Dharma Library

I have just returned home, and it seems sensible to write the report before the memories of the retreat begin to slip away. Yet even by writing about it, the events seem so strange and wonderful that words alone cannot express the sheer depth and vast space that has at times punctuated the practise; the clarity of perception, the long silences that can only be likened to the desert, not a silence…

It felt such a privilege to be attending the retreat with Shifu. I couldn't make the effort to go to New York, but he had come here! And yet a retreat is just a retreat. Really it was like a solitary retreat, as I just isolated myself from the environment and continued my practice.

I came to the retreat feeling that I wanted to be there, and John wanted me to be there in particular to confirm my…

I was fortunate to be able to collect Shifu, Guo Yen Hse and Paul Kennedy from the airport. We broke our journey to Wales in Bristol in order to see my family for lunch. As we were leaving and my wife was wishing us well for the retreat, Shifu said, in reference to the retreat, "It's a trick!"

"Yes," my wife replied, "But it's a very good one, and a very necessary one," looking pointedly in my…

The role of guestmaster at a Chan retreat entails the responsibility for ensuring the comfort of the participants and visiting Master, the availability of necessary supplies and the organisation of affairs to ensure the even flow of the retreat programme. Together with Chief Cook and the Retreat Disciplinarian the work of the Guestmaster maintains the background quality of a retreat.

When I…

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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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…

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 then…

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

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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…