I started practicing Chan in 2014, after almost a decade of practicing Nei Gong (Internal Arts) and 3 years studying Traditional Chinese Medicine. My interest in Buddhism and meditation began to grow and, in 2013, I decided to look for the best place I could to learn how to meditate. I had already traveled to other continents to deepen my practices; Distance would not be a problem as long as, in my opinion, the practice was as authentic as possible.

After finding Grandmaster Hsuan Hua’s texts, I decided he would be a great Master I could learn from. Unfortunately, Master had passed away some time ago, so I wanted to try my luck with one of his disciples. I found Master YongHua’s website, and as soon as I saw that there would be a winter retreat, open to beginners, I proceeded with registration.

I always thought I would find the authentic teachings somewhere hidden like in the mountains of China or the jungles of Thailand. However, Master YongHua’s temple is in Los Angeles, California — a place better known for surfing and Hollywood than for meditation practitioners.

The explanation for this is that Grand Master Hsuan Hua brought Orthodox Buddhism from China to the United States, around the 1950s, where it grew in a very solid and consistent way — he founded several temples, one of the largest in California. In fact, California has a huge concentration of people of Asian descent, so local communities have also made a point of bringing their spiritual practices to the US. This Great Master had immense disciples of the highest level, and his commentaries on Buddhist texts make for very interesting reading.