Experience sharing
3-day Retreat Review
by Chris R Jamison It is difficult to be brief about how wonderful the retreat with Venerable Guo Goang in West Virginia was, but I will try. First, the environment, set in the mountains of West Virginia, was beautiful and peaceful. It is easy to still one's mind amidst the trees, clouds and birds. The retreat had a very accessible format. The duration of each sitting session was long enough to become familiar with the practice, but not so long as to be arduous or exhaust...
Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels – Online, August 28, 2022
Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels – Online, August 28, 2022 First online ceremony – sharing. Second online ceremony – sharing. Third online ceremony – sharing. April 2022 online ceremony – sharing. Taking Refuge from Ukraine – sharing. As more and more practitioners understand Why Take Refuge in the Three Jewels, we just had another one on August 28th, 2022, with a group of si...
Family Chan Camp Reflection -- I'm home!!
Every year, without fail, going to Chan Camp feels like returning home. There's something special about the familiarity of the bending trees, the anticipation as the stone pillars draw closer, the cheerful, waving stick figure mailbox (affectionately dubbed "Jerry" by the counselors). There's something in the wide blue sky as one pulls into the winding road past the main house, the rolling green lawns, the view of the nostalgic buildings, that just screams: I'm home...
Taking Refuge – from Ukraine
While the entire world is saddened, heartbroken, and impacted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, there is a bright and shiny light of Dharma radiating out of the epic center of this all-out-suffering, out of Ukraine itself. On August 9th, in the short timeframe of Ukraine local time to avoid dangerous shelling, a couple took refuge in the three jewels and five precepts. This courage reminds all of us to apply Master Sheng Yen's teaching on resolving conflicts through compass...
Mental Resilience by David Listen: My Blossoming Awakening
The Mental Resilience talk delivered by David Listen on July 30, 2022, was organized by Dharma Drum Vancouver Centre for Young People (DDYP). David is a life mentor, professional mental health counsellor, lecturer, and former Chan/Zen Buddhist monk who has helped many develop resilience and mindfulness. I first learned about David through Dharma Drum Vancouver Centre (DDVC)'s simultaneous interpretation training group last summer. Since then, I have listened to several of his talks wit...
CMC Tuesday Online Sitting Meditation Sharing
During the most recent online Tuesday sitting session, Venerable Chang Zhai asked us some questions: "Why should we cultivate?" "What does becoming a practitioner mean to us?" The questions got me thinking, and I realized the questions are important in the way of cultivation. Cultivation is not a journey that always goes smoothly. We meet obstacles much more often than expected. Right motivation is essential during this time, helping us to keep practicing constantly and ...
Reflections on a retreat headlined by Žarko Andričević
This particular retreat was a bit of an experiment for Vancouver Chan Meditation Centre. Instead of being entirely online as with recent retreats, it was a sort of hybrid. In addition to the usual at-home Zoom participants there were a handful of practitioners visiting the centre in person each day. The technology was adjusted to provide the "Zoomers" with a view of the Chan hall in use. For me, it brought back fond memories of past residential retreats and the more personal sense o...
My Reflection about the Exploring Buddha Dharma Course
It's been about eight months since I enrolled in DDM's Exploring Buddha Dharma Course. Although I had a difficult time understanding many of the content and materials, I still contemplated certain concepts like Emptiness and how it was applied in the Diamond Sutra. Near the beginning, Fashi gave a great example of what "emptiness" means. A cell phone by itself has no separate entity which makes it "empty". The phone cannot work without all the piec...
2022 Earth Day Learning and Reflection
In the spirit of 2022 Earth Day, the Dharma Drum Vancouver Young People English Book Club got together to watch The Magnitude of All Things, a documentary that explores the emotional and psychological dimension of climate change. The group engaged in a discussion after watching the film and reflected upon the impacts we bring with our actions in our daily lives. The film features environmental crises in different parts of the globe, and how each crisis on one end links to another on the ...
April three day Retreat with Rebecca Li
I just checked with my wife, and I have done 4 retreats of various length this year. I'm already planning more. This isn't unusual for me. Over the last decade and a half this has been the norm. You may ask why. In fact, there have been times when I have asked myself why. The answers have varied over time. As I reflect on this retreat with Rebecca Li, the question "why" is prominent in my mind. What draws us to practice? For me it was the nagging...