About NDM

In January of 2010, this blog was changed from the DDMBA-LA chapter to “Non-Denominational Meditation” or NDM.  The reason are as follows:

First and foremost, DDMBA-LA created its own website (http://www.ddmbala.org/Eng_Ver/En_Index.asp), so this temporary site was no longer necessary.  However, instead of just deleting it, I thought it may be put to other uses.

Second, for a long time I have thought that meditation is a wonderful tool for relieving people from stress and suffering.  It is free, it requires no pills, it is painless, and anyone can practice it.  However, having been raised in the United States, I felt the association with Buddhism caused people of other religions to perceive meditation as sacrilige.  That is an unfortunate misunderstanding, as I believe that meditation can actually strenghten your prayer and faith; regardless of religion.    So the title of the blog was changed to “non-denominational meditation” in order to remove the bias some people have against “religious” sites.  Meditation is helpful for anyone, regardless of race, age, gender or religious beliefs.  To de-couple the meditational aspects of Chan from the philosophy introduces people who would otherwise benefit from meditation, but would stay away for fearing they would violate their religious vows.

Third, this change allows me to express my opinions based on my own experiences with meditation without representing (or misrepresenting) DDMBA in any way.  So anything that is expressed in this site is a personal refllection or opinion, and should not be construed to be from DDMBA.

I owe much of my meditative practice to DDMBA, and believe this is a pure organization whose entire intent is to help sentient beings rise above suffering and reach enlightenment.  I would encourage any reader to visit the DDMBA website and participate in their educational and retreat programs, like I do.  (Who I am is unimportant, as this site is not about any one person, but about a practice that can help many people.)