The following report is published in the 2014 spring issue of the Chan Magazine. Photo by: Peter Lin Two days after I returned home from volunteering for the retreat, I had a dream of Shifu(Chan Master Sheng Yen). He appeared as if he were alive. Though I had never spoken with him, he talked in

Photo Credit: Ming Lu Gao When my wife returned from the Western Zen retreat in 2002 she was very happy. I had been filling my days with my job in mid-town Manhattan, putting the children on the bus and tucking them in at night. I was happy to hear her talk of the retreat, but it sounded very

The magnificent maple tree that once guarded the entrance of the reception hall is now gone. “Though these insentient things have no voice, they silently reveal the truth of impermanence at every moment—through the changing seasons, the blooming and withering of flowers, and the ceaseless flow of water—to anyone willing to listen.” The natural surroundings

Photo by: Lu Gao Snow is nature’s most surprising gift during winter practice at the Dharma Drum Retreat Center. The silence after a snowfall invites deep contemplation, allowing us become more aware of the intertwining of our inner world with nature. When the once-in-a-decade blizzard hit DDRC, the campus transformed overnight into a vast winter

The following comic grid illustrated by Sophie Butcher was published in the Summer 2024 Chan Magazine issue.    About the Artist Sophie Butcher is a New York based creative visual director who loves to tell stories through drawing and photography. She attended her first meditation retreat at the Dharma Drum Retreat Center (DDRC) in Pine