Dharma Library

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

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Thus Come, Thus Gone

Chan master Shengyen

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…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: For Newcomers , 1990 , Dharma Talks , Sheng Yen

Everything is as it is - This in Itself is Remarkable

John Crook sitting in front of the altar at Maenllwyd

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…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: For Newcomers , 1990 , Other Articles , John Crook

Chan Retreat May 1990

Calligraphy for the character Chan

My stay at Maenllwyd was a gift which I received with gratitude. It has given me deep insights which will always remain. I have sought the truth for many years, joining this group or that, always looking outside myself, out there, beyond. The concentrated watching, the allowing of my mind to express itself are things which I have avoided, the associated feelings being only partially felt and…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 1990 , Chan Retreat Reports , For Newcomers , Anon

Who is Dragging this Old Corpse Along?

Calligraphy for the character Chan

Several times during my retreat at Maenllwyd I was reminded of the many weeks I have spent alone walking in the High Pyrenees. The aching legs, back neck and shoulders; the relentlessness of the load on my back; the near exhaustion and mental stupor; the gratitude for occasional breaks with their slow recovery of the determination to go on no matter what. The recurrent question in my mind…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 1990 , Anon , Koan Retreat Reports

First Retreat Experience

Calligraphy for the character Chan

I arrived at the farmhouse a complete innocent. I had not the faintest idea what I was in for and this was just as well or I would never have come at all! My only expectation was that the scenery would be beautiful. 'Experiencing a Buddhist Retreat' was one of the many adventures I'd decided to undertake. I thought 'It may as well be now'. There were intimations that it would be difficult but…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 1990 , Chan Retreat Reports , Anon

A Moment in Dokusan

Calligraphy for the character Chan

Dokusan:

"I'm frightened!"
"How big do you feel?"
"Oh - small"
"How old are you?"
"Seven".
"Be kind to the little boy inside you. Go and look into his fear."

Back on my cushion, the little boy in me and I talked together.

"Why are you hiding?"
"I'm scared."
"Why?"
"Dad's going to beat me."

And as we talked it through, and I cried with fear, my heart went out to the little boy in my memory. I…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 1990 , Anon , Koan Retreat Reports

Chan and Daily Life

Chan master Shengyen

A lecture given by Master Sheng-yen at the Washington University, St. Louis Missouri on April 17th, 1990. Presented in edited form with the permission of the Institute of Chung Hwa Buddhist Culture, Elmhurst, New York. Originally printed in Chan Newsletter, May 1990.

You may have the impression that, having written numerous books on the subject, I know a great deal about Buddhism. But throughout…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 1990 , Other Articles , Sheng Yen

Guarding the One

Chan master Shengyen

Talks given by Master Sheng-yen on the first two evenings of the Chan retreat in April 1989.

I

I have only been in your country for a day, but already I have learnt something about you people. You have a love for ancient things. This house is hundreds of years old, you treasure the worm-eaten beams and the crumbling stone walls, the bent timbers of the old barn. In Taiwan we are busily engaged…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: For Newcomers , 1989 , Dharma Talks , Sheng Yen

False and True Self

Chan master Shengyen

Reprinted with permission from Chan Newsletter, 69, 1988 and lightly edited. Based on a talk given on JHC's first visit to Shifu.

Ananda asks the Buddha about the nature of the self. Is there an all-encompassing ego, a true self that unites everyone in the world, or is there a self at all? I'm going to talk about this question and discuss how it is dealt with by "outer path" systems of thought…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 1987 , Dharma Talks , Sheng Yen

Between Master and Disciple: Neither Anger Nor Love

Chan master Shengyen

A practitioner should not feel proud if a master thinks highly of her, wishes to accept her, and shows affection for her. If he or she is driven away by the master, the disciple should feel no hatred. Similarly the master should not feel proud even if surrounded by many followers. Nor should there be unhappiness if all the practitioners leave.

Maintaining such an attitude of equanimity is not…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 1984 , Dharma Talks , Sheng Yen

No Thought of Gain or Loss is Freedom from Samsara

Chan master Shengyen

A lecture by Master Sheng-yen based on The Sutra of Complete Enlightenment November 6, 1983. First published in Chan Newsletter No.33, Non 1983. Reprinted with permission.

In Chan training you may not be able to attain to the highest level of understanding right away, but you can get a small, subtle idea of Buddhahood. The Sutra of Complete Enlightenment speaks of the wisdom of a Buddha, not that…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 1983 , Dharma Talks , Sheng Yen

What Is Chan?

Chan master Shengyen

In 1977 Shifu was at the very beginning of his teaching career in America. He was invited to give talks in various places and these were admirably translated. In this talk the crisp vision of Chan that Shifu was bringing from China and from the Japan of his final training is clear for all to see. As we set about creating a Chan suitable for Europe this lecture has a striking and helpful cogency.…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 1977 , Sheng Yen , For Newcomers

Winter Buddha

John Crook sitting in front of the altar at Maenllwyd

After midnight, when the still streets
drip from the trees audibly soft leaves
and I smile to hear sleepy voices
silenced by a closing window's sound,
I take a match to an incense stick
and set bright the dark candle in my private shrine.

With six slow breaths the pillared flame
sets this brooding throne aglow
where, pivoted upon some silent thought,
the golden face spans inwardly
the space between the…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 1969 , John Crook , Poetry , For Newcomers

Maenllwyd

John Crook sitting in front of the altar at Maenllwyd

Arriving in the yard
I switch off the engine
and gaze at the view,
evening sun on the rolling hills
yellow fields, dark woods.
In the sudden silence
a buzzard mews,
distantly guiding sheep
dogs bark.

Entering the gate
I come home to my hermitage,
welcoming trees brood
and the old door creaks on rusty hinges
falling plaster needs sweeping from the floor,
softly on cold flags moisture gleams.

Lighting the fire
I…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 1975 , John Crook , Poetry , For Newcomers

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