Western Chan Fellowship Annual General Meeting 2007

Teacher's Report

Chuan deng Jing Di (Dr John Crook)

19th December 2006

Continuing Successes. Contemporary Lack.

During the past year the fellowship has continued to present its programme under the constitution with continuing, marked success. Most retreats are full or nearly so and retreats of varying length and depth have been conducted successfully in Norway, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia as well as our annual presentation, at Shifu's invitation, of a WZR in Pinebush, New York. Our website has been instrumental in spreading the word of our activities. The Teacher and Retreat Masters have been kept very busy. The attempt to run a retreat on Skokholm Island was abandoned due to bad weather preventing the open boat crossing from the Welsh coast but the would-be participants retired to the Maenllwyd for an experimental retreat, which now forms the basis for the upcoming Chan Convivium. Many Maenllwyd retreats have welcomed participants from abroad; from Norway, Poland, Portugal, Finland, Israel and the USA, most of whom had attended one or another of our events. Local groups have continued to expand with new ones started or re-opened. York, Medway Towns, Bury and Bristol continue to present broad and effective programmes with day-long retreats or longer, discussions and talks as well as evening meetings for meditation.

Even so many of our facilities are hardly used at all, solitary retreats at both the Maenllwyd and Winterhead have fallen off, no one uses the library facilities and individual practice is only 0well developed by a few. These failures suggest that the heavy commitments of family and work prevent most lay people from developing sufficiently deep personal practices. We need to consider these issues carefully if we are to spread the Dharma in contemporary society.

Issues under Discussion

The main activity of several senior members throughout the year has been to examine in detail some of the points raised by last year’s Teacher’s Report (2006) and other considerations related to planning our future. Three main issues had concerned the Teacher:

The rather poor understanding of Dharma by most participants on retreats, including a number of fellows, as reflected in discussions - particularly during the conference last year on Death and Dying. There is a doubt about how far our events actually spread an understanding of Buddha Dharma, its everyday relevance, understanding and use, as contrasted with providing therapeutic events and reassurance in troubled times. It is not clear how participation in these events leads to an effective daily practice or use of Dharma concepts or training.
The suggestion in a book by Roshi John Daido Loori (1) that lay transmissions are normally only sustained through some three generations after which they fade out through various forms of what we may call "dumbing down."(2)
Various discussions consequent on the above, for example during last year’s Leaders Retreat, on how to improve our teaching of Dharma and how we might sustain our lineage into the future. Discussions had pursued three main lines; improved teaching of Dharma in dedicated retreats, networking between local groups and visits by senior members and the possibility of creating some form of residential community for longer periods of training.

Early in the year, some extensive e-mail exchanges principally between John, Simon and Jake reviewed a large range of issues derived from the above, many of which were as yet not at all clearly formulated.(3) The Teacher, mindful of his responsibilities under the constitution, decided he needed to consult a personally selected, advisory group on the issues being raised. In October he invited a small group to Winterhead for a “Teachers Consultation”: the members being Eddy Street, Simon Child, Jake Lyne, Fiona Nuttall and Charlie Vincent. Hilary Richards was unable to attend. The group supported the Teacher’s proposal that he and fellow Dharma-heir, Simon Child, should travel to New York to consult Shifu on key themes – and possibly to go on to Mount Tremper to interview Roshi Daido Loori.

Visiting Shifu

John and Simon met Shifu in his personal residence at the Dharma Drum Retreat Centre at Pinebush in upstate New York. The interview was interpreted by Rebecca Li, and filmed and recorded by monks in attendance. The meeting began with formal prostrations: a warm welcome followed, during which tea and cake was provided.

Shifu’s health is very poor. He remains resolute, strong in spirit and lucidly clear in his responses to our questions. We covered a lot of ground and here I can only summarise main themes. We showed him group photographs of recent retreats. He commented upon the relatively advanced ages of the participants – an issue he was to return to.

