ABOUT THE BRISTOL CH'AN GROUP
The Bristol Ch'an Group was formed in
July 1989 following a teaching visit by the Venerable Ch'an Master Dr. Sheng-yen.
Master Sheng-yen is Abbot of a monastery in Taiwan and Head of the Institutes
of Chung Hwa Buddhist Culture in Taiwan and New York.
Master Sheng-yen has passed on to us
a view of the Dharma (teaching) based on his experience in both the main lineages
of Ch'an (Lin Chi (Rinzai) and Ts'ao Tung (Soto)). He is a second generation
teacher in the lineage of the Great Master Hsu Yun who did so much to restore
Ch'an to China in the early years of the twentieth century. Master Sheng-yen
has also trained in Japan following the tradition of Harada Roshi, from whom
several lineages of American Zen are currently descended. In Japan he also
received a doctorate in Buddhist studies and is today a much respected scholar.
In attempting to transmit the wisdom of Master Sheng-yen, we have a tradition
on which we can rely.
In April 1989, Master Sheng-yen came
to the Maenllwyd Retreat Centre in Mid Wales and Dr. John Crook, who trains
with him in New York, acted as Guestmaster. At the end of the retreat John
was asked to run orthodox Ch'an retreats in Britain as the representative
of Master Sheng-yen. John was subsequently invited to function as teacher
to the Bristol Ch'an Group. In 1995 John received the Dharma transmission
and is thus a fully authorised teacher in the same lineage. Out of this has
grown the Western Ch'an Fellowship which acts as an umbrella organisation
for Ch'an groups and individual practitioners in the West. See the WCF website
(W-C-F)
for details of its programme of retreats and other activities.
We are thus a group of lay practitioners with properly authenticated teachers. We approach Ch'an through practice, talks and everyday life. Many people find that participation in retreats is an important part of their approach and our evening meetings are linked to both informal retreats in or near Bristol and to more disciplined retreats held in Wales. An introductory retreat, the 'Western Zen Retreat', is recommended before participation in a full Ch'an retreat.
