Seung Sahn
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Seung Sahn Soen-sa (1927-2004) was a Korean Zen Buddhist monk, holding the 78th lineage of Korean Zen (or Korean Sŏn) Buddhism.(See Buddhist Patriarch) He was the founder of the Kwan Um School of Zen, an international Buddhist organization and order.
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[edit] Biography
He was born in Seun Choen, North Korea to Protestant Christian parents. In 1944, at the age of 18, he joined the underground Korean independence movement in response to the overbearing Japanese military rule in his homeland. Within a few months he was captured by Japanese soldiers, imprisoned, and barely avoided a sentence of death.
Following World War II, Seung Sahn took up studies in philosophy at the renowned Dong Guk University in Seoul, South Korea. Frustrated with his life and seeing the redundancy of politics and philosophy, he set off into the mountains on a quest for absolute truth. He began the study of many classic Confucian texts, hoping to find the answers he sought in their words. Ultimately these works did not satisfy him. A friend who was a monk studying at a Zen temple in the nearby mountains gave him a copy of The Diamond Sutra, and thus introduced him to Buddhism. Much like the Sixth Patriarch Huineng (or Hui-Neng), Seung Sahn found great clarity in this sutra and consequently undertook a personal study of many other great Buddhist scriptures.
In 1948, Seung Sahn retired from secular life, taking vows and ordaining as a Buddhist monk. While sutra studies opened up his mind's eye, he realized that practice was required to find further truth. Ten days after his monastic ordination, he began an arduous 100 day solo retreat on the almost mythical Won Gak Mountain (or the Mountain of Perfect Enlightenment), chanting for hours a day, eating crushed powdered pine needles, bathing in the cold river. His experience was so profound, he attained enlightenment. He returned to the temple of Korean Zen Master Ko Bong, heir to Zen Master Man Gong, proved his awakening in a series of kongan interviews, received transmission of the Dharma from Ko Bong at the age of 27, and then spent 3 years in silent retreat.
After these 3 years, Seung Sahn undertook major responsibilities, endeavoring to revolutionize the Chogye order of Korean Buddhism. He founded the lay organization the United Buddhism Association, and also accepted an invitation to build temples in both Tokyo and Hong Kong. In 1972, he traveled to the United States with little to no money and even less of an idea as to just why he was headed there. He got himself a job at a laundromat and ran deliveries there for them. By all accounts, the job was very demanding and time consuming, but this never got in the way of his practice.
Soon he sought residence in a 2 bedroom apartment on Doyle Ave. in Providence, Rhode Island and obtained a job fixing machines at a laundromat. A certain professor at Brown University took notice of him, along with some other curious students. One of these students decided to move in with Seung Sahn, a monumental endeavor considering Seung Sahn's new grasp of English and the apartment's scant furnishings. In any event, this apartment became the first location of hundreds of international Zen Centers under the direction of Zen Master Seung Sahn and Ji Do Poep Sa Nims, or teachers who have been given inga or authorization to teach.
[edit] Death
On November 30th, at the age of 77 and surrounded by his students, Seung Sahn Soen sa died at Hwa Gye Sah temple in Seoul, South Korea. Earlier in that same year, Seung Sahn received the honorific title "Dae Soen Sa" (or, Great Zen Master) from the Chogye order of Korean Buddhism for his lifetime achievements. Many of Seung Sahn's teachings and biography have been transcribed into books. They are: The Compass of Zen, Dropping Ashes on the Buddha, Only Don't Know: Selected Teaching Letters of Zen Master Seung Sahn, and a much harder to find title, Only Doing It For 60 Years. Many of these books were put together with the assistance of Stephen Mitchell, an early student of Zen master Seung Sahn.
For more information on current centers arouond the world, visit www.kwanumzen.org[1]
