Download newsletter - Zen Buddhist Temple

spring wind
newsletter
Vol. 1, No. 1 Fall 2009
An Account of How Sunim Came to New
York City & All that Happened in the
buddhist society for compassionate
wisdom
Summer
of 1967
In This Issue
Zen Master Who? Errata Statement
Unfolding Buddha’s Teaching
My Path to the Way of Buddha
Precept-Taking & Renewal Ceremony
The No Dharma Family
Dharma Training Opportunities
Visitor’s Program
Sangha News
Peace Camp
Teachers’ Corner
5
6
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
16
In 1967, I arrived in New York City and
stayed for five months. Forty years later, in
November 2007, I returned. What I am
today for Buddhism in this country I owe
to three people I met 40 years ago in Japan.
Nomura Tadayoshi was then a Rinzai Zen
monk of Kotoku-ji temple in Ueno, Tokyo,
when I was staying at the same temple in
Spring 1967. Without his kind help I would
not have been able to come to America.
I met Perry Bullard at the East-West
Discussion Group in Tokyo. At the time
he was serving as a U.S. Navy pilot on an
ROTC ticket, and during his off-duty
period, he was active in the anti-Vietnam
War movement. We spent time together
discussing non-aggression and conflict
resolution for achieving world peace, and
we became good friends. It was Perry who
purchased a plane ticket for me to fly to
New York City. He asked me, “Where do
you want to go in the U.S.?” “I have no
idea,” I said. He thought for a moment and
replied,“It’s a big country. You should go to
New York City. It’s big enough, and you’ll
have no trouble finding interesting people
to help you.”
Brian Victoria was a Christian missionary
turned Soto Zen monk who was getting a
name for his anti-war activism. One day
he confided to me that he was making
good money on takuhatsu (almsbegging).
This was counterintuitive to me, because
I was more used to destitution as a beggar
and the vow of poverty and humility
as a mendicant. Brian (author of Zen at
War) took me to Asakusa, a major tourist
attraction in Tokyo, and we stood in front
of the gateway at a respectable distance
from each other and began to recite the
Heart Sutra aloud in Japanese. Brian
immediately attracted attention and
donations—he was tall, and hakujin (white
person) at that. People swarmed around
him and donations poured in. It was an
instant success not only for solicitation
but also for publicity. Once he was
featured on the cover of Time magazine for
We are delighted to present the first issue of the Spring Wind Newsletter. The purpose of this quarterly newsletter is to connect and
serve the Spring Wind community of the Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom through the exchange of information and
improved communication. Continuing in the tradition of our past publications Temple News and Spring Wind: Buddhist Cultural Forum,
the Spring Wind Newsletter seeks to bring our sanghas together while informing the public of Buddhist tradition and promoting
Buddhism in everyday life. We also strive to facilitate the encounter between Buddhist wisdom and Western society. We invite
your feedback and welcome your contributions in the form of local news, short articles, photographs and letters to the editor as
together we walk the Way of Buddha in North America.
Spring Wind Fall 2009 1
disgust about the dirty hippies ruining the
country. Jim and the veteran immediately
got into a heated argument about the
Vietnam War and patriotism. I watched
with growing interest and awakening. I
witnessed young people questioning blind
patriotism (“our country right or wrong”),
perhaps for the first time in U.S. history,
and protesting against their president
(“Tricky Dick”) misleading the nation.
Old Dharma friends: Samu Sunim with Charles Carpenter, the first American Zen monk in the Japanese
tradition, at Charles’s farmhouse in Coon Rapids, Iowa (June 2003). Samu Sunim stayed in his one-bedroom
rooming house for one week when he first arrived in New York City in the summer of 1967. (For more information on Charles Carpenter, see Spring Wind: Buddhist Cultural Forum, Spring 2004, Vol. 9, No. 2) Photo: Sanha
Jung Soon Park
his political activism, which annoyed the
Nixon Administration. Brian helped me
obtain a visa from the U.S. consulate in
Tokyo.
After his discharge from the U.S. Navy
in 1968, Perry went back to Harvard and
then to the University of Michigan Law
School in Ann Arbor for his graduate
studies. In 1972, he was elected to the
state legislature as a representative of Ann
Arbor. He served as a liberal lawmaker
for the state of Michigan for 20 years. He
passed away at the age of 56 in October
1998.
I am grateful to these three unforgettable
good friends for the wonderful
opportunity they provided me for
Buddhist work in this country. What
contributions I have made to the Buddhist
movement in the last 40 years are thanks
to them.
2 Spring Wind Fall 2009
San Francisco & Haight-Ashbury
In mid-August 1967, I arrived at San
Francisco airport and learned that I had to
wait three days for my connecting flight to
New York City. I remembered the letter
of introduction to Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
(1904–1971) that Brian had given me just
in case. So I visited the San Francisco Zen
Center on Bush Street. I greeted Katakiri
Sensei, who was conducting zazen, and
was told that Suzuki Roshi was away on a
fundraising trip.
For a guide and orientation, I called a
friend of Perry’s in Berkeley. It didn’t take
long before Jim showed up. No sooner
had we finished greeting each other than
he said with excitement, “You can’t leave
San Francisco without visiting HaightAshbury! It’s one place you cannot miss, if
you want to see change taking hold in this
country.” So we set out for the center of
the hippie movement. On the way we ran
into a veteran who was grumbling with
More and more countercultural young
people came into view. Some wore Indian
headbands and jackets with tassels and
carried burning incense, while others
wore tie–dyed clothes or halter tops and
carried small bells that jingled as they
walked. Many were barefoot or wore
sandals. We dropped by a local clothing
store run by the Diggers. The clothes
were not for sale; they were free. We
were told we could pick any clothes on
the rack but should leave our old clothes
behind. What a just distribution according
to one’s need, I thought. It was akin to
Buddhist monastic communism based
on the minimalist economic principles of
reduced desire, reuse and recycling. There
was much in common between Buddhism
and their consciousness revolution, the
peace movement, anti-establishment
sentiment and communal living. Add to
this young people sitting in meditation
at the Zen Center! I could hardly believe
the extraordinary phenomenon of my
encounter with the subculture of the
“flower generation.”
However, it was not until we arrived
at a community church—where several
hundred hippies were doing love-ins,
during what later became famous as the
Summer of Love—that I had my first
serious cultural shock. Their psychedelic
indulgence and sexual revolution, which
was their expression of peace, love and
personal freedom, were well beyond my
comprehension at the time.
I managed to stop by the Zen Center
again before I left for the airport. I
wanted to take one more good look at
young Americans sitting still in Zen
concentration. Still it was difficult for a
monastic product like me to understand
the two sides of the young Americans’
bohemian subculture—their unrestrained
behavior and their spiritual aspirations.
