The Face of Chan

Chan is not something mysterious or complicated. Chan is living a simple and uncomplicated life. The more simply we live, the more we will be able to understand the happiness of pure simplicity. Chan is a life of truth, goodness and beauty: truth – everything is true, beauty – everything is beautiful, and goodness – everything is good. Chan means returning to the source, to our primordial Self, which is most safe, most liberating and most complete. There is no need to search for life outside that!

When we practice Chan, we settle our thoughts und learn to let go, namely to let go of the active mind, of the mind that produces things, so that our mind becomes like a raincoat. When the rain falls on the raincoat, it never accumulates on it. Through the cleansing process of Chan, our heart and mind relax and become clear, so that we are able to return back to our daily life and work with a more comprehensive vision and an open heart.

No-Self does not mean that there is no Self, it means that there is no place that is called the Self, and no place that is not the Self. To let go does not mean to do nothing; it rather means that once we have let go of Self-grasping, we pick ourselves up again to make an even greater contribution to the world, humanity and all beings.