New Chan Forum 5

Going On...

This small journal of the Bristol Chan Group has reached its fifth number. Already we have established a certain genre which seems to generate interest. We will continue to present articles on aspects of Chan and teachings by Shifu and other modern masters and also scholarly essays on ancient examples. A main concern will be on the development of Lay Zen in this country. Lay Zen remains a matter for discussion and clarification. What is it? How should practitioners be? What is the relationship between contemporary life and the Chan tradition? How does the lay practitioner relate to monasticism? What are the roles of the genders in Zen?

This year has been important for the Maenllwyd. Shifu made his second visit to lead a very large and successful retreat which strained the facilities to their limits! In this issue John, as guestmaster, describes the work involved and his experiences in running the material side of the event. We have selected some of the more detailed reports of participants for edited and anonymous presentation. These reports reveal the varied and profound nature of personal experience on retreat and may act as encouragement for others to attend. We have also chosen to consider some aspects of the relation between Zen and Christianity. This theme has emerged for several visitors to the Maenllwyd and is an important topic. We would like to hear the views of our readers on this theme. Indeed we welcome text for possible inclusion on any of these and related subjects.

John has been exceptionally busy necessitating some changes in his retreat programme. He regrets any inconvenience or disappointment so caused. He completed an adventurous journey of some two thousand kilometres through Western Tibet making his pilgrimage to both Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar with Brian Beresford's party of five and five Tibetans from Lhasa. The group was horrified by the political conditions in Tibet but heart warmed by the extraordinary moral integrity of the Tibetan people and the slow re-appearance of beautiful monasteries, some in very remote places. John also attended and presented papers at a conference on "Buddhism and Modern Thought" at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and on "The Precepts in Modern Society" in Taiwan. He felt the academic quality of these meetings to be exceptionally high and a sign of the respect for Buddhist thought which is developing world wide. In Taiwan scholars from the Republic of China (Taiwan), Japan, Thailand, the USA, France and Great Britain had two days of intensive discussions and visited the site of Shifu's monastery of the future, a beautiful mountain not far from Taipai. John flew back to Hong Kong in typhoon winds so strong that the jumbo jet was thrown about like a ship as it came in to land. We are grateful that he has returned to Bristol.

• New Chan Forum issue 5