I met Shunryu Suzuki Roshi briefly. He
had just returned from his trip in time
for an important service for his Japanese
congregation, so it was a busy time, but
he was gracious in receiving me. I was
more impressed, however, with his wife,
Mitsu-san, partly due to my solidarity
with minjung bulgyo (Buddhism for
common ordinary people) and sympathy
for underdogs. Propriety and ritual are
an important part of Japanese society. I
presented Suzuki Roshi with the letter of
introduction from Brian Victoria. Then
he shouted to the outside, “O-cha” (“tea”).
Before long the door flew open, and a pot
of tea was brought in. That was the first
time I met Mitsu-san. I could see and
feel her scurrying around to prepare the
service and attend to her husband so that
he would enjoy peace of mind and be able
to entertain the guest. It was a familiar
scene of the drudgery performed by wives
of Japanese temple priests. I excused
myself and bowed out of the room.
After the death of Roshi, I met Mitsu-san
twice at the San Francisco Zen Center.
According to the Japanese custom, she
was addressed as oku-san (someone’s wife)
at the Zen Center. Mitsu-san faithfully
served her husband and supported his
Dharma work when he was alive. She
stayed on at the Zen Center after his
death and imparted stability to the sangha
through her quiet and dignified presence
during the turmoil of the early 1980s. But
very little, if anything, is known about her,
while a great deal of information, some of
which is romanticized and exaggerated, is
available on Shunryu Suzuki Roshi.
Panhandling in New York City
Ten days after I arrived in Manhattan—
during which time I moved from place
to place—I ended up on the streets
with nowhere to turn. I figured that
people in academic institutions would be
sympathetic to a Buddhist monk from
Asia, so I picked up an empty can and
went to Columbia University. I sat down
at the non-entrance side in front of a
double iron gate and carefully placed the
empty can in front of me. It was my hope
that passersby would drop some coins in
the can while I meditated. But it didn’t
work. People were curious about the
novelty of silent begging, but apparently
they did not respond to non-proactive
solicitation.
A man was standing in front of me before
I became aware. He was a university
guard. He shouted something like, “Beat
it, man,” with a wild gesture. I got up
to move. Just then a student who was
watching me intently from a distance
came over and motioned for me to follow
him. He took me to the subway and then
to Washington Square Park, haven for
hippies and anything-goes. He selected a
“good” spot for me on the corner and went
across the street to watch the turnout
of the event. Soon I was surrounded by
about 30 young people in every form of
casual dress and hairstyle. Like good boys
and girls, they were admirably sitting
quietly, perhaps in imitation of me.
However, that did not keep the police
away. Two policemen came by to check
me out. Noticing the most unusual figure
even among the unusual crowd, they
came straight to the main perpetrator and
pulled me out.
“What were you doing?”
“Meditating.”
“You cannot meditate in the public
space. It obstructs the free movement of
pedestrians.”
“I was soliciting donations through
meditation.”
“Do you have a permit?”
It never occurred to me that I would
need a permit for mendicancy (or
“panhandling”—the hippie jargon
I learned later on). One policeman
whispered to his friend and then came
over and drew me aside. Moving away
from the hippie crowd he said, “My
girlfriend is Asian.” Conveying a friendly
feeling, he advised me, “Avoid violating
the law. You can get into trouble with U.S.
immigration officials. Go get a permit
from the Department of Social Services.”
Then he drew a map to get there. I
thanked him for his kindness.
I walked all the way to the department.
When I arrived, I explained my situation
and requested a permit for soliciting. The
official said, “No, I cannot issue you a
permit just to support you. You must have
a good reason such as feeding the hungry
and helping the poor or building a church
or temple for the public.” I said right
away, “I would like to build a temple.”
He looked at me straight and said with a
smile, “Well, our city can benefit from a
new Buddhist temple! But I need a letter
from an established Buddhist church in
the city stating that you are a Buddhist
monk.” I was at a loss, for I didn’t know of
any such place. Sensing my predicament,
he mentioned a well-known Buddhist
establishment and gave me directions.
Three Vows
I was all curious and eager to see the
Buddhist establishment in Manhattan.
The head minister was away so the
assistant minister received me. I told him
my situation and asked for help. He was
reluctant and evasive. I grew desperate
and pleaded with him for help. Still with
great reluctance, he went inside and
brought back a letter. I took it, anxious to
get back to the office before it closed. The
official greeted me with a beaming smile.
I respectfully presented him the letter.
He opened the letter and read it. Then
he looked up at me with disbelief. He
glanced at the letter one more time and
asked me if I knew what the letter said. I
said I did not know. He handed it to me to
read. The letter said, “I do not know this
person. He looks like a monk. But I do
Spring Wind Fall 2009 3
not really know him. He urged me to write
something for you so I wrote this.”
All of a sudden, everything looked dark,
and tears began to form with surging
sadness. But I did not want to show my
emotion in front of the official. I thanked
him for his help and hurried out of his
office. I sat down on the corner of the
street, buried my head between my knees
and broke into tears. When I finally raised
my head after a good sob, I realized that
I was practically surrounded by rush hour
traffic. I must have been so absorbed in
my sadness that I became totally oblivious
to the hustle and bustle of the largest city
in the world for a little while. Everyone
was busy going home or on the move. I
got up and looked up at the sky. I realized
that the minister did nothing wrong. He
was trying to be honest with himself. As
a result of that, perhaps, he may have
overlooked important Buddhist values of
Sangha brotherhood and compassion.
I made three bodhisattva vows to follow,
provided that I be allowed to stay in this
country to work for Buddhism. First, I
would do my utmost to help Buddhist
monks and teachers from Asia settle in
America and spread the teachings of the
Buddha. Second, I would help promote
inter-Buddhist dialogue among different
groups representing Asian traditions, both
national and sectarian, so that they could
understand each other better and share
their experiences for their common goals
in the West. Third, I would learn from
the social service experiences of Christian
traditions and work with their leaders for
interreligious exchange and cooperation
on social justice and world peace.
Washington Square Park &
Greenwich Village
I was feeling dizzy and had to sit down.
I had no energy left. It dawned on me
that I had not eaten for more than three
days. I moved my body slowly and walked
back to Washington Square Park. The
young flower people were waiting for
4 Spring Wind Fall 2009
me. “What happened? What happened?
Did you get a permit?” they kept asking. I
had no answer. I could not say anything.
I was also very tired. They understood.
Right away someone brought me water
and then food. They kissed and hugged
me. It was all so intimate, immediate
and spontaneous! I knew that in Seon
(Zen) training, monks learn to do things
intimately, immediately and spontaneously
until they become obvious. However,
this was a totally new experience! It was
difficult to distinguish giving your life for
the salvation of the world in enlightened
consciousness from giving yourself freely
for peace and love in unenlightened
consciousness. I was nicely confused. This
was my second cultural shock.
My hippie friends went around
panhandling on my behalf while I was
regaining my strength. They collected
$35 and gave it to me as an offering. I was
completely overwhelmed. It was getting
dark. A woman invited me to her house.
She lived alone. As soon as I was shown
my quarters, I fell to sleep. It was a long
day!
When I woke up in the morning,
everything was very quiet. The house
looked deserted. I went to the living
room and sat down on the couch. I was
careful not to make noise or disturb the
owner, who I thought might be asleep.