Although various interpreters have attempted to explain to Shifu the relation between therapy and Chan practice in the WZR, Shifu clearly considers the WZR to be a psychotherapeutic exercise. He emphasised the importance in all Chan retreats of “Vow power”, that is the taking of vows and precepts as a basis for daily practice. To this end, he emphasised longer retreats using Silent Illumination or Huatou, encouraging larger attendance and teaching Dharma in them more profoundly. In response, John agreed that there is a strong psychotherapeutic component in the WZR: its great value to Westerners being increased clarity of mind and motivation using Western terminology as part of a clear entry to Chan practice. These retreats are primarily for newcomers to Buddhism although many find them valuable even when established in practice. He pointed out that our “flag-ship” retreat remains Silent Illumination.
The idea that the WZR is essentially psychotherapy has regrettably taken hold in some quarters of Dharma Drum Mountain in New York and may account for the rather poor attendance over two years. This is both unfortunate and erroneous and the precise function of therapeutic themes in this retreat is once again being emphasised both to Shi-fu and DDM with an insistence on the use of our own retreat description in advertisement of these events.
Shifu took up the question of integrating Dharma and daily life. He stressed two main approaches. Firstly, to emphasise the use of both methods and concepts in daily life reminding oneself to ‘pick up’ the method as much as possible especially when facing problematic issues: secondly to create longer residential programmes. These may however have only limited benefit unless the results extend beyond into subsequent every-day life. He suggested local groups should do much more to emphasise daily practice, even instituting early morning gatherings for those living close by. Group leaders should devise methods for re-enforcing individual participation in Dharma group activities through a variety of focussed events. Dharma gossip and mere socialising should be avoided through emphasis on the importance of the issues involved for each person and their relationships in life. Local leaders should help people develop a thirst for learning the Dharma and going deeper in both practice and concept. Again: develop Vow Power.

With regard to transmission in lay lineages, Shifu emphasised that transmission lasts longest when the recipients are young Dharma heirs with a long life ahead of them. Older recipients do not have much time left either to teach or to find their most effective replacements. Such young recipients should be encouraged to go to Universities etc to understand the problems of the time. Failure of a lay lineage is by no means certain. Indeed properly established monastic lineages can and do also fail.

John discussed the problems in modern society of finding an appropriate Dharma heir. Most lay practitioners are primarily engaged full time in business or in family support. For most, a retreat is an occasional recuperative event however well the process is understood and applied. Shifu said that it is vital to locate enthusiastic supporters of Dharma who will put energy into continuation and future transmissions of Dharma. Some such persons may not have experienced enlightenment (kensho. ie: ‘seeing the nature’) but if they have enthusiasm, sufficient understanding of concept and method, and vows, then they can receive a form of transmission. Such serious students will do everything they can; they may teach, run events, do the accounts and support the Dharma programme in every practical way.

A student who has ‘seen the nature’ has gone beyond residual doubt. Dharma becomes the focus of his or her life and career; profession and family are secondary to Dharma - Dharma is expressed through such activities. Such a person is a prime candidate for transmission.

John asked, “Can those who have not ‘seen the nature’ themselves give transmissions?”

Shifu answered that such a teacher would not be able to lead a retreat at a deep level. They would not be able to recognise clearly when another has ‘seen the nature’ because they have not had that experience themselves. Such a teacher must know his or her limitations and be up-front about it with trainees. Such teachers are not qualified to transmit the ‘Dharma of mind’ – i.e., to give ‘inka’. They can share the principles they know but cannot confirm another’s experience. Only a sufficiently advanced and experienced practitioner can do that. Dharma heirs can be transmitted as Dharma teachers or administrators but may not necessarily be Dharma Masters – only those with kensho experience can be considered as the latter. This needs transparency and needs to be well understood lest errors occur. It is clear that lineage descends only through the transmissions of qualified Dharma Masters although others assist them greatly on the path. Even so, transmission does not depend on kensho alone. As previously stated by Shifu, a candidate needs to have a sound knowledge of Dharma, a well-established personal practice, be able to teach and attract a following and have a place in which to do it.(4)

John suggested that maybe we need to emphasise Bodhicitta – the will to become a compassionate Bodhisattva – in contemporary Chan, rather than chasing after experiences. Shifu replied that it is easy to give rise to vows but hard to ‘see the nature’. He recalled that we need both in the development of wisdom and compassion. John asked whether it was essential to go through a long ceremony and teachings before one can take the Bodhisattva vows in Chan. Shifu said John could make a proposal for a simple ceremony. The main elements are the three pure precepts, the ten virtues and so on. Guo Gu has translations into English. Shifu would then approve if suitable.
Concerning the differing points of focus of monastics and lay practitioners, Shifu remarked that there should be no difference in the depth of Dharma training. The difference lies in the styles of life. John remarked that lay persons with their families and businesses have to attempt non-attachment within attachments. Is not this a major koan about the nature of renunciation? Shifu replied that it was not the case that monastics did not have attachments! Lay people need to train in the context of their family lives. Since monastics have few possessions that is undoubtedly a help - but they may still be very attached to self. So home leaving is in the heart – not physical – suggested John. Shifu agreed. Leaving the house does not always mean one has “left home”.

