Chan-Bern is a meditation center for Chan practitioners located in the old town of Bern. We meditate in the tradition of humanistic Buddhism of Chan Master Sheng Yen.
Chan is the Chinese translation of Dhyāna (mind gathering). Chan originated in China in the 6th-8th centuries (later called Zen in Japan). Master Sheng Yen’s lineage of transmission unites Caodong (jap. Soto) and Linji (jap. Rinzai). In the Caodong tradition, clarity, which fills the mind with the light of awareness, is accompanied by quieted mental activity. In the Linji lineage, gongan (jap. koan), paradoxical stories, and huatou, their core sentences, are used by the master to evoke in practitioners the great doubt that leads to awakening. More about Chan…
Master Sheng Yen was born in China in 1930. He entered a Buddhist monastery at the age of 14. After the Maoist takeover, he arrived in Taiwan with the Nationalist army. At the age of over 30, the monk spent 6 years in solitary retreat. After that he studied in Japan and then spread the Dharma in the USA, took over the leadership of his teacher’s monastery in Taiwan and founded the Dharma Drum Mountain. He passed away in 2009.
Humanistic Buddhism was developed by Master Sheng Yen on the basis of reformed Chinese Buddhism. The term means to apply the Buddhadharma in ordinary, everyday life. Like engaged Buddhism, humanistic Buddhism includes the involvement of lay people and women, practice in everyday life, social engagement, and protection of the environment.
Chan-Bern was founded and is led by Chang She 常捨 (Hildi Thalmann), a meditation teacher authorized by Chan Master Sheng Yen.
The purpose of Chan-Bern is to spread humanistic Chan Buddhism according to Master Sheng Yen in German-speaking countries. We organize retreats, lectures, education etc. We are a group of practitioners who cultivate Chan meditation and mutual exchange. We invite Chan masters and teachers for retreats. Chan-Bern promotes the publication of the works of Master Sheng Yen in German translation.
The Chan Center and the teachers here are committed to the code of conduct and ethical guidelines of the Swiss Buddhist Union (sbu). Information on the code of conduct and the ombuds process can be found on the sbu website.
Local Teacher
Chang She 常捨 (Hildi Thalmann)
Hildi Thalmann, Chang She (“Always Letting Go”). After many years of practicing meditation in the Christian contemplation and Japanese Zen tradition, she became a student of Master Sheng Yen in 2004.
She attended many retreats with Master Sheng Yen and his successors. In 2008 she received teaching permission by Master Sheng Yen. Since then, she was regularly involved in teaching assignments as part of Chan Bern (www.chan-bern.ch) and as an assistant at retreats with Asian and Western Dharma heirs of Master Sheng Yen.
She is the mother of 2 grown children, Dr. med., previously she worked as a child neurologist, Master of Science of Religion.”
Our regular activities and the 1-to 5-day-retreats as well as the teachings are led by Hildi Thalmann (Chang She).
Guest Teachers
Chang Wu Fashi
Ven Chang Wu is a Buddhist monastic in the Chen/Zen tradition.
In the past 15 years, she delivered regular classes in Buddhist philosophy and meditation, to a wide range of people from different background and age group. She led regular intensive meditation retreats to seasoned practitioners in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada; various meditation centres in The USA, such as DDRC and CMC in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Texas, Chicago, Pittsburgh; as well as Mexico and Taiwan.
Apart from leading meditation retreats, she was a teacher on Buddhism and meditation practice at the Sheng Yen Academy and Dharma Drum Sangha University in Taiwan. In addition, she played an active role in organising and participating in scholarly conferences and interfaith dialogue around the world. Ven. Chang Wu is currently the Abbess of Dharma Drum Vancouver Centre.
Dr. Rebecca Li
DR. REBECCA LI, a Dharma heir in the lineage of Chan Master Sheng Yen, began her teacher’s training with the master in 1999 when she also began to serve as his translator until his passing in 2009.
Starting in the mid-2000s, she also trained with John Crook and Simon Child, both lay Dharma heirs of the master, and received full Dharma transmission from Simon Child in 2016. Currently, she leads Chan retreats, teaches meditation and Dharma classes, and gives public lectures mostly in North America.
Her schedule, talks and writings can be found at www.rebeccali.org. She is the founder and guiding teacher of Chan Dharma Community and Professor of Sociology at The College of New Jersey. She is author of Allow Joy into Our Hearts: Chan Practice in Uncertain Times and Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method.
Gilbert Gutierrez
Gilbert is one of five lay Dharma heirs of Venerable Chan Master Sheng Yen and the only one to teach in North America. Gilbert teaches in a very casual and accessible yet deep manner, drawing on every-day life situations as well as on the works of great masters.
