Rebecca Li

Rebecca Li, PhD, is a Chan Buddhist teacher in the lineage of Master Sheng Yen, and the founder and guiding teacher of Chan Dharma Community. She began practicing in 1995 while in graduate school in California and took refuge with Master Sheng Yen, founder of Dharma Drum Mountain, the same year. While in graduate school, she flew to New York to attend seven-day intensive retreats with Master Sheng Yen. She then moved to New Jersey for an academic position and to be closer to Master Sheng Yen, and in 1999 she began serving as his translator and also began teacher training with Master Sheng Yen, she started teaching Dharma classes in 2002.

Events with Rebecca Li

Chan Practice of Silent Illumination with Rebecca Li
June 11, 2024

“Silently and serenely, one forgets all words. Clearly and vividly, it appears before you.” These are the opening lines of the poem Silent Illumination composed by Chan master Hongzhi in the twelfth century China, a poem often used by the late Chan master Sheng Yen in his silent illumination retreats. Silent illumination is a practice where stillness and clarity are cultivated simultaneously through the process of recognizing and releasing layers of ever more subtle habitual reactivities that cause suffering. This practice allows us to live more in accordance with wisdom and compassion, as we suffer less and become more present,…