Dharma Library

A large collection of articles, from past issues of New Chan Forum and more besides.

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The Buddha's Face

John Crook sitting in front of the altar at Maenllwyd

Some of us keep a Buddha image in the place where we like to meditate. Maybe we also light a candle and incense stick before entering zazen, or do some chanting. Why do we do these things?

Maybe it is simply out of respect for the memory of the Buddha or a habitual gesture of the Sangha to which we belong. Maybe the Buddha represents for us the aspiration that underlies our practice. Yet, we also…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2011 , Teishos John Crook , John Crook

The Arriving Birds

John Crook sitting in front of the altar at Maenllwyd

This morning, sitting in the Buddha Room at Winterhead, I glanced out of the window. There in the holly tree flitted a small brown bird, a Phyloscopus warbler arrived from Africa riding on the spring weather coming up from the south. Species of this genus are difficult to identify, all small brownies. There are three of them visiting Britain, the Chiffchaff, the Willow Warbler and the Wood…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2011 , Teishos John Crook , John Crook

On Taking Refuge

John Crook sitting in front of the altar at Maenllwyd

When someone has decided to follow the path of the Buddha it is usual for him or her to make a formal commitment to that path by participating in a simple ceremony known as Taking Refuge. We have recently put together a short liturgical text enabling people to Take Refuge through the Western Chan Fellowship. This Teisho seeks to explain what is involved and to provide a source for the presentation…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2011 , Teishos John Crook , John Crook

New Year's Day Teisho, 2011

John Crook sitting in front of the altar at Maenllwyd

Kuan yin says, "Yesterday was 2010. Today is 2011. Have you yet made the transition?"

When silence flows from the loom of illumination vastness appears, right hemisphere regaining authority over the left, a moment of complete understanding arising.

For some the word "God" evokes it; for others the stillness of space simply emerges. With the fading of clouds, the sun shines in clarity, warming…

Western Chan Fellowship CIO

Categories: 2011 , Teishos John Crook , John Crook

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