Venerable Guo Xing Visits Russia to Propagate Chinese Chan Teachings

In continuation of Master Sheng Yen's tireless efforts to spread the Dharma, Venerable Guo Xing lead a 2-day Chan retreat in St. Petersburg and Moscow respectively, sharing methods of Silent Illumination, Huatou, and Buddha name recitation.

Following the footsteps of DDM founder Master Sheng Yen's international propagation, DDM Vice Abbot and Master of the Meditation Hall, Ven. Guo Xing, took the trip to St. Petersburg and Moscow from June 1 to 13, to lead a 2-day Chan retreat in both cities. In addition to giving teachings on the basic of Chan meditation, Venerable Guo Xing put an emphasis on the introduction of the methods of Huatou and Silent Illumination during the retreat, in addition to leading participants to experience the Buddha name recitation method.

At the invitation of Alexander Jitomirsky, founder of the Martial Arts School "Wujimen" in Russia, Venerable Guo Xing first arrived at Wujimen's martial arts stadium in St. Petersburg from June 3-4, to lead a 2-day Chan retreat. The retreat included basic sitting meditation and the breath counting technique, as well as a brief introduction to the key points of Huatou and Silent Illumination methods. In total, more than 40 practitioners participated in the Chan retreat. The organizer responsible for this retreat, Chang De (aka Lena, in Russian), was one of the participants at the Chan retreat led by Master Sheng Yen on his first visit to Russia in 1998. She indicated that the teachings of Chinese Buddhism imparted by Master Sheng Yen are very practical, and can be easily applied in our daily lives. At the entrance of the martial arts stadium, Chang De and her husband displayed the portrait of Master Sheng Yen together with the relevant event information, as a tribute to his teachings.

On June 7, Venerable Guo Xing arrived at the Wujimen martial arts stadium in Moscow to lead a 2-day Chan retreat. The primary focus of this event was Buddhist chanting, recitation of the Buddha's name, and experiencing the Buddha name recitation on retreat. There were also approximately more than 40 practitioners participating in the event. During the sharing session, due to the enthusiastic response of the participants voicing their thoughts, sharing time was prolonged by almost an hour before its conclusion.

Furthermore, on the evening of June 8, Venerable Guo Xing also delivered a small lecture at a teahouse in Moscow, introducing the "essence and function of the nature of mind" to nearly 40 attendees who almost packed the venue to full capacity. Among them was a priest of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Utilizing Taiwanese hand  puppets as teaching aids, Venerable Guo Xing vividly introduced Chinese Buddhism to the local audience.

At the invitation of "Wujimen", Master Sheng Yen visited Russia to lead Chan retreats in 1998 and 2003. After Master Sheng Yen's passing, Alexander once led a group of Russian Chan practitioners to Taiwan in search of their religious roots, while simultaneously inviting the DDM Sangha to continue guiding their practice in Russia. In 2018 and 2019, Venerable Guo Xing went to Russia to give teachings on Chan practice.

During Venerable Guo Xing's trip to Russia, refuge-taking ceremonies were held after the completion of the two 2-day Chan retreats, and a total of more than 30 people received the blessings of the Triple Gem. "Silent Illumination and Huatou, in particular, constitute the core of Chinese Chan Teachings. Chan Practitioners must delve into the Buddhist teachings, coupled with putting them into practice, in order to have profound experiences, so that the propagation of Chan can keep spreading long and wide." Venerable Guo Xing indicated that many of Russian Chan Practitioners had followed Master Sheng Yen in learning Chan meditation over 20 years, thus reaping benefits of Dharma practice. Their perseverance to this day is really not easy.    

Text: Dharma Drum Monthly #403 
Photos: Dharma Drum Monthly #403 
Translation: Cheng-yu Chang (張振郁)
Editing: Keith Brown, YKL