Dharma Drum Mountain Los Angeles Center Hosts a Ten-day Bilingual Silent Illumination Retreat

▲Venerable Guo Goang (果廣法師) giving Dharma instruction on the essentials of Silent Illumination practice to Chan practitioners in the meditation hall at Dharma Drum Mountain Los Angeles Center. (Photo courtesy of Dharma Drum Mountain Los Angeles Center)

From December 25, 2025, to January 4, 2026, Dharma Drum Mountain Los Angeles Center hosted a ten-day bilingual Silent Illumination retreat. Nearly sixty practitioners participated, guided by Dharma Drum Mountain Vice Abbot, Venerable Guo Goang, making use of the year-end and New Year period to engage in intensive meditation practice.
During this Silent Illumination retreat, Venerable Guo Goang repeatedly explained the core principle of practice—"keeping the mind anchored in the present"—drawing on the Āgama Sūtras and the "Admonition Concerning Sitting-meditation (坐禪箴)" by Chan Master Hongzhi Zhengjue (宏智正覺) of the Caodong (Sōtō) lineage. Venerable Guo Goang explained that practice is neither about chasing after pleasant meditative experiences nor about forceful control of our mind. Rather, let the mind not cling to external objects, while letting the awareness fulfill its function and remain steadily present. When the six consciousnesses no longer rush to grasp names and forms, the habitual patterns of birth and death can gradually loosen. In calmness, there is insight--- and insight never departs from calmness.

Venerable Guo Goang pointed out that while the term "right mindfulness" is widely used today, in the Buddhist context it is not merely concentration or awareness, but deep, sustained attentiveness free from wandering thoughts. When the mind no longer grasps at external things or discriminates among external phenomena, awareness naturally unfolds. This is precisely the entry point of Silent Illumination. In the Āgama Sūtras, the Buddha frequently reminded his disciples to first "keep the mind anchored in the present" in whatever they were doing. If a disciple lost the method while performing alms-rounds or walking meditation, they would return to the starting point and begin again. "This is not formalism, but respect for the method", Venerable Guo Goang explained. Such practice relies on repeatedly and earnestly applying the method, while honestly keeping the mind anchored in the present.

Over the ten days of practice, participants learned through direct experience that wandering thoughts, drowsiness, and physical discomfort are not mistakes, but, rather, act as conditions that arise naturally in the process of practice. When noticing effort, tension, or the desire to "use the method well," they were instructed to first relax and then return to keeping the mind anchored in the present.

In the latter part of the retreat, through practices of repentance, feeling a sense of shame, gratitude, and prostrations to the Buddha, many participants came to realize their long-held attachments, neglect, and ignorance. This insight served as a reminder that time is limited and that practice cannot be postponed. Venerable Guo Goang also reminded practitioners that as awareness gradually develops, one comes to see that the body, sounds, emotions, and other people are all simply part of the environment—there is no need for opposition or exclusion. When the mind does not cling to the outer world, practice naturally proceeds along the right path.



Photos: Dharma Drum Mountain Los Angeles Center, Ashley Chiang
Original text in Chinese:  Dharma Drum Monthly (法鼓雜誌) No. 434
Translation: Patricia Yang
Editing: Keith Brown