As I was thinking that the house was
bare and empty, all of a sudden I began
to notice black cats here and there and
everywhere. They were all coming out of
their hiding toward me. I was not used
to domesticated animals, so I was a little
scared. When I realized that they were
harmless, I sat still and meditated for a
long time. When I got up to do bohaeng
(walking) meditation, the cats followed
me. So we did bohaeng together. Around
noon I went outside and walked the short
distance to the park. When the hippies
saw me, they brought water and food
again. I sat near the fountain or in the
shade and watched them playing. I also
watched reactions to the hippie scene by
“straight” people.
When I returned to the house in the late
afternoon, five black cats were all waiting
for me. I knew nothing about pets. I was
not familiar with pet food and playing
with them or showing affection. So it took
me a while to learn to be helpful when
they approached me. In the meantime,
I also learned that nighttime hippies
were different from daytime hippies.
Nighttime hippies were part-timers who
showed up after work or on weekends.
They embraced the hippie philosophy
of peace and love but also indulged
in the use of marijuana and LSD and
drinking. At night, the pubs in Greenwich
Village surrounding Washington Square
Park thronged with nighttime hippies,
freelancers and tourists. The scent of
pot smoke drifted to the street, borne by
laughter. True, it was mostly adults having
fun through their psychedelic experience,
but framed against the darkness outside, it
was a piece of non–still life that somehow
increased my feeling of isolation as “the
stranger in a strange land.”
The majority of daytime hippies were
runaway teenagers. In rebellion against the
establishment, the hippie counterculture
expressed itself through love and sharing,
rock music and dance, and getting high
via grass and consciousness expansion.
So many male and female teenagers were
willing to drop out of school and leave
home to join this subculture and/or
wander around in pursuit of a meaningful
life and liberation. Perhaps it was the first
time in human history since the preenlightenment Buddha joined the samana
(wandering spiritual seekers) movement
more than 2,500 years ago that young
people were rejecting the establishment
en masse for a new age and message.
To be continued in the next issue.
Zen Master Who? errata statement
James Ford has kindly allowed us to
reprint this posting from his blog, which
corrects several errors of fact about Samu
Sunim that appeared in his book Zen
Master Who? (Somerville, MA: Wisdom
Publications, 2006). The post can be
accessed at http://monkeymindonline.
blogspot.com/2008/09/zen-mastersamu-sunim.html
✦
Sadly my book Zen Master Who? has
numerous errors of fact. Most are pretty
small potatoes. But I have recently learned
of one significant enough that I am
seeking various venues to publicly correct
it. There will be an errata page for the
book placed at my publisher’s website, and
should there be a subsequent edition it
will be corrected. I have corrected Samu
Sunim’s biographical sketch at Wikipedia
which was based in part upon my work.
And I also want to post this here at my
personal blog.
I have long been an admirer of Zen
Master Samu Sunim’s work. But I
read that he never received Dharma
transmission. I should have dug deeper
than I did before writing this as fact.
In fact Samu Sunim received Dharma
transmission from Zen Master Weolha
Sunim in 1983.
Perhaps of course this particular article
in the book has more errors than I find
in any other single place. Nowhere near
as important, but still needs to be said is
that I reported he had married without
leaving the celibate Jogye Order, when in
fact he had left that order and established
a non-celibate order, the Buddhist Society
for Compassionate Living [sic] prior to his
marriage.*
I deeply regret these errors of fact.
For more details I copy a note from the
Secretary of the Society.
1) In 1943, Samu Sunim’s father left for
Manchuria in order to join the Korean
army for national independence. He did
not return to his family in South Korea
after liberation from Japan in 1945.
2) Samu Sunim was ordained by Dongsan
Sunim (1890–1965) who served as the
spiritual head (Supreme Ancestor) of the
Jogye Order from 1954 through 1962.
Sunim studied Seon under Dongsan
Sunim and Seolbong Sunim (1890–1969),
the Seon master of Beomeo-sa monastery
in Busan. In September of 1983, Sunim
received a Certificate of Dharma
Transmission (Geondang, literally
“establishing your own Dharma house”)
from Weolha Sunim (1915–2005), Seon
Master of Tongdo-sa monastery (one of
the Three Jewel Temples in Korea).
3) Samu Sunim arrived in New York City
in August 1967. In February 1968, he
moved to Montreal and four years later
to Toronto. The Seon(Zen) Lotus Society
(Buddhist Society for Compassionate
Wisdom since 1990), which Sunim
founded in New York City, is a noncelibate (celibacy optional), North
American Buddhist order.
4) At present, Haju Linda Jean Murray
and Toan José Castelão Cámara are the
only disciples who received Sunim’s
sanction to teach Dharma.
*The Jogye Order used to represent traditional Korean Buddhism in its entirety and was the only Buddhist monastic community in the country prior
to 1962. As members of the ruling class of the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910), Neo-Confucian scholar officials suppressed Buddhism in varying degrees
of intensity throughout the dynasty’s half millennium of domination. They forced different Buddhist schools to merge with the two schools of
doctrine and meditation (Seon) and abolished the rest. They reduced the number of temples and monks and confiscated their landed properties.
During the later period of the dynasty, the monks were treated as lower class and became subject to corvée and extortion by local and central
government officials. The result was the complete collapse of ecclesiastical hierarchy, and groups of individual monks left to fend for themselves with
or without a teacher.
It was under such circumstances that Gyeongheo (1849–1912) enlightened himself without a teacher and revitalized Seon Buddhism by establishing
meditation centers and training eminent disciples who together ushered in a golden age of Seon. It was during the Japanese colonial period (1910–
1945) that the ecclesiastical order of Korean Buddhism was reestablished and the name Jogye adopted. This Jogye Order was an all-embracing and
truly ecumenical form of Buddhism that included not only Seon and all doctrinal schools but also Pure Land and mantra/esoteric practice. Great
tolerance and Dharma energy prevailed, and a free and uplifting spirit flowed among the practitioners. Samu Sunim comes from this Jogye Order, a
bond that he cannot sever, like no one can sever their ties with their birthplace.
What he left was his relationship with the current administration of the Order, partly because he could not maintain celibacy while doing Dharma
work in secular society and could not insist on celibacy to his ordained Western disciples.
—Spring Wind Newsletter Editors
Spring Wind Fall 2009 5
Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom News
Unfolding Buddha’s Teaching
Wondrous is this robe of liberation,
A jewel beyond form and emptiness.
Wearing it, I will unfold Buddha’s teaching
For the benefit of all sentient beings.
—Gatha for Accepting the Gasa
In a solemn and moving ceremony
celebrated on July 4, 2009 at 9:30 am
at Zen Buddhist Temple–Toronto, Ven.
Samu Sunim ordained three new Dharma
Teachers by giving them the Ten Bodhisattva Precepts to serve the Buddhist
Society for Compassionate Wisdom. With
Buddhas, bodhisattvas, friends, family and
sangha members bearing witness, Bopchi Eduardo López Colin, Kohye Jeffrey
Boland and Koseya Blair Thomas recited
the Ten Great Vows in unison, committing to benefit all beings and follow the
Dharma—and never grow tired of it!
