대봉스님 (계룡산 국제선원 무상사 조실)
| Dae Bong Sunim | |
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| Name in Latin Alphabet: | Dae Bong Sunim |
|---|---|
| Nationality: | USA |
| Affiliation: | Mu Sang Sa - Gyeryong Mountain International Zen Center |
강연자 소개
Zen Master Dae Bong was born in 1950 in the United States. He graduated from university with a degree in psychology in 1972.
Dae Bong Sunim worked for five years as a counselor in a university psychiatric hospital. Believing that further academic study would not help him, he changed fields of work, learned to weld and went to work in a shipyard building submarines.
He first became interested in Buddhism upon seeing a large outdoor statue of Buddha while visiting Japan when he was 11 years old. Later he was given a book on Buddhism but felt he did not want to read about Buddhism; he wanted to meet a living master.
Dae Bong Sunim finally met Zen Master Seung Sahn in 1977 at a public Dharma Talk at an American university. A professor in the audience asked, "What is sanity? What is insanity?"
Zen Master Seung Sahn replied, "If you are very attached to something, you are very crazy. If you are a little attached to something, you are a little crazy. If you are not attached to anything, that is not crazy."
Dae Bong Sunim heard that and thought "this is my teacher."
He began studying with Zen Master Seung Sahn immediately, first living in the Providence Zen Center in the US. After 7 years, he was ordained a Buddhist monk in 1984. Following further training, Zen Master Seung Sahn made Dae Bong Sunim the Abbot of Zen Centers in Paris France, and in the United States in Berkeley California and Cambridge Massachusetts. During that time, he regularly came to Korea in the winter to sit 3-month zen retreats called kyol che.
He has lived and trained in meditation centers and temples in the US, Europe, and Asia for over 30 years. In 1992, he received “Inka” authorization to teach and in 1999 “Transmission” from Zen Master Seung Sahn. He has traveled extensively throughout the world teaching Zen. Currently, Zen Master Dae Bong is the Head Spiritual Teacher at Mu Sang Sa - Gyeryong Mountain International Zen Center in South Korea.
