Dharma Library

Family therapy and Buddhism

two traditions, two authors, one article

Being

For many years our professional lives and personal /spiritual lives have had a curious intertwining. We have similar and different backgrounds and have interests in both family therapy and Zen Buddhism. We have worked together as family therapists and at work so often our discussions have drifted to spirituality and…

When I was first asked to lead this short retreat, my first thought was "Why do they need someone to lead a weekend retreat, can't they just gather together and sit together?"

I guessed I would have to provide some sort of teaching. So then I wondered what teaching might be valuable? Perhaps I should regurgitate something remembered from a book or a sutra that I have read but which you may not…

This text is a re-edited version of an article of the same name published in a festchift volume celebrating Master Sheng-yen's 70th birthday. Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal, (2000) 13.2 549-584. Taipei. Shifu has encouraged me to assist Chan Sanghas in Europe as well as in Britain. Naturally this has caused me to look more closely at continental Buddhism than I might otherwise have done. Some of the…

Past Patron - The late Venerable Chan Master Dr Sheng Yen

Founding Teacher - The late Chan Master Dr John Crook Chuan-deng Jing-di

What is Chan?

Chan means Meditation, in Chinese. It is the historical root of Japanese Zen. Both Chan and Zen are rooted in the Mahayana traditions of Compassion and Wisdom which are central to the Buddhist path.

Chan employs traditional Buddhist meditation…

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Why Begin?

Whenever you arrive as a newcomer at a meditation class in Buddhism the teacher will wonder why you have come. Maybe you are coming because a friend has suggested it; maybe you have heard a radio programme; maybe you have read something exciting about Zen. Whatever it was, the teacher will want to go deeper.

Westerners usually seek to explore meditation or…

It is several years now since I proposed that the casual retreat arrangements at the Maenllwyd might be of greater value to people if we created a charitable institution. Soon the WCF was in being and is now safely established and supported by small affiliated groups in a number of British cities. We have important European contacts and, thanks to Simon Child, a site on the web appreciated by many…

The purpose of this article is to suggest that we all too often understand Buddhism in terms of One-Sided Solutions which don't actually solve anything, and that we would do better if, instead, we worked with the Complementary relationship between life's various two-sided polarities.

From the ridiculous to the sublime. A good example of a One-Sided Solution would be 'detachment', which is…

Those of us who have young children and some time to spare may wonder what kind of contribution to make in the schools they attend. Having made the same pizza at least thirty times with excitable eight-year-olds, I found my desire to help with Arts and Crafts quickly satiated. There was always more flour on the floor than in the pizza, and clearing up was never one of the kids stronger interests.…

The essence of mind is tranquil, spacious, illumined by joy,
unattached to thoughts or the thoughtless.
When it appears you may fill with a gratitude that slowly turns to bliss.
If a thought of others emerges there may be love.
Love is embracing all and being embraced by all.
Love passes: tranquillity resumes: the spaciousness sustains itself.
The thought of 'me' is absent.
Self-concern is no longer…

Excerpted from Chan Magazine and lightly edited.

Outwardly like a complete fool,
Inwardly mind is empty and real.

Often, it is a monk who appears slow and some-what dumb who is the great practitioner; and the monk who appears to be extremely sharp and knowledgeable is the one who often needs to practice more diligently. Do not concern yourself with or waste time wondering what your experiences…