Please join us Saturday, September 23, for our usual Saturday morning schedule, which will include a dharma talk by Rebecca Li, a dharma heir in the lineage of Chan Buddhist Master Sheng Yen, with the title “Chan Practice and the Bodhisattva Path.” The talk will be at 11 a.m. and will follow a period of zazen starting at 10:20 a.m. Meditation instruction will be at 9 a.m.
Though better known in the West as Zen – its later Japanese transliteration – Chan is the Chinese tradition of Buddhism believed to have been founded by Bodhidharma in the 6th century that centers concentrated sitting meditation as our foundational practice.
Chan Practice and the Bodhisattva Path
Chan practice is to investigate the mind both in motion and stillness, and in solitude and relationship. When we are off the cushion, working with fellow practitioners in the Sangha is an integral part of our practice. We will explore how the centrality of Bodhisattva Path practice in Chan helps us cultivate the six perfections, thus allowing us to be more fully human in community.
Rebecca Li, PhD, a Dharma heir in the lineage of Chan Master Sheng Yen, started practicing meditation in 1995. She attended her first intensive retreat with Chan Master Sheng Yen in 1996 and began serving as his interpreter in 1998. She started her teacher’s training with Master Sheng Yen in 1999 and started teaching as Dharma and meditation instructor in 2002. Later on, she trained with John Crook and then Simon Child, both Dharma heirs of Master Sheng Yen, to lead intensive retreats and received full Dharma transmission from Simon Child in 2016. Currently, she teaches meditation and Dharma classes, gives public lectures and leads retreats at Dharma Drum centers, university meditation groups and Dharma practice groups mostly in northeastern United States. Some of her talks and writings can be found at www.rebeccali.org. Rebecca is also a sociology professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at The College of New Jersey.
Access Notes: There is one short flight of stairs leading to the entrance to the building. Please press 3-0 to be buzzed in. The center is located at the top of a steeper second staircase of around 20 steps. A ramp and elevator are available via an alternate entrance; please email in advance if you need access. Chairs, benches, and extra support cushions are available. We are not yet a fragrance-free space; our hand soap is scented with essential oils. If you have any additional questions about accessibility, please contact us at info@brooklynzen.org.