Our Zen Traditions

Zen Master Seung Sahn introduced our practice to the West.  In 1949, he received transmission from Zen Master Ko Bong, one of the most famous masters in Korea at that time.  After this he led temples in  Korea, Hong Kong and Japan, before finally in 1972 founding in the West a buddhist lay and monastic organization with the name "Kwan Um".  Kwan Um means in Korean "Perceive the Sound of the World".  Today there are monasteries and practice centers in 27 countries, including many in Europe.

Korean Zen in its western form includes the practices of prostration, chanting, sitting meditation, and the use of mantras and kong-ans (Japanese: koans).  On the other hand, formal study of the sutras is not pursued.

ZEN CENTERS

The Kwan Um School of Zen was founded at Providence when Zen Master Seung Sahn came to the West and started to teach Korean Zen Buddhism to westerners for the first time.

Today our school includes:
- More than 30 centers throughout Europe
- More than 30 centers in the United States
- Three centers in Israel
- Several centers in Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong
- Centers in Brazil and Mexico