Anguk Zen Center
Making Zen Accessible to the Urban Masses

or those who are worn out and stressed with their hectic, mundane lives in the city, developing a peaceful mind is of the utmost importance in living a healthy, quality life. Many get fed up with their typical daily routines and question who they are and their purpose in life. They might feel like getting away, but believe it isn’t easy to leave their everyday lives and go deep into the mountains in pursuit of peace. However, with the Anguk Zen Center, you don’t need to go far away for your spiritual and physical getaway. At the Anguk Zen Center, located in northern Seoul, ordinary people can find mental composure and solace through practicing Zen.

Enlightenment
in the Real World

The Anguk Zen Center, founded by Zen Master SooBool Sunim, is a place solely dedicated to Zen meditation. SooBool says religion is a means, not the end, and defines Zen as that which enables the end, the realization of Buddha’s enlightenment. He emphasizes that Buddhism without its ascetic practices is counter to Buddha’s teaching and the practice of austerities throughout life is foremost in reaching the truth.

The Zen (or in Korean, seon) school of Buddhism originated in India and was formalized in China. It was introduced to Korea in the Silla era through China. In other schools of Buddhism, monastic life is the key to enlightment. However, Zen Buddhism is not a religion detached from the secular world. Its purpose is to awaken one’s original nature amid daily life and reach enlightenment through Zen practices. So enlightenment can be attained by anyone through Zen meditation.

Ganhwa Seon is an official Zen practice method chosen by the Korean Jogye Order. It is the way of realizing truth through an ultimate question called Hwadu and is based on logical, well-founded teaching. Although Ganhwa Seon has more than 1,500 years of history among Zen priests in mountain temples, it has only recently been introduced to the public. Although anyone who knows how to do it can practice Gwanhwa Seon, most consider Gwanhwa Seon difficult because of a lack of information.

SooBool established the Ahnkook Zen Center with the aim to popularize Zen meditation to the public, help them attain enlightenment and promote a quality life by offering the path to enlightenment. SooBool explains that among the different Zen practices, Ganhwa Seon best suits Korea. It makes it possible to carry out ascetic practices in harmony with reality. SooBool says it is meaningless to practice Zen meditation only in deep mountain temples, when Gwanhwa Seon enables a person to practice Zen while living in a complicated modern society.

The Hwadu

The Anguk Zen Center provides the Gwanhwa Seon program to ordinary people. Anyone regardless of age, gender, educational background, or occupation, can participate in the program. SooBool teaches participants in the program by asking ultimate questions to open the eye of wisdom and to reach enlightenment. A Hwadu given to an individual triggers a number of doubts related to the question. Each individual’s process of seeking fundamental answers to the question, with SooBool’s special attention, leads to the path to realizing truth and ultimately brings tranquility of mind. The degree of participants’ Gwanhwa Seon experience and their learning pace vary depending on individual differences. However, SooBool says the program helps participants resolve an ultimate question and live a better life by teaching how to wisely solve problems. Once each individual solves the problem, he/she becomes altruistic and tolerant towards others, free from being self-oriented. As a righteous person, the individual comes to have a spiritual power to view society with upright values, according to SooBool. Participants, such as Song Soo-kyoung, head of the center’s international section, say their minds became rich after sessions. They feel free, happy and comfortable. They also become more positive and tolerant towards the society and others.

In the Anguk Zen Centers in Busan and Seoul, which opened in 1989 and 2001 respectively, 3,000 people practice Zen in sessions three times a day during dawn, morning and afternoon hours. SooBool also hosts regular Buddhist ceremonies twice a month where people listen as he preaches.

Bringing Zen to the World

The center is also committed to following the mission of Zen Buddhism in opening the world of absolute equality through the internalization of Zen. It has striven to publicize Korean Buddhism and its ascetic methods to foreigners. The center offeres foreigners classes (in English) every Saturday from 2:30 to 4pm. The classes are taught by foreign lecturers who majored in Korean Buddhism with the focus on the scriptures of Korean Buddhism and Korean Buddhism culture. This year the center plans to offer the Gwanhwa Seon program also to foreigners. “Through interchanges and sympathizing between the Western and Eastern spirits, the world can become one and grow spiritually through Zen practices. This will help people around the world open their eyes to the truth and will ultimately result in enlightenment and happiness of humankind,” SooBool says. SooBool visits overseas every year and preaches Zen Buddhism to internationalize Zen and publicize the Buddha’s teaching and spirit and Korean Buddhism worldwide.

Easy to Find

The Anguk Zen Center in Seoul is situated in Gahoe-dong, Jongno-gu in an easy-to-access location. The center is a four-story modern building with a pleasant and serene atmosphere that helps Zen practitioners absorb Zen practices and gain peaceful tranquility in themselves. Inside are spacious, immaculate wooden floors and many wall paintings with lotus flowers. Quiet Zen practice rooms and dharma rooms with beautiful and magnificent Buddha statues are on the third and fourth floors of the building. The building is also connected with a Korean hanok-style structure that provides relaxation space with a beautiful garden with various plants and shrubs.

The Anguk Zen Center is accessible from Anguk Station, line 3, exit 2. From there, walk north toward the Gahoe Museum. It’s a short walk past the museum. For more information, call (02)732-0772 or visit www.angukzen.org.

Your journey to the Anguk Zen Center promises a special spiritual experience with the great teacher SooBool. Are you ready to explore the world of Zen, get peace of mind and relish dramatic changes in yourself through Zen practices?

Written by Kang Kyung-ah
Photographs by Ryu Seunghoo

Monthly Magazine SEOUL(May 2008)