Wujimen Martial Art School

  In 1998 and 2003, Master Sheng Yen visited Saint Petersburg and Moscow respectively to give guidance for local Buddhist practitioners, introducing Chan teachings into Russia. Over the past 19 years, how have his Russian disciples helped spread the seeds of Chan Buddhism and progressed with their practice? This in-depth interview with Sasha and Rinya, leaders of Wujimen Martial Art School and Buddhist organization in Saint Petersburg, will give you a glimpse of how Chan practice already constitutes part of their daily life.   Part I:Encountering with Master ShengYen in Russia Q: How did you get to know Master Sheng Yen? What are your memories of “Shifu” (Referring to Master Sheng Yen) and how has he affected your life? Sasha: My disciples brought some Polish magazine to me. This was in 1997. It contained a short article about the Master's activities, but most of all I liked his photograph. An idea emerged to invite him to Saint Petersburg, however it seemed a pure fiction: how would a man like him respond and come to us?... Nevertheless we wrote an invitation letter on behalf of Wujimen, my school of martial arts, and a small local Buddhist organization named ''Dharma''. Sometime later we received a response saying he was ready to visit us.     Everything I had read about Chan, the teachers and patriarchs before meeting Shifu, became alive and embodied in him – in the way he was speaking, moving, looking. It was astounding how softness and power combined in him. He had a very subtle sense of humor and attention to what was going on, down to the smallest detail. Only with time could I appreciate his simplicity: at that time we had no idea whatsoever of how a Master of such level should be received and must have made glaring mistakes, but he in no way hinted at that, nor did he make us feel the awkwardness of the situa

Q1:What motivated you to learn Chan and Buddhism in the first place? Sasha: I started taking interest in Buddhism in my youth already, when I began practicing martial arts. At that time during my practice I found my mind and psyche in states that could not be appropriate for an advanced Wushu practitioner. My interest led me to understand that the state of calmness, clarity and concentration is the subject of Chan practice. Later my motivation became somewhat broader as I started thinking about such intrinsic values of the European culture as love. The question presented itself: how does it happen that my love to other people and their love to me can cause us so much suffering? When a certain notion of wisdom and compassion started emerging at that place, my understanding of practice expanded to seeing the Teaching as multifaceted and comprehensive. Rinya: I became interested in Buddhism as part of the Chinese culture. Having met Sasha I understood that it was not only about reading books and thinking, but practice in the first place. At some moment, thinking about what was really valuable for me in life, I found out that it was a state of calmness, of a quiet and steady mind. Or, to be more honest, – that what induces that state. Сhan practice brings up exactly this type of mind. Besides, in my opinion to have a conscious life a person should take pains to clarify and form a personal view of the world, with the corresponding principles and values, which could be relied upon in a day-to-day life. Now the Teaching helps me moving towards a conscious life.   Q2:What changes do Chan and Buddhism bring to your own life? Sasha: I am sure that without accepting the practice to become a part of my life I would be a completely different person. I believe, had I not encountered the Teaching in due time, my relations with myself and the world would be much harder and more destructive than the ones I have being a practitioner. Rinya

Q1:What are the most challenging things to practice in Moscow?​ Sasha: The lack of understanding and weak motivation lead to the practice itself becoming irregular and random because of being busy and having no time. This is a superficial level. Having no opportunity to address questions to a Teacher of undoubted competency, in my opinion, creates a gap between the immediate practice of Zuo Chan and Dharma, impeding the understanding of their actual interconnection. This leads to the lack of clarity about how the practice should be done, not only during the thirty-sixty minutes dedicated to the seated meditation, but on a wider level, in life, about how to widen the boundaries of practice, making it a Practice.   Rinya:I suppose, in this regard Moscow hardly differs from any other place where Buddhism is a foreign culture phenomenon. The Buddhist theory is kind of a foreign language for us: the words seem the same, but the meaning and links between them are actually different. To understand it on a profound level it should be your mother tongue – or at least you should be assisted by a good translator, i.e. a master. Besides, in an environment where a robust community of people supporting each other in their common cause has not formed, it's even more difficult to maintain a focus on the practice throughout your life, compared to a case when such a community is present and functioning perfectly. Q2:Why and when did you decide to lead Chan group practice in Moscow? What courses have you arranged for Russian practitioners? Sasha: After the first retreat with the Teacher, having moved to Moscow, I decided that anyone coming to Wujimen school should have an opportunity to be involved in the practice, although they might not have an articulate need in it initially. On the last day of the second retreat with Sheng Yen, when he presented a scroll with a Buddha image to Wujimen, I expressed my gratitude saying that now that

Q1:How do you practice Chan, being a couple? Sasha: The latest period of our joint practice started on October 18, 2016, with the simultaneous addition of two masculine pusas to our family. Our practice became ensuring their life sustenance and our own survival. I had thought that it would be very difficult for me to quit my usual life mode which included Chan practice, my Wushu and calligraphy. All that together with teaching was taking practically all my time. Now my practice is the absence of such articulated practice.    Rinya: Sasha has always been my mentor in the practice, my senior friend, sharing my experiences, doubts and understandings with him were highly significant for me. The strength of his practice has always been a basis for my own moving-on. I am endlessly thankful to the world that there is a man by my side whose essential interest in life is so resonant with mine and so beneficial for it. And the kids… I had been joking that with their birth I would be on a personal retreat. This is exactly what happened. And the fact that this is a path of any woman living a lay life and becoming a mother, gives me the happiness of being a part of this huge family. While the presence of my husband and companion by my side helps me moving on in a calmer and more confident way.   Their interviews show that it is never easy to spread Chan Buddhism in countries other than Eastern Asia. However, once the seeds of aspiration are sowed, results will come to fruition when conditions are ripe, one way or another. As Master Sheng Yen said, grasp the opportune conditions when they come, create them when there are none, and ere conditions ripen, never force a thing to be done.