The establishment of the first college was funded by the donations for the treasured calligraphy exhibitions of Master Sheng Yen’s “Free Mind Chan Delight”, and he named it “Chanyue (meaning Joy of Chan) College.”

As the first dormitory under the conditioned educational ideals of Dharma Drum University, it reflects in its plan the thinking on group living and character cultivation.  As in every college, the Chanyue College has male and female living quarters, in separate buildings.  In addition, many spaces are provided in the college for social gathering, meeting, and self-study, to enable students of different fields of studies to easily share and exchange their knowledge with one another.  The spatial design of the college gives students a feeling of sufficient autonomy and self-control, which is necessary in order to cultivate an awareness of community as well as citizenship and to create a special individualized extended learning culture and spirit.

The Chanyue College is the only college located next to a creek.  The water element is abundantly present in the surrounding scenery, which has a purifying effect on both the body and mind, and at the same time brings students into contact with the vast and flexible nature of water.  Through the nurturing of Dharma Drum culture and a variety of activities, students in the Chanyue College will be able to face the world with a Chan mind, which will not only provide them with a clear and bright vision, but also an all-inclusive perspective.

For more about the development of the college, please consult on the Construction Department website of Dharma Drum University Campus.