Origin
Dajue Buddhist Temple, located in Toronto, Canada, is a Buddhist center dedicated to promoting orthodox Dharma, preserving Eastern wisdom, and fostering contemporary spiritual growth. The temple provides a serene and solemn environment for practice, integrating traditional Buddhist principles with the needs of modern society to serve the public and benefit all sentient beings.
Dajue Buddhist Temple focuses on education, spiritual practice, and Dharma propagation, offering a diverse range of programs including Buddhist courses, communal practice sessions, Dharma ceremonies, cultural exchanges, and charitable activities. Whether a beginner or an advanced practitioner, individuals can find suitable learning paths and practice methods here.
The temple also emphasizes disseminating Buddhist wisdom within a contemporary context. Through a combination of online and offline approaches, Buddhism becomes not only a faith but also a practical life wisdom, guiding people to find inner peace and awakening in a complex world.
Mission
Guided by the Buddha's true Dharma, to propagate wisdom and compassion, benefiting all sentient beings.
Dajue is committed to:
- Promoting authentic Buddhism and establishing pure and right views
- Providing systematic Buddhist education and guiding rational practice
- Establishing a stable environment for group practice and fostering physical and mental transformation
- Serving society with compassion and promoting public welfare and cultural dissemination
Vision
To be a bridge connecting traditional Buddhist teachings with contemporary society, creating an internationally influential platform for Buddhist study and culture.
We hope to:
- Integrate Buddhist teachings into modern life, making them a practical system of wisdom
- Establish a multilingual and multicultural Buddhist learning community
- Cultivate contemporary practitioners with right view and practical ability
- Promote the dissemination and development of Buddhist art and culture worldwide
Lineage Succession
Dajue Buddhist Temple upholds the pure tradition of Buddhism, emphasizing the continuation of the Dharma lineage and the study and practice of orthodox teachings. Under the guidance of our mentors, students not only learn classic doctrines but also focus on integrating Buddhist teachings into their daily lives.
The temple's team of mentors consists of monastics and scholars with profound Buddhist cultivation and practical experience, covering various fields such as sutra and commentary teaching, meditation guidance, and cultural research. Our mentors combine rigorous scholarship with compassionate instruction, helping students establish right views, grow in wisdom, and steadily progress in their practice.
At the same time, Dajue Buddhist Temple actively engages in exchanges and cooperation with international Buddhist organizations and academic institutions to promote the widespread dissemination and development of Buddhism in contemporary society.
Venerable Master Ri-Chang
Born in 1929 in the pure and simple Chongming County, Jiangsu Province, his father taught him to recite the Four Books and Five Classics from a young age, and encouraged him to become a monk to benefit all sentient beings, as the greatest person in the world.
In 1965, he became a monk at Yuanguang Temple. Venerable Master Ri-Chang diligently practiced the precepts and studied scriptures
deeply, extensively learning Chan and Pure Land Buddhism. He also regularly associated with various eminent Buddhist masters at home and abroad, studying both Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhism, and strictly upheld the precepts throughout his life. For many years, he spared no effort in propagating the Dharma both domestically and internationally, especially dedicating himself to promoting "Lamrim Chenmo (The Great Treatise
on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment)," "A Summary of the Nanshan Vinaya for Lay Buddhists," and "Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra."
In 1992, he founded an organization and established a monastic community of strictly disciplined bhikshus and bhikshunis. He led both monastics and lay practitioners to establish the Dharma and uphold the holy teachings. Venerable Master Ri-Chang dedicated himself to
promoting "Lamrim Chenmo" by Je Tsongkhapa, and based on this, developed various corporate enterprises, committing to promoting Confucianism and traditional Chinese culture, developing organic agriculture, producing healthy and safe processed foods, and environmentally friendly daily necessities. Although he encountered numerous difficulties along the way, he always encouraged himself with the phrase "ever-defeated general" and never gave up. He constantly yearned to create an environment for lay practitioners to study and practice, a place for genuine cultivation, so that they could continuously progress towards enlightenment in every lifetime.
On October 15, 2004, Venerable Master Ri-Chang passed away, but his compassion and wisdom continue to inspire and guide his disciples, who persevere in spreading the fragrance of truth, goodness, and beauty in the human world.
Venerable Master Zhen-Ru
Venerable Master Zhen-Ru was born into a scholarly family in Heilongjiang Province, China. From a young age, she pondered the questions of
where life comes from and where death leads, with these existential queries constantly on her mind. As she grew older, determined to resolve the issues of life and death for herself and others, she decided to leave home alone in search of a teacher and the Dharma. Her journey took her to Mount Wutai, Mount Putuo, and various major monasteries in Tibet, where she received joyful and intimate guidance and instruction from virtuous spiritual mentors. She obtained transmissions for numerous sutras and treatises, including the "Madhyamakāvatāra," "Abhisamayālaṅkāra," "Catuḥśataka,""Lamrim Chenmo," "Lamrim Drelpa (The Concise Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment)," "The Path to Bliss," "The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment with Four Commentaries," and "The Jewel Garland of Tenets." Later, she listened toaudiotapes of the "Lamrim Chenmo" teachings given by thelate Venerable Ri-Chang and developed an unparalleled reverence for him. After
personally meeting Venerable Ri-Chang, she received his profound guidance andinstruction. He bestowed upon her the Dharma name "Zhen-Ru" andpersonally entrusted the monastic and lay communities to her care.
In 2004, after Venerable Ri-Chang passed away, Venerable Zhen-Ru faithfully adhered to his teachings, inheriting his Dharma lineage. Over the past twenty years, despite numerous hardships and with great dedication, she has devoted herself to monastic and lay Buddhist education and various virtuous endeavors. Her efforts to integrate Buddhist principles with the practical application of "body, mind, and spirit" have never wavered.
In 2008, Venerable Zhen-Ru established a Buddhist academy and a translation institute at Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society (GEBIS) on Prince Edward Island, Canada, gradually building a comprehensive monastic study system. Monastics from over a dozen countries and regions engage in extensive memorization, listening, contemplation, and debate to delve deeply into vast sutras and treatises such as the "Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras," "Lotus Sūtra," "Lamrim Chenmo," "Three Major Works of Nanshan Vinaya," "Pramāṇavārttika," "Abhisamayālaṅkāra," "Madhyamakāvatāra," "Abhidharmakośa," and "Vinaya." This establishes correct understanding. Based on the essence of the studied sutras and treatises, they uphold the precepts of novice monks/nuns, full monks/nuns, and Bodhisattvas, maintaining pure conduct through strict monastic discipline. Monastics prioritize both study and practice, with courses lasting over 16 years, cultivating Tripitaka Masters to propagate the Dharma and translate scriptures.
Currently, there are approximately two thousand monastic disciples (monks and nuns) worldwide, over eighty thousand students who deeply study the Dharma, and more than two hundred study centers. These communities are dedicated to fulfilling Venerable Master Ri-Chang’s aspiration: "bearing the Buddha's legacy on one shoulder and promoting Confucian culture on the other," diligently practicing the sutras, vinaya, and abhidharma, as well as engaging in the ten virtuous deeds. Under Venerable Zhen-Ru's leadership, monastics and lay practitioners diligently study the Dharma and actively engage in social welfare, realizing Venerable Ri-Chang's aspiration to "illuminate the holy teachings of compassion and wisdom, and manifest the virtuous conduct of benevolence and propriety."
