Resting Body and Mind Amid Lake and Mountain: A Visit to Kongshan Monastery by Tzu Guang Learning Center

On June 15, 2026, approximately 60 participants from Tzu Guang Learning Center of Taiwan, having just completed a three-day "Mindfulness and Healing Retreat" at a meditation estate in New York, made their way to Kongshan Monastery for a visit. This journey was a natural continuation of the retreat's central theme — returning to the inner life and reorganizing one's relationship with it — carrying participants from the learning and reflection of the classroom into the monastery itself, where they could personally experience the grounding and steadying power of Chan practice and monastic life amid Kongshan's tranquil landscape of lakes and mountain forest.

Upon arriving at Kongshan Monastery, the group first gathered in the Redwood Hall Dharma Hall, where Venerable Xìng Niàn offered a talk on the founding story of Kongshan Monastery, its environment, and its vision for the future. Inside the Redwood Hall, warm wooden beams glowed in the light while the greenery outside filled the windows. Participants sat upright and listened quietly. The Venerable began with the journey of the teachers in establishing and transmitting the Dharma, helping everyone understand that building a monastery is not merely the completion of a space — it is the taking up of a long and far-reaching aspiration. Master Zhenru continues the wish of Elder Venerable Riyì to propagate the Dharma: to preserve, amid our busy world, a place where more people can slow down, turn inward, and find their footing once again in body and mind.

Many participants were deeply moved. Some shared that they had previously encountered only scattered accounts of this chapter — of the teachers' work of propagating the Dharma in New York and the building of the monastery — and that being physically present for the first time allowed them to feel, with much greater depth, the care and difficulty that had gone into it all. Others noted that Venerable Xìng Niàn's talk was "warm yet never lacking in dignity," and that it gave them a much clearer sense of Kongshan Monastery's vision for the future — as a place of Chan practice, education, and the settling of the human heart.

The group then made their way along the path to the Great White Pine, the Water-Moon Pavilion, and the shore of Conch Lake. Kongshan Monastery in June wears its fullness well: broad meadows, trees open and unhurried in their growth, the lake surface holding the reflections of passing clouds, a breeze moving through the treetops, and a few Canada geese drifting slowly across the water. Participants slowed their steps at the lake's edge — some gazing quietly at the water, some exchanging soft words with companions, others sitting beneath a great tree on a swing, letting the rhythm of the mountain forest gradually settle both body and mind.

One participant wrote: "The environment of Kongshan Monastery is so peaceful and beautiful — it makes you feel genuinely at ease and full of joy." Others felt that the monastery was even more beautiful and dignified than they had imagined — that the flowers, the wildlife, and the ancient trees all seemed to be quietly welcoming each visitor. For those who had spent several days in retreat, this environment was more than scenery; it felt like a reminder that when the outer pace slows, the inner life has a chance to hear itself once more.

In the Buddha Hall, the group participated together in the offering of water. Each cup was lifted gently and placed down with care — a simple gesture, yet one requiring full attention and reverence. As the cups were arranged one by one in an even row, a mind that had scattered began, through this quiet and repeated practice, to gradually settle. Some shared that the visit had strengthened their resolve to continue learning wholeheartedly. Others expressed gratitude for having had the chance, in a place as pure as Kongshan, to glimpse once more a longer and more directed path through life.

During the visit, the group was also blessed with the auspicious opportunity to meet Venerable Rúzhèng, who had just arrived in New York to propagate the Dharma. The Venerable greeted participants at the edge of the pond by the Water-Moon Pavilion, asking warmly about their studies and their journey, his voice gentle and sincere — leaving everyone feeling deeply warmed and glad.

From the stillness of the Redwood Hall to the lakeside stroll along Conch Lake; from the Venerable's Dharma talk to the quiet focus of offering water before the Buddha — this visit allowed the participants of Tzu Guang Learning Center not merely to see Kongshan Monastery, but to feel, in body and mind, the meaning of a mountain monastery's existence. It is a place where one can become still; and it is a place that holds aspiration, and cultivates compassion and wisdom.

May the peace and warmth encountered amid the lakes and forests of Kongshan Monastery continue to accompany each participant as they return to daily life — carrying this steadiness and warmth to the people around them.

Respectfully recorded by Kongshan Monastery

June 19, 2026