Dharma Drum Mountain International Meditation Group Holds English Beginners’ Meditation Class to Guide Participants in Basic Chan Practice

Dharma Drum Mountain International Meditation Group (IMG) hosted an English Beginners' Meditation Class on July 26–27 at the Dharma Drum Mountain Fellowship's Xindian Branch. Venerable Yan Duan (演端法師) was invited to guide participants through walking meditation, moving meditation, sitting meditation, and lying-down meditation. The meditation class aimed to help participants maintain a clear and relaxed body and mind, as well as to introduce the daily-life applications of Chan practice as part of a complete learning system.

IMG stated that the Beginners' Meditation Class is the first step in learning Chan in a stable and steady manner. This time, participants came from various countries including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Japan, and India. IMG encourages international residents in Taiwan to join the upcoming English one-day Chan retreats at the Xindian Branch (scheduled for September 27, October 25, and December 27). Additionally, for experienced English-speaking practitioners, a Bilingual Chinese-English Intensive Seven Day Retreat will be held at Dharma Drum Mountain's Chan Hall from December 5 to 12.

Frank Davies, who has lived in Taiwan for five years, said he was delighted to experience Chan meditation for the first time. He found Venerable Yan Duan's explanations to be in-depth and detailed, offering many practical ways to integrate Chan into daily life. He was also impressed by the comprehensive teaching materials of the Beginners' Meditation Class and Venerable Yan Duan's profound knowledge, and expressed his intention to continue learning Chan more deeply.

Daniel Takeda, who came especially from Japan, shared that his local study group had used materials on the Silent Illumination method taught by Dharma Drum Mountain. That inspired him to look up the official DDM English website, where he found information about the class and registered. He noted that the instructions given before and after sitting and walking meditation were thorough and quite different from his past experiences. He now hopes to return to DDM for a seven-day Chan retreat to deepen his understanding of Chinese Buddhism's Chan teachings.

Venerable Yan Duan explained that many beginners approach Chan with strong goals—wanting to master the "techniques"—but this itself can become a source of affliction. Imagination and reality often differ once we sit on the cushion. Therefore, rather than chasing future outcomes, it is better to fully experience the present body and mind. The Venerable Yan Duan added that "concentration" is not about resisting what we dislike, but rather recognizing phenomena as they are. Through methods such as mindful breathing, we neither follow nor resist these phenomena, but simply remain aware of the changes happening in the present moment, thereby transforming our mental state.

Venerable Yan Duan also recommended that beginners read Master Sheng Yen's teachings on Chan meditation, to understand the ideas that "failure is experience, success is just the beginning; the process is the goal, and the present moment is everything." With this mindset, learning Chan does not fall into the trap of "the dualistic struggle against dualism," and helps us treasure and protect our mindfulness.






Original text in Chinese: 張曜鐘  
Photos: 張曜鐘    
Translation: Patricia Yang 
Editing: Keith Brown