Dharma Library

Look up!
Soot grey snowflakes
dancing, whirling, falling, landing –
white side up.

Introduction 

The derivation of the word Chan is from Dhyana in Sanskrit and Jhana in Pali. Jhana is translated as meditation, meditative absorption or meditative concentration. Jhana meditation practice features in several Pali suttas, and involves progression through four jhanas. These are increasingly subtle states of concentration, experienced as altered states of consciousness.¹

Buddhism…

John Crook was born in 1930 in Southampton into a moderately well-to-do family. He was educated at Oakmount School, a preparatory school in Southampton, and at Sherborne School, a boarding school in Dorset. At school he studied biology, physiology and physics. He frequently commented on the effect of the environment of “all male, firm discipline, a lot of sports especially Rugby football which I…

In April 1997, the Western Chan Fellowship held a retreat in Scotland on Holy Island off Arran. St Molaise was a Christian hermit there in the 7th Century. During the retreat, we celebrated his feast day and held a ceremony in St Molaise's cave hermitage in the Saint's honour. This article is based on a talk that was given on the retreat.