Guo Yuan (Zen monk)
Guo Yuan Fa Shi (Venerable Guo Yuan) (1950- ) was born in Vietnam. He was a senior disciple of renowned Ch’an(Zen) Master, Venerable Sheng-yen of Taiwan. At 1985 he first encountered Master Sheng-yen's teachings while attending a seven-day retreat in New York. He then decided to become a disciple before finally left his job in Toronto, Canada, to become a monk of Ch'an/Chinese Buddhist tradition. He was ordained in 1987 at Taiwan.
He studied Theravada Buddhism for a year in Thailand at 1991. Upon returning from Thailand, he was elected abbot of Dharma Drum Ch'an meditation center[1] in Queens, New York and Dharma Drum Retreat Center[2] in Pine Bush, New York. His responsibility included attending inter-faith service, teaching meditation, and giving lectures on Buddhism. For over 20 years, he also accompanied and became the translator of Master Sheng-yen in various Ch'an meditation retreats in United States, Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, and Mexico.
After his several years of service in United States, currently he is the director of International Ch'an Retreat Center in Dharma Drum Mountain, Taiwan. He speaks fluently in Mandarin, Vietnamese, and English.
External Links
- Memoirs of a Monk's Journey To Thailand
- Memoirs of a Monk's Journey To Thailand (part 2)
- "Suffering" and the "Buddhist Tradition" by Venerable Guo Yuan Fa Shi