At the International Zen Center, Zen masters believe that the great enlightenment and compassion of the Buddha has been transmitted to their forebears throughout human history. Buddha means “Enlightenment" or "Enlightened Being," and the focus of Lineage Zen is to understand the deity’s enlightened mind through the practice of Hwa Du. If mindful meditation gives you the maximum pleasure, join the mystics at this center, who do not depend upon words, phrases, principles, dogmas, sutras or written scriptures, but focus on attaining the true nature of all beings directly. They call their method "mind-to-mind" learning, which is at the core teaching of the Korean Buddhist Chogye Order. The Hwagyesa International Zen Center is located in the Hwagyesa Temple, which sits at the foot of the beautiful Samgakshan Mountain in the North part of Seoul.
The Chogye Order of Korean Buddhism calls it home, as it has housed their Zen masters and teachers for centuries—including Man Gong, Hye Am, Chun Sung, Ko Bong, Jeok Eum and Dok Sahn. The Hwagyesa Temple was built in 1522 by Zen Master Shin Wol, but it was Master Seung Sahn who opened the sitting room in 1984 so that people from all over the world could come to practice Buddhism in concert, finding their true nature in the process. This center’s offerings will take you way past eat, pray, love!