As Dharma protectors for the BSCW,
Bopchi, Kohye and Koseya also pledged to
ensure the integrity of the Spring Wind
Sangha and to promote its solidarity and
growth.
Bopchi (“Dharma Pass”) Eduardo López
Colin was born December 11, 1963 in
Mexico City, Mexico. He first became
involved with the Mexico City sangha in
1996. Bopchi took precepts in Chicago
in 2001 and started Maitreya Buddhist
Seminary training in 2002. He is married
to Victoria Olivar and is the father of
Ashavri (21 years old) and Diego (18 years
old). Bopchi studied Psychology at the
Universidad Autónoma de México and
holds a diploma in Human Resources
Management from Lasalle University in
Mexico City. He is a Business Strategy
and Human Resources Consultant and
Executive Coach. In addition, he has been
a business trainer for the last 23 years and
an open space conference facilitator for
the last 17 years. Bopchi also sings and
plays guitar for a hobby.
Bopchi’s wonderful Dharma energy and
Dharma rhythm are apparent to all who
meet him!
6 Spring Wind Fall 2009
Left to right: Toan Sunim, Koseya Blair Thomas, Ven. Samu Sunim, Kohye Jeffrey Boland, Bopchi Eduardo
López Colin, Haju Sunim
Photo: Sanha Jung Soon Park
Koseya (“No Meaning”) Blair Thomas
was born May 30, 1962 in Iron Mountain,
Michigan. He grew up in Jacksonville,
Alabama where his family was active in
the Episcopal Church. Koseya studied
at Oberlin’s Conservatory of Music and
College in Ohio, receiving a Bachelor of
Arts in English Literature in 1985. Koseya
moved to Chicago that same year to
begin a career in the theater. He founded
Chicago’s renowned Redmoon Theater
in 1989 and served as the artistic director
and co-artistic director until 1998. Koseya
began teaching at the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago in 1991 where he is
currently an adjunct associate professor.
in January 1998 and began the Maitreya
Buddhist Seminary in September of
that same year. In January 1999, Koseya
became a residential Dharma student at
the Chicago temple for six months and
continued Dharma student training until
the fall of 2001. Since September 2007, he
has participated in the Dharma Guardian
Program.
Koseya started attending Zen Buddhist
Temple–Chicago in May of 1995 and
took the Introductory Meditation Course
that summer. He participated in his first
Yongmaeng Jeongjin Retreat in June
1997 and took precepts that July. He
started the Dharma Worker Program
Koseya consciously promotes Dharma by
integrating Zen teachings and stories of
spiritual transformation into his acclaimed
puppet productions including The Oxherder’s Tale, which ran most recently at
Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary
Art, and the series 108 Ways to Nirvana,
In August 2001, Koseya married Taga
Sheri Doyel. He started his own puppet
theater named Blair Thomas & Company
in 2002 where he serves as Artistic
Director. He is the father of the twin boys
Abraham and Silas Thomas.
The Five Pledges
performed at Zen Buddhist TempleChicago and other venues.
Standing upright, Koseya has been an
inspiring example of going straight and
ever guarding the Dharma.
Kohye (“Grateful Heart”) Jeffery Boland
was born in Battle Creek, Michigan
on October 7, 1969. He first began
meditation training with Chogyam
Trungpa Rinpoche’s students in 1987 in
Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, Michigan.
He began Zen study in 1992 with Genjo
Marinello Osho, based in Seattle, where
he also studied Aikido. Kohye first visited
Zen Buddhist Temple–Ann Arbor in
1989 and began attending regularly
in 1996. He took the Introductory
Meditation Course at the Ann Arbor
temple in 1997 and took precepts in
Chicago the same year.
Kohye earned a BA in philosophy
and mathematics from the University
of Michigan in 1992 and his PhD in
mathematics, also from the University
of Michigan, in 1998. He moved to
Hamilton, Ontario, to teach mathematics
at McMaster University and began
occasionally attending the Toronto
temple at 86 Vaughan Road. He first
entered Maitreya Buddhist Seminary in
1998. In 2000, Kohye moved to Toronto
and became a very active member of
the Toronto sangha, serving on the
Advisory Council and volunteering in
many capacities. He re-entered Dharma
student training in 2007 and has been
instrumental in establishing our New York
City sangha.
I am fully aware that the Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom originated
from and inherited its Buddhadharma from the Korean Jogye Order. Therefore, it
is my duty to become familiar with the Korean Buddhist tradition and gain a great
understanding of the ecumenical character of our tradition, so that I am able to
contribute to the transmission of Korean Buddhism to the West.
I pledge that I will adhere to the pure standards and other guidelines of our
ordained sangha and honor my commitments to the Buddhist Society for
Compassionate Wisdom.
I pledge that I will faithfully follow the teachings of our founding teacher Master
Samu Sunim and embody his Dharma spirit to advance his teaching and wisdom.
I pledge that as a member of the Sangha Council, the decision-making body of our
order, I will abide by our Statement of Purpose, Constitution and by-laws laid down
by our President and senior Sangha Council members.
I pledge that I will serve as a Dharma protector for the Buddhist Society for
Compassionate Wisdom and promote solidarity, harmony and peace within our
Spring Wind Sangha.
I pledge that I will do my utmost to ensure the integrity and unity of the Spring
Wind Sangha and to further the growth and flourishing of the Buddhist Society for
Compassionate Wisdom.
Kohye has been employed in the financial
industry and is the founder/principal of
a newly established life reinsurance and
asset management company.
Kohye is a deeply modest person and
Dharma friend to all, whose generous
heart has benefited the Buddhist Society
for Compassionate Wisdom in many
silent ways.
Ordainees reciting the Ten Great Bodhisattva Precepts
Photo: Sanha Jung Soon Park
Spring Wind Fall 2009 7
Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom News
My Path to the Way of Buddha
Koseya Blair Thomas
I look forward to providing an example
and an opportunity for people to enrich
their lives spiritually. I was drawn to
meditation for practical reasons, at the
beginning. I wanted to remember what
had happened in the course of the day.…
And so I started to sit in meditation as
a practical thing, just to remember what
had happened to me. This sitting led to
gradually becoming more awake to the
experience of my life. From there, taking
the responsibility for my own life seemed
like the obvious next step. It was very
easy for me to live a life of delusion, to
live a fantasy of what I wanted my life to
be and the way I would like it to be. But
in sitting, it became clear to me how this
delusion created suffering for myself and
for others around me. So I tried to just sit
and not be concerned about my failings
and my successes but just to sit. And I was
reminded of that this week—I was able to
join the Yongmaeng Jeongjin retreat here.
