
Chan master Žarko Andričević
A pioneer and initiator of the systematic practice of Buddhism in Croatia, Žarko Andričević is the founder of the Dharmaloka Buddhist community and the Chan Center. Through his accessible, yet profound teaching style, he has been forging the path dedicated to finding answers to fundamental questions of life through Buddhist wisdom and meditation.
Born in 1955, his interest in Eastern religions and philosophy started during his early high school days. Moving to Zagreb for his studies in 1975, he started practicing martial arts and yoga and encountered Buddhism researching the spiritual roots of these disciplines. Two years later, he formally became a Buddhist by taking refuge in the Three Jewels at the first ceremony of this kind held in the former Yugoslavia.
He has been the lead teacher of the Mushindokai organization since 1983, teaching kempo, yoga and Buddhism at the central location in Zagreb, as well as its many branches across the country. In 1985, he started the first meditation group that systematically studied Pali and Mahayana Canon. Based on the needs of that meditation group, the first residential center was established in 1992, equipped with a library and a meditation hall.
This was a starting point of the first Buddhist community in Croatia, named Dharmaloka; and the Buddhist Center that was active in Zagreb from 1998 till 2020. Searching for a new teacher, in 1996 Žarko met the prominent Chan Master Shifu Sheng Yen, a holder of both Chan lineages in China. The encounter with Master Sheng Yen and the living tradition of Chan Buddhism marked a major turning point both in his life and in the life of the community as a whole.
In June 2001, on a two-week retreat in the United States, he received a rare recognition, the transmission of the Dharma from Master Sheng Yen and thus became one of his Dharma heirs in the West. This event marked the beginning of his career as a teacher and Chan Master, while Dharmaloka and the Buddhist Center in Zagreb became one of the few places in Europe where it is possible to reliably follow the path of Chan Buddhism. Žarko is an established international Chan Master and a regular guest teacher at the Dharma Drum Meditation Center in the US and the DDM Center in Taiwan. So far, he has led over 80 seven-day and ten-day Chan meditation retreats across Croatia, Europe, North America and Asia. He is a full member of the Conference of Western Buddhist Teachers. He continues his teacher’s mission by advocating for interreligious dialogue and an engaged attitude towards climate change by participating in numerous international conferences.
Žarko has authored a curriculum of the internationally recognized School for Zenyoga Teachers, as well as of the School for Dharma and Chan Teachers, held over the course of several years.
Chan Center Hartovski Vrh, whose construction was financed almost exclusively by his international outreach, is a gift to the future of Chan in this area. A vibrant place open to everyone who wants to taste the fruits of Chan practice.
Teaching internationally:
Public talks
Each month the Center organizes free public talks. These talks will help you to find out if buddhism as a teaching and chan as practice method something close to you, something that could inspire you to follow the path they offer.
Wed
12
Public talk
In Search of Right Speech, Public Talk
Wednesday, 12.02.2025. od 19:00-20:30
Online
Zoom