2016 YSF Summer Dharma Retreat Lecturers' Bio-note (English Group)
Venerable Bhikṣu Changtzu is a Taiwanese monk born in Taipei, Taiwan. He graduated in 1995 from the Department of Atmospheric Science at the National Central University in Taiwan with a major in meteorology and went on to receive his Masters degree in 1997 from the Institute of Space Science. Bhikṣu Chang Tzu was ordained by Venerable Hou-Guan in 2000. He then studied advanced Buddhism at the Fuyan Institute until 2002 and studied specialized Buddhist programs at the graduate school until 2005. He has conducted dharma lessons at the Bodhi Monastery in New Jersey, USA, during their winter and summer courses in 2006–2013. He did his PhD research at the University of Sydney in 2007–2012, where he was researching Buddhism relevant to early Mahayana doctrine. His research in particular focused on the formation, transmission and use of texts, involving the comparative study of Chinese, Sanskrit, Tibetan and Pali sources. In 2013, Bhikṣu Changtzu obtained a PhD in Buddhist studies from the University of Sydney. He is currently a lecturer at the Fuyan Buddhist Institute.
Venerable Dixuan is an ordained Buddhist nun of the Mahayana tradition and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Florida. She had been trained in Yuan-Kuang Graduate Institute of Buddhist Studies, where she studied a number of scriptures and delved into the doctrine of Two Truth presented in the Perfection of Wisdom Scriptures. Additionally, Ven. Dixuan received her M.A. from the Religion Department of the National Cheng-Chi University in Taipei, Taiwan. Her M.A. thesis surveyed the doctrines and practices of the non-duality described in the Manjusri-related Scriptures.
Ven. Dixuan’s interests span the medieval and contemporary periods of Buddhism, including Buddhist doctrines, historical development of Chinese Buddhist scriptures, Indian and Chinese Buddhist history, Buddhist art, Buddhism in the West, and the mutual interactions between Buddhism and other religions. Her on-going Ph.D. dissertation is investigating the medieval Chinese beliefs and practices centered on Medicine Master Buddha (Bhaisajyaguru Buddha). She is currently teaching Chinese Religions in the University of Florida and Religions of Asian in the Santa Fe College, FL.
Venerable Bhikṣuṇī Yan Rong currently resides in Australia. Her main focus is working with the Taiwan Yinshun Foundation on the translation of Master Yinshun’s texts from Chinese to English. She first encountered Buddhism in 1996 while studying for an Economics Degree at the University of Sydney and she has continued to pursue Buddhist studies ever since. From 1997 to 2010 she participated in the translation and editing of Buddhist articles, as well as the organization of youth activities such as winter camps and festival nights at the Hwa Tsang Monastery.
Education and Training
1995-97 Bachelor of Economics & Finance, University of Sydney
2011 Received novice ordination under Venerable Parikaruṇā
2012 Received full ordination at the Fayun Chan Monastery
2011-16 Degree in Buddhist Studies, Yitung Buddhist Institute
A Mahāyāna Buddhist nun from Taiwan.
1992, graduated from Chongsan Medical College, Taiwan.
1995, received master degree from the Department of Developmental Disabilities at New York University
2011, received novice ordination.
2012, received full ordination in Taiwan.
2013, graduated from Yitong Buddhist College in Taiwan.
2013-current, resides at Metropolitan Buddhist Center in Flushing, NY, leading Buddhist study group, assisting meditation class, helping and organizing Dharma lectures.
Prof. Michael Roehm was the facilitator of the Sutta Study Group (now the Washington, DC, Buddhist Studies Group) at the Washington Buddhist Vihara for 17 years. His Buddhist affiliations and activities have focused on both the Theravada and (Korean and Soto/Caodong) Zen traditions. A former monk in Sri Lanka and Korea, where he was a student of Zen Master Kusan Sunim, he was also a founding member of the Washington Buddhist Vihara and Bhavana Society, and a cofounder of the Lotus Lantern International Buddhist Center (Seoul, Korea) and the Buddhist Fellowship of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, VA. He is a Practicing Member in the Mountain and Rivers Order of Zen Mountain Monastery and member of the Board of Directors of Buddhist Global Relief. He is also a facilitator in the Alternatives to Violence Program (AVP) at the Maryland Correctional Institution, Hagerstown, and a hike leader in the Wanderbirds Hiking Club. Now retired from American University in Washington, DC, he lives in Williamsport, MD.