Four Ways to Experience Outdoor Chan

Having a hard time choosing suitable programs to experience outdoor Chan during your vacation?

The main purpose for Buddhist monasteries to organize outdoor Chan is for people to relax their minds and bodies in a natural environment or at a scenic spot. Therefore, as long as we open our hearts to the experience, we will definitely learn something from it.

At Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM), for example, outdoor Chan usually takes up half a day. There are also one-day Chan, two-day Chan, and Chan camps that run for three days or more. While DDM's outdoor Chan can adapt various forms to accommodate the needs of different groups of people, its method and spirit are basically the same. The itinerary begins with DDM's Eight-form Moving Meditation to warm up our bodies. The following activities consist mostly walking or hiking for participants to practice direct contemplation while being out in nature. Yoga exercises are incorporated into break time for people to stretch their muscles. Mealtime is a time for practicing eating meditation. If time permits, participants will be able to practice tea meditation and rest in the savasana pose.


Outdoor Chan programs can be categorized into four types according to their different styles:

1. Relaxing Style:
Aimed at relaxing the mind and body, it includes activities for stretching our body and soothing our mind in the natural environment. Additionally, it offers some DIY activities, such as drawing, clay kneading, and resist dyeing, which are suitable for those new to Chan practice.

2. Meditative Style:
People who already have experience in meditation or are interested in it can participate in one-day or two-day retreats. To let participants experience the application of Chan in daily life, holding a water bowl and sitting meditation, as well as mini-games – such as catching feathers with a fan, or stilling a ping-pong ball on the paddle – are incorporated into the programs. More advanced practitioners can join one-day or two-day intensive retreats, where most mini-game sessions are replaced by sitting meditations. On the other hand, the outdoor activities of such programs mainly involve circumambulation or walking meditation along a foothill.

3. Religious Style:
Practiced along with religious rituals such as prostrations, recitations, and chanting with Dharma instruments, mountain pilgrimage or contemplation on earth. It could also be a "temple stay"—that is, having an overnight stay at a monastery, where participants can have a taste of monastic life through engaging in morning and evening services as well as working meditation.

4. Social Engagement style:
This type of program combines spiritual practice and public service. Some examples include practicing working meditation at a monastery, or cleaning up places like streets in the neighborhood, beaches, or mountain trails. These activities can make outdoor Chan even more meaningful.



Related articles:

The Healing Powers of Nature

Instinct, Direct Contemplation, and Contemplation of Emptiness

The Healing Power of Micro Chan Practice – Trip Preparation

Contemplation of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness

Making Good Use of Natural Experiences for Practice

Planning Outdoor Chan at Ease

Four Ways to Experience Outdoor Chan



Original Chinese text: Ven. Yan Dao (演道法師)
Translation: Li Siang-ling (李祥苓)
Editing: Keith Brown, 可馨