7-Day Koan Retreat
| Teachers: | Simon Child, a Dharma Heir of Master Sheng Yen, assisted by Jake Lyne |
| Begins: | Saturday, May 22nd 2010 Check-in 4-5pm |
| Ends: | Saturday, May 29th 2010 10am |
| Fee: | $400 |
| Registration: | Click here to register online |
| Deadline: | May 16th |
In this retreat, we are exploring
new ways of investigating koans that are appropriate for
Westerners. Many Westerners have exceptionally busy minds
that need to be drained of excessive intellection before an
opening in meditation can occur. We allow this to happen by
asking the practitioner to ponder Koan stories in typical
Western style, thinking as to their meaning, before transferring
to intuitive mindfulness as thought becomes blocked in
the awareness of paradox.
A selection of koan stories is provided and each participant
is asked to choose one for the retreat. This becomes your
"life koan" of the moment. Placing the koan within meditation,
the natural Western tendency to analyze meanings is
worn away. There is the possibility of deep insight into the
Dharma, in the time honoured-manner.
This retreat has been developed within the Western Chan Fellowship (UK) through a blending of the Western Zen
Retreat (WZR) with a Huatou retreat and a new focus on
Koan stories.The system has been found to be effective over
many presentations in Europe and the US. We are happy to
bring it to New York as a fresh way of promoting Chan.
The DDRC website offers a talk by John Crook on "Life Koans and Retreat Experience", which discusses some issues that arise in the presentation of these retreats. You can read the talk here or download audio files. You can also read retreat reports from people who have attended these retreats.
Simon Child
 Resident in UK, first encountered Chan as a medical student on retreat with John Crook, with whom he has continued training since 1981. His first retreat with Chan Master Sheng Yen was in 1992. He recieved Dharma transmission in 2000. He is secretary of Western Chan Fellowship, the European lay Chan organization, founded in 1997 by Dr John Crook. He works as a family doctor, and is married with two adult sons.
Jake Lyne
 Chair of the Western Chan Fellowship. He has attended retreats with John Crook since the early 1980s and with Master Sheng Yen since the early 1990s, including a Chan retreat at Queens in 1991. He is a retired clinical psychologist now leading retreats in the UK and is married with three children all in their 20s.
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