Cast metal and wood-carved Buddha
sculptures from the 10th Century, China
in the main Buddha hall of Sunshine Zen Monastery
The Sunshine Zen Monastery
About :
Sunshine Zen Monastery is an authentic Buddhist monastery that teaches "Patriarch Zen", the teachings of past grand masters who have awakened from the open-eye dream. Patriarch Zen is a meditation technique which uses the not-knowing side of the brain to clean up the brain’s cognition, thinking, and memorization processes. It is taught by and passed down directly from patriarch to patriarch since the time of Buddha Sakyamuni.
Mastery Henry
The head master of this Monastery is Chien Harne (Mastery Henry) who trained extensively with various masters in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, and is a recognized enlightened master. Originally from Taiwan, he gave up a successful career as a university professor, and family life to pursue the Buddhist path. After reaching his enlightenment, he traveled around the world for several years looking for a place to establish a school for meditation. In 1996, he landed on picturesque Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada, and lived a solitary life of a hermit in a small cabln for 8 years, concentrating on his meditation practice. After sometime, he started teaching the Dharma to the Taiwanese community in Vancouver and eventually found financial support from some of the wealthy business people who donated finances to build a beautiful facility for serious meditation students....a monastery. For the last 3 years, the building of the monastery has been slowly and steadily progressing to the point where it is truly a place to enjoy and deepen one's practice.
Master Henry is also a master of all styles of Chinese calligraphy who has had exhibitions in major art galleries in Asia.
Three-story Monastery
Koi pond in front of the Monastery
Detail of the Buddha sculptures
Meditation Hall
Buddha Altar
Accommodations:
The monastery is only open to those who wish to devote their life to mediation. Every Thursday and Sunday the monastery is open to the public for community group, sitting meditation.
Other Amenities:
Beach Access
8 dorm rooms (4 people per room.)
Laundry Facilities
Modern toilets and showers
Key Information:
Children Welcome
No Pets Allowed
No Smoking Permitted
Donations:
Sunshine Zen Monastery accepts any kind of donation for the support of the meditative life.
Payment Methods:
Cash, cheques accepted.
A view from the 3rd floor of the Monastery
Travel
Sunshine Zen Monastery is situated on the stunningly beautiful Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canadar. The Monastery is located approximately 40 km from downtown Sechelt, and 2 hours from the Vancouver International airport.
Contact info for Sunshine Zen Monastery:
11148 Sunshine Coast Hwy, Half Moon Bay, BC, Canada
Tel: 604-883-1167
By car:
If you are crossing the border from the United States or are coming from outside the province of BC, just stay on Highway 1 (the TransCanada Highway) to its end at Horseshoe Bay. Follow the signs to the ferry terminal. Just before the terminal the highway branches north (turns right) towards Whistler/Squamish (the Sea to Sky Highway).
At this junction, stay left for the ferry toll booths (left hand lane for the Langdale/Sunshine Coast toll booths).
The ferries leave Horseshoe Bay roughly every two hours starting at 7:20 am, with the last boat at 9:15 pm. (Note: Sometimes in the summer extra sailings and late sailings are added. Check the BC Ferries web site for details.) The ferry ride offers spectacular scenery and takes about 40 minutes. *Remember, you pay only to get on the coast, not off. That's half the price of going to Vancouver Island! So your ticket is actually good for a round trip.
From the Langdale terminal: turn right towards Langdale, go straight ahead up the hill to bypass lower Gibsons and get on the highway to Roberts Creek, Sechelt and Pender Harbour. Stay on the 101 Hwy for about 40 minutes until you get to 11148 Sunshine Coast Hwy. Please watch closely for the numbers. It will be on the right hand side of the road. You will have to take a sharp right up a dirt road. When you come to the fork up the hill, you will take the left fork which lead directly to the Monastery.
Car Rentals:
Budget Car & Truck Rental 1-800-299-3199
Hertz Rent A Car 1-800-263-0600
National Tilden Inter-rent 604-885-9120
Skookum Chrysler 604-886-3493
Bus:
Malaspina Coach Lines offers service from Vancouver to Pender Harbour. Buses leave from the Pacific Central Station bus terminal (on the corner of Terminal and Main in Vancouver). You can also board at the corner of Burrard Street and Georgia Street (right downtown) or at the north end of Lions Gate bridge. Buses drive onto the ferry at the Horseshoe Bay terminal. When you pass into the Pener Harbour district, ask the driver to stop near 11148 Sunshine Coast Hwy. Walk up the hill to the Monastery. Call for details:
Tel: 604-885-2217
Toll Free: 1-877-227-8287
Click here for a schedules: http://www.malaspinacoach.com/
LOCAL TRANSIT AND HANDYDART BUS SERVICES:
Sunshine Coast Transit (604) 885-3234 or e-mail "transit@scrd.bc.ca". Also, (604) 885-6899 for 24-hour bus information access. Bus Online Web Site for local transit information:
http://www.busonline.ca/regions/sun/schedules/schedule.cfm?line=1&
Click here for a map: http://www.bigpacific.com/about/images/maps/Pender%20Harbour%201-06.jpg
Contact:
For more information and questions please contact:
Chien Harne (Mastery Henry):
604-883-1167
Sample Schedule:
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