The ShinsungHwa of Seung Sahn 崇山 (2019)
A Brief Description of Master Seung Sahn’s ShinsungHwa
Master Seung Sahn’s ShinsungHwa reveals multiple layers of the symbol of light manifesting within his spiritual core. Beyond these light symbols, golden energy streams flow through the spiritual realm, suggesting what appears to be a distinctive spiritual characteristic unique to Master Seung Sahn.
The circular energy field that encompasses his body presents as healthy and robust. However, in the material realm positioned below the feet, some disrupted energy patterns become visible, indicating areas where the flow encounters resistance or disturbance.
Quote
“The Truth is realized in an instant; the Act is practiced step by step.”
_Seung Sahn
“Clear mind is like the full moon in the sky. Sometimes clouds come and cover it, but the moon is always behind them. Clouds go away, then the moon shines brightly. So don’t worry about clear mind: it is always there. When thinking comes, behind it is clear mind. When thinking goes, there is only clear mind.”
_Seung Sahn
“If you throw away all thoughts of attainment, you will then come to see the real purpose of your quest.”
_Seung Sahn
“When reading, only read. When eating, only eat. When thinking, only think.”
_Seung Sahn
“Don’t know – straight line – clear mind.”
_Seung Sahn
“If you want something, then you lose everything. If you don’t want anything, then you already have everything.”
_Seung Sahn
The Washing Machine Repairman Who Became America’s First Korean Zen Master
A young Korean monk lands in Providence, Rhode Island in 1972. He speaks barely any English and fixes washing machines in a laundromat. Within years, he’s established over 100 Zen centers worldwide and become one of the West’s most influential Buddhist teachers. Meet Seung Sahn (崇山)—”High Mountain”—who lived up to his name.
From Revolutionary to Monk
Born Duk-In Lee in 1927 during Japan’s brutal occupation of Korea, Seung Sahn grew up in a Protestant Christian family. But at seventeen, he joined the underground Korean independence movement. The Japanese imprisoned him and nearly executed him.
After his release, post-war chaos left him searching. While studying Western philosophy at Dongguk University, a friend handed him the Diamond Sutra. That book changed everything. In 1948, he abandoned his studies to become a Buddhist monk.
The Mountain Retreat
What followed reads like legend. The young monk retreated alone to the Korean mountains for 100 days, surviving on pine needles and rainwater while chanting sacred prayers. During this practice, he achieved enlightenment.
Emerging from the mountains, he sought out Ko Bong, Korea’s most respected Zen master. Ko Bong was notoriously strict and rarely taught monks, preferring laypeople. Yet something about this young man convinced him. On January 25, 1949, Ko Bong confirmed Seung Sahn’s enlightenment and granted him dharma transmission. At 22, Seung Sahn became Korea’s youngest Zen master.
Heading West
After serving as an army chaplain during the Korean War and later as a Seoul abbot, Seung Sahn expanded beyond Korea. He established temples in Japan and Hong Kong in the 1960s, then made his boldest move in 1972: America.
Landing in Providence with broken English, he found the most practical job available: washing machine repair. While working with his hands, his mind stayed focused on teaching. He studied English in his spare time and soon attracted students from nearby Brown University.
Building Community
Informal conversations in his cramped apartment evolved rapidly. By 1974, he’d founded the Providence Zen Center—the first of what would become over 100 centers worldwide. Unlike traditional Korean temples that separated monks from laypeople, Seung Sahn created communities where everyone practiced together.
His teaching style perfectly suited Western students. Instead of complex philosophy, he used simple, direct phrases that cut to Zen’s core. His signature teaching: “only don’t know”—approaching life with an open, questioning mind rather than fixed ideas. He’d tell students to “only go straight”—act with complete sincerity in each moment.
The Art of “Don’t Know” Mind
Seung Sahn excelled at translating ancient wisdom into modern American language. When students posed complicated Buddhist questions, he might respond: “The sky is blue, the grass is green. What more do you want?” This wasn’t dismissive—it pointed directly to present-moment awareness.
He introduced Western students to Kyol Che—intensive 90-day meditation retreats practiced by Korean monks for over 1,000 years. But he adapted these practices for ordinary Western lives, making ancient wisdom accessible to college students and working parents alike.
By 1983, Seung Sahn’s scattered centers had unified into the Kwan Um School of Zen. “Kwan Um” means “perceive world sound”—hearing the world’s suffering and responding with compassion. This captured his vision of Buddhism as both personal practice and active world engagement.
His school now operates in over 12 languages across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, with more than 40 authorized teachers continuing his lineage. Before dying in 2004, he established Musangsa temple in South Korea as an international training center for practitioners worldwide.
Seung Sahn died peacefully on November 30, 2004, at Hwagaesa temple in Seoul, surrounded by students. He was 77 and had taught for over five decades. His impact on bringing Asian Buddhism to the West was transformative—he bridged cultures while maintaining authentic wisdom.
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