Among elite American students, there was a boom in ‘knowing the East,’ and Buddhist meditation and Indian yoga were very popular. Kabat-Zinn was also a young man who was concerned about the future of humanity, the mystery of life, and the source of life, in addition to his personal stress.
At that time, the person introduced by colleagues as a "spiritual master" was the Korean monk Seung Sahn (1927-2004), who worked as a laundry repair shop clerk in Providence, near Boston.
Seung Sahn is the father of the globalization of Korean Buddhism, who went overseas in the 1960s and later established 120 Zen centers in 32 countries around the world. The Harvard-educated American monk Hyeon Gak, famous for the 1990s bestseller "Manhaeng: From Harvard to Hwagyesa," is also his disciple.
Kabat-Zinn described his meeting with Seung Sahn as follows:
“The great master had something very charming. He was a master of Zen, but he also enjoyed repairing washing machines. Without any show-off attitude or pride, he had a completely shaved head, wore white rubber shoes, and wore tattered brown robes, and preached in a mixture of ‘bad English’ and Korean.”
However, the young Americans were fascinated by that ‘bad English.’ They were the ‘Harvard bookworms’ who were the best in the world in terms of intelligence.
“Go straight ahead, don’t check your heart,”
“The arrow has already arrived in the city,”
“Put it down, just put it down,”
“You already know.”
It wasn’t logical at all, but when I listened to it, I felt relaxed, my heart felt relieved, and I felt like I had seen something bright.
Afterwards, Kabat-Zinn combined the philosophy and meditation of Korean Zen Buddhism that he learned from Seung Sahn with various practices such as Vipassana meditation of Southern Buddhism and Hatha Yoga of India to create the so-called ‘Mindfulness Meditation (MBSR)’ program.
The official name is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction:. In 1979, he started the MBSR program at the University of Massachusetts Hospital under the sign ‘Stress Reduction and Relaxation Clinic’ for incurable patients suffering from unknown diseases or unexpected accidents.
The results were a great success. Without the help of drugs or other medical techniques, only meditation, yoga, and cognitive behavioral therapy, an average of 30-50% of patients showed positive effects both mentally and physically.
Afterwards, as word of mouth spread, leading universities and hospitals around the world, such as Harvard University, Stanford University, Oxford University, and the University of Toronto Hospital in Canada, as well as global corporations and banks, such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Intel, Deutsche Bank, and Credit Suisse, rushed to introduce MBSR.
The American weekly magazine Time covered the ‘Science of Meditation’ in its 2003 cover story, and then again in February 2014, with the cover story ‘Mindful Revolution’, reporting on the ‘mindfulness meditation’ craze that is sweeping the globe, expanding not only to the medical and psychological fields but also to workplaces, schools, and homes.
What is the significance of the ‘mindfulness’ craze centered around MBSR?
First, MBSR has become a mind fitness that anyone can do anytime, anywhere. It is a ‘self-mind training method’ that can be done with just 8 weeks of education, so there is no need to go to a resort or the mountains to relieve stress or cultivate the mind.
Second, it is a fact that has already been proven in the medical field, but it is also good for patients with mental disasters such as depression as well as patients with physical pain.
Oxford University in the UK created an MBCT program based on MBSR and reduced the recurrence rate of depression by half.
In addition, improving a positive state of mind not only strengthens the body’s immune system, but also greatly contributes to metabolic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, blood pressure, and diabetes.
Third, we can gain philosophical and spiritual enlightenment about what we should live for and how we should live in an unprecedented competitive and voluntary life in human history. At the very least, we can slow down our lives from running at 100 km/h to 20 km/h or change them to a non-doing mode.
The creator of this program, John Kabat-Zinn, is currently a professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts and is a world-class spiritual leader. His spiritual mentor is Monk Seung Sahn. Many of his books feature the monk’s stories, and the monk officiated his wedding.
Although Koreans are not aware of this, the MBSR program that is sweeping the world contains traditional Korean Zen Buddhism ideology and techniques. But why are Koreans having such a hard time mentally these days?
