Dharma Library

The first part of this dharma talk appeared in New Chan Forum 57, under the title The Five Skandhas. Here we continue and conclude the transcription of this dharma talk, which was given on a Silent Illumination retreat in September 2017.

The image that comes to mind when I try to sum up the retreat is of a triple: a three-legged stool, a tripod, a triptych. This represents what were for me the three components of the retreat: the huatou, the brushwork, and the sitting. Each locked into the other.

I can’t remember the exact words of the huatou but in essence Joshu asks Nansen how to pursue The Way. Nansen tells him that making…

I arrived not knowing what the retreat was going to be like. I knew we would investigate the question “who am I?” but preferred to find out how once I got there to avoid expectations or anxiety. I was very much looking forward to the luxury of having everything organised for me. I would not have to make any decisions, just follow instructions and bells. This time, I didn't even wear a watch and it…

Our Guiding Teacher, Chan Master Simon Child, Jing-hong Chuan-fa, is the second Western Dharma heir of the late Chan Master Sheng Yen of Taiwan, receiving Dharma Transmission in 2000. This is the first part of a transcription of a dharma talk he gave on a Silent Illumination retreat in September 2017. Our thanks go to the transcribers. The second part will be published as ‘Habit Seeds’

Introduction 

In terms of our ceremonies, as lay practitioners, we only undertake a small part of what occurs in monastic communities, but, as with everything, we need to examine and question what it is that we actually do. We need to discover the larger sense of what constitutes our liturgy and to appreciate its place within the totality that is Chan Buddhism. Our liturgy reveals a history of…

Meditation, spirituality and religion can work together; however, they can also work apart.

We can meditate as if doing a technical exercise, engaging neither spirituality nor religion. Meditation works then on the psychological level, similarly to psychotherapy or personal development training. It is usually undertaken to improve our personal situation from within. We don’t feel comfortable…

I was initially drawn to Chan out of a sense of loneliness. Two acquaintances were already participants in the Bristol Chan group: Sarah Bird, whom I knew from yoga practice, and Sally Masheder, a neighbour and fellow GP. I liked them a lot and I wanted to get to know them better. I had started meditation but was searching for a method that suited me. I also wanted to protect the planet and people…

Because of your military background and Sandhurst voice,
Because of your wild white eyebrows, as mobile as eels,
Because I knew you before I knew you,
Because you could see with your third eye,
Because you saw me and smiled,
Because you said, ‘Are you ready for an adventure?’
Because I felt heard and known,
Because of your delight in chocolate biscuits,
Because of the predictability of cauliflower cheese…

When I was asked to write something for New Chan Forum about how I ended up as Simon’s Dharma heir I took a sharp intake of breath. How could I get that down in sentences? It has been a long, perhaps even tortuous, journey with many side roads and incursions into various unexpected places. I discussed this with some Christian friends of mine who I consider to be part of my wider Sangha and whom I…

…Day two. Koan day. I eventually plumped for one that, rather arrogantly, I believed I could answer. Hah! Silliness. We sat, the Koan playing in my mind as I searched for an answer. After a few sessions, Simon brought in a communication exercise whereby each retreatant sits with another and takes it in turns to answer a question on their Koan. I was coupled with the most open and honest individual…