On 28th January, Dr Simon Child Chuan-fa Jing-hong, Chan Master Sheng Yen's third Dharma Heir, was confirmed as the new Teacher of the Western Chan Fellowship. His appointment was unanimously approved by members of the Western Chan Fellowship at an Annual General Meeting. It was a poignant occasion since this was also the Western Chan Fellowship's third annual Memorial Day for Chan Master Sheng Yen.
Simon is very active and leads retreats in the UK, Poland and other European centres, and at Dharma Drum Retreat Center in New York, in addition to leading a local Chan Group in Manchester, UK.
He is the second Teacher of the Western Chan Fellowship. The Founding Teacher was Dr John Crook Chuan-deng Jing-di who died last year. When Chan Master Sheng Yen gave him Transmission, John asked how he should teach Chan in the West. Shifu's reply was:
“I’m Chinese, you’re British, you find out how to teach British people.”
In this spirit, Simon and John have worked closely together for many years in their mission to bring Chan Buddhism to the West. We are very glad that in Simon we have an experienced and skilful Teacher who can carry forward the Chan lineage in a form that is well suited to the western world, whilst retaining respect for its Chinese origins.
At his Teacher's address, Simon emphasised the need for the Western Chan Fellowship to continue to adapt and change to circumstances and to avoid becoming focussed on the past: the transmission of Chan is dependent on continuity, yet is always renewed in the present. He also referred to the significance of Sangha as practice and to the importance of nurturing continuous practice in every 24-hour day of our lives.
