Shifu Shengyen mainly teaches in three ways

Since decades he leads the disciplined and humble life of a Chan monk. In a time where unprecedented waste and hedonism begin to threaten the existence of life on our planet, he thus points in a different direction. He lives what he teaches.

He regularly leads Chan retreats, often one week long. He is systematic as well as flexible. Through his systematic approach to the Chan methods he avoids students sitting forlorn on their cushions. Through flexibility he enables them to find their personal ways to the methods.

By founding a university and authoring more than 90 books he emphasizes the necessity of an also intellectual dialog of Buddhism with the inner and outer World.