Abbot Guo Yuan
Guo Yuan Fashi, one of Chan Master Sheng Yen’s Dharma heirs, is a Buddhist monk trained in Chan Buddhism. In 1985 he first encountered Master Sheng Yen’s teachings while attending a seven-day retreat in New York. He then decided to become a disciple before finally leaving his job in Toronto, Canada, to become a monk in the Chan tradition. He was ordained in 1987 in Taiwan. For over twenty years, he accompanied and became translator to Master Sheng Yen in various Chan meditation retreats in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, and Mexico.
He studied Theravada Buddhism for a year in Thailand in 1991. Upon returning from Thailand, Guo Yuan Fashi was elected abbot of both the Chan Meditation Center (CMC) in Queens and the Dharma Drum Retreat Center (DDRC) in Pine Bush, New York. His responsibilities included attending interfaith services, teaching meditation, and giving lectures on Buddhism. In 2006 he became the director of the International Chan Retreat Center in Dharma Drum Mountain, Taiwan. In 2016 he returned to Pine Bush to become once again the abbot of DDRC. Fluent in Mandarin, Vietnamese, and English, he leads Chan retreat in many countries around the world.
Events with Abbot Guo Yuan
February 16 - 19, 2024
Event Description Come experience the joy of moment to moment awareness and find stillness within. This retreat was originally designed during the COVID-19 pandemic as an online retreat for participants…
March 29 - April 6, 2024
Event Description Who is sitting in meditation? Those practicing along the spiritual path, and those in pursuit of life’s deeper meaning often ask big questions about existence: “What is life…
August 30 - September 1, 2024
Event Description The purpose of Chan practice is to clarify our mind and see into our self-nature. To do this, we must clean up the impurities that make our minds…
September 6 - 14, 2024
Event Description “Silently and serenely, forgetting all words, clearly and vividly, it appears before you.” The above quote comes from the poem “Silent Illumination,” composed by Master Hongzhi Zhengjue, a…
November 29 - December 7, 2024
Event Description 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…
December 26, 2024 - January 4, 2025
Event Description The annual Winter Retreat, also known as the Snow Retreat, is designed to provide an intensive meditation practice experience. The Winter Retreat is divided into two sessions: Session…
January 5 - 19, 2025
Event Description The annual Winter Retreat, also known as the Snow Retreat, is designed to provide an intensive meditation practice experience. The Winter Retreat is divided into two sessions: Session…