Retreat Reports: Silent Illumination Retreat

We publish selections from retreat reports written after Western Chan Fellowship retreats, to illustrate the range of experiences people go through as they investigate themselves in silent meditation. These reports are printed anonymously and may be lightly edited.

Contemplating Earth

Calligraphy for the character Chan

All through the retreat Shifu spoke about compassion. It hit home, as it always has in previous retreats, but at those times, save for a shiver here…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 1990 , Chan Retreat Reports , Anon

Chan Retreat May 1990

Calligraphy for the character Chan

My stay at Maenllwyd was a gift which I received with gratitude. It has given me deep insights which will always remain. I have sought the truth for…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 1990 , Chan Retreat Reports , For Newcomers , Anon

Who is Dragging this Old Corpse Along?

Calligraphy for the character Chan

Several times during my retreat at Maenllwyd I was reminded of the many weeks I have spent alone walking in the High Pyrenees. The aching legs, back…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 1990 , Anon , Koan Retreat Reports

First Retreat Experience

Calligraphy for the character Chan

I arrived at the farmhouse a complete innocent. I had not the faintest idea what I was in for and this was just as well or I would never have come…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 1990 , Chan Retreat Reports , Anon

A Moment in Dokusan

Calligraphy for the character Chan

Dokusan:

"I'm frightened!"
"How big do you feel?"
"Oh - small"
"How old are you?"
"Seven".
"Be kind to the little boy inside you. Go and look into his…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 1990 , Anon , Koan Retreat Reports

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