I am a theater artist and a teacher with an
area of focus in puppetry. In 1998 I was
in need of a mentor, professionally. That’s
how I thought of it. I thought, I need
some sort of guidance. I looked around in
my field and couldn’t really find anyone,
but I had been going to this temple in
Chicago. And it was pretty easy: I just got
on my bicycle and rode over there. It was
very close; I didn’t have to do any research
or climb a mountain. And there was Samu
Sunim. He was always there as an example.
And I decided that I would follow him
as a mentor. I asked him if I could study
with him, and he said that he would be
responsible for my Dharma training. And
I can attest that he has been responsible,
from that moment on. Directly and
indirectly, all my interactions with him
have helped me in my practice.
And so I’m just closing to say that I’m
very grateful for this gift, and I will do my
utmost to bring the practice as an example
to others around me, whether that’s a
8 Spring Wind Fall 2009
passerby or intimate friend, student,
colleague, my family members or members
of the sangha as well.
Photo: Gaia Louman
Kohye Jeffery Boland
When I stumbled upon Buddhism and
meditation in 1987, it was immediately
compelling to me, and quickly became
one of the most important things in my
life. It changed my life at that time. And I
can say that it’s really the only thing that’s
been constant through my life since then.
Meditating, Buddhist practice, coming to
temple, things of that sort, to me always
feel like really coming home. Especially
here in Toronto, with this sangha. Since
the mid-’90s, when I met Haju Sunim
and Samu Sunim in Ann Arbor, this
community has really been my true home.
So that’s the first thing that brought me
here. There’s no other place to really be.
The second thing that brings me here is
the tradition that extends back 2,500 years
to the Buddha himself. The more I learn
about and study that tradition, reading
the words of the saints, the scholars, the
monks, the arhats, the poets, the vast
literature of thought and wisdom that’s
kept in this treasure trove of Buddhist
teaching, I remember I just wanted to
be part of that tradition. I really believe
that it’s just an amazing source of insight
and knowledge and wisdom, and the
really strong thing that’s compelled me
to be here is that I would hate for that to
disappear from the world, and I think that
this country and this culture that we live
in deserve to understand and know about
all those things. So, hopefully I can help
transmit some of that.
The third reason I’m here is Samu
Sunim himself. For me, Sunim connects
that path, that long tradition with the
future. I have a profound respect, love,
gratitude and admiration for Sunim
as my Dharma teacher. And I want to
help him with his work extending this
tradition into the future. In closing, I
would also like to thank all of the teachers
in this community that have really been
instrumental examples to me: Haju
Sunim, Toan Sunim, and Anicca and
Anjali, in particular.
“...this community has really
been my true home. So that’s
the first thing that brought me
here. There’s no other place to
really be.”
—Kohye Jeffery Boland
Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom News
18th Biennial International Precept-Taking &
Renewing Ceremony
On July 4, 2009 at 11 am after the ordination ceremony, the 18th Biennial International Precept-Taking and Renewing
Ceremony was held at the Toronto temple.
Thirty-five members and friends took the
eight precepts to form the No Dharma
family with 14 from Ann Arbor, 6 from
Chicago, 3 from Mexico City, 3 from New
York City and 9 from Toronto. Twentyfour people renewed their precepts (10
from Ann Arbor, 3 from Chicago, 3 from
Mexico City and 8 from Toronto). Ven.
Samu Sunim explained the three major
meanings of the homonym “No” which
he selected as the common name for the
Dharma Family taking precepts: one is
“old and experienced” (like an old mountain or old tree); the second meaning is
“open and outdoor”; the third meaning
is “exertion.” Kunaka Pearl Ratunil from
Chicago encouraged the new Buddhists
with an account of the often unexpected
ethical awakenings she experienced in
her everyday life after taking her precepts
last year. At the end of the precept taking
and renewing ceremony, Sunim reminded
everyone assembled there of the three
“Wows” of Buddhist Life: Buddhists are a
bunch of energetic people; Buddhists are
a bunch of happy people, and Buddhists
are a bunch of helpful people! Everyone
shouted back, full of enthusiasm and
renewed spirit for their Buddhist journey.
A delectable feast was arranged by the
Toronto Advisory Council to celebrate the
commitment of the No Dharma Family.
Welcome!
Eight Precepts
I resolve to abstain from doing harm,
but to cherish all life.
I resolve to abstain from taking what is
not given, but to respect the things of
others.
I resolve to abstain from engaging
in sexual misconduct, but to practice
purity of mind and self-restraint.
I resolve to abstain from lying, but to
speak the truth.
The No Dharma Family and precept renewers
Photo: Sanha Jung Soon Park
Taking precepts along with the rest of the No family in Toronto this summer
was an incredibly joyful experience for me. From the moment I arrived at the
temple, I was overflowing with excitement. After all the preparations with my
Dharma sisters in Chicago, after all the weeks of prostrations and chanting
and contemplations on the precepts, it was finally time for the culminating
event. (But first, of course: more prostrations!)
The ceremony itself embodied all the qualities of being “intimate, immediate,
spontaneous and obvious,” filled with laughter, high spirits and gratitude
toward our teachers. But, perhaps most importantly, it felt like a door we were
all walking through together, stepping into a new commitment to ourselves,
symbolized by our new names. Being in the presence of so many other
Buddhist practitioners from North America was very moving, a beautiful
reminder of how we’re working together to establish Zen in the West.
—Noil Allison Felus
I resolve to abstain from partaking in
the production and trading of firearms
and chemical poisons or of drugs and
liquors that confuse or weaken the
mind.
I resolve to abstain from wasting, but to
conserve energy and natural resources.
I resolve to abstain from harboring
enmity against the wrongs of others, but
to promote peace and justice through
non-violent means.
I resolve to abstain from clinging to
things that belong to me, but to practice
generosity and the joy of sharing.
Spring Wind Fall 2009 9
Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom News
The No Dharma Family
TORONTO
Rae Ellen Bodie–Nocheon–The Open Air, Buddhism Open
Lauren MacKinnon–Noin–Pilgrim
Rachael Frankford–Nopasim–Excessive Care & Kindness
Joseph Gleeson–Nobangcho–Grasses Growing on the Roadside
Christine Kim–Noroak–Volcano on Top of Halla Mountain in Jeju Island
Jamie Penic–Nogodan–Mountaintop Shrine for Goddess Nogo
David Rendall–Nodeok–Old Virtue
John Renwick–Nosim–Exertion of Mind
Kelly Wray–Nobak–Steady, Reliable
ANN ARBOR
Peter Arts–Nosuk–Sleeping Outdoors/Wayfarer
Nicole Bishop–Nobul–Buddha Outdoors, Buddha in the Marketplace
Joslyn DeVinney–Noji–Bare Ground; In the Wilderness
Kevin Dole, Jr.–Nonara–Onomatopoeia
Mark Harvey–Nojang–The Old and the Young, No Difference
Debra Moss–Nosana–Locana, Sambhogakaya (Enjoyment Body of Vairochana Buddha)
Elizabeth Purdy–Noam–Exposed Rock
Jessica Rivait–Nook–Dewdrops
Robert Schoof–Nogochu–An Old Gimlet (An Experienced Teacher, Nickname for Master Mazu)
Karla Snyder-Barker–Nomok–An Old Tree
William Solomonson–Nojak–Hard Work
Kimberly Wehrmeister–Nomyeong–Life Fleeting Like Morning Dew
Launda Wheatley–Nopo–Spread (Dharma)
Scott Williams–Nohaengja–Huineng When He Was a Novice
MEXICO CITY
María Angélica Acevedo Murillo–Nori–Life as Play
Alfonso Montaño González–Nohan–Arahant or Arhat
Juan Carlos Rivera Huerta–Norim–An Opportunity in Waiting
CHICAGO
Allison Felus–Noil–Work & Rest
Ellen McClure–Noara–Let Go
Peggy Neuzil–Nogol–Candor, Openness
Lourdes Ortega–Nodangdang–Completely Revealed, Clear
Jennifer Shin–Noju–A Bare Pillar Standing by Itself
Elizabeth Walton–Nochul–Exposure
NEW YORK
Carmen Casado–Norang–Yellow, Wisdom & Color of Mahayana Sutra
Lawrence Grecco–Nosan–An Old Mountain
Carolyn Kessler–Nosang–On the Road
10 Spring Wind Fall 2009
“Make the precepts your own.
