thirty years ago, at the earnest request of the renowned American Buddhist lay practitioner Mr. C.T. Shen, our revered Master Jih-Chang aspired to establish a pure Sangha community and practice center in New York. However, due to unripened conditions at the time, the plan was temporarily deferred.
Inheriting the aspirations of our past masters, Teacher Zhen-Ru has diligently guided both monastic and lay disciples in studying and practicing the True Dharma since taking the helm. Today, more than a thousand monks and nuns study diligently and uphold pure precepts. To guide more faithful practitioners toward liberation and fulfill the sacred wishes of our teachers, Teacher Zhen-Ru resolved to establish Kongshan Temple in New York, turning a new page in international Dharma propagation.
Our System of Study and Practice: Rational Reflection and Living Practice
Kongshan Temple is a practice center that balances intellectual depth with rigorous precept-keeping. We firmly believe that the Dharma is not distant knowledge, but living wisdom to be practiced in the present moment.
・The Rational Wisdom of the Tibetan Gelug Lineage.
We study and practice purely transmitted classical texts, including the Lamrim Chenmo (The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment) and the Five Great Treatises, establishing a structured and systematic educational track. Through rigorous rational reflection, we guide practitioners to shatter life's blind spots and establish a correct view of the universe and life.
・The Living Practice of the Chinese Nanshan Vinaya.
In daily life, we abide by the spirit of the Nanshan Vinaya, strictly integrating the Dharma into our everyday actions, deportment, and interpersonal interactions. Thus, cultivating the mind is no longer an abstract theory, but a choice and action in every present moment.
Wherever You Are, Walk Side by Side with the Dharma
Spiritual practice is bound neither by one's starting point nor spiritual capacity; it hinges solely on a mind willing to observe and transform itself.
Currently, Kongshan Temple’s practitioners span across the United States. Whether you are on the East Coast (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Massachusetts) or the West Coast (Southern and Northern California), you can connect with fellow practitioners and support one another through our local classrooms and lay study groups established in various cities. Together, we walk hand in hand through this modern world woven with material and technological civilization.
When technology fills every second of our lives, does a sense of clarity still remain in our hearts?
When the impermanence and vicissitudes of life strike, do we possess enough wisdom to navigate them with equanimity?
The bells of Kongshan Temple have rung. This time, it is not for the hustle and bustle, but to rediscover your original self.
Would you,
pause your steps,
and embark on this path of awakening with us?
Temple Exploration
Kongshan will surely produce many practitioners with authentic realization
Sweat profusely to realize your true self.
Bodhicitta Road
sincerely pray for the swift descent of the Three Father-Son Deities.
Inwardly resilient and outwardly pliable, just like a Dharma cultivator.
The Dharma Conch of the Great Master is Re-emerging.
.jpg)
Blessings from the Virtuous Friends to Kongshan.
Where the hunting field shall give way to the spiritual serenity of Sarnath.