Continuation of Chan practices in the family

In 1998 and 2003, Master Sheng Yen visited Saint Petersburg and Moscow respectively to give guidance for local Buddhist practitioners, introducing Chan teachings into Russia. Part IV of this in-depth interview will share the story of how do they continue their Chan practices in the family



Q1:How do you practice Chan, being a couple?

Sasha: The latest period of our joint practice started on October 18, 2016, with the simultaneous addition of two masculine pusas to our family. Our practice became ensuring their life sustenance and our own survival. I had thought that it would be very difficult for me to quit my usual life mode which included Chan practice, my Wushu and calligraphy. All that together with teaching was taking practically all my time. Now my practice is the absence of such articulated practice.

Rinya: Sasha has always been my mentor in the practice, my senior friend, sharing my experiences, doubts and understandings with him were highly significant for me. The strength of his practice has always been a basis for my own moving-on. I am endlessly thankful to the world that there is a man by my side whose essential interest in life is so resonant with mine and so beneficial for it. And the kids… I had been joking that with their birth I would be on a personal retreat. This is exactly what happened. And the fact that this is a path of any woman living a lay life and becoming a mother, gives me the happiness of being a part of this huge family. While the presence of my husband and companion by my side helps me moving on in a calmer and more confident way.

Their interviews show that it is never easy to spread Chan Buddhism in countries other than Eastern Asia. However, once the seeds of aspiration are sowed, results will come to fruition when conditions are ripe, one way or another. As Master Sheng Yen said, grasp the opportune conditions when they come, create them when there are none, and ere conditions ripen, never force a thing to be done.