Seungsahn Haengwon, born Duk-In Lee, was a Korean Seon master of the Jogye Order and founder of the international Kwan Um School of Zen. He was the seventy-eighth Patriarch in his lineage. As one of the early Korean Zen masters to settle in the United States, he opened many temples and practice groups across the globe. He was known for his charismatic style and direct presentation of Zen, which was well tailored for the Western audience.
Providence Zen Center (PZC) is the Head Temple of the Americas for the Kwan Um School of Zen (KUSZ) and the first Zen center established by Seungsahn in the United States in October 1972. The PZC offers residential training where students and teachers live together under one roof, which was one of the hallmarks of Seung Sahn's philosophy concerning Zen practice in his organization. Practice at the center, and at Diamond Hill Zen Monastery, which shares the PZC property, includes sitting meditation, prostrations, and chanting.
The Kwan Um School of Zen (관음선종회,觀音禪宗會) (KUSZ) is an international school of zen centers and groups founded in 1983 by Zen Master Seung Sahn. The school's international head temple is located at the Providence Zen Center in Cumberland, Rhode Island, which was founded in 1972 shortly after Seung Sahn first came to the United States. The Kwan Um style of Buddhist practice combines ritual common both to Korean Buddhism as well as Rinzai school of Zen, and their morning and evening services include elements of Huayan and Pure Land Buddhism. While the Kwan Um Zen School comes under the banner of the Jogye Order of Korean Seon, the school has been adapted by Seung Sahn to the needs of Westerners. According to James Ishmael Ford, the Kwan Um School of Zen is the largest Zen school in the Western world.
Furnace Mountain is an American Zen Buddhist retreat center in Clay City, Kentucky, co-founded in 1986 by Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim and Dae Gak Soen Sa Nim as part of the international Kwan Um School of Zen; it is now unaffiliated with the school in an official capacity. In 1990 the main Meditation Hall was completed, and in 1994 the temple was constructed and opened. Kwan Se Um San Ji Sah is modeled after a traditional Korean Buddhist Temple—located on 850 acres of woods in part of The Daniel Boone National Forest. The exact site of Kwan Se Um San Ji Sah was determined by the use of geomantic divination, which was intended to help foster harmony. The Abbot and guiding teacher is Dae Gak Zen Master.
Soeng Hyang Soen Sa Nim is a Zen Master and the guiding teacher of the international Kwan Um School of Zen, and successor to the late Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim.
Wu Kwang Soen Sa Nim (1950–present), born Richard Shrobe, is head Zen teacher at Chogye International Zen Center of New York, a practice center of the Kwan Um School of Zen. Before coming to Zen practice Richard studied Hinduism under Swami Satchidananda. He is a social worker who incorporates Gestalt therapy in his counseling. In 1975 Wu Kwang began his Zen practice and received Dharma transmission from Seung Sahn in 1993. He is also a jazz musician.
Dae Gak, born Robert Genthner, is a Zen master and the guiding teacher of Furnace Mountain in Clay City, Kentucky, a Korean Buddhist temple and retreat center co-founded in 1986 with Seung Sahn. He received Dharma transmission from Seung Sahn in 1994, and now teaches independently of Seung Sahn's Kwan Um School of Zen. In addition to Furnace Mountain he serves as guiding teacher for other Zen groups in North America, Germany and England. He also holds a Ph.D. in psychology and is currently a licensed psychologist in the state of Kentucky.
Musangsa is an international zen center which follows the teachings of Zen Master Seung Sahn. Musangsa is the Head Temple in Asia of the international zen organization Kwan Um School of Zen. The temple holds 3 months silent retreats Kyolche each in summer and winter every year where monastics and lay practitioners practice together. It also serves as a training temple for monastics of Kwan Um zen lineage and hosts many foreign practitioners of the same lineage, providing them a chance to practice in Korea. Current main guiding teacher is Zen Master Dae Bong.
