New Chan Forum

In 1990 the Bristol Chan Group founded a journal called the 'New Chan Forum'. The Western Chan Fellowship has now taken over responsibility for this publication.

Content varies considerably from issue to issue, but typically includes Dharma talks, reports on their meditation and retreat experiences written by participants, comment on contemporary Zen and Buddhism, pictures, poetry, etc.

Copies of the full text of most issues are available to download from here. For copyright and other reasons some articles may sometimes be removed from the electronic version, and pictures are not included with the older issues, but if you wish you may write to the distributor to buy the paper version.

Published twice or three times a year, back copies, if still in print, are available from our Admin Secretary, price £4.50 each or £12.00 for a subscription of three issues.

Articles, pictures, poems, etc. for consideration for inclusion in future issues of New Chan Forum may be emailed to the WCF editorial at editor@westernchanfellowship.org

Print ISSN: 2047-9514 ,  Online ISSN: 2047-9522

What I particularly enjoy about editing New Chan Forum is the rich variety of material that comes my way. And this issue is no exception.

I am delighted to be able to share Simon’s analysis of the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra, included here by special request from the people who first heard it on retreat in February, and thought it was one of the best Dharma talks they had ever heard. Many thanks…

Until now I’ve been in the happy position of having a backlog of articles and poems. This time I’ve had to chase! I think the end result is excellent and I’m particularly pleased to have a new contributor on board – Edd Phillips’ article on the Diamond Sutra was written originally for WCF’s Pointing Out the Great Way course, and I’m wondering if any course participants have essays they’d be…

Welcome to the spring/summer issue of New Chan Forum. This is an unusual issue, in that it has two articles by people no longer with us – John Crook and Hebe Welbourne. I think we are very fortunate that something at least of their insight remains for us. We can still learn from their hard-won wisdom; though they have died, they are 'with us still'.

Eddy Street's subtle and insightful article…

Welcome to the autumn/winter issue of New Chan Forum. You may notice we haven’t yet caught up with our normal mail-out schedule, but we’re doing our best!

I hope you’ll enjoy the rich variety of the articles and poetry in this issue. It is particularly exciting to be able to include two reports from the first retreats at our new Peak District retreat centre, Shawbottom Farm. It feels like the…

Apologies for the rather late arrival of this issue of New Chan Forum: Simon Child has been completely caught up in project-managing the final stages of creating our new retreat centre, and I’ve been nursing a broken arm (and nose, but that’s less necessary for typing…).

I hope you will find this issue informative and stimulating. One theme which seems to have emerged from articles that people…

This issue of New Chan Forum begins and ends with memories of our Founding Teacher, John Crook: a formal commemoration by Simon Child, a transcript of one of John's innumerable insightful and inspiring retreat talks – and then finally an odd scrap of his writing showing his creative striving to find just the right image for a truth he wanted to convey.

Those of us who were able to join together…

Hello everybody and welcome to the 60th issue of New Chan Forum. This is the second issue I've produced in the shadow of Covid 19 lockdown. I hope it will be the last, though I suspect memories of the pandemic will continue to inform much of the writing in future issues. I hope you enjoy this issue, particularly the two articles that engage directly with our Covid experience.

Editing New Chan…

Welcome to the autumn 2020 issue of New Chan Forum.

It’s a rather special issue, as it marks the departure of the Western Chan Fellowship from Maenllwyd, the ancient mid-Wales farmhouse where we’ve held retreats for many years. Maenllwyd is a beautiful and special place, and I think that the memories in this issue form a fitting farewell to a place that has been important for so many of us. I…