A longtime community member of DRBU and the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, Dr. Fedde de Vries joined the DRBU faculty as a Teaching Fellow last fall, after completing his PhD in Buddhist Studies from UC Berkeley. We are delighted to welcome him back to DRBU. Following a busy fall semester, we finally caught up with him, and he was kind enough to tell us about his journey over the years.

You’ve been part of the DRBU and CTTB communities for a long time. Could you tell us a bit of that story?

The first time I came to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (CTTB) was in the summer of 2009, when I had just graduated high school in the Netherlands, my home country. I had gotten interested in Buddhism when I was twelve years old. A few years later, I had encountered Master Hua’s teachings, starting with his commentaries on the Śūraṅgama Sūtra. Visiting CTTB was a dream come true. I remember feeling at home for the first time in my life. 

I stayed connected ever since. I came back again the next year for the summer. After finishing my undergraduate degree in Religious Studies, specializing in Buddhism, at Leiden University, I spent half a year at CTTB as a volunteer, specifically helping with translation work. And again, after completing my MA in Asian Studies at UC Berkeley, I spent a full year at CTTB. At that point, in 2015–2016, DRBU’s current programs were beginning to take shape. I was often around for community events and formed friendships with students as well as staff and faculty. These have proven to be some of my most cherished friends and mentors. 

Could you tell us about your academic work?

My dissertation is about Buddhist intellectual culture of the Sui and Tang dynasties (581–618 and 618–907 CE). The great masters of that period—such as Master Jizang, Master Kuiji, Master Fazang, and Master Chengguan—left us lengthy and sophisticated commentarial writings. I was interested in reconstructing how those writings came about. Simply put, I believe that we best read them as presenting not abstract Buddhist philosophy but as reflecting the Buddhist classroom. In other words, the commentaries are in some sense records of lectures where great Buddhist scholars introduced scriptures and explained them line by line. 

This project was not only of historical interest to me. In the approach to scholarship of the great masters of the Tang, I find inspiration for what it might mean to be a Buddhist scholar, and for what Buddhist higher learning might look like in the modern world. 

What made you want to join the DRBU faculty?

One of my greatest joys in life is the joy of learning. When I see young students grasp new ideas and new, more grounded ways of being in the world, that is a greater joy still. Need I say more?

Yes, please. 

Well, ever since coming across Master Hua’s teachings, I have felt a strong resonance with his vision for education: education is not about the mere transfer of knowledge but about guiding the growth of a person into his or her own and authentic goodness. That vision inspires me. It makes me want to continue learning; it makes me want to show up. This vision humbles me too, as it raises the bar for my own personal practice high. 

You’re just starting your second semester as a Teaching Fellow at DRBU. How has your experience been so far?

I have been really happy to be here. I am grateful to be surrounded by many such sincere and good people. 

What are you looking forward to at DRBU?

So much! I look forward to seeing how this semester will unfold. To welcoming new students in the fall. And, in the further future, to meeting with alumni and hearing how their education here has enriched their life’s trajectory—as I’m sure it will have.

But let me be a bit more specific. With the translation certificate students, I just finished translating a short Mahāyāna sūtra called the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra. I am organizing some events around this text. (Stay tuned…)