Dharma Library

A large collection of articles, from past issues of New Chan Forum and more besides.

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The Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra: an explication

Simon Child headshot

We’ve been reciting the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra as part of the Morning Service. It’s not an easy text to understand so we may end up reciting words blindly without really knowing what we’re reciting. Sometimes – and I don’t think I’ve done it for a while – I talk through the Heart Sutra to give you an idea of what’s in there. We can begin with the title: what it’s about, where it comes from. 

…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2024 , Dharma Talks , Simon Child

Investigating the Precepts

Simon Child headshot

An important component of Chan Buddhist practice is the practice of the Precepts. For lay practitioners the five lay precepts are the basis. There are several other formulations such as eight precepts, ten precepts, Bodhisattva precepts, and the monastic precepts which are counted in the hundreds. I shall leave those for another day and focus here on the basic five lay precepts of: not killing;…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2022 , Dharma Talks , Simon Child

Practising in current times

Simon Child headshot

Simon reflects on impermanence and non-self in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I felt a dilemma when our editor Pat Simmons asked me to write an article for this issue of New Chan Forum. Should I write about how our lives and practice are affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic – clearly a major topic – or should I write on a more traditional teaching theme? How could I consider not…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2020 , Dharma Talks , Simon Child

The Edge of a Cloud

Simon Child headshot

Today we have a blue sky, with a few little clouds. Yesterday we had plenty of clouds but not so much blue sky. Weather changes. Clouds slide around in the sky. Of course the sky is always blue, but we can’t always see the blue because of the clouds. How do we understand the cloud? A fluffy object floating in the sky; if we know what it’s made of we think of it as water drops. Sometimes it sinks…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2017 , Dharma Talks , Simon Child

The Four Noble Truths and Right Effort

Simon Child headshot

John Crook used to like to say that the essence of Chan is self-confrontation. I’ve already spoken about Dogen’s saying, “to study the Buddha way is to study the self ”. And on the first evening here a few of you mentioned you came here to understand who you are. Why this emphasis on self, who we are, confronting ourselves. What’s the use of it?

I’ve spoken about how your koans bite back on you,…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2017 , Dharma Talks , Simon Child

The Great Doubt

Simon Child headshot

This is the first of two articles edited from retreat talks by Simon Child introducing koan-practice and explaining how to penetrate koans. The second article, in issue 52 of New Chan Forum, will be called The Shattering of the Great Doubt.

Why is it that you practise?

Why is it that you practise? It’s a relatively unusual activity amongst humanity for people to be doing this so it’s a fair…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2015 , Dharma Talks , Simon Child

Being With

Simon Child headshot

A Dharma talk from a 10-day intensive Silent Illumination retreat at the Dharma Drum Retreat Center, May 23 to June 1, 2014

Common misunderstandings

Yesterday everybody had an interview. One of the purposes of interview is to respond to your questions. Perhaps we also need to respond to the questions you didn’t think of asking because you thought you knew (but you were wrong.) We [the…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2015 , Dharma Talks , Simon Child

Finding a Way to Practise

Simon Child headshot

A talk given at a weekend retreat 28th April 2013

Bodhidharma’s no dependence1

Bodhidharma, the 28th Patriarch in India, lived around a thousand years after the Buddha. He brought Chan to China, establishing the Chan tradition and becoming known as the First Patriarch of Chan. He was not the first to bring Buddhism to China; Buddhism was already there, as represented in the famous story of…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2014 , Dharma Talks , Simon Child

The Middle Way

Simon Child headshot

This article is based on the Teacher’s Address to the AGM of the Western Chan Fellowship on 23rd March 2013.

The Buddha's Life

As we all know, the Buddha was born as a prince and to encourage him to remain in the palace and become the next king his father ensured that he lived a life full of luxuries and indulgences. But he became very concerned about the issue of human suffering and he left the…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2013 , Dharma Talks , Simon Child

Hidden Assumptions, Fixed Views

Simon Child headshot

The following Dharma Talk is from a Silent Illumination Retreat, November 2010 at Dharma Drum Retreat Center. It was transcribed by Catherine Burns and edited by Eddy Street. Published in Chan Magazine Spring 2012.

Perception and Sensation 

At each morning service and evening service we chant The Heart Sutra together. In one part it says: 

Form is precisely emptiness 
and emptiness precisely…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2012 , Dharma Talks , Simon Child

The Illusion of Separateness

Žarko Andričević teaching

Žarko Andricevic is the Teacher of Dharmaloka – the Chan Buddhist Community, Croatia.

Our incapability to live in harmony with others, the environment and ourselves is a consequence of deep ignorance of our nature and the nature of existence in general. All human suffering, misery and discontent, be it personal or collective, arises out of a fundamental ignorance that is called avidya…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2011 , Dharma Talks , Others

Practice for Now

Simon Child headshot

The Second Talk given on Silent Illumination, at the two week retreat, April 2006, at the Maenllwyd.

Yesterday I mentioned some of the history of Silent Illumination and how it starts with Honghzhi. In fact it goes back further than that and I found a reference in the Sutra of Hui-neng, the Platform Sutra. Most of you probably know the Platform Sutra, or at least the first chapter of it which is…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2006 , Dharma Talks , Simon Child

Coming Home

John Crook sitting in front of the altar at Maenllwyd

Mahamudra Retreat 2005 - Session One

When we were introducing ourselves last night, several of you remarked on how valuable you found it just coming to the Maenllwyd and how much you valued the place.

Let us begin then by asking why that might be so. I have a good story that helps us here. Some years ago there was a practitioner, Jane Turner, whom some of you might remember, who used to be a…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2005 , Dharma Talks , John Crook

Silent Illumination

Simon Child headshot

Day 2, Three Week Retreat

Silent Illumination is essentially very simple. It can be summarized in three sentences:

Look and see.
Look what is there.
And don't add to what is there.

'Look and see': Illumination.

'Don't add anything': Silence.

But it doesn't seem so easy! Why? Because there's something in the way. You! You're in the way of your own seeing. You're disturbing your own mind.

When I…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2005 , Dharma Talks , Simon Child

Introducing Silent Illumination

Simon Child headshot

A Talk given on Silent Illumination, at the 3 week retreat, May 2005, at the Maenllwyd

John has just spoken about the two entrances to Dharma, through Principle and Practice, which Bodhidharma taught us all those centuries ago.

Silent Illumination corresponds to a state, either you are in Silent Illumination experiencing the Principle or you are not. If you are actually in Silent Illumination…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2005 , Dharma Talks , Simon Child

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