About the Western Chan Fellowship
The Western Chan Fellowship CIO is a charity registered in England and Wales. We are a lay association of Western Chan (Chinese Zen Buddhist) practitioners. Our principal activities are:
Organising and leading silent meditation retreats and other events such as conferences and teachings.
Coordinating and supporting our network of local meditation groups
Publishing our journal New Chan Forum. This includes a wide range of articles such as Dharma talks, retreat reports, discussion articles and critical comment, poetry, and more.
A Registered Charity
The Western Chan Fellowship was formed in 1997 and registered as a charity in 1998. In 2017 it transferred its activities to the Western Chan Fellowship CIO ('Charitable Incorporated Organisation'). This is a newer charitable structure with the same name and very similar aims and activities.
It arose from a network of local groups which formed following the first teaching visit to the UK in 1989 of the Venerable Chan Master Dr Sheng Yen. Master Sheng Yen was the Abbot of two monasteries in Taiwan, and head of the Institutes of Chung Hwa Buddhist Culture in Taiwan and New York.
Our Patron, Chan Master Shengyen
Our Patron and lineage master was the late Chan Master Sheng Yen. He visited the UK four times. He passed on to us a view of the Dharma (teaching) based on his experience in both the main lineages of Chan: Linji (Rinzai) and Caodong (Soto).
He was a second-generation teacher in the lineage of the Great Master Hsu-yun (Xuyun, ‘Empty Cloud’) who did so much to restore Chan in China in the early years of the 20th century.
Master Sheng Yen also trained in Japan following the tradition of Harada Roshi, from whom several lineages of American Zen are currently descended. In Japan he received a doctorate in Buddhist studies and was a much-respected scholar. In attempting to transmit the wisdom of Master Sheng Yen, we have a tradition on which we can rely.
Our Founding Teacher Dr John Crook, and current Guiding Teacher Simon Child
Our teaching and practice comes from teachers fully authorised in the traditional manner to teach and transmit the Linji (Rinzai) and Caodong (Soto) lineages of Chan Buddhism.
Our founding Teacher Dr John Crook, Chuan-deng Jing di received Dharma transmission from Master Sheng Yen in 1993.
Our current guiding Teacher Dr Simon Child Chuan-fa Jing-hong also received Dharma transmission from Master Sheng Yen, in 2000.
Local meditation groups
The Western Chan Fellowship retreats are supported by a number of local groups which hold regular meetings for meditation practice. The evening meetings are linked to informal local day retreats led by the local group meditation instructors, and also to more disciplined and intensive residential retreats held at residential retreat venues.
Intensive residential meditation retreats
We offer a range of retreat formats, such as Silent Illumination practice (the source of the Japanese practice of Shikantaza) and investigation of Koans and Huatou. Our five night 'Western Zen Retreat' is unique to the Western Chan Fellowship. It combines meditation practice, based on the use of Zen questions such as "Who am I?" and "What is Freedom?", with deep participatory inquiry. We recommend attending this retreat before taking part in a full 7 night Chan Retreat.
More
Read about our history and constitution, our Teachers and membership, and also there are contact details, news, and an image gallery.
©Western Chan Fellowship CIO 2005-2025. May not be quoted for commercial purposes. Anyone wishing to quote for non-commercial purposes may seek permission from the WCF Secretary.
The articles on this website have been submitted by various authors. The views expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the Western Chan Fellowship.
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