When you do that, you discover
your true nature....The precepts
are not about being perfect. You
cannot disappoint anyone, including
yourself. Let yourself discover, learn,
enjoy, be enthusiastic.”
—Kunaka Pearl Ratunil
Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom News
Dharma Training Opportunities
Maitreya Buddhist Seminary
Dharma Guardian Program
This program is designed to train Dharma
students enrolled in the Seminary to
become Buddhist priests or lay Dharma
Teachers. The three-year period of
study and cultivation encompasses the
Five Gates of Liberation and can be
shortened or lengthened depending upon
the qualifications and progress of each
student. One can train residentially or
non-residentially. It is available both for
married or unmarried persons. Please
inquire for more details by calling your
local temple or visiting our website.
This program intends to help Buddhists
become ethically and socially responsible
in their professional and personal lives.
The purpose is to transform their work
and home environment into the ground
of Dharma cultivation and turn their daily
life into an opportunity for lay bodhisattva
training by applying the Buddhist
precepts, Right Livelihood Guidelines and
Six Perfections (Paramita). It is a yearand-a-half or two-year program. A lay
bodhisattva is one who brings Buddhist
wisdom to the center of his or her life and
learns to practice ethical accountability
and compassion with a wisdom eye for the
happiness of all beings.
Dharma Students 2009
Ann Arbor
Maum Gloria Cox, 3rd year Senior
Jimyo Lisa Ferworn, 2nd year Junior
Sukha Ryan Doran-Fisher, 2nd yr. Junior
Sanjang Mike Nowik, 1st year
Chicago
Bopkyong Lisa Galicia, 3rd year Senior
Who Can Apply?
People who have completed the
Introductory Meditation Course and
have taken precepts or are willing to take
precepts.
Requirements
Full morning practice for 30 minutes
Monday through Friday
Keeping a practice journal Monday
through Friday
Weekly or biweekly attendance at local
temple for meditation and chanting
Monthly consultation (always on
Saturday) with temple priest or Dharma
Teacher for instruction and seminar
Retreats & Study Program
Participation in two- or three-day
retreats per term recommended
Required reading of Buddhist texts;
essay writing optional
interested in becoming a Dharma Student
may receive six months to one year of
credit towards seminary training.
Dharma Guardians 2009
Ann Arbor
Tilman Borgers
Sudo Matthew Lecki
Konggi Frank Anderson
Najimak Lee Saborio
Kowang Lila Kadaj
Sophie Machicoane
Suyong Elizabeth Hendriks
Chakumant Paul Najur
Chicago
Tarang Delamie Thompson
Nochul Elizabeth Walton
Mexico
Bopkong Juanita Ochoa
Toronto
Pulsim Joseph Digregorio
g
Mexico
Mexico City
Kongyi Elena Centeno García, 3rd year
Senior
Tosa Blanca Reyes, 2nd year Junior
Arezki Hernández, 1st year
Bopsan Juan Antonio Sánchez, 1st year
Novice
g
g
g
g
Morelia, Michoacán
Beatriz Huerta, 1st year Novice
María Estela Castro, 1st year Novice
Roxana Arias, 1st year Novice
Gabriel Arciniega, 1st year Novice
Cuernavaca, Morelos
Konggan Petra Meyer, 1st year Novice
g
g
Individuals who successfully complete
the Dharma Guardian program and are
“Meeting monthly, reflecting on
everyday things in the context of my
practice, allowed me to reframe my
perceptions of daily life in an effort
to ‘see things as they really are.’ The
inner strength I am developing has
benefited me, my family and others
with whom I work. ... I look forward
to sharing this path with others.”
—Tarang Delamie Thompson
Spring Wind Fall 2009 11
Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom News
Visitor’s Program
The temples of the Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom offer the opportunity for short or long-term residential stay,
combining spiritual cultivation and community living. Residents participate fully in temple practice while maintaining their
jobs or studies, integrating right livelihood in an atmosphere of Dharma friendship. The Visitor’s Program provides a quiet and
contemplative environment for people to pursue Buddhist practice more seriously, to seek peace of mind and solitude or for those
who need a quiet place for personal and spiritual reasons. For more information and an application, contact your local temple.
It’s a rich and fulfilling experience to
live at the temple. I came because of my
interest in Zen, but found a continuously
flowing community of like-minded
people. When everyone is trying to
be considerate, interactions and daily
routines become joyful. My own practice
has become strong from their support,
and by consistently practicing myself, I’ve
supported them too. It hasn’t always been
easy, but it’s the most important thing I’ve
done, both for myself and for everyone I
interrelate with.
—Kuhaeng Richard Gaeth
I was looking for a lifestyle that would be
more self-caring, that would be about my
own well-being. In the morning, I awake
from my night of sleep and awaken to
my practice. It’s a beautiful way to start
the day, to be reminded of awakening
with the service. For example, the first
use of my voice in the day is chanting
Yebul, which sets the tone for the day.
The evening service, too, can frame the
day and give it a power that is a part of
the rhythm of the day. I find that very
nurturing, and I’m happy and grateful to
Summer Yongmaeng Jeongjin 2009
All beings, one body, I vow to liberate.
Thirty-seven practitioners from Canada, Mexico and the United States gathered
at Zen Buddhist Temple in Toronto for the Summer 2009 Yongmaeng Jeongjin
intensive retreat held June 28 through July 3. The five member temples of the
Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom were each represented with 28
participants completing the full five-day “fearless practice” retreat. As one body,
retreatants awoke to the chanting of the Great Compassion Dharani, greeted the
day, sat with unknowing mind, ate in mindfulness, worked with silent attention
and retired after the night bell. Simple routines, Sunim’s teachings and encouragement and the steadfast examples of our priests and teachers inspired strong, sincere
practice as the seagulls called, the sunlight crept along the carpet, the bell pierced
the silence and the Dharma rain fell, fearlessly.
