7-Day Intensive Huatou Retreat

"Don't be concerned with whether or not you get enlightened, just simply pick up the huatou."

Photo by Moonching Wu - sunmoonlake@gmail.com

Huatou, when translated literally, means "the origin of words" or that which comes before words and language. This refers to the state of mind before any words or conceptualization has arisen, and more precisely, that which exists before thought arises. Thus, huatou is the source of all words, the source of all thoughts, the fundamental nature of the mind. Yet huatou is also a method that we use to point directly at this mind, and in the process, put aside all other concerns.

When we investigate huatou, we utilize questions such as "What is my original face before my parents gave birth to me," or "What is wu?" These puzzling, seemingly illogical questions rouse a sense of deep questioning about ourselves, which is referred to as "the doubt sensation". If one can then penetrate the this doubt, one discovers that which one has always had, and subsequently finds real peace and ease within oneself. This is the generation of wisdom and compassion.

Retreat Program

The Huatou method will be taught in the context of daily life activities, such as sitting, standing, walking, sleeping, working, and eating. Chanting and gentle yoga exercises further harmonize the body, breath, and mind. The retreat also includes daily lectures, meditation instruction, guided meditation, and personal interview.

Note: This is an intensive retreat, intended for practitioners who:

• have established a routine personal practice
• have prior retreat experience (3-day or longer meditation retreat)

Chang Wen Fashi

A native New Yorker and Director of the Dharma Drum Retreat Center, Chang Wen Fashi is a western monastic disciple of Chan Master Sheng Yen. For his training, in addition to being of service to the Chan Meditation Center, in Queens, NY, and attending numerous retreats with Master Sheng Yen at DDRC, he also lived in Taiwan, at the Dharma Drum Mountain World Center for Buddhist Education, receiving a monastic education at the Sangha University. After graduating, he received full ordination in 2006, and then continued to serve the Seminary as the counselor for the male students of the Chan Meditation Department. Over this period of training, he attended and assisted with numerous intensive meditation retreats in the Chan Hall and abroad, as well as served as the leader for DDM's International Meditation Group in Taipei. Chang Wen Fashi holds a Bachelor's Degree of Science from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. He is fluent in both English and Mandarin.

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