中道佛學社

Dr. Gene Healy

Dr. Gene Healy is a Florida licensed Acupuncture Physician who works with Florida Cancer Specialists and has a private practice in Dunedin, Florida. His undergraduate degree from Florida State is in Religion with a focus on Buddhist studies. After graduating in 1996, he spent 6 years in South Korea studying Buddhism in various temple settings. He also became a teacher in an esoteric Buddhist martial art called Bulmudo. Dr. Healy then returned to America to pursue his medical degree in Oriental Medicine before moving back to South Korea for 5 years to teach in various universities and continue his studies in Buddhism. Dr. Healy has done intensive mediation retreats with respected teachers in several Asian countries and has taught meditation, yoga, and martial arts along with practicing acupuncture in 8 countries: USA, South Korea, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines. He currently teaches meditation at different sites in Dunedin and also at Florida Cancer Specialists. Dr. Healy is fluent in both Korean and English.

Bhante Dhammawansha

Born in the District of Kandy, Sri Lanka, Bhante Dhammawansha became a monk at the age of 16. He studied at the Buddhist University, where he received a B.A. degree in Buddhism, History, Ethics and the languages of Sanskrit and Pali. His travels have taken him to Scandinavia, Russia, Australia, India, Nepal and Thailand, where he has taught the study of Dhamma (the truth taught by Buddha). He traveled to the United States for a personal retreat in 1996 and now conducts buddhist counseling, engages in social and interfaith work, and presents talks on Dhamma for high school students and drug/alcohol rehabilitation centers.

Bhante Dhammawansha, whose quiet kindly nature welcomes all, is Dhamma Wheel Meditation Society's resident monk, president, and inspiring teacher.

He is usually available for conversation and questions after most of our meditations, discussions or events.

A friendly and gentle practitioner, Master Jian Zong always teaches the Buddha Dharma and gives advice to disciples with great compassion and patience, calmly guiding those on the path to cultivation and filling them with Dharma joy.

      Before Master Jian Zong renounced his home life, he aspired to seek a deeper understanding of the true meaning of life. So he frequented the local Chung Tai Zen Center; and under the guidance and compassionate support of its Dharma Masters, he experienced the subtle and profound wisdom of the Buddha Dharma.

      Later when he stayed at the Chung Tai Chan Monastery, he witnessed Grand Master Wei Chueh’s tireless devotion to Buddhism. To propagate the Dharma for the liberation of all sentient beings, the Grand Master often traveled to various places in Taiwan and overseas, with barely any time left to himself. Master Jian Zong was deeply moved by Grand Master’s great compassion and conduct. Having heard the true Dharma and meeting the well-learned teacher, he found the path to his “spiritual home.” With unwavering determination, Master Jian Zong joined the monastic order under Grand Master Wei Chueh to fulfill the great vow of “attaining the Buddha Way and liberating all sentient beings.”

      Right after Master Jian Zong had joined the monastic order, he immersed in the Sutra treasury and the study of the Dharma at the Chung Tai Buddhist Institute and its Graduate Division. He served as the Vice-Abbot of the Chung Tai Chan Monastery, the Abbot of the Great Enlightened Monastery of Keeloung, the Director of Student Counselling and the Instructor of Buddhist Studies at the Chung Tai Buddhist Institute, and the Vice-Abbot of Buddha Gate Monastery as well as Chung Tai Zen Center of Houston in the United States.
With his wealth of experiences, Master Jian Zong will apply skillful means in Dharma teaching and assist in the daily operations of the Zen Center of Sunnyvale, helping in the advancement of Dharma propagation in the United States.

      Master Jian Zong presently serves as an instructor in Buddhist Studies.

Educated in the forefront of western sciences and with a deep appreciation for Chinese culture, Venerable Jian Hu is uniquely suited to bridging the gap between the East and the West. He came to the United States as a teenager and went on to graduate from California Institute of Technology and University of California, San Diego with a doctorate in Computer Science.

In pursuit of a more meaningful existence, he renounced worldly attachments to study under the auspices of the Great Master Wei Chueh at the Chung Tai Chan Monastery in Taiwan. There, for many years, he immersed himself deeply in the study and practice of Buddhism and made great advances on the Dharma path of wisdom and compassion.

      He served as the Dean of the Buddhist Institute at Chung Tai Chan Monastery. He conducted numerous Chan Meditation retreats and gave many lectures at meditation centers and universities in Taiwan, including Hsinchu Science Park, the "Silicon Valley of Taiwan".

     In October 2000, Grand Master Wei Chueh sent Ven. Jian Hu and four other monks to California to establish the very first U.S. branch of Chung Tai – the Buddha Gate Monastery in the town of Lafayette across the East Bay of San Francisco. There, Master Jian Hu, as the first Abbot of the Monastery, by the example of his own selfless life and by giving spiritual lectures and meditation sessions, brought the ancient yet timeless wisdom of Buddhism to the public in the San Francisco Bay Area.

     Ven. Jian Hu understands well the American culture and especially the high-tech environment. When the Chung Tai Zen Center of Sunnyvale opened its doors in March 2004, he came to the heart of Silicon Valley and served as the first Abbot of this new “urban Zen center.”

In addition to teaching classes of different levels, conducting meditation retreats and Zen services, holding workshops, and translating Sutra (scriptures) to English, Ven. Jian Hu is frequently invited to give lectures and conduct retreats locally, in other states, and abroad. These range from Stanford University, Santa Clara University, University of Florida, and other local colleges and high schools, to high tech companies and organizations in America and Asia. He is regularly invited to participate in interfaith events, dialogues, and seminars as keynote or panel speakers.

Known for his lucid and articulate delivery, fluency in both Chinese and English, and keen observation, Ven. Jian Hu is admired by his students for his wisdom, practical teachings, effective communication, and a sense of humor.

Professor (Charles) Chih Shin Shieh has helped the promotion of Dharma teachings among Chinese-American communities since 1994. He has helped to form Dharma study groups in various cities throughout Florida and was president of the Florida Chapter of the Buddha's Light International Association. He is a layman Dharma lecturer and has given presentations in several East Coast states.

Dr. Shieh came to the U.S. in 1981. He has a PhD in Oceanography and an MS in Marine Science. He is currently a Research Professor at the University of Central Florida where he works as an Environmental Consultant.