※During the COVID-19 epidemic, please refer to the latest announcements in the news center, instant notification letters on campus, or refer to the announcements posted at the entrances of each campus area.
Meals
The school provides vegetarian meals for staff, students and visitors. Dining venues include the monastery dining hall and the school's cafeteria. Morning an evening meals are offered at the dining hall, while lunches are provided at the school’s cafeteria. (Depending on the situation, it is also possible to eat lunch or prepare a lunchbox at the dining hall.) Because all three meals are made by the monastery kitchens, in order to avoid waste, whether you eat in the dining hall or at the school's cafeteria, please register in advance and indicate the quantity needed. The school’s cafeteria is only open at noon during the semester. Please follow the rules of etiquette when dining in the monastery dining hall; follow the reception staff’s directions and keep silent while eating. (If you arrive before meal time, please wait until the offering chant has been completed before beginning your meal.). After your meal, proceed to the tableware and garbage sorting area. Meals are offered free of charge. Feel free to make a donation using the donation box placed outside the dining hall or register as a volunteer in the monastery kitchens to contribute to sustaining the monastery environment.
Snacks
In addition to the three daily meals, resting and snacking areas include the monastery’s Light Food Area and the school campus’ DILA Delight and Chanyue Xuan. The “Light Food Area” provides coffee, other beverages, toasts, biscuits and other light snacks; The “DILA Delight” provides hand-brewed coffee and electric ground coffee; The Chanyue Xuan is mainly managed by the student union, which purchases snacks, drinks, etc., according to the needs of the students. Students can come to Chanyue Xuan self-service area to pick up and pay for what they need. If you like outdoor environments, you will find various trails on the school campus. The Haiyin Trail near the North School Gate has a large grassy area overlooking the sea, and is surrounded by larch and stone resting chairs. You will also find stone chairs at the top of the Fading Trail near the dormitory, which overlooks the campus and the surrounding mountains. There are multiple routes for walking and meditating. The Cherry Blossom Road is the ideal place for cherry blossom viewing during spring.
Housing
The school provides monastic students with free accommodation during the normal enrolment period. During the normal enrolment period, other non-monastic students, as well as faculty and staff, are entitled to accommodation discounts. Full-time volunteers and part-time volunteer teachers are exempted from accommodation fees. Students applying for accommodation during winter and summer vacations will be charged separately. The accommodation is free of water and electricity charges. An electricity card will have to be purchased only if the cooling and heating system usage exceeds 50 degrees. The dormitory provides coin-operated drum-type washing machines and dryers, and there is also a drying area on the top floor. Each dormitory floor has a saloon, pantry, bathroom, toilet, and a laundry (drying) room. Eating and drinking are allowed in the saloon, but cooking is prohibited. Food cooking is restricted to the pantry or the Chanyue Xuan. Students live in the Chanyue House, with two students per room. The teacher's accommodations are mainly located in the Fayin house (Chanyue House rooms also available as an option), which offers single rooms, double rooms, and family residences (with either 2 or 3 rooms). Temporary accommodation for visiting scholars, foreign guests, event VIPs, alumni, etc. will be charged on a monthly or daily basis. Faculty and staff can also apply for temporary accommodation billed on a daily basis.
School Cafeteria
Meal time: During the semester, every Monday to Friday 11:50~12:30. Restaurant location: Located on the 1st floor of the General Building, the cafeteria features floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides, allowing students to observe and enjoy the campus’s natural environment throughout the year. There is a water dispenser and a registration area next to the entrance of the cafeteria. There are lockers on the inside for temporary storage of personal belongings. The cafeteria contains two central self-service lines and a tableware cleaning, drying, and disinfection area to the side. Currently, vegetarian food is provided by the monastery kitchens and made ready by the school’s volunteers (staff). Volunteer work includes food transportation, meal preparation, service, and cleanup. Those who are willing can vonlonteer one day a week to assist with any of the aforementioned tasks. Registration is open until all the volunteer spots have been filled. The General Affairs Section sends out the meal registration form (including volunteer registration) every month. If you need to change your meal registration, please do so before the Thursday of the preceding week. If there is a last minute need to add or cancel a meal, the change must be completed before 8:00 am on the day of the meal at the latest.
