An online community sharing the study and practice of Chan Buddhism
Challenges on the Path
By
Chuan Zhi
In today's world, marked by profound socio-political discord both in the United States and globally, finding equanimity can feel like navigating through choppy waters. Many of us grapple with deep despair brought on by a relentless stream of disheartening news: threats of violence from right-wing extremists, tragic mass shootings in schools and places of worship, and the erosion of rights for ...
By
Chuan Zhi
Religious affiliation gives us a powerful sense of familial belonging, of feeling embraced by a like-minded group of people, and can strengthen our resolve to practice. Religious groups can become a central part of our life, and devotion to them is often encouraged by the organization to help foster solidarity among its members, expand fund-raising opportunities, and strengthen social, ...
By
Chuan Zhi
Some years ago I met a woman in her early sixties who told me she had been doing Zen for over forty years. She told me the number of hours she had meditated throughout those years, a number somewhere in the thousands, and seemed proud for having attained such a great lifetime achievement. We stayed in touch for some years, becoming friends, and over time she began asking me why she hadn’t ...
By
Chuan Zhi
I was approached recently by a man in his middle years who had spent much time sitting with various Zen groups around the country. He had left one after another after being disillusioned with each. In one, the head teacher was having an open affair with a student, to his wife’s chagrin. In another, the hierarchies of the students made it feel like a prison. Others were cold and ...
By
Chuan Zhi
Lévy-Brühl’s conceptions of the Participation Mystique and Projection are especially valuable to Zen/Chan practitioners seeking to avoid some of the problems that can appear when joining a group or aligning oneself with a teacher. I present these two interconnected concepts in hopes that they will help Chan initiates avoid some common problems that, unfortunately, arise all too often with ...
By
Chuan Zhi
What is it about us humans that we seek, with such ferocity, to belong to a group, to the extent that some of us will believe whatever we are told to believe for the sake of the group? We put our own identity aside in favor of the group's identity. That's what we saw in the People's Church of Jim Jones in the extreme - and it lead to mass suicide and murder. Are we all susceptible of "losing ...
By
Chuan Pu, OHY
The questions I am most frequently asked concern the need to share the recovery process with others. "Why do I need to join a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)? Why can't I succeed on my own?" I usually answer by giving my own history; and, to some degree or ther, another substance abuser can recognize his or her own story in mine. In a recovery program we have two terms: Quitting ...