Blog
Guo Gu’s West Coast Tour 2026
During the month of June in 2026, Guo Gu visited several Dharma Centers in the West Coast offering talks and retreats. On Wednesday, June 17th, Guo Gu gave a Dharma talk at the San Francisco Zen Center, sharing different past and present contexts for the rise of...
2026 Summer Chan Residency Program
GuoGu lead a month-long summer residency program at the Tallahassee Chan Center which took place between May 7-June 4, 2026. A three-day retreat from May 8-10, 2026 at the beginning and a nine-day retreat at the end (May 27-June 4, 2026) were part of the summer...
The Practice of Emptiness: New Tricycle Essay by Guo Gu, March 16, 2026
In The Practice of Emptiness, Guo Gu highlights how our use of words and language conditions us and the importance of exposing this as part of practice, including how we understand wisdom teachings such as emptiness. He explains that the traditional apophatic language...
4-day Retreat at Haku-un-ji Zen Center, Tempe, AZ
Guo Gu led a 4-day retreat at the Haku-un-ji Zen Center during March 13-16, 2026. Retreat participants express their gratitude to the organizers and the teacher of the retreat. "A palpable experience of right effort and dedication, as well as a beautiful expression...
Loving Kindness Meditation Series
For the next few months, our Dharma talk series by Guo Gu on the 1st and 3rd Monday night sessions will follow a different format, centered on cultivating loving-kindness toward ourselves and extending care and goodwill to the sangha and the broader community. Tom...
Heart of Healing Series
The Tallahassee Chan Center hosts its Sunday Morning Service (in person and on Zoom), including talks by Guo Gu’s students. As part of the Heart of Healing series of talks, Will Evans, a long-time student of Guo Gu and member of Alcoholics Anonymous, shared how the...
Chinese New Year 2026 🧧 Year of the Fire Horse
Chinese New Year of the Fire Horse celebration took place on Tuesday, February 17th. The evening featured a short reflection to welcome the new year by Guo Gu, live musical performances by FSU Chinese Musical Ensemble and Dr. Haiqiong Deng (Musical Director of the FSU...
Five Voices, One Path: A Weekend of Zen Teachings
A rare weekend with Jan Chozen Bays Roshi, Hogen Bays Roshi, Fred Eppsteiner, and Angie Parrish, with Guo Gu hosting. Jan 30 – Feb 1, 2026 | Online This gathering offers a textured, multi-perspective look at practice—five distinct voices, five different angles, one...
Three-Day Chan Retreat: Honoring Chan Master Sheng Yen
This is our annual retreat to remember Master Sheng Yen. During a three-day intensive retreat from February 6 - 8, 2026, 30 in-person and 10 online retreatants gathered to commemorate the death anniversary of GuoGu's root teacher, Master Sheng Yen. The retreat...
Relaxing into the Wonderment of Zazen, Feb 1 & Feb 8, 2026, 2-4pm PT
Guo Gu and Green Gulch Farm Abbot Jiryu Rutschman-Byler offered a two-part online series exploring two essential dimensions of zazen practice of relaxation and wonderment through the lenses of Silent Illumination and Shikantaza. This event was offered online for the...