New Chan Forum 2

Getting Going...

Surprise, surprise! Not only is the Bristol Chan Group still in existence, it seems to be flourishing. We have met and sat together for one "term" and have just started another. We have had a series of talks from John Crook and organised two short Chan retreats at weekends, one at the Maenllwyd and one at the flat of Nigel Chilton in Bristol. We seem to be spreading our wings, for Eddy Street is establishing a Chan group in Cardiff, affiliated to Bristol for teachings and retreat guidance. In May, John directed our first full Chan retreat; a week long experience based upon John's authorization from Master Sheng-yen to run orthodox Chan retreats in this country as his representative. Everyone worked hard and benefited from the time together.

In this journal we publish some extracts from retreat reports which are written within a few days of the ending of a retreat. They are of value to every practitioner for they remind us of the focused endeavour that is retreat practice, the struggle with self, the endless mistakes and hassle and the glimpses of eternity that bring us momentarily home. Each report reveals the ego of the writer which all of us in some way or another can understand. Reading a report is to reflect on common experiences and to know that sharing really helps.

We present part of a report written by a New Yorker, a teacher of biology, who frequently attends retreats run by Shifu¹ at the Chan Centre in Queens. In addition we include edited extracts from two reports emanating from the Chan retreat with John at the Maenllwyd, May 1990. The reports are presented anonymously but we thank each writer for his or her willingness to share themselves so frankly.

Our major initiative is to publish a book based on the discourses given by Shifu at the Maenllwyd in Spring 1989. These have now been prepared and, together with an introductory essay, retreat reports and an autobiographical interview, assembled in a book entitled "Catching a Feather on a Fan: A Zen Retreat with Chan Master Sheng-Yen." The book will be published by Element Press in February 1991.

Readers may also like to know of the publication, also by Element Press, of a new book edited by John Crook and David Fontana entitled "Space in Mind: East-West Psychology and Contemporary Buddhism" This is a collection of essays from a conference sponsored by the British Psychological Society in Cardiff a few years ago, and has been carefully prepared to provide a practical guide to links between Western and Buddhist thought, especially focusing on therapy, meditation and retreats. It includes chapters by Sue Blackmore, Steven Batchelor, James Low and Ngagpa Chogyam, well known to members of the Chan Group, and two chapters by John on different aspects of the Western Zen Retreat.

Our future plans will focus on the consolidation of the Bristol Group around questions of practice. We will run a series of talks and short retreats and support John's programme of retreats for a wider clientele at the Maenllwyd. We shall also invite other speakers to join us from time to time. Members are warmly invited to consider attending a retreat in New York with Master Sheng- Yen. These are offered in November, at Christmas, in May and in July and cost $200 for six days. Details of programmes are given at the end of this newsletter.

The theme of our next newsletter will be Western attitudes and adaptations of Zen. Please write to us with contributions, criticisms and ideas for publication. Also spread the word, so that others get to know of our existence and our endeavour.

1. The word Shifu means Master and refers to Dr. Sheng-Yen. It is the Chinese equivalent to the Japanese term Roshi.

• New Chan forum issue 2