NEWS...
THREE-WEEK
CH'AN SESSION AT THE
CITY OF TEN THOUSAND BUDDHAS
At
the opening of the three-week session, the Venerable Master Hua spoke the
following verse:
Ten
thousand Buddhas emit a light to illumine this City.
Ten
thousand people think it over the Way is always equal.
Ten
thousand dharmas return to one we all get enlightened together.
Ten
thousand beings gather to light the lamp of wisdom.
Intensive
meditation continued non-stop from 2:45 A.M. to midnight. Walking and
sitting at given intervals participants obeyed the non-verbal commands of
the traditional wooden fish and small hand-bell used to signal changes.
Silence prevailed while everyone worked on the mind-ground asking
"Who is mindful of the Buddha?" or "What was my original
face before my parents bore me?" or other such hua tou, meditational
topics.
On
the final day, during the last hours, the Venerable Master spoke the
following verse for everyone to consider as the session came to an end.
This
year on this day the Ch'an session ends.
Those
who seek name and profit will be off to the east and west.
Stretch
out both legs; close both eyes:
The
Patriarch taught the parrot that plan to leave the cage.
COMING
SOON FROM THE BUDDHIST TEXT TRANSLATION SOCIETY:
LISTEN
TO YOURSELF; THINK EVERYTHING OVER, 4 weeks of instructional talks given
during a Kuan Yin Recitation Session and three weeks of Ch’an at Gold
Mountain Monastery. The Venerable Master’s clear guidance on the methods
of recitation and meditation, stories of cultivation, efficacious
responses from the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, questions and answers. |