Author Description

In August 1997, after 124 issues, Chan Newsletter was merged into Chan Magazine to streamline the Center's increasingly broad agenda. Though the doors of the publication were closed, the archived editions contained a treasure of Shifu's early teachings in the West, worthy of study by newer generations of Chan and Zen students. At some point, a decision was made to re-issue some of these talks; the ones selected were judiciously and lightly edited for internal consistency; so to speak, refreshed. The result is this book. The sangha and members of the Chan Meditation Center are therefore delighted to offer Tea Words, in memory of Shifu.The talks appear in the same order as they appeared in Chan Newsletter. Not consecutively, since of the 124 lead articles in the Newsletter, about 50 were selected to be published in two volumes, this being Volume One. As to those not selected, about 40% of the 124 were compiled in other books, such as Master Sheng Yen's commentaries on the Sutra of Complete Enlightenment and the Shurangama Sutra.