Tallahassee Chan Center

Tallahassee Chan Center Tallahassee Chan Center (TCC) offers group meditation, workshops, retreats, outreach programs, and regular lectures. All are welcome! On the West Coast?

Our group consists of a community of helpful, resourceful, and gentle people. Guo Gu is the founder and teacher at TCC. The Tallahassee Chan Center (TCC) is a community of practitioners learning and living the Buddha’s teachings through the tradition of the Dharma Drum Lineage of Chan (Zen) Buddhism, as established by Chan Master Sheng Yen. TCC was founded in 2009 by our teacher Guo Gu (Dr. Jimmy

Yu), one of Master Sheng Yen’s senior and closest disciples. Dr. Yu was a monk for ten years, earned his doctorate in Buddhist Studies, and is now an associate professor of Buddhist Studies at Florida State University. Contact us for more information. The Chan (Zen) center hosts weekly sitting practice every Monday and Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm, Sunday mornings at 9:30am, and meditation instructions on select Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm. All events are at our center located at 1310 North Paul Russell Road in Tallahassee. We have weekday morning meditations from Monday - Friday at 7:30am - 8:00am. Check out our West Coast meditation at 7:30am PST (10:30am EST), also Monday-Sunday. We offer meditation instructions on the 1st Thursday evenings of the month from 6:30-8pm. There is no set fee but donations are welcomed. Please feel free to stop by the Center. These instructions cover basic postures and methods of practice.

04/22/2026

Guo Gu the benefits of communal living as a Buddhist sangha and connects it's importance to Chan Buddhism taking root in the West.⁠

Taken from his the second part of his "Sangha As An Alternative Community" talk - watch here: https://youtu.be/zlbX1l9iNtg?si=MFi_BNFpCifJBZjh

Tonight, April 17 - Evening Bodhisattva Precepts Ceremony Recitation⁠⁠The Tallahassee Chan Center will host a monthly ce...
04/17/2026

Tonight, April 17 - Evening Bodhisattva Precepts Ceremony Recitation⁠

The Tallahassee Chan Center will host a monthly ceremony on the third Friday of each month. ⁠

For more information and Zoom links, please go here. ⁠
https://tallahasseechan.org/friday-ceremony/

Tomorrow Sunday, April 12th | 9:30-11:00am | In-Person and OnlineReturning to the Body: An Introduction to Embodied Heal...
04/11/2026

Tomorrow Sunday, April 12th | 9:30-11:00am | In-Person and Online

Returning to the Body: An Introduction to Embodied Healing
This 90-minute introductory class, presented by Dewaine Rester, offers a practical look at embodied experience through the lens of health and healing. The focus is simple: learning how to come back into direct contact with the body so that breath, posture, sensation, and attention become supports for steadiness rather than things we ignore until stress takes over. Drawing from meditation, gentle awareness practices, and lived experience, this class serves as the entry point for a later four-part series. The aim is not just to talk about healing, but to give participants something real to work with. Everyone will leave with a simple practice they can use in daily life to return to the body, calm the system, and meet difficulty with more clarity and less reactivity.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/pWQW368ZRU666P965Er4rQ #/registration

Tonight - Monday, April 6Monday Night Loving-Kindness Meditation 1st & 3rd Mondays · 6:30–8:00 PM (ET)In person at the T...
04/06/2026

Tonight - Monday, April 6

Monday Night Loving-Kindness Meditation

1st & 3rd Mondays · 6:30–8:00 PM (ET)
In person at the Tallahassee Chan Center or online via Zoom. All are welcome.

For the next few months, our Monday night Dharma talks (1st & 3rd Mondays) will take a different form. Instead of a talk, our sangha will practice a loving-kindness (mettā) meditation.

Through this guided meditation, rooted in Chan teachings, this practice cultivates a mind of kindness free from anger, extending care first to ourselves and gradually to others, both near and far, including those who may be struggling or in pain. It is a steady and grounded way to support the sangha and the wider community during a period of collective strain.

Practice format

30 minutes of loving-kindness directed toward oneself

Short break

20–30 minutes of loving-kindness extended to others, especially those who are struggling

Details and link:
https://tinyurl.com/2mcwex7e

What is liberation—and how might we come to know it for ourselves?Join an extraordinary gathering of teachers, scholars,...
04/06/2026

What is liberation—and how might we come to know it for ourselves?

