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7-Day Intro to Chan Retreat
| Teacher: | Guo Xing Fashi, a Dharma Heir of Master Sheng Yen |
| Begins: | Friday, Mar 26th 2010 Registration 4-6pm |
| Ends: | Thursday, Apr 1st 2010 5pm |
| Fee: | $360 |
| Registration: | Click here to register online |
| Deadline: | Mar 23rd |
What does it mean to go on retreat?
On the path of Chan practice, in addition to keeping up a daily routine of sitting meditation, cultivating awareness in our every-day activities, and studying Dharma literature, an aspiring practitioner should regularly attend Chan retreats. Whether it is for 1, 3, 7, 10, or 49 days, we should take time off from our ordinary routine to refresh ourselves and deepen our practice.
By coming to a retreat, we temporarily put aside all our responsibilities
of daily life and completely relax. This is different from going
on vacation, where we usually hope to enjoy ourselves by looking for
fun, or by being idle. Rather, on retreat, we relax into ourselves, settling
down the body and mind, and making the time and space to have
an appointment with ourselves. Then, we may discover that there is a
lot of tension that has accumulated from our busy lifestyles. After discovering
this tension, we can learn to release it and truly begin to
relax.
After achieving a sense of relative peace and ease through relaxation,
we will see more clearly our mental and physical condition, and
become aware of the vexations that we unknowingly create for ourselves.
By cultivating an even deeper awareness of thoughts, emotions,
and the workings of the mind and body, we can begin to transform
and improve our character. Thus, we learn to use our mind in a way
that brings peace and freedom to ourselves and others. This is wisdom
and compassion.
Through attending Chan retreats, we familiarize ourselves with
the methods and concepts of practice. After retreat, we then bring
what we’ve learned back into daily life, finding joy and freedom within
ourselves, and sharing it with others.
Retreat Program
Learn Chan meditation as applied in all
aspects of daily life, including sitting, standing,
walking, sleeping, working, and eating.
Gentle yoga exercises are done to further harmonize
the body, breath and mind. The first
few days of retreat focus on the practice of
relaxation and calming, preparing the participant
for using more advanced Chan methods,
such as Silent Illumination and Huatou,
which are introduced in the latter part of the
retreat. In addition to lectures and instruction
on meditation, participants will also
receive guidance from the retreat teachers in
personal interviews.
This is an intermediate retreat; the schedule
is less rigorous than those on the advanced
retreats. Participating in the entire retreat
helps prepare one for attending a 10-Day
intensive retreat. Advanced practitioners can
also benefit from this retreat, practicing at
their own level, gaining strength from the
communal practice and instruction.
Having attended the Intro to Chan Retreat,
you will then be prepared to attend our intensive
Silent Illumination and Huatou Chan
retreats.
Guo Xing Fashi
 Our abbot, the
Venerable Guo Xing
Fashi, one of Master
Sheng Yen's Dharma
heirs, was born in
Taiwan in 1953. After
studying yoga and
meditation, Venerable
Guo Xing began to
study Chan under the
guidance of Chan Master Sheng Yen in
1984, and became ordained under him two
years later, in 1986. After years of service in
the Dharma Drum Mountain sangha, he
was sent to Thailand in 1991 to enter into
solitary retreat, studying Theravadan
meditation. Upon returning to DDM, he
continued to assist the Master in leading
meditation retreats in Taiwan, Southeast
Asia, and the United States, for a period of
20 years, totaling over more than 50
retreats, including the first 49-Day retreat at
the Dharma Drum Retreat Center in 2000.
He previously served for eight years as the
counselor for the DDM Chan Meditation
Group of Nong Chan Monastery, six years as
the guiding instructor for the DDM Sangha
University Chan practice curriculum, as well
as two years as the director of DDM's Chan
Practice Center, the Director of the Chan
Hall, as well as the supervisor of the
Department of Transmitting the Lamp.
Venerable Guo Xing is now a new resident
teacher at the Dharma Drum Retreat Center.
He speaks Taiwanese, Mandarin, and
English.
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