
What we’re about
Welcome to Dharma Drink!
A great way to get Dharma connected in New York!
- Connect people to people
- Connect pople to Buddhist centers
We are doing both IN-PERSON and VIRTUAL events. Please check the meetup schedules.
- - - - - Prior to Rubin Museum’s closure of the physical space on 17th street - - - - -
Dharma Drink is now Self Service!
The table is always reserved in the same spot - just show up and see what happens - just like if you were hanging out meeting other Buddhists and travelers randomly in Kathamandu, India, Japan, Korea... And don't take the RSVP too seriously - people are coming now who don't RSVP. The word is getting out....
Everyone is invited! Dharma Drink is all about building community amongst the Buddhist and like minded crowd in New York City. Greg, the founder, was inspired to start Dharma Drink by hanging out with all of the great students of all of the different lamas in Kathmandu - Kagyu, Nyingma, Sakya, Gelug - totally Rimey (also Zen, Thai, Theravadan, yoga travelers, and the curious - just about everyone!). Everyone became great friends and learned from each other. We're there every Friday night - see you there.
Motivation: To make the Rubin Museum Lounge on Friday night the Buddhist and like-minded hang-out spot in New York. If you like Buddhas or to meditate - then you'll love the Rubin!
Who: ALL ARE INVITED. Feel free to spread the word. The more, the merrier.
[ - - NOTE as of 2025: We are not meeting every Friday at Rubin as the physical museum has closed - - ]
Time: 6:30-?pm
Date: Every Friday - like clockwork
Place: Rubin Museum Lounge, 17th Street and 7th Avenue
How to find us: Look for a table with the small sign "Dharma Drink" + Lounge staff will know where we are.
www.dharmadrink.com
Upcoming events (2)
See all- Dharma Drink @ Lost in Paradise Rooftop [MANHATTAN HENGE] in Long Island CityLost In Paradise Rooftop, Queens County, NY
Dear Dharma Drink friends,
Join us to see Manhattanhenge on July 12th from a rooftop bar in Long Island City.
Meetup details:
Date: 7/12/2025 (Saturday)
Time: 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm.
Location: Lost in Paradise Rooftop (11-01 43rd Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101)
From Wikipedia:“Manhattanhenge, also called the Manhattan Solstice, is an event during which the setting sun or the rising sun is aligned with the east–west streets of the main street grid of Manhattan, New York City. The astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson claims to have coined the term, by analogy with Stonehenge. The sunsets and sunrises each align twice a year, on dates evenly spaced around the summer solstice and winter solstice.”
What does Neil DeGrasse Tyson say about Manhattanhenge?
“What will future civilizations think of Manhattan Island when they dig it up and find a carefully laid out network of streets and avenues? Surely the grid would be presumed to have astronomical significance, just as we have found for the pre-historic circle of large vertical rocks known as Stonehenge, in the Salisbury Plain of England. For Stonehenge, the special day is the summer solstice, when the Sun rises in perfect alignment with several of the stones, signaling the change of season.
For Manhattan, a place where evening matters more than morning, that special day comes twice a year, when the setting Sun aligns precisely with the Manhattan street grid, creating a radiant glow of light across Manhattan's brick and steel canyons, simultaneously illuminating both the north and south sides of every cross street of the borough's grid. A rare and beautiful sight.”
Websites:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattanhenge
https://www.amnh.org/research/hayden-planetarium/manhattanhenge
https://www.lostinparadiserooftop.com/ - Book Discussion: Platform Sutra (Zen Foundational Text) - Ven Master Hsuan HuaLink visible for attendees
Let's embark on another Dharma exploration and discuss The Sixth Patriarch's Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra (Zen/Chan foundational text) We will take our time to discuss this book and meet once every two to three weeks.
We're actually using two different books but covering the same sections of the sutra and their commentary.
Book 1 is by late Venerable Master Hsuan Hua (Bk1-VMHH)
Book 2 is by Red Pine (Bk2-RdPn)READING: (Mark your calendar, readings will be provided)
- Bk1-VMHH: TBD
- Bk2-RdPn: TBDDESCRIPTION
Master Hui Neng of Tang Dynasty China (7th century) expounded the doctrine of no-thought and sudden enlightenment through meditation. This book covers such topics as ignorance and enlightenment, different levels of consciousness and ultimate reality.Hui Neng was the sixth Buddhist patriarch in China. He was a successor in the line of Bodhidharma, the first Chinese patriarch and 28th Indian patriarch from Shakyamuni Buddha.
The commentary in the book was provided by Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua, a former instructor at Nan Hua Monastery near Canton, China, the Bodhimanda of the Sixth Patriarch.
WHERE TO GET THE BK1-VMHH (Venerable Master Hsuan Hua):
- Amazon Link (the third edition)
- Online Book Link Does not contain certain book specific preface, introductions, editor's note.
- Buddhist Text Link
WHERE TO GET THE BK1-RdPn (Red Pine):
NOTE: that we are here to read, exchange and help each other. We’re not here to expound. If you need deeper learning, please go visit a Buddhist teaching center. We will be adhering to the contents of the book. We will not have any inter-religious discussions. If you like to discuss any topics with anyone not pertaining to the book, we advise you to initiate a conversation with whomever on another zoom at another time, not during the book club discussion. Thank you for understanding.
- - - About the Commentator Venerable Master Hsuan Hua
Venerable Master Hsuan Hua established the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (CTTB) in Ukiah, California, which serves as one of the first Chan Buddhist monasteries in America. He also founded the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association, with its administrative headquarters in Burlingame, California.Per weblink - https://www.drba.org/our-founder.html
One of the most eminent Chinese Buddhist masters of the twentieth century, the Venerable Master Hsüan Hua (Xuanhua,1918-1995) was a monastic reformer and the first Chinese master to teach Buddhism to large numbers of Westerners. During his long career he emphasized the primacy of the monastic tradition, the essential role of moral education, the need for Buddhists to ground themselves in traditional spiritual practice and authentic scripture, and the importance of respect and understanding among religions. To attain these goals, he focused on clarifying the essential principles of the Buddha’s original teachings, on establishing a properly ordained monastic community, on organizing and supporting the translation of the Buddhist Canon into English and other languages, and on the establishment of schools, religious training programs, and programs of academic research and teaching.- - - - About Red Pine
https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001JP86Q0/about?ccs_id=1934df44-0144-4f2f-8c71-f1e762a0c7db