Drawing Near to Prajñā, Renewing Our Aspirations: The Retired Lay Association Dharma-Seeking Delegation Visits Kongshan Monastery

On June 26, 2026, approximately 60 members of the Retired Lay Association — affiliated with the Bliss and Wisdom Foundation in Taiwan — came to visit Kongshan Monastery. In the midst of a full and busy Dharma-seeking journey through North America, this stop was more than a visit to a monastery. It felt like a gathering to return to one's original heart of learning and to gather and renew one's aspirations.

Kongshan Monastery is nestled in the tranquil woodland of the Hudson Valley in New York. As the buses turned into the monastery grounds, sweeping views of green meadows, a lake, and towering trees gradually unfolded. Far from the noise of the city, the members' footsteps naturally slowed. As the Dharma masters led everyone on a walk through the grounds, many participants shared in their reflections that they had initially imagined the monastery to be simply a serene and beautiful setting. Only upon learning more did they come to appreciate that this place is a vessel for their teacher's deep and far-reaching aspiration — to build a place of study and practice, nurture monastic talent, and benefit sentient beings across generations.

A highlight of the visit was the collection of Prajñāpāramitā sūtras and Tibetan texts of the Five Great Treatises in the Main Dharma Hall. The Dharma masters explained the significance of these scriptures and treatises in Buddhist learning, and guided the members to reflect: the texts before them are not merely words to be admired from afar — they are the path of wisdom that the patriarchs and great masters of every generation protected and transmitted with their very lives.

Some members sat quietly at the reading desks and leafed through the texts; others joined their palms in prayer before the Dharma portraits; others wrote down their personal aspirations. For members who have studied the Lamrim Chenmo for many years, the feeling stirred was more than simply "seeing the scriptures." It was a renewed reminder to themselves: the study of the Buddhadharma requires sustained effort over a long time, and what is learned must be brought, step by step, back into one's life.

The group then made their way to the shores of Conch Lake. Sunlight filtered through the tree canopy, the lake mirrored the sky, and a few Canada geese rested quietly along the bank. Members strolled slowly along the water's edge — some paused to gaze at the lake in stillness; others exchanged impressions and reflections with fellow practitioners. The natural scenery was not merely a scenic backdrop to the visit, but felt like a quiet space in which each person had the chance to let the teachings they had just heard settle and take root within them.

This visit also gave members a more concrete sense of what it truly means for a monastery to come into being — that it is not simply a matter of land and construction, but the long-accumulated fruit of their teacher's aspiration, the Sangha's dedicated practice, and the sustained support of Dharma protectors from all directions. Looking ahead, Kongshan Monastery will continue to serve as a place where monastics dwell in peaceful study and practice, where the Dharma is propagated, and where faithful friends from all over the world are welcomed to draw near to the Buddhadharma.

Before boarding the buses to leave, many members lingered, reluctant to part. The visit came to a warm and deeply moving close. Many expressed that they would surely return to Kongshan Monastery — to continue drawing near to the Sangha, to steep themselves in the teachings, and to walk the path of study and practice with ever-greater steadiness and resolve.