12 Spring Wind Fall 2009
have that. My life here is luxurious in a
spiritual sense. It’s disciplined by design,
rather than by personality. It’s an incentive
to keep my priorities in line with my
means. I don’t have a typical domestic
environment that might otherwise keep
me away from things that support my
well-being. I’m advocating designer
homelessness in a way! I’m not tempted by
other distractions. I would use the word
luxurious again: I live in a luxurious way,
but an unconventional way, which is very
attractive to me.
—Kupum John Becker
As a Dharma student, I decided to take
up residential training at the Chicago
temple in May 2007 to better focus my
energies and support our Spring Wind
sangha. That desire ultimately led me to
sell my house, resign my job and unload
my high heels and business suits at the
neighborhood consignment shop in
order to complete training as full-time
temple staff. Living at the temple is a
daily learning and unlearning, a doing
and undoing: simplifying and working
with what I have; practicing despite my
mood or whim, shedding layers of Lisa
one by one. Deep silence and solitude
are balanced by boisterous Dharma spirit
and friendship. The sangha and other
residents are an endless inspiration to my
practice. Living here is a privilege and a
discipline and a joy.
—Bopkyong Lisa Galicia
Sangha News
Ann Arbor Sangha
The Ann Arbor temple organized the
23rd annual Peace Camp that was held
once again near Chelsea, Michigan, at
the Friends Lake Community, a Quaker
organization with a beautiful lake, forest
and campground area. Members from the
Ann Arbor and Chicago temples, as well
as friends from Toledo and such far-flung
locations as Montana and Nebraska,
camped together for six days, enjoying
the lake and its surroundings. All ages
were represented in this six day long
community—from babies and nursing
mothers to seniors. Programs for adults
and children ran concurrently during parts
of each day, and both groups gathered
together for delicious mealtimes, morning
circles to share songs and teachings, daily
after-lunch peace hour, skit night, Peace
Lanterns on the Lake, campfires, amazing
story telling and more. A special feature
was early morning meditation on the
dock as the sun rose and the whole lake
reflected the sky and trees around it. Our
camp coordinator Tabul Eva Leventer has
been coming to Peace Camp since she
was a small child, and we are grateful for
her leadership with our committed and
hardworking camp committee these past
few years. With this committee Kurum
Liz Ellis from Chicago will coordinate
Peace Camp 2010. We thank everyone
who helped this year and grin when
we think of another joyful camp next
summer.
The Ann Arbor sangha also held its “Great
Green Recycling Yard Sale” for the 23rd
year—though Haju Sunim says she has lost
count! Members and friends of the temple
offer furniture, household items and more
while many other items are gleaned from
the streets by our yard sale bodhisattvas,
coordinator Maitreya Lenny Bass and
his assistant Tara Robert Hughes. Over
the course of three weeks leading up to
the sale, everything is organized, cleaned
and displayed under large canopies in the
temple yard. Just a few of our recycling
and renewing efforts are sewing and
vacuum-washing couch cushions; bike
tune ups and repairs; checking and fixing
electrical goods; and repairing broken
furniture with beautiful attention to
detail. The yard sale is often a way for
people to experience the temple for the
first time, as it’s a public event that’s well
known throughout the community (and
especially popular with incoming students
at the university who need furnishings for
their dorms and apartments). Bookbuyers
come and scan ISBNs, and some women
come specifically to scope out our jewelry.
In these challenging times everyone is
looking for a bargain.
As cosmos bloomed and the tomatoes
ripened in the garden, attendees perused
the merchandise that otherwise might
have gone to the landfill site. Deep
gratitude goes to Maitreya, Tara and the
dozens of sangha volunteers who turned
up to help. Everyone’s effort counts and is
appreciated.
Chicago Sangha
Ever the youngest sibling and a stranger
to the gardening glory of her sisters, the
Chicago sangha rebuilt its vegetable beds
and reaped a respectable harvest of wax
beans, one perfect jalapeño pepper, some
zesty arugula and a bounty of delicious
herbs this summer. The wild wisteria
threatening to overtake the Sangha Hall
was pruned for the promise of beautiful
blooms by next year’s Buddha’s Birthday.
Sangha Coordinator Kosa Joe Schuman
presented a well-attended summer
lecture series on Key Buddhist Teachings
in July and August. Topics for the fiveweek series were: First Teachings; Faith
Without Dogma: Buddha, Dharma &
Sangha; Ethics without Evil: Sex, Drugs,
Red Meat & Violence; Religion Without
God: Buddhism & Other (?) Religions;
and The Karma of Corporate Culture.
Imbued with his characteristic insight and
humor, the series inspired and educated
sangha members old and new. Participants
commented that the series was a “great
introduction ” and that we should “put
Kosa on YouTube!”
In September, Chicago parent leaders
debuted a “big kids’” service on the third
Sunday of the month to complement
weekly services for the little ones. A call
for childcare volunteers was met with a
robust response from Chicago sangha
members eager to help parents have
their own time for silent meditation and
monthly meetings.
In what has become an autumn tradition,
bushels of fun and sun awaited all on the
September 27 Sangha Outing to Lang’s
Orchard for picnicking and apple picking.
The aroma of apple pie and apple crisp is
in the air.
Mexico City Sangha
Attendance on Sundays continues to be
very good, always full or almost full to the
35-person maximum capacity.
Kurum Liz & Hunter Ellis at Lang’s Orchard
Photo: Nodangdang Lourdes Ortega
Last year, a formal meditation group was
reestablished in Morelia, Michoacan.
Samu Sunim started the first one in 1986,
when he first visited Morelia, giving a talk,
Spring Wind Fall 2009 13
Peace Camp 2009
Peace Camp always reminds me that true community is possible, and I always leave looking
forward to next year’s Peace Camp.
—Sandong Kurt Iselt
(Chicago sangha member and faithful parent leader)
1
3
2
Peace Camp is my favorite week of the year.
When I am there, I have the feeling of belonging
to a community of wonderful people.
—Magamok Mike Umbriac
(Ann Arbor sangha member and Peace Camp
Planning Committee member)
4
6
7
8
5
Photos: Nochul Elizabeth
Walton ( 1, 2, 4, 5, 7); Daniel
Goldstein (3, 8, 9)
9
14 Spring Wind Fall 2009
Sangha News (continued)
a workshop and a retreat. Afterwards,
Toyun Edith LeBrely, a French woman
who worked for the French Embassy in
Mexico City and led the Mexico City
Sangha, drove to Morelia regularly to
conduct meditation and give talks. When
she was assigned to work in Hong Kong, a
senior member of the Morelia sangha, José
Ramírez Guzman, convened the group
for a number of years. When he left, the
group dissolved. However, some of the
old members regrouped on their own and
continued to practice informally. Beatriz
Huerta, who was among the participants,
eventually founded an acupuncture and
massage clinic called Yi-Shan. Upon Bety’s
request, a formal group was reestablished
last year and Toan Sunim began making
regular visits there to hold workshops
and retreats. The Morelia sangha now has
regular sittings on Fridays from 6 pm to 8
pm at Yi-Shan. Bety and three others have
subsequently become Dharma Students.
