Library
This library provides a database of articles, some from past issues of New Chan Forum and some available only from the website.
- To select articles by various categories such as topic or author or date click on the menu to the left, and the corresponding articles will be listed below the searchbox.
- Search by keywords, using the search box, and the corresponding articles will be listed below the search box (followed by recently published articles).
Dangers in Devotion: Buddhist Cults and the Tasks of a Guru
Paper presented at the conference 'The Psychology of Awakening II' at Dartington Hall, October 1998 (1)[more]
Prerequisites for Chan Practice
This article is reprinted from Chan Magazine. Fall 1998, p32-35. Based on several lectures by Shih Fu, edited by Dan Stevenson, adapted for NCF by John Crook.[more]
The Birth of the Western Chan Fellowship
Some years ago in NCF No. 12 John suggested the possibility of establishing an organisation based on the work at and attenders of Maenllwyd. My initial reaction, and I suspect also that of many...[more]
Life at Po Lam Chan Monastery, Hong Kong
Shortly before my fifteenth birthday I parted company with school. At seventeen I took karate lessons and at the end of each lesson we would practise zazen. I enjoyed this so much that I asked for...[more]
Immeasurable Sweetness
Pale light after dawn Low clouds scudding over green fields Weathervane - SSW Nine cars In the yard Tathagatas Welsh hills in June Misty rain Wet tents Sunbeams at dusk Reaching round the corner...[more]
Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World by Lama Surya Das
Not living very close to a local group, I place great store by the books I read on Buddhism. I picked this one up because Surya Das has constructed the book following the Eight-Fold Path, and I'd...[more]
Intoxication and the Precepts
At the culmination of retreats led by Shi-Fu the opportunity is usually given to participants to take the Precepts. Retreatants are told that they may take all the precepts, or they may choose to...[more]
Chan Attitudes
On the wall of the dining hall in the Chan Center in Elmhurst, New York, hangs a notice summarising the attitude to be adopted by resident and visiting practitioners. These suggestions seem to...[more]
Sitting in No-sense
Eric Rommeluere (b 1960) has practised Zen since 1978. He is the author of a collection of major Zen texts entitled 'Les Fleurs du Vide' (Paris, Grasset 1995), which he translated directly from the...[more]
The Bright Field Ploughed
'Ploughing the Bright Field' was the title of an exhibition of contemporary Buddhist art, held at the Create Centre, Bristol, in November 1997.[more]
Shifting Shit
There seems to be a question: 'Can I be enlightened if I'm not a monk/nun?' Possibly not often for lay people, but can Buddhist teachings and practice improve the quality of our lives - the answer is...[more]
My Father's Hands
I had always loved my father's hands. They seemed to be the only part of him I could love in safety. I could love them in secret and in silence and my mother would never know. I could look at them...[more]
What has Happened to the Entity that was Me?
This was my first retreat of any kind and it was very difficult to start with the rigorous Chan approach. However, I felt very privileged to be accepted onto the retreat and I did not want to miss...[more]
Hi There
Who are you?You pretend to not know.Of course you know who you are!It is you, holding the pagereading the marks on this piece of paper. It is you, reading my mindwith the sound of your voice. And...[more]
The Fenceless Gate
for Hughie[more]
Learning to be a Zen Cook
Driving home from the January Mahamudra retreat I thought obsessively about taking up the opportunity to cook. Finally, decided to drop it, not think about it for a few days and just see if the...[more]
Sacred Hoops by Phil Jackson
I've been throwing basketballs for almost as long as I have been sitting. At about the same time that I began to sit regularly I started attending a Keep Fit evening class where basketball is the...[more]
Greek Flavoured Chan
Some years ago, when I was younger and cleverer than I am now, I would have known exactly what to write when invited to contribute an article on Chan. As it is, I thought to write of counselling and...[more]