Guo Gu

Guo Gu is a teacher of Chan, the Chinese school of Buddhism from which Japanese Zen grew, and a scholar of the tradition. Raised in Taiwan, he was given his first meditation instruction at the age of four by the ascetic master Guangqin. After his family moved to the United States in 1980 he trained under Chan Master Sheng Yen, took monastic vows in 1991 and became Sheng Yen's first personal attendant, later receiving his permission to teach. In 2000 he set aside his robes, earned a doctorate in Buddhist Studies at Princeton, and now holds a professorship at Florida State University.

His teaching rests on the two classic Chan methods, silent illumination and huatou or koan practice, taught in plain, practical terms with attention to the body. He founded the Tallahassee Chan Center in Florida, where he gives talks and answers questions in person and over Zoom, and he has guided the London Chan Meditation group since 2014. He leads silent retreats of several days at centres across North America and in Britain. He also started Dharma Relief, which joins Buddhist groups of different lineages in service. His books with Shambhala are Passing Through the Gateless Barrier, Silent Illumination and The Essence of Chan, and he has also translated and edited several of Sheng Yen's works.