2025 Chan-Seven Spring Retreat for the Public at Chung Tai Chan Monastery

From January 30 to February 6, 2025, the monastery held the Chan-7 Spring Retreat for the Public and respectfully invited Venerable Abbot Jianying to serve as the retreat-presiding master.

Nearly 900 participants from Taiwan, the United States, Australia, Italy, Hong Kong, and Japan, including students from various levels of meditation classes at the affiliated centers worldwide, embraced this rare and precious opportunity to return to Chung Tai for an intensive meditation practice. Among the participants were several Catholic monks and nuns from Italy, who joined the retreat to personally experience the profound joy of Chan meditation practice.

During the Chan-7 retreat, the retreat-presiding master gave teachings on the key principles of meditation and Chan inquiry, guiding participants toward the direct realization of their intrinsic nature.

Each day, participants diligently followed the ten-session schedule, engaging in sitting meditation, walking meditation, morning and evening services, and the formal meals. Through balancing motion and stillness, they cultivated self-reflection, mindfulness, and deepened their mastery of the mind.

After completing the seven-day retreat, participants departed with a heart full of Dharma joy. The clarity of mind realized during the retreat became a guiding light, inspiring them to uphold and apply their practice in daily life, bringing greater wisdom, clarity, and faith to their path.