Our Story
1. The Founder Grand Master DASIRA NARADA
On October 24th, -1846, in the city of Colombo, Sri Lanka, the Founder, Grand Master DASIRA NARADA, was born to a highly respected family. His father, Ajita Narada, was a Sri Lankan but carried the blood of the Bombayese. He was a diplomatic official with a strict character. His mother was Ceylonese, a gentle Buddhist with the virtues of a typical Asian woman. Inheriting the qualities of his parents, the Founder Grand Master had a fair complexion and a noble heart. He was the only son in his family. His father hoped he would carry on the family tradition and develop a career that would benefit the family. However, because of his desire to serve humanity, Dasira Narada did not pursue his studies to bring him wealth and fame. Instead, He dedicated himself to studying the nature of Man and the Universe. He enrolled in the study of Eastern philosophy. He earned a Ph.D. degree when he was 25 years of age. The knowledge of Eastern philosophy helped him understand deeply the impermanence of life. This realization, his benevolence, and his noble aspiration drove him to seek liberation for himself and humankind. When he was 42 years old, his father passed away; Dasira Narada took part in State affairs in place of his father. After five years of government service, Dasira Narada suddenly resigned from his position, a position many others desired. Dressed in a discolored garment and carrying a walking stick, he quietly left on his search for spiritual cultivation. He reached the Himalayas and began his spiritual practice. After 18 years of self-cultivation, He attained illumination, achieving Transcendental Wisdoms, opened His own chakras, and was able to absorb cosmic energy into his body. The extraordinary thing was that He also developed the teaching of Divine Dharma, which includes a unique method to initiate the opening of chakras for others without requiring them to go through a long and challenging process as He had.
2. The Second Grand Master Narada Mahathera and 5 Masters in Vietnam
After years of traveling to help people, in 1916, the Founder, Grand Master, found a successor who had just reached the age of 18. With great confidence, the Founder Grand Master passed on all His knowledge and hoped His successor would continue conveying His Dharma to humankind. After eight years of teaching this disciple, in 1924, the Founder Grand Master left for an unknown place, and no one ever saw him again. His successor became the Second Grand Master.
The Second Grand Master was educated at a Catholic school. After he accepted the mission from the Founder Grand Master Dasira Narada, he began the practice of Theravadan Buddhism under the Buddhist name of Narada Mahathera. At the same time, he quietly practiced and maintained the teaching of Divine Dharma Meditation. The Second Grand Master had an affinity to Vietnam. During 1930-1950, he visited many places in Vietnam. He represented the Indian Buddhist Society and offered the Vietnamese Buddhist Society some of the Buddha’s relics, Bodhi trees, and spiritual literature - vestiges of Buddha Sakyamuni. In 1972, the Second Grand Master visited Vietnam for the last time, and he privately instructed five Vietnamese masters to protect the teaching of Divine Dharma Meditation. The five Vietnamese masters were followers of the major religions in Vietnam, which included Buddhism, Christianity, Caodaism, Hoa Hao, and a female physician. In 1974, he returned to Sri Lanka. On Sunday, October 2nd, 1983, he passed away at 85 in Vajirarama Temple, where he had been the leader during the last years of his life. The Sri Lankan government and the Sri Lankan Buddhist Society solemnized his funeral as a state funeral.
3. We are Thuan Duc Nguyen and Ngoc Hai Nguyen
The Divine Dharma Meditation teaching of the Founder, Grand Master Dasira Narada, was protected and maintained by the second lineage Grand Master Narada Mahathera and then passed on privately to the five third lineage Vietnamese Masters. We, the fourth lineage generation, were delegated with the noble responsibility directly from the third lineage Masters to convey the dharma of the Founder Grand Master to the world. Since then, we have dedicated our lives to transmitting the extraordinary philosophy of the Founder Grand Master from the spiritual realm into practical spiritual and moral guidance for the physical world, and we developed the discipline of Divine Dharma Meditation.
Who We Are:
We have acquired a considerable understanding of the fundamental principles of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism, Confucianism, and Caodaism from the third lineage Masters. However, we do not formally belong to any religion or attach ourselves to the formality of any belief system. This gives us the freedom to contemplate and develop an innovative method of cultivation to guide anyone towards spiritual improvement, regardless of their culture, race, religion, or political background. Following the teaching of the truth of the Founder Grand Master, we have guided practitioners better to understand the true nature of life on earth so that they learn to lead a virtuous lifestyle, eliminating personal selfishness and developing altruistic compassion for one another. With its versatile and universal principles of practice, the teachings of D.D.M. have received enthusiastic support from many people worldwide, regardless of customs or culture. The Founder, Grand Master Dasira Narada, had shown humankind a path leading to eliminating suffering and attaining awakening and liberation. Based on the divine dharma of the Founder Grand Master from the spiritual realm, we have devoted our lives to developing a practical and scientific cultivation method. This is why the discipline of D.D.M. is often called a spiritual science. Our guidance and teachings have helped many students to understand the falsehood of superstitious practice and to resolve their inner struggles. At the same time, step by step, students learn to correct weaknesses and cultivate virtue to ascend on the journey of spiritual evolution.
For many years, the discipline of D.D.M has sown the quintessence of His teachings worldwide. Presently, D.D.M. Meditation Centers in many countries are helping people across communities discern the true meaning of life and further develop their loving kindness for their fellow beings so that together, we will all ascend on the journey of spiritual development. D.D.M. is like a sacred light, shining on a path that leads people out of darkness and suffering toward building a universal world of Love in which all beings can live in harmony and understanding. With all of its noble objectives and achievements, it is expected that the discipline of D.D.M. will be maintained and developed by subsequent generations to bring much more benefit to all of life.