Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and is regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to a 17th-century apocryphal story found in a manual called Yijin Jing, he began the physical training of the monks of Shaolin Monastery that led to the creation of Shaolin kungfu. He is known as Dámó in China and as Daruma in Japan. His name means "dharma of awakening (bodhi)" in Sanskrit.
Hwandan Gogi, also called Handan Gogi, is a pseudohistorical compilation of texts on ancient Korean history. It is a bound volume of four supposedly historical records.
Dayi Daoxin, who lived from 580 to 651, was the fourth Chán Buddhist Patriarch, following Jianzhi Sengcan and preceding Daman Hongren.
Hyunoong Sunim is a Korean Zen master as well as a Taoist Master born in South Korea. He is a disciple of Ku San Sunim and entered Songgwangsa Buddhist Monastery in 1966. From 1966 to 1969 he studied in the Sutra Hall of Songgwangsa, studying Buddhist sutras and philosophy. In 1970 he began his studies of Zen philosophy and Zen meditation. After ten years of training in Zen Meditation halls, he felt that the traditional zen hall training was not helping his practice. He then lived for three years as a wandering beggar, begging for his food and places to sleep. This gave him the opportunity to let go of everything he was holding on to. It was during this period that he finally realized what correct zen practice really is, and felt that he was ready to study under a great master. He then went to Master Jeon Gang Sunim in YongHwaSa Temple in Incheon, South Korea and began studying under him.
The Taego Order or Taego-jong is the second largest order in Korean Seon, the Korean branch of Chan Buddhism.
Kobongsoensanim, the 77th Patriarch in his teaching lineage, was a Korean Zen master.
Zen master is a somewhat vague English term that arose in the first half of the 20th century, sometimes used to refer to an individual who teaches Zen Buddhist meditation and practices, usually implying longtime study and subsequent authorization to teach and transmit the tradition themselves.
The Venerable Samu Sunim, born Sam-Woo Kim, was a Korean Seon sunim previously of the Jogye Order. He claimed to have received Dharma transmission from Zen Master Weolha Sunim in 1983. He taught primarily in Canada and the United States, having opened centers in Toronto, New York City, Ann Arbor, Michigan and Chicago, Illinois as well as Mexico City.
Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty as the Chan School or the Buddha-mind school ", and later developed into various sub-schools and branches. From China, Chán spread south to Vietnam and became Vietnamese Thiền, northeast to Korea to become Seon Buddhism, and east to Japan, becoming Japanese Zen.
Chan, from Sanskrit dhyāna, is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and Song dynasties.
Mangong or Song Mangong was a Korean Buddhist monk, independence activist, scholar, poet, writer, and philosopher during the Japanese occupation of Korea. Mangong was born in Jeongeup, Jeonbuk Province in 1871 and was ordained at the age of 14. Though he spent three years teaching Zen tradition in Mahayeon Temple in Keumkang Mountain and briefly served as the abbot of Magok Temple, he spent most of his life teaching Zen at Deoksung Mountain in Yesan, Chungnam Province. Mangong revitalized the Zen tradition of Korean Buddhism along with his teacher, Zen Master Kyongho.
Though Zen is said to be based on a "special transmission outside scriptures" which "did not stand upon words", the Zen-tradition has a rich doctrinal and textual background. It has been influenced by sutras such as the Lankavatara Sutra, the Vimalakirti Sutra, the Avatamsaka Sutra, and the Lotus Sutra.
Seon or Sŏn Buddhism is the Korean name for Chan Buddhism, a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism commonly known in English as Zen Buddhism. Seon is the Sino-Korean pronunciation of Chan an abbreviation of 禪那 (chánnà), which is a Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit word of dhyāna ("meditation"). Seon Buddhism, represented chiefly by the Jogye and Taego orders, is the most common type of Buddhism found in Korea.
Zen lineage charts depict the transmission of the dharma from one generation to another. They developed during the Tang dynasty, incorporating elements from Indian Buddhism and East Asian Mahayana Buddhism, but were first published at the end of the Tang.
Daehaeng Kun Sunim was a Korean Buddhist nun and Seon (禪) master. She taught monks as well as nuns, and helped to increase the participation of young people in Korean Buddhism. She made laypeople a particular focus of her efforts, and broke out of traditional models of spiritual practice, teaching so that anyone could practice, regardless of monastic status or gender. She was also a major force for the advancement of Bhikkunis (nuns), heavily supporting traditional nuns’ colleges as well as the modern Bhikkuni Council of Korea. The temple she founded, Hanmaum Seon Center, grew to have 15 branches in Korea, with another 10 branches in other countries.
Hanam Jungwon was a Korean Buddhist monk and Seon master. He was also the spiritual head(宗正) of what was to become the modern Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. He was the Dharma disciple of Gyeongheo Seongu, and the Dharma brother of Woelmyeon Mangong.
The Great Zen Master Jeongang Yeongshin ; 1898 – 1975) was a Zen Master of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. He used the principle of Kong-an as a way to lead his disciples to Enlightenment.
Gyeongbong was a Korean Buddhist monk, Ordained in 1907 at the age of 15, Master Gyeongbong was born in Milyang, Gyeongnam Province, in 1892. Master Gyeongbong was Abbot of Tongdo Temple in Yangsan, one of the most important Jogye Order temples in Korea. At Tongdo Temple, Master Gyeongbong became famous for the many monks he taught. After turning 90, Master Gyeongbong began to give dharma speeches, which more than one thousand people would regularly attend. In 1982, Master Gyeongbong wrote his last lecture, “Touch the Crossbar at Midnight,” and died.
The Beopseongge or Hwaeom ilseung beopgye do is a Buddhist text created by Uisang, Korean monk of the Silla period. The title is rendered in English as "The Song of Dharma Nature". This monumental script is widely known to many Korean Seon Buddhism and Japanese zen and Chinese chan. Beopseongge is recorded on not only Tripitaka Koreana in Korea but Taishō Tripiṭaka in Japan.
Niaoke Daolin was a Chan Buddhist monk who lived in Tang dynasty. He reportedly practiced sitting meditation while perched on the branches of a coniferous tree, and this earned him the nickname "Master Bird's Nest". He was a famous disciple of Jingshan Daoqin in the Niutou lineage of Chinese Chan Buddhism.
