Venerable Guo Yuan journeyed to Mexico
to lead a Silent Illumination Retreat in 2019
At the invitation of Laura Del Valle, Head of Mar de Jade in Mexico, Venerable GuoYuan (果元法師), Dharma Drum Mountain Vice Abbot also Abbot of Dharma Drum Retreat Center, went to Mexico to lead a one-day Beginners’ Meditation Class and a following 7-day Silent Illumination retreat from May 10 to 18; participants of both events reached 34.
The Beginners’ Meditation One-day Class, specially designed for the local youth of TAO de Jade , was originally scheduled on May 9 yet deferred to May 10 due to a big storm near Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, where Venerable Guo Yuan and Venerable Chang-Xing had a connecting flight. Even so, more than 90% of the participants were local youth, who enthusiastically attended the event.
The fundamental postures, correct attitude and concepts for practicing Chan were introduced in the class, followed by practicing walking meditation, 8-form moving meditation and its mental factor. At the end of the one-day class, 5 participants with strong interests in Chan practice decided to challenge the 7-day silent illumination retreat the next day.
During the retreat, Venerable Guo Yuan gave his Dharma talks and instructions on Chan meditation in English and followed by Laura Del Valle’s simultaneous interpretation in Spanish. Venerable Guo Yuan gave his teaching appropriately to the spiritual capacities of the practitioners, in response to their physical and mental conditions at the time.
At the beginning stage, Venerable Guo Yuan guided the practitioners to have their tendon stretched, adjusting the discomfort of their legs. In the interim, the methods of “Contemplation on Sensations of Hand Movements”(觀身受法) as well as repentance prostration were brought in. In the end, all participants experienced the beach walking meditation which aided in the relaxation of the body and the tranquility of the mind.
To meet various needs of the youth beginners of the vast majority, as well as some experienced ones, Venerable Guo Yuan started the Dharma talks as fundamental as the approach of “fine-tuning three aspects during three different stages in meditation” (三時調三事), then proceeded to the daily morning and evening dharma services and to the chanting of the
Heart Sutra. Venerable Guo Yuan further expounded on the significance of five skandhas (five aggregates) mentioned in the
Heart Sutra, and continued to explain roving processes of“the twelve links in the chain of existence during three periods” (三世十二因緣) from the outset of “ignorance”.
Practitioners asked questions eagerly; they couldn’t stop even after the evening sessions concluded, so as to clarify and debate on the Buddhist theories such as karmic formation, and three-lifetime reincarnation.
During the sharing session, participants said that they benefited a lot from in-depth understandings of Buddhadharma and Chan practice methods. Eventually, 15 of them happily took refuge in the Three Jewels and Five Precepts, officially became disciples of the Three Jewels.
Texts/Photos: Venerable Chang Xing (常興法師)
Translation: Elenda Huang
Editing: DDM Editorial Team