About the Western Chan Fellowship
The Western Chan Fellowship CIO is a charity registered in England and Wales, 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, teachings, etc.
- Coordinating and supporting our network of local meditation groups
- Publishing our journal New Chan Forum, which includes a wide range of articles such as Dharma talks, retreat reports, discussion articles and critical comment, poetry, and more.
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 Incorpoarated Organisation'), 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.
Master Sheng Yen visited the UK four times and 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 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, Chuan-deng Jing di, received Dharma transmission from Master Sheng Yen in 1993, as did our current guiding Teacher Dr Simon Child Chuan-fa Jing-hong, in 2000. Hence 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.
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 both informal local day retreats led by the local group meditation instructors, and to more disciplined and intensive residential retreats held at residential retreat venues.
We offer a range of retreat formats, such as Silent Illumination practice (related to the Japanese practice of Shikantaza) and investigation of Koans and Huatou. Our '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. This retreat is recommended before taking part in a full Chan Retreat.
The top menu 'More' items will inform you about our history and constitution, our Teachers and membership, and also there are contact details, news, and an image gallery.