Su Bong was a Soen Sa Nim in the Kwan Um School of Zen, the designated heir of Seung Sahn's lineage. Of both Korean and Chinese heritage, he was born in Kona, Hawaii. Su Bong began his practice with Seung Sahn in 1974, helping to establish many Zen groups and temples for the lineage in the years that followed. In 1981 he received inka from Seung Sahn, making him a Ji Do Poep Sa Nim (JDPSN) in the lineage and, in 1983, he was ordained a sunim and given the Buddhist name Mu Deung. He received Dharma transmission on October 11, 1992. On July 17, 1994, Su Bong died of unknown causes at a retreat while conducting kong-an interviews in Hong Kong. Today the Kwan Um School of Zen has a practice center in his name located in Hong Kong and named Su Bong Zen Monastery.
Soensanim Bon Yeon is the dharma name and title of Jane McLaughlin-Dobisz. She is the guiding teacher of the Cambridge Zen Center of the Kwan Um School of Zen in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She received dharma transmission in 2000, and is also a published author and editor of the book The Whole World is a Single Flower by Seungsahn.
Dae Kwang is a Soen Sa Nim and is the current guiding teacher of the Providence Zen Center. He was ordained as a monk in 1987 and received Dharma transmission from Seung Sahn in 1996. He also serves as head abbot of the entire lineage, ranking just below Soeng Hyang.
Zen Master Wu Bong Sunim, born Jacob Perl, was a Zen master and monk in the Kwan Um School of Zen. Wu Bong Sunim was the head teacher of the European Kwan Um School of Zen until his death in April 2013.
Chogye International Zen Center is a Kwan Um School of Zen practice center founded by Seung Sahn in 1975, located in New York City. The center offers a daily practice regimen, as well as retreats and workshops. Wu Kwang is the guiding teacher and resident Zen Master.
Kobongseonsanim, the 77th Patriarch in his teaching lineage, was a Korean Zen master.
George Bowman, or Bo Mun Soen sa Nim, is a Zen master and licensed psychotherapist living at Furnace Mountain in Clay City, Kentucky. Furnace Mountain is run by Dae Gak Soen Sa Nim—another former Kwan Um line teacher. Bowman received Dharma transmission from Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim in 1992, and is a former teacher in the Kwan Um School of Zen. He was a founding member of the Providence Zen Center in 1972 and also did koan study with Joshu Sasaki from 1977 to 2003. He was a resident teacher at the Cambridge Buddhist Association from 1991 to 1999, and in 1994 became a guiding teacher of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy. For the past many years, his teaching has taken him regularly to California, Massachusetts, Alabama, Florida, and Washington to lead retreats for the "floating zendo" named Single Flower Sangha. Bowman has given inka to his student David Dayan Rynick, who was the first individual to be acknowledged as a teacher outside of the Kwan Um lineage.
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.
Below is a timeline of important events regarding Zen Buddhism in the United States. Dates with "?" are approximate.
The roots of Buddhism in Lithuania can be traced to the 20th century, although the time of its first introduction there remains unknown. Zen Buddhism practiced in Lithuania today originated in Korea. There are a few active communities across the country including Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Panevėžys and Šakiai.
Zen was introduced in the United States at the end of the 19th century by Japanese teachers who went to America to serve groups of Japanese immigrants and become acquainted with the American culture. After World War II, interest from non-Asian Americans grew rapidly. This resulted in the commencement of an indigenous American Zen tradition which also influences the larger western (Zen) world.
Kwan Yin Chan Lin Zen Meditation Centre (KYCL) is a Buddhist zen centre in Singapore and Malaysia. The organization was set up by Venerable Chi Boon (釋繼聞法師) in 1991. The present KYCL centres are located at Geylang, Singapore, KYCL International Zen Centre at Pengerang, Desaru and Fu Hui Yuan at Muar in Johor, Malaysia.