Dae Bong (대봉스님)
The head monk of Musangsa (무상사) Temple in Gyeryongsan Mountain is the eldest of the foreign disciples who inherited the dharma of Seung Sahn (1927-2004, former master monk of Hwagyesa Temple), who took the lead in spreading Korean Buddhism to countries around the world.
A native of Philadelphia, USA, he graduated from Trinity College in Connecticut and studied psychology before starting his life as a monk after hearing the dharma of Seung Sahn at the New Haven Zen Center near Yale University in 1977.
He became a monk at Hwagyesa Temple in 1984 and received approval from Monk Seung Sahn in 1992 to become a disciple of the transmission of the dharma. He then came to the current Musangsa Temple in 1999 to begin his practice and has been in charge of the temple since it was officially founded in 2000.
Dae Bong told an anecdote about when he first met Seung Sahn in 1977. When a psychology professor asked, "What is crazy and what is not crazy?" Seung Sahn replied, "If you are very obsessed with something, you are crazy. If you are a little obsessed with something, you are a little crazy. If you are not obsessed, you are not crazy."
Dae Bong said, "At that moment, I felt that those words were better than the 10 years of psychology study I had done," and added, "Everyone is obsessed with themselves, but I am not. He said, "It doesn't exist; it's just a thought I created."
Musangsa Temple is open to Protestants and Catholics to participate in the precepts. Regarding this, Daebong said, "We do not try to convert anyone to our religion. The Buddha's mind is like the ocean, accepting any water," he said.
Mu Sim (무심스님)
The head monk of the Seung Sahn International Seonwon Musangsa Temple in Gyeryongsan, Daejindang Musim, a disciple of Sungsan Seonim who introduced Korean Buddhism to the world with the spirit of Segye Ilhwa (世界一花)—the world is one flower—passed away at noon on December 26, 2015. He was 31 years old in Sangha and 57 years old.
Musim Seunim has been dedicated to introducing Korean Buddhism to the world by following Seung Sahn Seunim’s teachings while also helping many foreign practitioners practice Buddhist teachings correctly. The monk has always emphasized the importance of daily practice, saying, “Proper practice is to properly digest what I know and become wise.”
Mu Sim Seunim was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, in 1958, and became a monk in 1979 while studying chemistry at Boston University in Massachusetts after meeting Seung Sahn Seunim. He has lived in Korea for over 30 years and has practiced diligently by participating in more than 40 retreats (winter and summer gyeol-je) at Sudeoksa Temple, Sinwonsa Temple, and Hwagyesa Temple. He served as the chief instructor of Hwagyesa Temple in Seoul, and after assuming the position of head monk of Musangsa Temple in Gyeryongsan Mountain in 2002, he has been the head monk since 2013.
Mu Ryang (무량스님) English Translation
The monk, who entered the country on October 11 to publish the book, said, “I have been building the temple for 10 years with the thought of ‘just doing’ as my teacher Seung Sahn taught me,” and “I don’t know when the temple will be completed, but the meaning of the process of building it, that is, the labor practice, is more important, so I just ‘just do’.”
Eric, a young man studying geology at Yale University, met the monk Seung Sahn and was exposed to Buddhist teachings. In 1983, he received the Buddhist name ‘Muryang’ and became a monk in Korean Buddhism. After that, he traveled around the country with Monk Won-gong, famous for his 'walking deeds', and he also worked as a Buddhist monk at Taegosa Temple on Mt. Daedun (대둔산 태고사), becoming immersed in Buddhist teachings.
There are two main reasons why the monk built Taegosa Temple while practicing 'walking deeds'. The first is to create a place where he can transcend nationality and focus solely on practicing. Through this, he also wanted to introduce the teachings of his spiritual mentor, Monk Seung Sahn, and Korean Buddhist culture to Americans.
The second is to test an environmentally friendly lifestyle. In the process of building Taegosa Temple, he mainly used solar and wind power, and also installed a water catcher on the roof to use rainwater. "Building a building is not about fighting nature, but learning how to work with nature," is the monk's motto.
