What Is Zen Buddhism
Zen Buddhism can be described as a religion of personal experience based on the “spirit” of the Buddha’s Supreme Enlightenment; therefore no dogmas or creeds. The highest aim of Zen is Awakening, seeing into one’s Essential-nature. The Essential-nature is the birthright of everyone. But like the moon, whose brightness is obscured by clouds, our True nature does not shine brightly within us because our mind is encrusted with delusion; thus training and practice are indispensable. Contrary to what some believe, Zen practice is not asceticism. Rather, it is a process of self-cleansing, of ridding oneself of mistaken views and notions of how things “should” be, of living wholly “in” the moment rather than “for” the moment. Such mind purification culminates in the crowning achievement of Awakening. True Awakening confers self-empowerment to the highest degree. In Zen, the problem is not “What is God?” but “Who am I?” not the individual ego-I we so desperately cling to but the all-embracing cosmic I. A by-product of Zen training is the development of mindfulness and spontaneity. And with this awakening, the ability to live a moral life. Not in a desperate strained way, but naturally and spontaneously. Zenlife is compassion for all living beings!
Several members of the original group practiced at the San Francisco Zen Center, and the Center is now formally affiliated with SFZC. Zen Center was founded by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. Before he died in 1971, Suzuki also founded the first Zen monastery in America, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, near Carmel, California. The Morning Star Zen Center was founded in 1986 by Jim Jackson, who at the time of his death in 2007 was a Senior Dharma Teacher in the Kwan Um School of Zen, and his wife, Barbara Taylor, who is also a Senior Dharma Teacher. Dharma Teacher John Kling joined the center in 2008 when he moved to Northwest Arkansas. Home - Soji Zen. Soji Zen Center. Soji Zen Center is a contemporary Buddhist center providing instruction in Zen meditation, philosophy and contemplation techniques for training the mind. We are guided by our founding teacher, Jules Shuzen Harris Roshi. Our Center is located on the eastern shore of Bde Maka Ska in south Minneapolis. People from all over come here to listen to talks by teachers, attend classes and workshops, participate in retreats, attend services, and most importantly, to do sitting meditation (zazen). We welcome everyone who seeks to do Zen practice.
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Ven. Kshantin Curtiss, Sensei, director of Zenlife, spent 35 years of intensive spiritual training (twenty of those in Zen) before being ordained by Roshi Philip Kapleau in 1994 and given permission by him to teach. Kshantin Sensei is a disciple of Roshi Kapleau and was his attendant and personal secretary for over six years. Kshantin Sensei has visited numerous spiritual centers around the US and trained with many teachers of different sects of Buddhism. This, combined with over twenty five years of chaplaincy at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Florida has given Kshantin Sensei a unique perspective as to what constitutes authentic Zen training.
It is important to remember that a teacher is merely a “midwife” and that the practice of Zen is an individual endeavor. And in this sense there really are no “Teachers of Zen”.
Listen to the following: Once at the the assembly of all his followers the great Zen Master Ummon said. “You are all swallowers of dregs. Don’t you know that in all the land of Tang (China) there are no teachers of Zen?”. One of his monks took him to task saying, “How can you say that? There are thousands of monasteries and monks. And even in your assembly there are hundreds of your followers, and do you not give them instruction?” Ummon answered. “I didn’t say that there was no Zen, just that there are no teachers of Zen!”. This is another way of saying that it is through your effort, your commitment, your dedication, your aspiration, your discipline, and finally, your faith that true awakening will surely come. A Zen teacher then, doesn’t beat a drum seeking students to teach, he merely invites others to join him in doing what he seriously does for himself.
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How can you be regaled by the fragrant blossoms of Spring??”
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The teachings at the Zenlife Center not only incorporate the practices of the Soto and Rinzai Zen traditions, but they also reflect what Kshantin Sensei has learned from his 35 years of spiritual training. Among other things, these include breath practices for concentrating the mind, “just sitting” (shikantaza), and/or the investigation of a koan (a spiritual problem stated in baffling language), and how to integrate the teachings of Zen into daily life. Most chanting is done in English. Although Monday morning is reserved for Spanish. The foundation of Zen practice is sitting meditation (zazen), and various Zen masters, going back to the Buddha himself, have devised various methods which involve immobile and mobile one-pointed concentration. Body practice, either Tai-chi or yoga is also stressed.
The Morning Star Zen Center
The Morning Star Zen Center was founded in 1986 by Jim Jackson, who at the time of his death in 2007 was a Senior Dharma Teacher in the Kwan Um School of Zen, and his wife, Barbara Taylor, who is also a Senior Dharma Teacher. Dharma Teacher John Kling joined the center in 2008 when he moved to Northwest Arkansas. He was previously with the Indianapolis Zen Center.
Zen Master Seung Sahn
The founding teacher of our School is Zen Master Seung Sahn, the 78th Patriarch in his line of transmission in the Chogye order of Korean Buddhism. In 1972, he came to the United States and started the Providence Zen Center, the first center in what is now the Kwan Um School. He and his students have founded over a hundred temples, centers, and groups around the world. His books include Ten Gates, The Compass of Zen, Dropping Ashes on the Buddha, Only Don’t Know, and The Whole World is a Single Flower–365 Kong-ans for Everyday Life.
Zen Master Seung Sahn 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 of “Great Master” from the Chogye Order of Korean Buddhism, in appreciation for his lifetime of teaching. This is the highest honor the order confers.
Zen Master Soeng Hyang
Zen Master Soeng Hyang (Barbara Rhodes) is the School Zen Master and Guiding Dharma Teacher of the Kwan Um School of Zen. She received dharma transmission from Zen Master Seung Sahn on October 10, 1992. She was one of Zen Master Seung Sahn’s first American students and studied with him since 1972. She was given inka in 1977. A registered nurse since 1969, she works for Hospice Care of Rhode Island. She helped found Providence Zen Center, and lived there for seventeen years, serving a number of administrative capacities. Zen Master Soeng Hyang has a daugher and lives with her partner, Mary, in Massachusetts.
Zen Master Hae Kwang
Zen Master Hae Kwang (Stanley Lombardo) received inka from Zen Master Seung Sahn in 1992 and transmission as a Zen Master in 1998. He is editor and co-editor of three of Zen Master Seung Sahn’s books (Bone of Space, Only Don’t Know, and Ten Gates). He is a Classics professor at the University of Kansas and has published translations of Greek poetry and philosophy, including translations of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. He has also co-authored a translation of the Tao Te Ching. He is the Morning Star Zen Center’s Guiding Teacher.
Zen Buddhist Center Near Me
“To study the way of the Buddha is to study oneself. To study oneself is to forget oneself. To forget oneself is to be enlightened by everything.”