Introducing American Chan Meditation in Madrid, Spain.

Location: Sala Dāna, Calle de Luis Vélez de Guevara, Madrid, Spain

Address: 9 Calle de Luis Vélez de Guevara #Bajo 2D, 28012 Madrid

Date: 4 May

Introducing American Chan Meditation in Madrid, Spain (Meditation class & Dharma talk)

Join us at Sala Dāna, located at Calle de Luis Vélez de Guevara, Madrid, Spain, for an enlightening experience of American Chan Meditation. Immerse yourself in the calming practice of meditation and gain insights through a profound Dharma talk.

During this in-person event, you will have the opportunity to learn and practice meditation techniques rooted in the American Chan tradition. Discover the art of stillness and cultivate a peaceful mind amidst the bustling city of Madrid.

Our experienced meditation teacher will guide you through various methods to help you find inner tranquility and clarity. Through the Dharma talk, you will gain valuable wisdom and insights into the teachings of Chan Buddhism.

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced meditator, this event offers a welcoming and inclusive space for all. Take a break from your daily routine and embark on a journey of self-discovery and mindfulness.

Don't miss this unique opportunity to explore American Chan Meditation in the heart of Madrid. Join us at Sala Dāna for an unforgettable meditation class and Dharma talk that will leave you feeling refreshed and inspired.

There are many kinds of meditation methods out there but the real origin really goes back to its roots in Buddhism. Therefore, people in Asian cultures have always been more exposed to better knowledge on how to practice it. Although meditation has become more mainstream in the west, the practitioners can’t always find better solutions to resolve their problems or obstructions in their practices. Additionally, our world is becoming more stressful and unbearable, people have greater needs to look for more effective or better ways of practicing meditation.

Program details: 2-hour workshop

-        Basic instructions: postures, various methods of meditation, etc.

-        Silent meditation (or sit)

-        Dharma talk and Q&A

Why free?

Our Chan students have experienced great benefits for themselves and saw the transformation of their lives from this practice. So now they wish to share this wonderful experience with others. Therefore, many offered to help organize those classes and support our sangha members (Buddhist monks and nuns) to teach the classes. Now, they wish that more people can encounter this wonderful practice in Europe and improve their lives.

What to expect?

You will receive simple and direct instructions during this 2-hour workshop so that you can try the practice with the instructor. After this workshop, if you still wish to continue this practice, you may join our free online classes. During these classes, you can freely ask questions and discuss difficulties from your daily practice. Then the instructor will be able to provide answers and solutions that are more specific for you.

What is Chan 禪 Meditation

Chan(or Seon in Korean) is one of the most powerful forms of meditation. Chan teaches participants how to increase concentration power, also known as samadhi power. In this training, the results are solid and concrete. By increasing samadhi, the mind naturally becomes much more relaxed and peaceful and the body becomes much healthier.

Chan is an ancient meditation that is a central practice of Mahayana, which was transmitted to China from India, where it took root and subsequently spread throughout East Asia. Mahayana is often contrasted with the Hinayana branch of Southern Asia, and the Vajrayana branch from Tibet. 

Our practice originates from the Orthodox Lineage that Great Master HsuanHua brought to the United States from China in the 1960s. The Great Master's meditation teachings are among the most profound of Mahayana, and are rooted in a more than 2000 year old tradition. As a patriarch of one of the main lineages of Buddhism called WeiYang, the Great Master knew mediation well.

Chan utilizes many secret methods, most of which cannot be found in print, especially in the West. These techniques have been handed down from Master to disciples in an oral tradition that has existed for more than 2,500 years, since the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.

These Mahayana meditation techniques are the same ones that the Japanese learned when they came to China hundreds of years ago, and which formed the basis for Japanese Zen. In fact, 'Zen' is just the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word 'Chan'. In the 20th century, Zen was exposed to the West. Today, Zen is still more prevalent and well known in the US than Chan.

The BLI instructors

These classes are taught by Buddhist monks and nuns from Bodhi Light International (BLI). BLI is a non-profit religious organization dedicated to benefitting all living beings through the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism.

The founder of BLI, Chan Master YongHua is an American Buddhist monk currently residing in California. He has been training over 20 monastic disciples with different nationalities and ages. And he also has a great number of lay people followers from all over the world. Although his disciples have very diverse backgrounds, they share a common passion for cultivation, hoping to realize their fullest potential by devoting their lives to the service of others.

BLI’s instructors are trained to provide individualized guidance so that each person can find the most appropriate methods for their current situation or level through these classes. BLI’s instructors have been trained to teach the new generation or the Westerners unlike the traditional or older Buddhist style. 

Master YongHua

Master YongHua was born in South Vietnam and came to the United States in 1973. After working in the corporate world for decades, he decided to leave home life to study Chan under Great Master HsuanHua  in 1995.  He then went to Taiwan to study Chinese and the Vinaya (the Buddhist rules of morality) for 2 years.  He returned to the United States in 2001 and practiced in seclusion until 2005, at which time he began teaching Chan and accepting disciples. In 2018, he established Wei Mountain Temple in Southern California and then in the following years, the operation has expanded to new temples in San Jose and San Francisco.  

He also has strong affinities with Korean cultivators. Since his first visit to Korea in 2018, some of his Korean followers have offered him a temple in Korea. Now, he established another way place in the metro area of Seoul so that he and his sangha can better help the younger generation and working professionals.  In recent years, many people became monks and nuns under him and his sangha monastic community is rapidly growing in both the US and Korea. 

Master YongHua has been recognized as a great teacher in the Korean Buddhist community. He was invited to give Dharma talks in major temples and his efforts are greatly appreciated by many senior monks and nuns in South Korea.

Korean Buddhism is distinguished by its strong Mahayana tradition. During the Tang dynasty in China, some Korean monks traveled to China and learned Chan meditation from the great Mahayana Chan Masters. And then they brought this knowledge back to their country. Ever since, its Mahayana spirit has prospered and inherited from generation to generation until now. Now, it can be said that Korean Buddhism represents a bastion of Mahayana Buddhism in Northeast Asia.

Ven. XianAn

(known as “HyunAn Sunim” in Korea)

Venerable XianAn is a Korean American Buddhist nun who’s a long disciple of Master YongHua. She started learning Chan from Master YongHua at Lu Mountain Temple in 2012 in the US. At that time, she was a young entrepreneur with a start-up business. And Chan quickly became her core strength to make her business very successful. With her further improvement in Chan, she realized that Chan is such a wonderful and fundamental skill not only for her career but also all other aspects of her life. In 2019, she became a Buddhist nun under Master YongHua and returned to her motherland, Korea. Since then, she’s been teaching American Chan in Korea and became very well-known. She is also a published author and Buddhist radio DJ.

HyunAn Sunim(or XA) has endlessly worked to share her Master’s teaching with her people in her home land. And she also taught countless meditation sessions in many of Korea’s renowned temples. And some of her meditation students decided to leave home-life under her master and joined the sangha community in Korea. 

About 10 years ago, HyunAn Sunim started teaching Chan classes in the US as a lay person. Since then, she has been working to help others because she saw how Chan can transform people’s lives. Now she has become much more experienced and knowledgeable in teaching her students from all over the world.

Because of her unique background of her Korean heritage and American buddhism, it is believed that she can guide the westerners to improve in their practices much faster and further. Through Chan meditation, you will develop greater focus and concentration with practical application to your life at the most basic level. As your concentration power grows with regular practice and proper guidance, you can expect your continual growth or improvements with no limit. And eventually, when your practice reaches a certain point, you may be able to help your own family, friends, colleagues and community with the knowledge and technology of American Chan.