Dharma Library

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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…