by
Sidney
My journey to Middle Land Chan Monastery (MLCM) was a deliberate step back, a recognition that years of navigating the Buddhist path had left me with a map, but not the lived experience of the terrain. Despite a life shaped by Buddhist principles, a subtle dissonance lingered, a sense that the true essence of "practice" remained elusive.
My previous engagement with Buddhism, while sincere, had been largely intellectual and ritualistic. I did not know the true and profound meaning of “practicing Buddhism” until I attended the meditation classes offered at the MLCM. This revelation wasn't a condemnation of my past efforts, but an acknowledgment of a missing dimension, a gap that only direct experience could fill.
The MLCM meditation classes were not merely lessons in technique; they were invitations to explore the inner landscape of the mind. The emphasis on mindfulness, on cultivating moment-to-moment awareness, transcended the limitations of intellectual understanding. It was a shift from reading about the nature of impermanence to experiencing it firsthand, in the ebb and flow of thoughts and sensations.
The monastery environment, with its quiet rhythms and supportive community, provided the ideal setting for this exploration. The absence of external distractions, the shared commitment to practice, and the guidance of experienced Shifus created a space where inner stillness could be cultivated. The silence, initially uncomfortable, became a fertile ground for self-discovery.
Through the practice of guided meditation, I began to see the Dharma not as abstract concepts, but as living realities. The teachings on suffering, impermanence, and non-self became less theoretical and more deeply personal. I learned to observe the arising and passing of emotions without judgment, to cultivate a sense of detachment from the relentless stream of thoughts.
The classes revealed that true Buddhist practice is not about achieving a specific state of enlightenment, but about cultivating a continuous awareness of the present moment. It’s a process of gradually transforming the mind, of learning to see the world with greater clarity and compassion. The MLCM meditation classes provided the tools to bridge the gap between knowing and being, transforming a lifetime of intellectual understanding into a lived experience of the Dharma.