The Buddhadharma Studies Institute
The Buddhadharma Studies Institute of the Dharma Teacher Order is dedicated to learning by teaching Buddhist insight, philosophy, and practices based on the study of selected Buddhist Sutras and writings by ancient Buddhist masters and modern Buddhist teachers.
Background
The Buddhadharma Studies Institute is an outgrowth of the Dharma Teacher Order (DTO) a non-profit organization lead by ordained lay practitioners and monastics founded by the Venerable Thich Tri Hoang (whom we address as Thay), of the 9th generation in the Lieu Quán Lineage and a member of the 43rd generation of the Lâm Tế (Linji) lineage of Vietnamese Zen. Thich Tri Hoang received his lamp transmission (Dharma transmission) in 1973 at the Hải Đức Temple in Nha Trang, Vietnam from His Holiness Thich Giác Nhiên, Second Supreme Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. He is currently Abbot of the Pháp Nguyên Temple in Pearland, Texas and continues to be the spiritual leader of the Dharma Teacher Order.
The DTO was founded in the year 2000 and has Sanghas, or branches and Buddhist study groups in several states in the US. Through in-person instruction, the DTO has conferred certificates to many individuals who have successfully completed the four-year curriculum. Many of them, after further studies and demonstrated practices, have gone on to receive ordination as lay Dharma Teachers and Priests.
In keeping with Thay’s commitment to “spread the Dharma in the West” to alleviate suffering, the Buddhadharma Studies Institute now aims to bring the studies originally offered in-person by the DTO to an online community of students who are mentored by DTO Dharma Teachers and Lay Priests. The goal is to provide students with a solid and broad working knowledge of Buddhism to understand the sources and gain insight into practices to ease suffering in themselves, in the community and in society.