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Bodhi Tree Center:
A Buddhist Center,
Mandarin Chinese, Asian Languages School, Chinese Cultural Center
Buddhist Offerings:
Shakyamuni Tibetan Buddhist Center
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Miracle of Mindfulness Group
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The Bodhi Tree Center opened its doors in September 2003. We host Buddhist events and classes; and sponsor Good Works activities. We teach Mandarin Chinese language classes and Chinese culture classes (Brush Painting, Calligraphy, etc.); and provide Chinese-English and other Asian language translation & interpretation services. Since 2006 we now also offer classes in Thai Language for adults and children.
A non-profit organization (religious), the Bodhi Tree Center is dedicated to help raise the consciousness, instill the principles, and facilitate the practice of the core concepts of Buddhism to people of all ages, by hosting events and classes such as meditation sits, Dharma talks (by local, resident, or visiting masters), sutra readings, practice groups, and ceremonies. If it is core, straight up, right-on, orthodox Buddhism, we are all for it.
Prior to opening our doors (in 2003), a core group of people had been meeting regularly since 1997 in a downtown Chinese restaurant. Dharma lectures and meditation sits were presided over by Heng Shou Shr, a fully-ordained translator Buddhist monk in the Chinese Buddhist tradition of Master Hsuan Hua. For more information about Heng Shou Shr, see his Kalavinka World. For more information about the tradition of Master Hua, see the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association or visit the Gold Summit Monastery in Seattle.
We have a small, modest library of Buddhist books in English and Chinese. Some of these books are free, others are available for borrowing, and yet others are available for reference only. Books in our library include the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Shurangama Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, the Brahma Net Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, the Heart Sutra, the Path of Purification. "If ... people were to study the sutras the way students study in school, it would be easy for them to memorize the three treasuries and twelve divisions of the canon...." -- Master Hsuan Hua. Talks on Dharma Volume Two.
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We also sponsor non-sectarian, non-denominational Good Works Activities. These activities are geared for anyone who wishes to help give back to the community some of the good that we all derive from it. Activities vary. For instance, we have joined together to feed the homeless (annually, in fact, for over 10 years now); prepare and pack food for the elderly, poor, and less fortunate than ourselves. We have met to clean up a school and a neighborhood, and on another ocassion to help a struggling organic farmer keep up on the farm.
Our Mandarin Chinese Language School was started initially to help offset the costs of running the center. The program took off quickly and today we offer, year-round, various-level Mandarin Chinese classes for adults and children (in separate classes). We also offer a Mandarin Chinese immersion program for preschoolers.
The average profile of students of our adult classes is degreed professionals. Our students include pharmacists, linguists and Ph.D.s; public school teachers, principals, and administrators; librarians, financial advisors, entrepreneurs and businsess people, computer software developers, electronic engineers and IT directors; parents of adopted children from Chinese speaking countries, students.
Our philosophy for teaching is to make the classes fun as well as instructive. If students enjoy themselves during class time and look forward to each lesson, they will find studying easier and they will make progress quickly. Our classes are kept small to maximize the learning experience. Our teachers are all native speakers of the languages they teach.
For more information, see our Chinese Language School.
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Children's classroom |
Children's classroom |
Children's playarea |
China has a long, rich, and fascinating history and culture. To enrich people's exposure to and experience of Chinese culture we offer regular classes of Chinese Brush Painting and also Chinese Calligraphy. As opportunities arise, we plan to add more Chinese cultural offerings, events and classes, such as Chinese vegetarian cooking classes, lectures on Chinese history and culture by distinguished professors or knowledgeable others, Chinese tea tasting events, to name a few.
We translate into and from English and Mandarin Chinese. Our translators translate into the language of their mother tongue. For more information, see Translation Services.
