Bhikshu Jin Chuan
Jin Chuan was ordained as a Buddhist monk in 2013. As a typical second-generation Asian-American growing up in the Silicon Valley, he grew up studying mostly science, math, and technology and playing a lot of basketball. However, at the end of high school in 1999, to the surprise of himself and his family, he realized his aspiration in life was to be a monastic. Before leaving home, Jin Chuan graduated from Stanford with an M.A. in Religious Studies and a B.S. in Physics. After ordination, he became a DRBU student and graduated from DRBU in 2016 with an M.A. in Buddhist Classics. He currently serves as an instructor, chaplain, and translator in DRBU.
Growing up as an ABC (American-Born Chinese) was quite challenging because I often had to navigate two different worlds. At school and with my American friends, I lived one existence. Back home, with my family, another. I find that Asian and American value systems are often quite different, sometimes even in opposition. I find that [...]
父母呼，應勿緩，父母命，行勿懶。 父母教，須敬聽，父母責，須順承。 When my parents call me, answer immediately. When they give instructions, carry them out, don’t drag my feet. When they give advice, listen respectfully. When they scold me, accept it with gratitude. – Standard for Students [Note: translation is a bit different than the one provided by the link —I think filiality looks [...]
To be honest, I never thought about what it meant to be a "good son" until I became interested in Buddhism and the monastic life. It was an unexpected teaching that really sank in when I became a sophomore in college. [...]
So there I was attending retreats and Dharma talks at a Buddhist monastery, learning from Buddhist monastics, and reading spiritual works that strongly emphasized the teachings on “filiality.” It was a teaching I agreed with: yes, I should repay the kindness of my parents–but whenever I went home and actually spent time with my mother, I had the impression I was making her miserable. [...]
As I was diving into the depths of the wisdom of the various religious traditions, I still had these burning questions in my heart: “What do I believe?” “What path am I supposed to follow?” And, I couldn’t help but feel torn. I found the Biblical teachings of Jesus extremely inspiring and skillful. [...]
[This is the third of a series of posts reflecting on how I found myself drawn to monasticism despite (or perhaps because of) my upbringing in the Bay Area and providing insight into how the relatively secular environment in which I grew up prompted me to look deeper into the meaning of life.] My mom’s [...]
[This is the second of a series of posts reflecting on how I found myself drawn to monasticism despite (or perhaps because of) my upbringing in the Bay Area and providing insight into how the relatively secular environment in which I grew up prompted me to look deeper into the meaning of life.] [Audio clip: [...]
[This is the beginning of a series of posts reflecting on how I found myself drawn to monasticism despite (or perhaps because of) my upbringing in the Bay Area and providing insight into how the relatively secular environment in which I grew up prompted me to look deeper into the meaning of life.] [Audio clip: [...]