Ch'an Meditation London

Sheng-yen fashi, founder of Dharma Drum Mountain

禪 － A Chinese word pronounce as Ch’an, is a form of Buddhist teaching founded by Bodhidharma, an Indian monk who arrived in China in the late 5^th century CE. By the 7^th century, Ch’an was the dominant method of meditation; Ch’an masters and their literature have inspired generations of practitioners to the present day.

In the 12^th century, a Japanese monk, Myoan Eisai brought Ch’an from China to his country where the Chinese word 禪, was pronounced as Zen in their language. Zen is better known in the West due to the spread of Japanese Buddhism after the Second World War when religious freedom on Mainland China was severely restricted. Gladly, today the situation on the Mainland is rapidly easing where Ch’an is thriving once more. Taiwan, however has led the way, served by monks who fled the Mainland in the 1940’s; one of these was Master Sheng Yen聖嚴法師 who founded Dharma Drum Mountain in Taiwan.

Ch’an Meditation London are here to promote this wonderful method of Ch’an and Chinese Mahayana Buddhism in the U.K. Please join us and experience it for yourself.