Since the first building, Yosachae, was built in 2000, people have been gathering at Taegosa Temple, and recently, it has become so famous that about 2,000 people gather every Sunday Dharma service. The monk recently cast a 'peace bell' to pray for peace around the world.
"I am not a special or outstanding person, but just a practitioner. Through this book, I want to correct the exaggerated stories of the past and reveal the appearance of an ordinary practitioner.
Now, let's all contemplate the question of 'only not knowing' where there is no separate subject and object, you and me."
Hyeon Gak (현각스님)
Currently an American monk active in Germany.
He is a German-American born into a Catholic family. His maternal family is said to be Irish. He went to a Catholic private high school and experienced spiritual wandering and eventually entered Yale University to major in philosophy and literature. At this time, he became fascinated by Arthur Schopenhauer and Romantic poets. Along with Muryang and Cheongan, he is a well-known foreign monk who converted to Korean Buddhism.
When he heard the news that his close cousin died in a car accident during his teenage years, he became aware of the issues of life and death and suffering. He attended Yale University, where his parents graduated, and participated in the student movement, studied philosophy, and went on an exchange program in Europe.
Hyeon Gak himself later recalled this time and said that he thought that there might have been a connection between Buddhism and Arthur Schopenhauer's later philosophy.
In 1989, he received an acceptance letter from Harvard University and worked at a Wall Street law firm to earn tuition, but he felt despair at the life of Wall Street, a typical materialistic society, and decided to commit suicide.
However, he was about to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge when he met a Black beggar by chance and was reborn and changed his mind. Since he was planning to commit suicide anyway, he gave all his money to the beggar, and the beggar said, "Do you know what day it is today? Today is your birthday. You will understand when you think about what I said later."
Hyeon Gak said that he thought that perhaps the beggar was an incarnation of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.
Later, while studying comparative philosophy at Harvard, his Japanese professor at the time recommended that he attend Seung-Sahn's lecture at Harvard, which led to his connection with Korean Buddhism. The next day, he visited the Cambridge Zen Center and began learning basics such as Zen meditation.
He eventually took a leave of absence from Harvard and visited Korea in 1990 to practice in earnest. After a 90-day retreat at Shinwonsa Temple in Gyeryongsan Mountain (계룡산 신원사), he returned to Korea and continued his studies, but in 1992, Paul Münzen received an ordination ceremony with Seung-san right next to the body of the Sixth Patriarch Hui-neng, who is enshrined in the main hall of Nanhua Temple in Jogyesan Mountain, China, and officially became a monk. One unique fact here is that the ordination ceremony took place at Nanhua Temple in China.
In Korea, Hyeon Gak became famous in the late 1990s with the KBS Sunday Special 2-part series Manhaeng (만행) and soon became even more famous with the book he published, "Manhaeng (萬行) - From Harvard to Hwagyesa.".
He emphasizes the original nature of truth that is not confined by language and thoughts. Truth or enlightenment is something that can be experienced, not explained. The idea that all things are one and that we should not discriminate between them with our minds is also a concept he frequently mentions.
He believes that all religious teachings converge into one.
He became famous as an American monk who was involved in Korean Buddhism, but after living there for several years, he became skeptical of Korean Buddhism's cult-like beliefs and declared his departure from Korean Buddhism on July 28, 2016, through Facebook, along with criticism of Korean Buddhism.
He believes that the Jogye Order (조계종) completely disbanded the Hwagyesa International Seonwon and that it was operating the sect in a Confucian, traditional, and pre-modern way.
In summary, Hyun-Gak says that "the educational methods of the Jogye Order (Korean Buddhism) are a unique and precious vessel for the teachings and techniques of Dharma" and that he will continue the teachings of Seung Sahn in Germany and spread Korean Buddhism to the world, but he also points out that "due to politics and extreme nationalism, the current Jogye Order is missing a precious opportunity to spread its techniques to the world."
He also said, "Korean monks and lay Buddhists need to make this reform themselves," but "the culture of conformity is preventing them from doing so. Hyper-conformity is a unique disease of Korean monks."
Chong An (청안스님)
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