Speaker Profiles
The instructors include monastic and lay
faculty from the Dharma Realm Buddhist University
as well as guests from other universities.
Coming from a variety of cultural backgrounds,
they offer a blend of Western and Eastern
views and teaching philosophies.
Week One
Martin Verhoeven received
his M.A. and Ph.D. in history from the University
of Wisconsin, Madison. He is a professor at
Graduate Theological Union and Dharma Realm
Buddhist University. His area of specialty
is the process of East/West acculturation,
particularly in the European and American
encounter with Buddhism. He was a Buddhist
monk for eighteen years where he went on a
bowing pilgrimage with Rev. Heng Sure (introduced
below). He has also lectured extensively throughout
Asia, Europe, the United States and Canada
and currently resides in Berkeley, California.
Chin He Shr is a Sramanera
(novice monk). Born in Spain, after receiving
a Ph.D. in Chemistry, he came to the United
States in 1997 to pursue postdoctoral studies
at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. One year
later he came upon Buddhism and discovered
that it offered a very profound view of life,
and a methodology to live it meaningfully.
After working in Japan for three years and
traveling extensively in Asia, in 2004 he
decided to adventure into the Buddhist monastic
life at CTTB. He still considers himself a
researcher, only that now he has gone deeper
and broadened his field of interest.
Week Two
Douglas Powers holds an M.A.
in theology and philosophy from the Graduate
Theological Union, and a B.A. and M.A. from
the University of Redlands. He currently teaches
a course in Western philosophy in GTU and
serves as regular facilitator at roundtable
discussions with young adults in Berkeley
Buddhist Monastery. As a practicing Buddhist
and high school teacher for over thirty years,
he has the ability to explain the Dharma in
a way that connects with modern young adults.
Week Three
Rev. Heng Sure received a
Ph.D. from the Graduate Theological Union.
He has an M.A. in Oriental languages from
the University of California at Berkeley.
He serves as director of the Berkeley Buddhist
Monastery, lectures on Buddhist texts and
teaches meditation, and is actively involved
in interfaith dialogue. Rev. Heng Sure was
ordained as a bhiksu (fully ordained
Buddhist monk) in 1976. His connection with
the Avatamsaka Sutra is both spiritual
and academic. On a bowing pilgrimage up the
California coast, Rev. Heng Sure carried the
Avatamsaka Sutra on his back, and
as a graduate student, he did his doctoral
dissertation on the Avatamsaka Sutra
as well.
Week Four
Dharma Master Heng Yin has
been a bhikshuni (fully ordained Buddhist
nun) for over ten years after being a graduate
student in the University of Texas in Computer
Science. In 1990, Master Hua spoke visited
UT and gave a talk on meditation and Buddhism,
which inspired her a great deal. She began
practicing and studying Buddhism on her own
and quickly found the study of Buddhism much
more interesting than her graduate studies.
Subsequently, she came to CTTB for a summer
Chan session, and a few months later, enrolled
at DRBU. After a short time, she decided to
become a monastic and became active in the
translation and educational efforts of DRBA.
She serves as the coordinator for the translation
of the Avatamsaka Sutra and is the principal
of Instilling Goodness Developing Virtue School
– Girls’ Division.
Week Five
Dharma Master Heng Jhuang has been
a bhiksuni (fully ordained Buddhist
nun) for over ten years and currently serves
as the DRBU librarian. She is deeply interested
in the Buddhism scholastic tradition and teaches
classes in the university on the Avatmaska
Sutra among others. Born in Taiwan, growing
up in Argentina, and learning Buddhism in
America, DM Jhuang has been exposed to many
different cultures and languages. She is able
to speak Spanish, Chinese, and English.
Week Six
Dharma Master Jin Yong became a bhiksu
in 2005. Originally from Taiwan, he studied
physics in National Taiwan University and
then came to the U.S. to study in UC San Francisco
where he received a Ph.D. in physiology. He
changed fields because he became interested
in Eastern traditional medicine and wanted
to relate it with Western science. Later,
he became a professor in Taiwan, until he
met the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua and began
to study and practice Buddhism. When asked
why he decided to become a monastic, his response
is simple: he wanted to be a “professional”
cultivator.
David Rounds holds a B.A.
in English literature from Harvard University
and an M.A. in Buddhist Translation from Dharma
Realm Buddhist University. A student of Buddhism
for over thirty years, he is an editor and
journalist and has collaborated in the translation
of numerous Mahayana texts, including the
Surangama Sutra and the Sixth Patriarch's
Sutra. He is the author of five books and
currently resides in Ukiah after retiring
from ten years of teaching. His current projects
are serving as the editor for the Institute
for World Religions journal, Religion East
& West, and retranslating the Surangama
Sutra.