Join an extraordinary gathering of teachers, scholars, and authors for a rare dialogue across Buddhist traditions.

Featuring Dhammadīpā, John Dunne, Joseph Goldstein, GuoGu, Anne C. Klein (Rigzin Drolma), Ruth Ozeki, and William Edelglass.

Through dharma talks, conversation, and guided meditation, this online program explores liberation through multiple lineages, revealing both shared ground and meaningful differences.

Freely offered in the spirit of dāna.
All are welcome.

April 23–26 • Online

👉 Learn more and register here: https://bit.ly/4b66dUP

If this brings someone to mind, we invite you to share it with them.

April 2026 schedule for the Tallahassee Chan Center📖 Half Day Retreat📅 April 26th, 2026This half-day Chan retreat aims t...
04/01/2026

April 2026 schedule for the Tallahassee Chan Center

📖 Half Day Retreat

📅 April 26th, 2026

This half-day Chan retreat aims to deepen your meditation practice. This retreat includes 30-minute sitting meditation periods, and will end with an opportunity for Q&A.

✨ Heart of Healing Series Talk by Dewaine Rester
📅 April 12th | 9:30-11am | Online and In-person
This 90-minute introductory class offers a practical look at embodied experience through the lens of health and healing. The focus is simple: learning how to come back into direct contact with the body so that breath, posture, sensation, and attention become supports for steadiness rather than things we ignore until stress takes over.

🌸 Lotus Sutra Dharma Discussion Group
🗓 Thursdays | 7–8:30pm ET (In-Person & Zoom)
An ongoing weekly exploration of one of Mahayana Buddhism’s most influential sutras—join anytime and attend as your schedule allows.

✨ Sangha Social
📅 April 27th | 6:30–8:30pm ET
Gather during the second period of Monday night meditation to connect, celebrate birthdays, and enjoy community together.

Weekly Meditations (In-Person & Zoom):

Sundays
🪷 Morning Meditation (9:30–11:00 AM ET): 30-minute sit + Q&A with Guo Gu (in-person & Zoom).
🕊️ Meditation on Recovery (11:00 AM–12:00 PM ET): In-person only.

Mondays
🌙 Night Meditation (6:30–8:30 PM ET): Two meditation sits. Loving Kindness meditation on 1st & 3rd Mondays.

Wednesdays
🌾 Night Meditation with Interviews (6:30–8:00 PM ET): Deep sit, walking/yoga, and optional interviews with Assistant Teachers.

💻 Daily Zoom Meditations:

East Coast: Mon–Fri, 7:30 AM ET – Meditation + Chanting
West Coast: Mon–Sun, 10:30 AM ET (7:30–8:00 AM PT) – Daily meditation
Friday Evening (PT): 6:30–7:00 PM PT Zoom sit

🔗 Zoom links & details: tallahasseechan.org/events

Tomorrow, Friday March 27 - Evening Bodhisattva Precepts Ceremony Recitation⁠⁠The Tallahassee Chan Center will host a mo...
03/26/2026

Tomorrow, Friday March 27 - Evening Bodhisattva Precepts Ceremony Recitation⁠

The Tallahassee Chan Center will host a monthly ceremony on the third Friday of each month.

For more information and Zoom links, please go here.
https://tallahasseechan.org/friday-ceremony/

April 23-26Guo Gu joins Dhammadīpā, John Dunne, Joseph Goldstein, Anne C. Klein (Rigzin Drolma), Ruth Ozeki, William Ede...
03/23/2026

April 23-26

Guo Gu joins Dhammadīpā, John Dunne, Joseph Goldstein, Anne C. Klein (Rigzin Drolma), Ruth Ozeki, William Edelglass for the “Liberation: A Dialogue Across Buddhist Traditions” retreat at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.

Online only.

Register here:

April 23, 2026 April 26, 2026 Note: Registration for the residential retreat is now closed. Everyone is welcome to attend the online program, which remains open for registration. Click here to register for the online program.What can we say about the qualities of liberation, the radical freedom from...

In this recent Tricycle piece, Guo Gu reframes emptiness not as negation, but as a lived practice - loosening our grip o...
03/19/2026

In this recent Tricycle piece, Guo Gu reframes emptiness not as negation, but as a lived practice - loosening our grip on language and identity to discover a freedom that’s already here.

Moving beyond apophatic language toward a more full embodiment of the ineffable

03/18/2026

Address

1310 North Paul Russell
Tallahassee, FL
32301

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