On April 3rd, Mugae Miguel Angel
Carrillo invited Toan Sunim to give
a workshop in Veracruz at his school,
Hwarang Taekwon-do. Ever since Mugae
attended a retreat with Sunim and took
precepts in 1997, he has been striving to
incorporate meditation practice into his
Taekwon-do teaching. Before he moved
to Veracruz in 2005, he invited Sunim to
his school in Mexico City several times to
teach meditation to martial arts students.
Konggan Petra Meyer started a meditation
group in Cuernavaca, Morelos, two years
ago. They sit on Fridays from 7 pm to
9 pm at a martial arts and yoga school,
where she also studies. She took precepts
years ago and became a Dharma Student
in September 2009.
New York City Sangha
Samu Sunim taught the third
Introduction to Meditation course at the
Williamsburg, Brooklyn location (the fifth
since the New York City project began)
from September 29 to October 27. It
was the first full five week course taught
there as previous introductory meditation
courses only ran four weeks.
Nosan Lawrence Grecco intends to join
seminary for the January 15 term, so to
qualify he will begin the Dharma Worker
program for the months of October,
November and December 2009.
Three members of the New York sangha
took precepts in Toronto this summer:
Norang Carmen Casado, Nosan Lawrence
Grecco and Nosang Carolyn Kessler.
Congratulations!
The small and humble quality of the
New York sangha and its meeting space
reminds Sunim of his beginnings in the
basement apartment in Toronto in 1972.
In order to keep up with all the change
and excitement, he says, “I have to get a
lot younger!”
When I first walked into the New
York City Zen Buddhist Temple,
it was immediately obvious that I’d
finally found a place where I could
practice. Despite its small size, it was
somehow bigger than every other
zendo and temple I had visited in
Manhattan over the previous three
years. The small converted apartment
space managed to capture what many
of the others could not despite their
sincere attempts: a truly tranquil
environment that could easily foster
some serious sitting. Being part
of a new sangha is a really unique
experience. Not knowing when we’ll
have a permanent temple makes me
appreciate our current circumstances
even more. And the intimacy with
which we can all practice together as a
small group is invaluable.
—Nosan Lawrence Greco
Toronto Sangha
Toronto had a Rummage Sale and
Recycling Day the weekend of September
12-13. It was a very successful event, with
lots of energetic and cheerful volunteer
effort by the sangha. The warm and
sunny weather drew a large turnout, and
Saturday was a very busy day, with a steady
stream of visitors from start to finish. The
boutique was an especially popular part of
the sale. Art, jewelry and designer clothing
were beautifully displayed by Kuson Anne
Morin, who organized the boutique and
attended it during the sale. The furniture
outside in the parking lot sold very well,
much better than in the past. Over the
two days the temple raised $7,200. But
with the help of all the sangha members,
Sunim says it feels like they earned
$72,000. This twice-a-year event is quite
an undertaking. The hard work of the
Advisory Council and all the volunteers
was impressive and inspiring—Sunim
says their help is invaluable. The three
primary reasons why the rummage sale is
important are to 1) raise funds for temple
programs and supporting temple staff, 2)
to promote reuse and recycling and 3) to
work together as a community.
Photo: Manora Katy Fischer
Sanha calls it our city hermitage,
and it’s true: New York recedes and
becomes a deep and distant forest
once you are inside its cozy rooms.
The busy, gritty energy of the streets
and subway and my own hurried
thoughts deflate and fade until they
drift off like clouds. Sitting by the
river, just a few blocks away, we watch
the big mountain of Manhattan as the
water flows by.
—Manora Katy Fischer
Spring Wind Fall 2009 15
Teachers’ Corner
Kosu Diane Snider departed from her
duties as Acting Director of the Chicago
temple in late June to serve as Acting
Director for the Toronto temple. She
is currently undergoing a one-year
internship in preparation for priest
ordination.
Samu Sunim left Toronto for his stint
in New York City on September 18 to
continue his mission there.
Koseya Blair Thomas, Taga Sheri Doyle
and their twin sons Silas and Abraham
have moved to a rustic farmhouse in
the Wisconsin countryside. When in
Chicago, Koseya attends morning practice
at the temple and will be giving monthly
Dharma talks at Sunday services in
addition to leading the monthly Dharma
Student and Dharma Guardian meetings.
Kohye Jeffrey Boland has left New York to
establish a new company in Los Angeles,
California.
Kohye has been practicing “working
meditation” during long hours in front
of the trading screens and on conference
calls at his new three-person company. He
finds opportunities every day to practice
honesty, sincerity, integrity, humility and
kindness with his business partners and
clients. In his spare time he has been
sitting alone in the mornings with the
moon and palm trees and on the weekends
with ocean waves and sandpipers.
Sanha Jung Soon Park is visiting South
Korea in September and October to be
with her family for Chuseok (Harvest
Moon Festival). This is her first family
reunion in 12 years. While in Korea,
Sanha is visiting numerous temples and
volunteered for one week at Mihwangsa temple located at “land’s end” in the
southeastern part of the country near the
ocean. She is also participating in a weeklong retreat at Silsang-sa temple, one of
nine Mountain Centers of Seon founded
in the ninth century.
Editorial board: Ven. Samu Sunim, Haju Sunim,
Toan Sunim
Editors: Noil Allison Felus, Bopkyong Lisa Galicia
Layout and design: Kugong Brian Yates
Spring Wind Newsletter is published quarterly by the
Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom,
a North American Buddhist order. Vol. 1, No. 1,
Fall 2009.
Editorial Office
1710 W. Cornelia Avenue
Chicago, IL 60657-1219, USA
773.528.8685
[email protected]
www.zenbuddhisttemple.org
© 2009 Spring Wind Newsletter. All rights reserved.
Printed in the USA. Request for permissions and
reprints must be made in writing. The opinions
expressed herein are those of the authors and
do not necessarily represent the view of the
Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom or
the publisher. Readers’ comments and ideas are
welcome.
Spring Wind Newsletter prints only original articles
and does not guarantee the publication of
unsolicited manuscripts. Spring Wind Newsletter
cannot be responsible for loss of or damage to
unsolicited material.
printed on recycled paper
Buddhist Society for
Compassionate Wisdom
16 Spring Wind Fall 2009
297 College Street
Toronto, ON M5T 1S2, CANADA
416.658.0137
[email protected]
1710 West Cornelia Avenue
Chicago, IL 60657, USA
773-528-8685
[email protected]
Actopan 30 Colonia Roma Sur
Delegación Cuauhtemoc C.P.O. 06760
México, D.F., MEXICO
52.55.55.84.33.82
[email protected]
134 N. 10th Street #2R
Brooklyn, NY 11211, USA
718.782.1784
[email protected]
1214 Packard Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA
734.761.6520
[email protected]
www.zenbuddhisttemple.org