Dharma Library

Lecture by Master Sheng-yen on October 13, 1991. Reprinted with permission from Chan Newsletter 89, November 1991.

The world we live in has a genuine need for Buddhadharma. There are many fine things in the modern world, but there is much that is less than desirable. The world is becoming smaller and more crowded and people are getting busier and busier.

As a child, I read a Chinese novel called…

This is part one of a translation of a text by the great Chan master of the early part of the 20th century, Hsu Yun (1839-1959). It is reprinted by permission of the Institute of Chung Hwa Buddhist Culture, New York, from Chan Newsletter 87, August 1991. The first part of this talk appeared in New Chan Forum No.7. Spring 1993.

The Prerequisites and Understanding Necessary to Begin Chan Practice

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The silence becomes very palpable, solid. The quality of experience has been turned up. My koan becomes very distant. What first seemed like a fence, close and restricting, now, has moved to the horizon and eventually disappeared.

Everything seems wrapped in a profound silence which becomes as interesting as the sounds from the distant hills. Things become soft, fine and gentle. They all happen…

This was my first Chan retreat and I was so excited. My life felt calm and stable and I hoped to be able to work through whatever the Universe presented. I also hoped I would learn greater concentration in sitting to deepen my novice practice. On a previous retreat I had perceived the futility of living solely under the influence of my ego states and it seemed pointless not to search further for…

When the plane began to descend on Heathrow I was wondering how I should explain to the immigration officer the purpose of my trip to the UK. Would he feel it strange that a Chinese living in Hong Kong should have come to the UK for a Chan retreat? Would he be suspicious of my words?

For several years I have been looking for an opportunity to receive authentic training in Chan meditation which I…

Lurching up the steep approach road to the Maenllwyd, I liked the feel of a cottage tucked up in the hillside - a Zen mountain temple. Perhaps, not so surprisingly, I instantly recognized one of the participants as an old war-horse from other sesshins. John appeared and made me feel immediately at home. He had a sort of swashbuckling pirate look about him which I rather liked, and an immediate…

I have practised for quite a number of years, receiving help from various people in different traditions. My practice has tended to be erratic, never very strong or sustained - though I might sit every day. Sometimes it has just been half-hearted, but my main problem has been doubting the worth of the practice, and more importantly doubting my own ability to practice fully or make any real…

All through the retreat Shifu spoke about compassion. It hit home, as it always has in previous retreats, but at those times, save for a shiver here or a sniffle there, nothing out of the ordinary came of it. Not so on Thursday afternoon. Shifu had us stand for a session of prostrations, but he introduced a method I had never encountered before. Usually he has us contemplate the movement of the…

A special lecture given by Master Sheng-yen at the Chan Center, New York, on 4th November 1990. First published in Chan Newsletter No. 98, July 93 and reprinted here, slightly edited, with permission.

Chan is "thus come, thus gone." Everything is Chan; this is "thus come." Nothing is Chan; this is "thus gone." Today I want to investigate these words. I think they will give you new insights into…

If one is attempting to go into Zen deeply, to understand the relationship between one's mind and the universe, then it becomes important to turn over and over again, going backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards, many times over, the same refrain, the same theme. Not with the analytical intellect, nor with the mind of one who seeks explanation, but within the context of zazen, wherein…