An Interview With Zen Master Seung Sahn

An Interview With Zen Master Seung Sahn

Volume 2 • Issue 2
Spring 2008
PART II
An Interview With Zen Master Seung Sahn
Interview by Diana Evans at
Cambridge Zen Center
(Excerpt from “Donʼt Know Mind”
Vajradhatu Sun
Dec ʻ83/Jan ʼ84)
….Diana Evans: What is the
best situation for Americans to
practice in? Most people have
families and jobs and that can
seem to present some conflicts
with practicing meditation.
Seung Sahn: In the
Providence Zen Center, there are
nine families living together, with
children and also single people. In
the Cambridge Center, there are
two families and single people living together. Living together like
this means they can save energy,
save money, save time and everyone practices together.
Practicing is like mind food. If
we do not eat food, we do not
keep our body. If we do not practice, our mind is not strong. That
means that your center is not
strong, and your like and dislike
mind is strong. If your center is
strong, then there is not so much
like and dislike mind. It is not possible to help other people if they
like and dislike mind is strong. If
you do not hold onto your condition or opinion, then when you see
a hungry person, you give him
food. If you hold onto your own situation, then if you see a hungry
person, you donʼt care!
There are 50 people in
Providence, and when there is a
special program, it might be 70-80.
If each family was cooking in a different place, that would take a lot
of time. But if only two or three
people cook for 90 people, then it
is better. There are also nine children. One person can take care of
nine children and then eight mothers and eight fathers can practice.
Living together like this is the best
way nowadays. If you donʼt do
that, it is not possible. There is
only holding “my” opinion, “my”
condition, “my” situation, “my”
house. Even if people live outside
the center, it is not a problem.
People come here and practice in
the morning, then go to work, then
come and practice at night. That is
also the best way. Many
students do this. In
Providence, we have a doctor. He is a very busy man,
a professor and a medical
doctor and he has a family.
Every morning, he comes to
Zen Center, practices and
then off he goes. The practicing is what is important.
DE: Do you think that
American Buddhists could,
or should, have a traditional
monastic situation?
SS: For Americans to be
monks is very difficult. You
must have a strong center
and have a strong wish to
save all beings. Then
becoming a monk is no
problem. But usually it is not
necessary to become a monk. If
you have a family, how could you
cut that off and become a monk?
So we have the bodhisattva monk,
which is a family monk. It is like
being a Christian minister. They
could have a family, go outside
and work and help run the Zen
Center.
DE: Is there a vow that the
bodhisattva monk takes?
SS: Yes. The bodhisattva
monk takes the 48 precepts from
the Brahmanet Sutra. These are
Mahayana precepts. We also have
the single monk who takes 250
precepts. There are seven single
monks, including myself and 17
bodhisattva monks.
SANGHA NEWS & NOTICES
We have a new kitchen floor! The
much-needed surface is all natural
linoleum and was installed on
Tuesday, March 18th. To compliment the beautiful floor we also
purchased new kitchen chairs.
The funds for these improvements were made possible by the
annual Dharma Zen Center (DZC)
Art Auction, organized by David
McDonald, and by dues and donations by you, our Sangha. Thank
you all! Thanks also to Housemaster Matthew Kamm for all his
hard work to get the floor installed.
Paul Park, JDPSN, our
Guiding Teacher, lead a one-day
retreat in January and a retreat in
March. In February, Judy
Roitman, JDPSN, Guiding Teacher
of the Kansas Zen Center in
Lawrence, Kansas came out and
SUNDAY
MONDAY
6
7
13
14
10 am – Buddha’s
Birthday Ceremony
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
10 am – Sunday
Practice/Dharma Talk
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
20
10 am – Sunday
Practice & Circle Talk
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
27
10 am – Sunday
Practice/Dharma Talk
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
21
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
28
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
lead a two-day retreat. All three
retreats were successful and
brought new faces to Dharma Zen
Center. We are grateful to both
teachers and all of the participants.
Matthew Kamm, a two-year
resident at Dharma Zen Center,
who served as Director and then
Housemaster moved out at the
beginning of March. However,
Matthew will keep the position of
Housemaster and will still be a
familiar face around DZC.
Congratulations to Nattan
Hollander and Erin Seaborg on
their recent engagement! We wish
them great happiness together.
We have two retreats coming
up with guest teachers from the
Kwan Um School of Zen.
On May 17-18, we will have a
APRIL
Yong Maeng Jon Jin retreat with
Thom Pastor, JDPSN, from Great
Brightness Zen Center in Las
Vegas, Nevada. The retreat will
begin with a Dharma Talk at 7 p.m.
on Friday, May 16.
On June 28-29, we will have a
Yong Maeng Jon Jin retreat with
Zen Master Soeng Hyang
(Barbara Rhodes), our School Zen
Master and Guiding Teacher for
the Kwan Um School of Zen. We
will also have a Dharma Talk to
begin the retreat on Friday,
June 27, at 7 p.m.
