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Zen Master Seung Sahn
Zen Master Seung Sahn
Zen Master Seung Sahn, called Dae Soen Sa Nim by his students (Great Honored Zen Teacher), is the 78th Patriarch in his line of Dharma Transmission in the Chogye Order of Korean Buddhism. In 1972, he came to the United States and started the Providence Zen Center, the first of over one hundred centers in what is now the Kwan Um School of Zen. His books include The Compass of Zen, Dropping Ashes on the Buddha, Only Don’t Know, The Whole World is a Single Flower – 365 Kong-ans for Everyday Life, among others. Dae Soen Sa Nim gave Dharma Transmission to ten Zen Masters and “inka” — teaching authority — to several senior students called Ji Do Poep Sa Nims (Literally, "ones who can show the way").
Dae Soen Sa Nim died on November 30, 2004, at Hwa Gye Sah temple in Seoul, Korea. He died peacefully, surrounded by his students. He was 77.
In June 2004, he had received the title “Great Master” from the Chogye Order of Korean Buddhism, in appreciation for his lifetime of teaching. This is the highest honor the order confers.
Matt Keeler JDPSN
Matt Keeler JDPSN
Matt Keeler JDPSN has been practicing Zen meditation for over 30 years and lived at the Chogye International Zen Center in New York City for 7 years. He received inka from Zen Master Wu Kwang at the Providence Zen Center on April 2, 2017. Matt has extensive retreat experience, including 2 three-month winter Kyol Ches and a 90-day solo retreat in Blue Hill Maine. In addition to being the director of the Family Program at Redding Meditation Center in Redding CT, he is the guiding teacher of the Zen Group of Pittsburgh. Matt lives in Ridgefield, CT where he is a high school teacher, math tutor, and father to his teenage son.
Kwan Um means "perceive sound." This means perceive your true self. At the same time, perceiving world sound means perceiving that many, many beings are suffering. If you can hear this sound of suffering, then helping is both possible and necessary. That is the Bodhisattva Way. Helping other beings is our practice and our job. Correct practicing is not only attaining enlightenment - it's finding enlightenment's job.
Kwan Um means "perceive sound." This means perceive your true self. At the same time, perceiving world sound means perceiving that many, many beings are suffering. If you can hear this sound of suffering, then helping is both possible and necessary. That is the Bodhisattva Way. Helping other beings is our practice and our job. Correct practicing is not only attaining enlightenment - it's finding enlightenment's job.
-Seung Sahn
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