John and Simon thanked Shifu for his inspired teaching over many years and told him they will continue to sustain the lay lineage he had created in Britain through their transmission.

Mount Tremper

Mount Tremper is a few hours drive from Pine Bush and set at a higher altitude among pine forests. The main building of the monastery is a massive, rather austere structure, originally an institution for correcting bad boys from New York. A number of other buildings are scattered among the trees. The forest is beautiful and the open-air shrine and cemetery above the main quarters is sublimely peaceful. In the winter, there is heavy snow.

Roshi John Daido Loori is a large, impressive man seemingly in late middle age. He greeted us warmly without the formalities we are used to in Chan. He responded at once to John’s quote that he had argued that Lay lineages only last three generations. Roshi said he had had much more experience of teaching both lay and monastic practitioners since he had written that. Never the less the monastics had a clear advantage in some respects. At Mount Tremper, they can pursue their studies without interruption from worldly affairs. During ‘Dharma combat’ Roshi felt that monastics were usually clearer in their replies and understanding. None the less, lay practitioners do well. As many as fifty families had left their home locations and settled in nearby areas so that they could attend teachings. Many had gotten jobs or some form of employment in the vicinity. Schoolteachers spend their holidays at the monastery; those with their own businesses or the self-employed can find the time for practice and teachings.

Roshi spent most of our interview explaining the teaching model he had developed at Mount Tremper. Monks receive a $100 stipend per month but lay residents do not. Basically, monastics and laity follow the same teachings and practices. These are mainly Rinzai Zen, developed from Roshi’s own teacher (Roshi Maizumi) and include progression through 750 koans although this is too many for lay people. The Koans are tested through supplementary questions; there is the Rinzai rush for interviews that are usually brief. The process is supported by lectures, mondo, Dharma combat and a rising through a hierarchy of positions and roles within the institution. There are however those who prefer to practice in the Soto style using Shikantaza. Transmission in Rinzai may be to either monk or lay persons but on the Soto path transmission to non-monastics is not possible. The Shobogenzo of Dogen is a prime teaching text.

Roshi suggested that intellectuals like Koans, those with faith in practice prefer Shikantaza. Yet, he argued, the end result of either process is similar – the ‘capacity to enter Samadhi’.

He argued that a residential community guarantees a greater degree of continuity than any other institutional structure. It provides a disciplined community atmosphere in which it is possible to delve deeply into Dharma, experience self-confrontation within a community, and practice in the long term. Even if such an institution falls upon hard times or fails to produce good teachers, the existence of the physical presence of a place often carries the institution through till better times and better teachers emerge. This has often been the case in history, he argued – and indeed the survival of Chinese Zen through the intense communist period in China partly illustrates this. Most of the old monasteries, however badly destroyed have re-arisen in their own grounds.

The prime emphasis in this system is an educational one, intellectual, physical, artistic and spiritual. It is a gradual progression with tests, examinations and movements from one stage to another. The range of spin–off institutions is considerable and clearly a great many excellent people and teachers are involved. We found the whole institution impressive but perhaps a little oppressive after the free horizons of Shifu’s Chan.

Preliminary Conclusions

There are few British institutions that can compare with western American Dharma centres or monasteries such as Mount Tremper, Green Gulch Farm or Tassajara in terms of Dharma training, monastic recruitment, lay support and financial security: nor are there many to compare with the Tibetan monasteries established in France. Our own institution is a small contribution compared with these but a significant one. There is no doubt the Fellowship is bringing intensive retreats with few attached strings to an increasing number of serious Dharma enquirers across Europe. There are doubts however about both the depth of our Dharma training and its viability into the future. Serious thought needs to be put into our approach, its institutionalisation and the responsibilities of leaders. The extensive membership, life commitment, organisation and financing of these other institutions provide models of modern practice to be seriously examined as we go forward.

Our discussions together and with Shifu and Roshi Daido Loori suggest a number of considerations to be developed as our policy for the future. As Teacher, I recommend the following:

i/ Emphasise Local groups.

