First Reading
This page highlights some articles which may be suitable as introductions for newcomers to Chan and to the Western Chan Fellowship.
We list these by category, so please scroll down and browse the lists - we have Dharma Talks, Retreat Reports, Poetry, and other articles.
Don't forget to also read:
After reading the articles linked below you may like to refer to a longer list of Highlighted Articles.
Dharma Talks
Most issues of our journal New Chan Forum include transcribed Dharma Talks, and here are some that may be worth reading first.
- What is Chan?
- Guarding the One
- Everything is as it is
- The Essentials of Chan Practice
- The Importance of Buddhadharma in the Modern World
- Not Knowing is Knowing
- Thus Come, Thus Gone
- Always Harmonise with Living Beings
- Authenticity and the Practice of Zen
- A Mind like Snow
- Prerequisites for Chan Practice
Retreat Reports
An important feature of New Chan Forum is the inclusion of Retreat Reports. These are written by participants soon after they have attended retreat and are published (usually anonymously, and only with the consent of the author) to enable the reader to glimpse a taste of the retreat experience. This may be helpful to you in deciding whether to book a place on retreat for yourself.
Most of the reports are of positive experiences, but sometimes participants can find difficulties on retreat and we also publish reports of these experiences so as to give a balanced view. Here follows a selection from our archive of retreat reports.
- Maenllwyd, May 1990
- A Guestmaster's View
- Where's the Trick
- Seeing the Nature
- Mind in Flow
- Wind and Silence
- A Ting of the Bell
- Working with a Master
- A Shining Silence
Other Articles
- Paying Attention
- No Mind - Mind Only
- The Birth of the Western Chan Fellowship
- Intoxication and the Precepts
- Shifting Shit
- Life at Po Lam Monastery
- On the Path of Dharma
Poems
© Western Chan Fellowship, UK, 2005. May not be quoted for commercial purposes. Anyone wishing to quote for non-commercial purposes may seek permission from the WCF Secretary.