Dharma Library

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 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…

A talk by Chan Master Shengyen, 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…

In the yard, after the rain, every step makes mud. Why do I hate the squelching?

Mixed-up youth, far-out experiences. I first read about Zen, as a 15-year-old in 1966, in Alan Watts' "The Way of Zen". I was immediately attracted by the sense of the Zen masters knowing something that was wonderful yet ordinary in that it was always present. From that time, for perhaps 7 years, I read much about…

Out of the corner of my eye I catch a glimpse of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbharaja seated upon the offering table in the Chan hall. As usual his serene countenance glows quietly there. I take a closer look. His expression of peace and tranquillity begins to enter and then to flood my mind. Time becomes motionless yet the soft wind gently moves the branches beyond the window, the distant rustle of the…

On retreat with Shifu many people have had encounters with him that must have surprised them. Shifu, too, encounters people who surprise him! The outcome of such meetings is often valuable. Sometimes when you meet a Buddha on the road it might be worthwhile seeing what he has to say before you kill him! At the beginning of a new Millennium let us see what happens when you bump into a Master. Of…

Not many of us have to endure for years the disappearance of a loved one. To discover that the loss was due to horrendous murder is even rarer. Yet, in places like Kosovo or Kurdistan this experience is something of a commonplace. The anger, indeed fury, can reach out to strike down whoever or whatever is deemed responsible. Justice is not always easy to be done. Killing is easier. So the cycle…

What is it like for a lay practitioner to work with a master over a period of time? A single retreat provides an introductory experience but what if one persists through a series of such events? This would indeed be a requirement if the aim was to train in Chan. Training takes time but does it take one anywhere?

To assist those for whom this question may be relevant, I attempt to answer it…