Teachers
Guo Gu
Guo Gu is the founder and guiding teacher of the Tallahassee Chan Center. He began his meditation practice as a child in 1972 under Master Guangqin (1892–1986) and later trained with Master Sheng Yen (1931–2009) in 1980. In 1991, Guo Gu was ordained as a monk and became Master Sheng Yen’s first personal attendant and assistant. In 1995, he received permission from his teacher to teach Chan independently. Guo Gu returned to lay life in 2000. In 2008, he earned his Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from Princeton University. In addition to being a Chan teacher, he is Sheng Yen Professor of Chinese Buddhist Studies at Florida State University (Dr. Jimmy Yu).
For Guo Gu’s list of events, please bookmark his personal website: www.guogulaoshi.com
The Assistant Teachers are appointed by Guo Gu. They are available to discuss Chan practice and the issues around it with all members and interested visitors.
Fran Berry (Yan Peng)
Fran is the President of the Tallahassee Chan Center and has been teaching there since 2015. She began practicing Buddhism in 1980 in Lexington, Kentucky, and started studying with Guo Gu in January 2010, after participating in English-language meditation instructions and retreats at Dharma Drum Mountain Monastery in Taiwan. She has been offering talks and leading retreats at the Center since 2017. She has also taught Tai Chi for twenty-five years. Fran has been married for forty-three years and is professor emeritus of public administration and policy at Florida State University. Click here to watch a talk by Fran.
Maria Williamson (Yan Kong)
Maria serves as Vice President of the Tallahassee Chan Center. She began practicing Buddhism in 2011 in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, whose teachings deeply resonated with her. She received the Five Mindfulness Trainings at that time. She met Guo Gu in 2012 and has continued her Buddhist path under his guidance ever since. Chan practice has profoundly yet subtly transformed her life and remains a vital source of growth and development. She shares her experience in Chan practice through talks at the Center. In her professional career, she worked in public service with a focus on child nutrition. Her educational background includes nutrition and an M.S. in Family and Child Sciences. Click here to watch Mindful Earing and Dharma Practice instructed by Maria.
Dewaine Rester (Yan Xin)
Dewaine began studying Buddhism in 1992 and started training with Guo Gu in 2009. In 2010, he trained as a timekeeper at Dharma Drum Retreat Center and has been teaching the Beginners’ Meditation Workshop and other programs at the Tallahassee Chan Center since 2014 . He is also a second- degree black belt in both Taekwondo and Pangai Noon Kung Fu. He is a father of three and is married. Dewaine is a retired contractor. Click here to watch How to Work with Stress in Daily Life by Dewaine Rester.
Tom Ledermann
Tom has been practicing at the Center since August 2017 and attended his first retreat with Guo Gu in 2018. He had practiced different meditation traditions for several years before coming to Chan. He is particularly drawn to Chan for its simplicity and directness and its focus on the body, breath, and mind. Tom has begun offering loving-kindness (metta) courses and short retreats that are accessible here. He works at Florida State University.
Ashley M. (Kuan Xin)
Ashley serves on the Advisory Board and is currently Guo Gu’s editor. She first learned about Buddhism in Japan in 1986 and has since practiced various forms of meditation. In the early 2000s she began studying the suttas in the Pali Canon. She started practicing with Guo Gu in 2020 and received the bodhisattva precepts in 2023. She has attended numerous Chan retreats with Guo Gu and has taught the “Foundations of Chan” course for the Center—a two-year class that explores the early Buddhist texts and how they underpin Chan principles.