Tynette Deveaux, editor of Buddhadharma, profiles the Chan Meditation Center in Queens, NY, founded by Chan Master Sheng Yen.

Left to Right: Chang Hwa Fashi, Tynette Deveaux, Guo Xing Fashi, Narayan, Ernest Heau
On Sunday I had the pleasure of visiting the Chan Meditation Center, founded 30 years ago by Chan Master Sheng Yen, in Queens, NY.
I accompanied Narayan Liebenson Grady, a guiding teacher at the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center. We met with the center director, Chang Hwa Fashi, and the abbot, Guo Xing Fashi, as well as Ernest Heau, who edits Master Sheng Yen’s teachings in English, many of which we have published in Buddhadharma.
The Chan Meditation Center has seven Buddhist nuns in residence. Master Sheng Yen’s larger center, Dharma Drum Retreat Center, in Pine Brush, NY, is the residence for monks. His main center in Taiwan is Dharma Drum Mountain.
In 2009, following the death of Master Sheng Yen, Buddhadharama published a tribute to his life and teachings, which you can read here.
In the Summer 2011 issue of Buddhadharma, we featured a translation of one of Master Sheng Yen’s teachings. Here is a short excerpt: