On November 8, 1998, Gae Mun Sunim received inka from Zen Master Seung Sahn at Kwan Yin Chan Lin, our Zen Center in Singapore.
[Raises Zen stick over head, then hits table with stick.]
At this point, receiving inka is losing inka. We say form is emptiness, emptiness is form. …
Read More...When Buddha was born, he sprang out of his mother’s hip, walked seven steps, said, “Heaven above, earth below, only I am holy.”
[hits table with zen stick]
When you and I were born, we sprung from our mother’s uterus, dropped into the doctor’s arms, and screamed, “WAAAAAAAAH!”
[hits table …
Read More...From talk at Seoul International Zen Center, Korea, March 9, 1996
Some people completely understand sutras. A long time ago, a famous old Sutra Master visited Ko Bong Zen Master.
Ko Bong Sunim asked him, “How long have you been teaching the sutras?”
Dae Un Sutra Master said, “I have …
Read More...No attainment is attainment and attainment is no attainment.
[Raises Zen stick overhead and hits table]
No attainment. No no attainment.
[Raises Zen stick overhead and hits table]
Attainment is attainment. No attainment is no attainment.
Which one is the truth?
KATZ!
Outside, …
Read More...From a talk by Zen Master Wu Bong
Question: Sometimes I feel complete, and everything is clear, but then at other times I lose that, and no longer understand. What can you say about this?
Zen Master Wu Bong: Being complete is not dependant on your feeling. Everyone is complete, …
Read More...This is almost like Zen teaching, except for the fact that this understanding alone will not help anyone’s life. …
Read More...One of the most famous stories in our Zen tradition is about a little girl in ancient China named Sul. She and her family lived about a thousand years ago near the temple of the famous Zen Master …
Read More...(Holds the Zen stick and very slowly traces a circle in the air with its tip, then strikes the Zen stick vertically on the table.)
Very very slow.
(Quickly traces a circle in the air with the Zen stick and strikes …
Read More...Chew, Chew, Chew
Digesting our understanding is …
Read More...At a recent Dharma Talk, Zen Master Seung Sahn was asked what elements contribute to make a meditation practice strong and clear. He answered:
“True meditation comes from true cognition; true cognition comes from true meditation.
There are many schools of meditation in the United States. Some meditations use breathing …
Read More...One day a student from Chicago came to the Providence Zen Center and asked Seung Sahn Soen-Sa, “What is Zen?”
Soen-sa held his Zen stick above his head and said, “Do you understand?”
The student said, “I don’t know.”
Soen-sa said, “This don’t know mind is you. Zen is understanding …
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