Chungwa Institute of Buddhist Studies

Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies

The Chung-Hwa Institute for Buddhist Studies (CHIBS) was established in 1985 by Venerable Master Sheng Yen, founder of the Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM).
In 2001, the CHIBS he moved to the DDM World Center for Buddhist Education, located in Jinshan District, Taiwan.
In 2006, CHIBS successfully approved the Ministry of Education's requirements to establish the first private Buddhist institute, “Dharma Drum Buddhist College,” in Taiwan.
In 2007, CHIBS stopped enrolling students, transferring that responsibility to the Dharma Drum Buddhist Institute. Since Venerable Master Sheng Yen passed away in February 2009, CHIBS has continued to focus on being a global promoter for the academic study and research of Chinese Buddhism, thus fulfilling one of Venerable Master Sheng Yen's primary goals.


Together with the Sheng Yen Educational Foundation, CHIBS now employs the entire pool of trained people and resources to foster research and spread of Chinese Buddhism within and outside the country. A very successful application of CHIBS resources has been a cooperative editorial project with Columbia University in New York City, in which CHIBS locates and funds excellent research projects on aspects of Chinese Buddhism from the dynasty Sung until the Republican Stage, and assists the Columbia University Press in its publication. In addition, Chinese research papers will be published by the Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation. CHIBS also helps universities around the world with funding for conferences and workshops related to aspects of Chinese Buddhism.

In addition, CHIBS provides exchange students and scholars with assistance in conducting their investigations of Chinese Buddhism. Finally, CHIBS continues to publish its internationally known Chung Hwa Buddhist Journal, and will reintroduce readers to the multilingual journal of Buddhist Studies Chung Hwa, showing the results of research by graduate students. .