By Catherine Maschio
Introduction:
Located in the heart of Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the Chogyesa Zen Temple of New York has been serving the city’s Buddhists for three decades. Aside from serving as a temple, Chogyesa offers retreats, meditation classes and a battery of religious ceremonies. Although Chogyesa is specifically a Korean Zen temple, it is open to everyone.
Origins and Founder:
The Chogyesa Zen Temple of New York was founded in 1978 by Zen Master Seung Sahn Haeng Won Sunim, the first Korean Zen master in the West. Born in 1929 in present day North Korea, Seung Sahn already had a background in Western Philosophy when he became disillusioned with the socio-political entanglements of Korea in the first half of the twentieth century. As a result, he embarked on a one hundred day retreat in the mountains, where he obtained enlightenment. He then went on to receive a dharma transmission from Zen Master Ko Bong, the most famous Korean Zen Master of the time.
In the early seventies, Seung Sahn went to Providence, Rhode Island, where students from the nearby Brown University frequently visited him at his place of work to talk about Zen and Buddhism in general. Soon after, the Providence Zen Center was established, followed by centers in other American cities, including New York City. In 1982, he founded the International Kwan Um School of Zen, which aims to make Zen practice and mastery more accessible to laypeople.
Aside from his work spreading Korean Zen through the United States, Zen Master Seung Sahn was also an activist. He traveled behind the iron curtain, teaching Zen in the Soviet Union and Poland while it was still under a Communist regime. Additionally, he hosted and organized a number of world peace assemblies, which were attended by people of all religions.
In November of 2004, Seung Sahn passed away and reached Nirvana. His work propogating the Dharma and spreading Zen throughout the West has left a lasting legacy, and earned the title of “Great Master” posthumously.
Chogyesa’s Affiliation and Beliefs:
Zen itself is a form of Mahayana Buddhism, which can be seen through the congregation’s emphasis on “Great love, Great compassion, and Great Bodhisattva Way”. Seung Sahn’s writings on Zen go further into depth, describing how when we focus on the question “what am I?” we soon will hit a metaphorical wall in our thinking, cutting off our logical thoughts. Similar to the desired effect of koans, the aim of this form of Zen is to stay in the “don’t know” state that arises when our rational thinking is cut off. Seung Sahn writes:
Zen is keeping this “don’t know” mind always and everywhere.
When walking, standing, sitting,
lying down, speaking, being
silent, moving, being still.
At all times, in all places, without
interruption — what is this?
One mind is infinite kalpas.
Another tenet of Korean Buddhism is the 108 delusions and 108 repentances. This is in reference to the desires of ordinary people, and is the result of when the six roots and six dusts come together. The six roots are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and consciousness. The six dusts are color, sound, smell, taste, touch and objects of mind. When they come together, the separated mind of liking/ disliking, suffering/ equality and happiness/ abandonment appears. We arrive at the number 108 because 6×6= 36. These thirty six delusions may occur in the past, present and future, thus 36 x 3 = 108. Practitioners will bow 108 times, one for each delusion to be purified in nature, which will lead to samadhi (the meditative mind) and therefore infinite capability and vitality of mind.
To obtain the “don’t know mind”, members of Chogyesa practice bowing, chanting and sitting Zen. Because Chogyesa is a Zen temple, there is an emphasis on meditation. The temple’s meditation guide online suggests techniques for keeping meditation. Some notable suggestions include keeping a question, counting breaths, and mantras. Mantras’ primary use is to block out all other thinking and distractions, thus triggering the “don’t know” mindset. One popular mantra among members of Chogyesa who often have trouble quieting their minds is the repetition of “Kwan Seum Bosal” – the Korean name of the Bodhisattva of compassion – to clear their minds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaciUbilNxM
Events:
Chogyesa offers a wide array of events for its members and visitors. Daily chanting and bowing practices are offered at 6:00 am every morning, and traditional Korean chanting every night. As mentioned before, the meditation classes are offered every Tuesday. Additionally, there are weekly Sunday Dharma services. Every second and fourth Saturday of each month, a 500 bow session is held. A one day retreat is offered to members each third Sunday of the month as well. The one day retreat is local, as members meditate in the nearby Central Park. Chogyesa celebrates the Buddha’s birthdate on April 8 each year; the date varies depending on the country, but in Korea the Buddha’s birthday is thought to be that date. For the Lunar New Year – Gu Jung in Korean – members of Chogyesa meet to partake in a special chant, and eat a traditional rice cake soup called Duck Kook. The first Sunday of May, Chogyesa joins the greater New York and New Jersey Buddhist community for the unified Buddhist lotus lantern parade. Currently, the temple is engaging in a hybrid, online and in person, model for events due to the ongoing pandemic.
Relationship with Other Buddhist Communities:
The Chogyesa Zen Temple of New York is part of a larger network of Zen temples founded by Seung Sahn. The Kwan Um School of Zen has member temples and centers in the Americas, Europe and Asia, as well as a large online Sangha. Additionally, Chogyesa is a member of the Buddhist Council of New York, an organization meant to foster cooperation within the diverse Buddhist cohort in New York City. The BCNY is also responsible for organizing events like Meditate NYC, which puts a multitude of Buddhist practices on display at the New York University Campus spiritual center, as well as a series of Buddhist forums. Overall, Chogyesa enjoys a tight relationship with the rest of the Buddhist communities, as it belongs to two larger networks of temples.
Composition:
The temple is open to everyone, regardless of background, and makes good on its assertions of doing so. Upon examining the Chogyesa public Facebook group and website gallery, it appears that Chogyesa is a mix of Asian and white members, but membership skews toward mostly Asian. This can be concluded because Chogyesa offers many services exclusively in Korean. Interestingly, while the members themselves are predominantly Asian-American, there is also a number of white teachers being showcased on both the Chogyesa and Kwan Um School of Zen websites. The instructional materials offered on the Chogyesa website also feature photos of white masters for examples that require visualization, such as appropriate meditation posture.
Internal Conflicts:
It is important to note that the abbot of Chogyesa, Doam Sunim, has been engaged in controversy and a legal struggle with the temple’s board of directors. Much of this discourse can be found in the Facebook group, which contains Doam Sunim’s official apology letter, outlining his attempt to take over the temple by dismissing the chairman of the board, Mr. Hyung Suk Kim. Sunim’s actions created many divisions within the sangha, as he spread defamatory statements, and even resulted in physical violence against Mr. Kim. Since the issuance of the apology letter in 2019, he has effectively retracted his apology and confession by trying to remain the abbot of Chogyesa, a promise he made in his letter. The temple runs on both domestic and foreign donations, membership dues, and fees for events. Roughly $186,000 of Chogyesa’s funds have been unaccounted for, and whether this is related to the current events or not is still unknown.
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Works Cited
“A Temple, Zen in Brisbane, Deagon, Phoenix Zen Centre.” Mysite, https://www.phoenixzencentre.org/.