Tallahassee Chan Center

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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.

03/26/2026

Tomorrow, Friday March 27 - Evening Bodhisattva Precepts Ceremony Recitation⁠
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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/

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...

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

03/13/2026

In his latest Monday night talk, "Sangha as an Alternative Community" - Guo Gu discusses how living with the sangha in harmony can help us to create the conditions for liberation. ⁠
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Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh6lPwd0fNQ⁠
Listen to Podcast here: https://linktree.com/thewayofchan

03/06/2026

Join us this Sunday, March 8 from 9:30am-11am for this talk. Will Evans is a longtime practitioner of both 12-Step recovery and Chan (Zen) Dharma practice under Guo Gu, with nearly two decades of sobriety. His work explores the deep parallels between the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and Buddhist teachings, viewing both as complementary spiritual paths aimed at alleviating suffering rooted in self-centeredness. Drawing on personal experience, classical Buddhist texts, and contemporary resources such as One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps by Kevin Griffin, Will examines how recovery and Dharma practice mutually inform and strengthen one another. He brings a perspective shaped by early immersion in AA meditation practice, intensive study of the Pali Canon, multiple Zen and Vipassana retreats, and long-term training under his teacher, Guo Gu. Will speaks to the integration of recovery and contemplative practice as a practical, inclusive path toward living “happy, joyous, and free,” one day at a time.⁠
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More info: https://tinyurl.com/4xtmaudr⁠
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Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/pWQW368ZRU666P965Er4rQ #/registration

03/05/2026

Join us on Monday, March 9th, 2026, from 6:30-8pm for a talk on “Sangha as an Alternative Community” by GuoGu. Offered in-person and on Zoom!

Click here for the Monday night Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87674890410?pwd=Dza0FehSe2RjDVa5upt6XezZMtrKCG.1 (passcode: chan)

03/02/2026

Tonight, Mon. March 2

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

02/27/2026

🧘‍♀️ This Sunday, March 1

Join Us for a One-Day Retreat
9:00 AM – 6:00 PM ET
In-Person & Online

Take a morning to reset and reconnect. This one-day retreat offers the chance to deepen your meditation practice in a supportive and peaceful environment. Lunch available for those in-person.

Led by our community timekeeper, the schedule includes alternating sitting and walking meditation, gentle guidance, and space for Q&A.

Beginners and experienced practitioners are welcome.

📍 Location: Tallahassee Chan Center (or join via Zoom)
💻 Registration & details:
https://tallahasseechan.secure.retreat.guru/program/one-day-retreat-in-person-online-march1/

02/20/2026

Tonight, Friday Feb 20- Evening Bodhisattva Precepts Ceremony Recitation⁠
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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/

02/19/2026

Guo Gu discusses how meditation is not about chasing moments of bliss, but is about exposure. As awareness deepens, our inner patterns become easier to see along with the habits, relationships, and stories we keep repeating. Practice becomes the work of maturing the self, learning to see clearly, accept what is here, and slowly change the patterns that keep us stuck.⁠
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Taken from his short talk "What Is A Healthy Sense Of Self?"⁠
Watch here: https://youtu.be/EI68teToIOU?si=17cCwZb5cw6Ms9pk

Address

1310 North Paul Russell
Tallahassee, FL
32301

Website

http://TallahasseeChan.org/

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About Us

New Online Programs

All of our activities have moved online via Zoom Video Conference to support your practice at home, all times listed below are Eastern time: Morning meditations @7:30am seven-days a week. One meditation period followed by chanting (live). Click here: https://zoom.us/j/241022433 Liturgy here: Abbreviated Liturgy with Heart Sutra

Every Monday @7:30pm. One meditation period followed by a short Dharma Talk by Guo Gu (live). Click here: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/893204244

Every Wednesday @7:30pm. Click here: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/232968500 Sessions will alternate weekly between:One period of guided Loving-Kindness Meditation led by Assistant Teachers (live)