New Chan Forum 19

Investigating Practice

Shi-fu tells us that the Chinese term for practising Ch’an, ts’an-ch’an, means to investigate, engage or dig into the heart of the Ch’an tradition.

The hard work of practice, and the no-work, form the theme of this issue. Appropriately for Spring - the days are lengthening and brightening, time to shake off winter dullness, bring energy into our practice and get down to work! Anyone seeking inspiration for renewed dedication to practice will surely find it in Bill Pickard’s moving letters. Written over three years to Eric Johns while Eric was training in a Chinese monastery and travelling; the letters are a concise and detailed guide to practice, a distillation of many years experience.

John Senior contributes two pieces arising from his own investigations into practice, an attempt to extract the essence of the Diamond Sutra, and a transformation visualisation in the Tibetan tradition for composing the mind prior to practice. Elizabeth Crook looks back over 30 years to tell of three separate encounters with Tibet and Tibetans.

A selection of poems explores the mystery that permeates everyday life, mainly in and around Maenllwyd, but there is a swift change of pace in Brian Groves’ poem recalling a glimpse of paradise seen from the back of a motorbike.

John Broadbent contributes a moving obituary to his friend and colleague Barry Palmer. An unusually long book review examines the place of Zen in contemporary thought. A demanding investigation this, and one that will repay careful reading.