Investigating Huatou Intensive Retreat
"Don't worry about whether or not
you become enlightened — simply pick up
the huatou."
Huatou in Chinese, literally means "the origin of words," or that which precedes words and language. This refers to the state of the mind before the arising of conceptualization or, more precisely, before the arising of a single thought. Thus, huatou is the source of all words and of all thoughts, the fundamental nature of the mind.
But, it is also a method that we use to point directly at this mind while putting aside all other concerns. When we
investigate huatou, we utilize questions such as: "What is my original face?" and "What is Wu?" These puzzling, seemingly illogical questions produce a deep sense of self-questioning which is called "the doubt sensation." If you can succeed in penetrating this doubt, you will discover that which you have always had.
Retreat Program
The huatou method will be taught in the context of daily life activities, such as sitting, standing, walking, sleeping, working, and eating. Chanting and gentle yoga exercises further harmonize the body, breath, and mind. The retreat also includes daily lectures, meditation instruction, guided meditation, and personal interviews.
Begins: Friday, June 17, 2016 - check-in 4:00-6:00pm
Ends: Sunday, June 26, 2016 - 11:00 am
Fee: $620
Openings: Registration opens February
Deadline: June 14, 2016
Dharma Drum Retreat Center
184 Quannacut Road, Pine Bush, New York, 12566.
Phone: (845) 744-8114
Fax: (845) 744-8483
Email:
[email protected]
Zarko Andricevic, a Dharma Heir of Chang Master Sheng Yen
Founder of the Buddhist Center in Zagreb, Croatia. Zarko first encountered Buddhism in 1975 and has been a martial arts and yoga teacher since the 1970s. In 1985 he started the first Buddhist study and meditation group in Croatia which in time grew into the first Buddhist community there. This community is known as Dharmaloka nowadays. In 1996, while seeking a new teacher, he met Chan Master Sheng Yen, attended his seven-day retreat and became one of his students. Seeing Chan as the very core of the Buddha Dharma and Master Shen Yen as the man whose teaching stems directly from the meditative experience, he has dedicated himself to the practice of Chan meditation and has attended Master Sheng Yen's retreats regularly. In June 2001, during a two-week retreat in the USA, Zarko received Dharma transmission from Master Sheng Yen, thus becoming one of his five Dharma heirs in the West.