We are grateful to have the
opportunity to practice with both of
these wonderful teachers. To sign
up for the retreats, please call
(323) 934-0330. If you cannot
attend the retreats, you are welcome to attend the Dharma Talks.
TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
1
2
3
9
10
5 am – Morning
Practice
7 pm – Meditation
Instruction
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice/Long Sitting
5 am – Morning
Practice
7 pm – Meditation
Instruction
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Long Sitting/
Kong-an Interviews
8
15
16
5 am – Morning
Practice
7 pm – Meditation
Instruction
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice/Long Sitting
5 am – Morning
Practice
7 pm – Meditation
Instruction
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Long Sitting/
Kong-an Interviews
22
29
5 am – Morning
Practice
7 pm – Meditation
Instruction
23
30
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice/Long Sitting
4
FRIDAY
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
17
24
11
18
25
SATURDAY
5
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice/Long Sitting
12
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice/Long Sitting
19
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice/Long Sitting
26
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice/Long Sitting
SUNDAY
MONDAY
MAY
TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
4
5
6
11
12
13
10 am – Sunday
Practice & Circle Talk
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
10 am – Sunday
Practice/Dharma Talk
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
18
YMJJ Retreat with
Thom Pastor,
JDPSN
25
10 am – Sunday
Practice & Circle Talk
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
1
SUNDAY
10 am – Sunday
Practice/Dharma Talk
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
8
10 am – Sunday
Practice & Circle Talk
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
15
10 am – Sunday
Practice/Dharma Talk
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
22
10 am – Sunday
Practice & Circle Talk
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
29
YMJJ Retreat with
Zen Master Soeng
Hyang (Barbara
Rhodes)º
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
19
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
26
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
2
MONDAY
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
9
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
16
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
23
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
30
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
7
5 am – Morning
Practice
7 pm – Meditation
Instruction
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice/Long Sitting
5 am – Morning
Practice
7 pm – Meditation
Instruction
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Long Sitting/
Kong-an Interviews
20
14
21
5 am – Morning
Practice
7 pm – Meditation
Instruction
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice/Long Sitting
5 am – Morning
Practice
7 pm – Meditation
Instruction
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Long Sitting/
Kong-an Interviews
27
28
1
2
8
9
15
16
22
23
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
29
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
7 pm – Dharma Talk
5 am – Morning
Practice
30
5 am – Morning
Practice
JUNE
TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
3
5
6
11
12
13
19
20
26
27
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice/Long Sitting
5 am – Morning
Practice
7 pm – Meditation
Instruction
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Long Sitting/
Kong-an Interviews
17
18
5 am – Morning
Practice
7 pm – Meditation
Instruction
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice/Long Sitting
5 am – Morning
Practice
7 pm – Meditation
Instruction
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Long Sitting/
Kong-an Interviews
24
FRIDAY
4
5 am – Morning
Practice
7 pm – Meditation
Instruction
10
FRIDAY
25
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
5 am – Morning
Practice
7 pm – Dharma Talk
SATURDAY
3
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice/Long Sitting
10
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice/Long Sitting
17
YMJJ Retreat with
Thom Pastor,
JDPSN
24
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice/Long Sitting
31
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice/Long Sitting
SATURDAY
7
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice/Long Sitting
14
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice/Long Sitting
21
5 am – Morning
Practice
6:30 pm – Evening
Practice/Long Sitting
28
YMJJ Retreat with
Zen Master Soeng
Hyang (Barbara
Rhodes)
THANK YOU . . .
Thank you to our new Board Members David
McDonald and Patrick Park for their support.
Thank you to Steve Valerio for his continued hard
work as Director.
Thank you to Matthew Kamm for continuing to
serve as Housemaster even though he is no longer a
resident and for all of his efforts to get the kitchen
floor installed and looking beautiful.
Also, thank you to Sonya Shelton, Bridget Duff,
and Paul Park, JDPSN, for their continued involvement in Dharma Zen Center.
Dharma Zen Center is only able to exist because
of people like this.
1025 S. Cloverdale Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 934-0330 • info@dharmazen.com
UPCOMING EVENTS
• On the first Sunday of every month, we go to the
Midnight Mission in downtown Los Angeles to help
serve food to the homeless. We leave from
Dharma Zen Center at 3:30 p.m. If you have any
questions about our Outreach Program, please
call Ron “Bodhidharma” Allen at (323) 936-9169.
• On May 17-18, we will have a two-day retreat led
by Thom Pastor, JDPSN (see page 2). We will
also have a Dharma Talk on Friday, May 16.
• On June 27-28, Zen Master Soeng Hyang
(Barbara Rhodes), the head Zen Master of the
Kwan Um School of Zen, will lead a two-day
retreat (see page 2) with a Dharma Talk on Friday,
June 26 at 7 p.m. and the retreat will start at 4:45
a.m. on Saturday and last until noon Sunday.
To register for the above retreats, please call
Dharma Zen Center at (323) 934-0330 at least 48
hours in advance. The retreats begin on Saturday
at 4:45 a.m. and end at noon on Sunday, and you
may participate for any portion of the retreat.