Participation in Maenllwyd retreats has led individuals to offer their homes as meeting places for meditation and now local centres are active across the country. It is from these centres in turn that many individuals come for retreat at the Maenllwyd. The Maenllwyd lies at the hub of a large wheel that continues to acquire more spokes. This institutional structure has proved very successful in promoting important and deep Chan practice utilising retreat formats of four kinds - unique in Europe. The weaknesses we have been identifying stem perhaps from too intensive a focus on attending occasional retreats. We can conceive of a further wheel in which the personal life practice of individuals takes central place and retreats at Maenllwyd become one of the spokes - perhaps necessarily a rather distinctive one. These wheels are not alternatives but rather complimentary ways of envisaging and focussing our planning. One wheel on each side of our chariot - as it were. We should do two things: emphasise the importance of membership of local groups, and encourage their leaders to take on much more responsibility for the members initial recruitment and training.

Membership of local groups should require active participation in Dharma events and participation in their planning and organisation. Members need to be pro-active in finding and recruiting young beginners interested in what Buddhism has to say in the modern world – especially in relation to the ongoing and increasing world crisis. The responsibility for this shift in orientation must lie with local leaders. These need to undergo more training, study Dharma more deeply and play a very active role in the encouragement of local members. They need to provide the initial teachings, show the relevance of the Dharma to our time, demonstrate how Dharma can be practised in both family and business life and encourage participation in our central retreats. Attention may need to be given to providing leased or purchased premises for events of increasing size. This may entail considerations of local fund raising. Local leaders need therefore to upgrade their programmes with more Dharma social events, more frequent, even daily meditation meetings, giving talks and exchanging visits with other local group leaders and senior Fellows and retreat leaders, arranging meetings between neighbouring local groups etc. Local leaders may need to establish small local committees to help them. Each local group has unique characteristics so that each one can develop its own unique mode of participation in Dharma teaching. The focus should be on increasing the sense of community in a local group with a view to lessening the separation between Dharma and ordinary everyday life. Clearly this gets easier as a group enlarges to acquire aspects of a community; hence the need for recruitment.

ii/ Local leaders’ responsibility.

The responsibility of local Leaders thus emerges as a most important new emphasis in a developing Fellowship policy - and this will require improved ways of training local leaders. To this end we have discussed ways by which local leaders may consult with the Teacher or Dharma heirs when necessary, and sign up with a ‘mentor”| from among the senior Fellows with responsibility for Maenllwyd and local retreats. Mentoring can be a way to share and discuss difficulties, the advisability of suggested local programmes, how to deal with problematic members and improving Dharma teaching appropriate to the group. The Teacher will discuss these proposals further with an Advisory sub group – probably the same as took part in the initial Teachers consultation. Conclusions will then go before the Committee.

iii/ Recruit youth.

It is especially important that young persons across all classes of society be encouraged to come along. There should be no unconscious class or community prejudice in our local endeavours. The more intellectual groups need to open themselves to practitioners that are more simple-minded. Those with only basic understandings need to obtain instruction in more difficult issues. Hopefully it will be among younger members that some future Dharma heirs may emerge. This is a point strongly emphasised by Shifu. He suggested recruitment should be focussed particularly on Universities and colleges where Dharma involvement can become part of adult education. Group leaders active near such colleges should take this point seriously.

iv/ Networking.

As discussed at a previous Leaders retreat net working can be used to increase communication between groups and especially between local group leaders. Net working should be supported by visits from those designated as mentors who can evaluate the quality of the Dharma life of local groups and advise accordingly. Dharma heirs should also travel to local groups in the same way. While busy timetables has made this difficult John has visited Glastonbury this year, given three talks to the Bristol group and visited the Precious Wood of Eric’s associated group in SW Wales. We hope to develop this further when not dashing across Europe to respond to yet another call for a retreat.

v/ Month long Dharma retreats.

Shifu and other Masters recommend much longer retreats – rains retreats or 49 day retreats. The most we have managed is a three-weeker. Effective Dharma instruction needs embedment through living it and this is best acquired initially on long term retreat in which the intellectual and experiential understanding can develop together without dilution from worldly involvements. Such a strengthened practice can then be more easily assimilated to a daily life practice on completion of retreat.

