I decided to use a blog format to post my translations of the teachings of modern Chinese Chan masters. My vision is to make the teachings of influential, modern Chinese Chan masters available for the English speaking world. Because of the lack of English translations available, the West's understanding of Chan is very limited. Japanese Zen has been the sole representative of Chan in the West for many years, and recently Korean Soen has also become more popular, but neither Japanese Zen nor Korean Soen adequately represent Chinese Chan. Despite the many similarities between the schools, Chinese Chan deserves to be represented in its own right, and there are differences in approach and view between the schools. The purpose of this website is not to encourage sectarianism, but simply to show how Chan is taught and practiced in Mainland China today.
The translations posted on this website will primarily consist of the teachings of Ven. Jinghui, a disciple of the renowned Chan master Empty Cloud, and Ven. Jinghui's disciple Ven. Minghai. Both are extremely active in the rebuilding and spreading of the Buddha-dharma within Mainland China, and I think that their approach to Chan Buddhism will appeal greatly to Westerners. I was planning to also translate teachings of Empty Cloud, and perhaps I will, but rumor has it that a Ph. D. student is working on a translation of the complete teachings of Empty Cloud. If this translation comes about, my time would be better spent working on teachings that have not yet been translated into English. There may also be copyright issues to consider, so for the time being I'm going to focus on the teachings of Venerables Jinghui and Minghai.
