Gilbert, Dharma Heir of Master Sheng Yen, Gave Guidance to Chan Practitioners at One-Day Mindfulness Chan Retreat

In December 2024, Gilbert Gutierrez, one of the Western Dharma heirs of Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM) founder Master Sheng Yen, visited Taiwan to lead a Chinese-English seven-day retreat at DDM World Center for Buddhist Education. Taking advantage of this opportunity, DDM Lanyang Branch Monastery invited Gilbert to lead the "One-Day Mindfulness Chan Retreat" on December 15^th, 2024. The event attracted nearly 100 practitioners. Through Gilbert's guidance, the participants learned how to apply Chan practice to their daily lives.

At the beginning of the event, Gilbert recalled how Master Sheng Yen came all the way from Taiwan to the U.S. to spread Buddhist teachings, and how he was fortunate enough to learn from the Master. Now, as Buddhist teachings have spread all over the world, he gives guidance to Chan practitioners from several different countries. Gilbert said that his goal in coming to Lanyang Branch Monastery was to help the participants understand the meaning of emptiness in Buddhist terms, thereby realizing that our mind is no different from the Buddha mind, thereby learning to give rise to bodhicitta while practicing Buddhist teachings. The Dharma talks during the "One-Day Mindfulness Chan Retreat" covered general Buddhist teachings, as well as the doctrine revealed in the Heart Sutra that all the five aggregates are empty of own-nature, teachings on Tathāgatagarbha, and Nagarjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. Gilbert hopes the practitioners will understand that the true Dharma is a medicine that can cure us. 


Gilbert instructed the participants to begin by relaxing their body and mind and settling into the present moment when sitting. Since maintaining clear awareness is the overarching principle, we apply Chan practice methods to not be swayed by random thoughts. Do not think when contemplating the mind. When the mind is completely concentrated, meditative concentration can be attained. When meditative concentration becomes a spontaneous mode in daily life, we can be at ease with everything and stay carefree despite our busy schedule. While practicing walking meditation, we still maintain our clear awareness of our bodily sensations and mental activities, further expanding that awareness to the environment while settling the mind in the motion of walking at the present moment.

Many Chan practitioners have asked questions such as: "Life is like a dream. Why do we still have dreams at night?" "How can I anchor my mind on the method?" and "Why do I feel empty inside all the time?" Gilbert responded that nighttime dreams are just a projection of daytime experiences. What we really need to be concerned about is the dream that keeps us wandering in life and death. The feeling of emptiness inside reflects the lack of spiritual cultivation. If we can pick up the method with the right understanding and view, then we can really penetrate into Buddhist teachings.

Gilbert indicated that some of the practitioners in this retreat were well-experienced and others were novices. Gilbert's guidance can help the former keep advancing their practice diligently. As for the latter, although they might not fully pick up the teachings, the arising doubt sensations in their mind will motivate them to keep learning and practicing Buddhist teachings. Huang Jeng-you (黃政佑), a first-time participant in a formal meditation class, shared that he learned that everything is created by the mind, and that viewing the world with an illusory mind creates a lot of unnecessary vexations. During the walking meditation session, when Gilbert shouted "stop," he was surprised to find that it was his own mind moving. Therefore, he realized all the more that he had to settle his mind in the present moment rather than being swayed by external circumstances.


 

Original Chinese text / Guo Shu-jiuan (郭淑娟)
Photo / Lanyang Branch Monastery
Translation / Li Siang-ling
Editing / Keith Brown, YKL