I get this photo in a WhatsApp message a few days ago from my old buddy DS Sunim. Where did he come up with making this? I guess he’s responding

One of the most interesting aspects of Dae Soen Sa Nim’s transmission of his Dharma to the West since 1972 is the fact that he never produced any home-leaving monastics

At his last visit to Zen Center Regensburg, two years ago, Dae Bong Sunim decided to try a new Five Precepts “small kasa” on for size. Very very very special

What was imagined raising students would be: (pre-monk idea) — gentle meeting of minds, receptive and welcoming in the misty spirit of Dharma-openness, a mutual interpenetration of souls, “raising the

How it was imagined: (pre-monk idea) — Committed to solitary practice in forlorn mountain valleys, “together-action” would consist of receiving offerings exchanged through an infrequent visit by disciples to the

What was imagined “teaching” would be: (pre-monk idea) — Mellow exchanges about the Dharma, one-to-one dialogue, intimate sharing in a natural meeting. What it became: (post-monk reality) — Disciple of

What was imagined “hard-practice” would be: (pre-monk idea) — Solitary bliss communing unmediated in the Absolute; What “hard practice” became: (post-monk reality) — The sole Westerner in a massive gathering

Don’t give up, brother. The old Zen adage, “Make friends with your demons”, could be adapted and deployed quite profitably in this situation.

An excellent film-treatment of OKwang Sunim’s chanting and life out by a bend in the river in the mountains of Serbia. Sunim chants in the soulful, unrefined, completely natural style