Dining Etiquette (Excerpt)
- ‧Please be careful not to let the shared equipment (such as clips, soup spoons, etc.) touch your bowl when preparing your meal.
- ‧When you are about to finish your meal, you can leave a few leaves, pour some hot water (available at the end of the food line) in the bowl, use the leaves to wash the remaining food and then drink the water.
- ‧Monks are required to wear their robes. Lay members are not allowed to wear sleeveless vests, shorts or slippers in the dining areas.
- ‧Please register at the entrance of the cafeteria before dining.
- ‧Please bring your own tableware. If you use the on-site public tableware, please wash it in the washing area and return it.
What is the meaning of dazhai (meal offering)?
Everyone is welcome to offer a meal to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and the meals of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are donated by followers from the ten directions, so the meals of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are made up of the good will of the whole community. By giving joyfully, we are inviting future visitors to Dharma Drum Mountain to eat, thus forming a wholesome connection with them, so that they may appear in our lives in the future and help us in return. To eat in a Buddhist temple is actually to accept another person’s invitation, and then happily invite others to dinner in return. The purpose of making a donation is not to pay for one’s own meal, but to invite others to eat, to form connection with others, and to cultivate merit for oneself.
DILA Delight
Located on the 1st floor of the General Building is the Dayuan School History Museum’s resting and snacking area, DILA Delight is open to students and visitors alike, with sitting areas inside and on the terrace outside. Located at the center of the General Building, it is a convenient space for teachers, students or staff to rest, chat, or spend some time alone. Hand-brewed coffee and electric ground coffee (self-service) are available at all times, filling the rest area with the relaxing smell of coffee. ※Snacks are not currently available. Coffee offered free of charge; donations welcome. https://www.facebook.com/diladelight
Chanyue Xuan
Number of seats: 88 The Chanyue Xuan student area is located in building CD of the Chanyue House (student dormitory). There are 3 styles of seating areas which you can pick from according to your preferences and needs. The kitchen is equipped with a refrigerator, an induction cooker, an oven, and a water dispenser, which can be used for food cooking and beverage brewing. Students are welcome to use public equipment while maintaining a clean environment for future users. It is a good place for students to have extracurricular activities, communicate with each other and relax. Snacks and drink are purchased regularly by students and made available in the Chanyue Xuan to avoid the need to go to town and create more opportunities for student interactions on campus. Because it is located in the dormitory, it is also a suitable place for small activities during the evening. If you would like to have an event, please apply for the venue at least 2 weeks in advance to allow our staff to handle any preparatory work.
Dormitory
The dormitory is the property of the school. It is not only a place for residents to rest and sleep, but also a place for co-residents to practice living together harmoniously. In order to contribute to a peaceful and comfortable living environment, in addition to the continuous improvement to the dormitory facilities made by the school, students are encouraged to cultivate a spirit of mutual understanding and respect, gratitude, altruism, and simple living, following the dormitory regulations, so as to help create the highest possible quality of life on campus.
Chanyue House
Mainly used as the student dormitory area, it is divided into male and female buildings, with a total of 7 dormitory areas. At present, the accommodation space is enough to provide accommodation for all students enrolled. In addition to the meeting spaces on each floor of the dormitory, there is also the Chanyue Xuan student area in building CD for discussion and exchange, the Liying library in building CA for borrowing books, the self-study space in building CG, etc. In addition to the accommodation areas, there are many shared social/discussion/self-study spaces in the library, allowing male and female students from different fields to gather and exchange. The Chanyue House is adjacent to the Fayin Stream, its surrounding landscape being full of water elements conducive to contemplation and purification of the mind. It is hoped that through the Dharma Drum Mountain teachings, Chan culture and various activities, students living in the Chanyue House can imbue their experience of the world with Chan practice, not only illuminating their own experience, but going forth to benefit all beings.
Fayin House
The Fayin House is used mainly as the accommodation area for faculty members and visiting scholars. It is located between the library and the Yangsheng fitness center.
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