To this end, I am considering offering longer retreats of three to four weeks focussed on Dharma teaching. These events would not however be intensive retreats such as the five or seven day events at the Maenllwyd; rather they would be more like monastic living in periods on non-intensive practice. We would have a loose programme centred on Dharma instruction backed by periods of zazen, work, administration, cooking and recreational walks etc. A test of such a retreat took place after the failure of the Skokholm adventure and will be tested again during the Chan Convivium of the present programme. Two advantages spring from this longer period of retreat. Firstly, there is time for experiential understanding to develop together with intellectual realisation of the meaning of Dharma concepts. Often academic instruction needs to be followed by experiential instruction of an entirely different order. One is form and the other is emptiness – it takes time to understand and also experience their relationship and meaning. Secondly, life in a small community necessitates the cultivation of tolerance for the individual idiosyncrasies of others. There is training implicit here in compassion and in mindfulness of others in a way not available in intensive, individually focussed, short retreats. This aspect of monastic training undoubtedly contributes to the tolerant compassion often visible in older monks whether Buddhist or Christian.

vi/ Facilities

Such longer-term retreats need appropriate premises with reasonable mod-cons. The development of old buildings at Winterhead is a possibility that could meet this requirement. John is consulting with Nick Salt concerning such a project, which may or may not require some financial participation by the Fellowship.

It is far from clear however whether the present members of the Fellowship would wish to attend these rather differently oriented monastic type retreats and the offer may have to be made more widely. The signs are not especially promising as the absence of solitary retreatants etc suggests. It would therefore be useful if readers of this report could state their potential interest in such a project.

vii/ Residential community.

There can be no doubt that Roshi Daido Loori is right when he argues that the establishment of a residential community is probably the best way to ensure the continuity of a lineage even through dark periods. This current suggestion for longer term, Dharma focussed, retreats may be a way towards establishing such an institution, which is clearly not possible for us at the moment.
These seven recommendations do not cover the entire range of issues discussed during the year but they emphasise the prime conclusions. In the coming year they will be considered further, discussed in committee and brought before the AGM. In this way, we are hoping both to improve our presentation of Dharma in the West and ensure its continuity into the future.

Final Remarks

I am well aware of an alternative perspective to the one I have outlined above. This would be based more on an appreciation of our success story so far and upon the hard work, indeed devotion, that many have shown during its development. Indeed, maybe we do not need to do anything! Continuing as we are and allowing an organic growth of our current activities is certainly an attractive option. Could we rely on it? As one written contribution to the Teacher’s Consultation put it: “A Zen attitude for me is an attention to my moment to moment reaction to the world around me in a precise and aware fashion that is appropriate, honest and authentic … This is best expressed when self-concern drops out of the way. We learn about self-concern through the practice of Chan. We should be careful --- we don’t develop a kind of organisational self concern that overwhelms our authenticity”. These are wise words and they need attention. If only it were so easy!

What then drives the motivation apparent in the ‘Preliminary conclusions’ paragraph above. I have spent some four years writing a book entitled “World Crisis and Buddhist Humanism” which is at last in press and will be published in about a year’s time. Investigating the current world crisis is indeed a sobering activity but it was encouraging to discover how closely Buddhism compares with the finest values of the European humanist ‘enlightenment’ in its empirical approach. There is hope here; although time for adequate correction is short. The overwhelming stupidity, ignorance and political inadequacy of our times, contrasting so pathetically with our scientific genius, is painfully apparent and the selfishness on which the institutionalised greed of our largely unconscious consumerism depends is clearly revealed.

We cannot perhaps rely solely on the authenticity of a well-meaning individualism however focussed on moment-to-moment involvement in living. In less stressful times, that may be adequate but such an approach may be too easily swamped today by the illusions and cults of the contemporary, self serving, global society. While it would be easy and doubtless gratifying to relax back into one’s hermitage of authenticity, the cultivation of bodhicitta impels us to care for our world. This necessitates consideration of how we can best operate to make a difference. Here the role and function of our institution can play a part and we need therefore to examine it seriously. It is this that I encourage all fellows to do.

Footnotes:

1. Loori, J. D. 1992. The Eight Gates of Zen: Spiritual Training in an American Zen Monastery. Dharma Communications. Mt Tremper. p197.

2. Simon has pointed out that ‘dumbing down’ may arise through several causes

Teaching meditation without Dharma.
Inadequate Dharma understanding by local teachers.
Transmission failures - to immature persons, or to the best of a poor bunch of candidates.
Excessive intellectuality or, conversely, a lack of academic understanding.
Weak Sangha leadership - excessive use of ‘new age’ spirituality

3. These exchanges have been summarised and are available to interested fellows.

4. See: New Chan Forum 9, Winter 1994.