Gilbert Gutierrez is an attorney practicing in Riverside, California. Gilbert’s meditative practice began more than twenty-five (25) years ago. He studied various forms of meditation, martial arts and Chi Gong yet states that nothing that he has studied comes close to matching the simplicity and the beauty of the practice of Chan.
He lectures regularly at the Los Angeles DDMBA chapter and with his own Riverside Chan Meditation Group (www.riversidechan.org). He also leads retreats in the US, Canada, Europe and Taiwan.
Assistants
The assistants have been appointed and mentored by our teacher Hildi Thalmann. They assist the teachers in the retreats and they are qualified to lead regular activities organized by Chan Bern, including leading local meditation groups.
All assistants have completed the four-year course, Humanistic Buddhism – The Chan Teachings of Master Sheng Yen, offered by Chan Bern and conducted by Hildi Thalmann. In addition, all Assistants have received formal training and prepared themselves with years of retreat experiences to become certified.
Dominik Meisser
Dominik has been practicing Chan since 2017 and took refuge in 2022. He found that the teaching in the Dharma Drum lineage of Chan Buddhism is pragmatic yet ethical, reformed and adaptable to the need of people living in our modern world. He has assisted and will continue to assist in retreats and to lead regular meditation sessions.
Stefan Sauer
Stefan took refuge in China in 2018, and began to practice meditation afterwards. He attends retreats at Chan Bern regularly and took refuge again at the end of retreat in 2022, under the guidance of Dharma Drum lineage. Stefan provides assistance in retreats as a timekeeper and supervisor.
Stefan is an engineer working in the energy sector.
Stephanie Zoller
During her stay in Taiwan for several years, Stephanie learned about Buddhism. From 2013 on, Stephanie has been practicing regularly, and participating in retreats, classes and other events at Chan Bern. She took refuge in the Three Jewels under the guidance of Dharma Drum lineage in 2013.
Stephanie is a professional TCM therapist with her ow practice in Altstätten (SG).
Stefan Schegg
Stefan came into contact with meditation in 2005 through his practice of Tai Chi. In 2012, he started to practice Zen meditation, and in 2014 he encountered Chan meditation. Ever since then he has regularly participated in the programs of Chan Bern. Most recently in the summer of 2022, he participated in a 28-day retreat with Master Chi Chern Fashi in Poland. Stefan leads the Saturday meditation sessions along with the morning ceremony on a regular basis.
He is a economist in the trade of public transport.
As Guest
Tom Ledermann
Tom (Yan Hua) has been practicing Chan in the Dharma Drum lineage of Master Sheng Yen since 2017. Growing up in a Christian environment, he was introduced to Transcendental Meditation and the Kriya Yoga technique at the ages of 24 and 26, respectively.
Tom is part of the Tallahassee Chan Center, run by the founder Guo Gu (Prof. Jimmy Yu). At this center, Tom offers introductions and short retreats. Tom is a psychologist and works at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Together with his wife, he offers mindfulness training in the USA.
Meditation Center
The Meditation Center is used for Chan events (regular meditations, meditation classes, short retreats and study courses and workshops). It is used by Chan practitioners as well as by subtenants for meditations, mbs courses and body therapies. Occasionally we also organize dharma talks here. The space can also be rented for quiet, meditation-type events. For more information, contact meditationsraum@chan-bern.ch
You find us here:
Chan Bern’s meditation center is located at Brunngasshalde 37 in Bern. We are easily accessible by public transportation:
- Stop “Zytglogge” then walk to the Kornhaus, turn right before the Kornhaus bridge down the Grabenpromenade and turn right to Brunngasshalde 37.
- Pedestrians can reach us in about 12 minutes from the main train station. Car drivers will find a parking space in the Rathausparking, which is only 200 meters away.
Association Chan Bern
Chan Bern was founded in March 2013. The association organizes Chan meetings twice a year to exchange on Buddhist topics and foster contact between practitioners, to share our special areas of interest and to discuss activities. All practitioners are welcome. The association pursues the following goals:
- Supporting the Chan Center Bern
- To promote Humanistic Chan Buddhism by Master Sheng Yen in the German-speaking world
- Organizing retreats, lectures, training/education events
- Exchange between Chan practitioners
- Book publications
- Commitment to humanitarian and ecological ethic, as well as to intra-Buddhist and interreligious dialogue
By becoming a member of the Chan Bern Association, you support the activities of Chan Bern and help cover the costs of the meditation room. In this way Chan Bern can be open to all, including those who can contribute less.
The association considers itself as a Förderverein and membership can be cancelled at any time. The membership fee is CHF 50 per year.
The president is Hildi Thalmann. Board members are Dominik Meisser (treasurer), Stefan Sauer, Stefan Schegg and Elisabeth Vogt. Web master is Yingfan Liu.
If you want to know more about the association and its activities or if you want to become a member, please contact us: Info@chan-bern.ch