Blog
Lotus Sutra Dharma Discussion Group starting in January 2026
Led by Fran Berry. The Lotus Sutra is a central Mahayana Buddhist scripture that teaches the universality of Buddhahood and the compassionate skillful means of the Buddha. It emphasizes that all beings possess the potential to attain enlightenment, revealing that...
Video Podcast Series of Interviews with the Contributors of Readings of The Gateless Barrier
A new video podcast series is now available based on Guo Gu's (Jimmy Yu) edited book titled Readings of the Gateless Barrier. Interviews based on each chapter of the book offer an opportunity to learn by listening to the contributors from both scholarly and...
Prison Letter Writing Project
OverviewThe Tallahassee Chan Center’s Prison Letter Writing Project began in July 2024. A small team of volunteers corresponds with incarcerated practitioners across Florida. The goal is simple: provide consistent, grounded Dharma friendship to individuals living in...
Readings of the Gateless Barrier
Guogu's (Jimmy Yu) new edited book is published in January 2025 by Columbia University Press which offers rich contributions by scholars and Zen teachers. A book launch is scheduled for April 6, 2025. A registration link will be announced soon, all are welcome to...
Remembering Master Sheng Yen
Guogu's reflection on the World of Chan group on February 3, 2025: Today is my teacher's death anniversary. It has been 16 years since he shed his shell. Something that he once said, which appears in his commentary to the Sutra of Complete Enlightenment: "Through...
3-day retreat with GuoGu, February 7-9, 2025
Smiling faces from our 3-day retreat in February 2025, with many young participants joining in person!
7-day retreat, December 26, 2024-January 2, 2025
GuoGu led a 7-day intensive retreat at Tallahassee Chan Center at the end of 2024. The evening talks were focused on GuoGu's translations of Chan Master Dahui Zong'gao's (1089-1163) instructions to layman Mioaming, "Seven Standards for Chan Practice." We are fortunate...
August 6-day Retreat led by GuoGu, August 3-9, 2024
Our 6-day silent illumination retreat during August 2024 led by GuoGu was a success! Please see the photo with our smiling faces. It was a wonderful retreat where we practiced diligently in the face of an impending hurricane (which turned out to pass over without any...
Summer Residency Program, June 13 – July 11, 2024
We introduced our first Summer Chan Residency Program in 2024, led by Guo Gu, which aimed at enriching participants’ understanding and practice of Chan. The program, designed for English speakers with prior intensive meditation retreat experience, marked a pioneering...
Tallahassee Chan Center Pilgrimage to Taiwan and China, May 15-27, 2024
Our sangha of almost 50 people recently returned from an inspiring pilgrimage to Taiwan and China. We visited Dharma Drum Mountain in Taiwan and explored several ancient Buddhist temples in China. The recording of our information session, where we shared live photos,...