Zen Master Bon Soeng / Jeff Kitzes Interview WWSF 2017

[@mihugong3153]

0:09 How did you get involved with the School, and how did you meet ? 2:19 How did you become a Zen teacher? 4:22 Where did your desire to leave the school come from, and what made you decide not to leave? 7:08 For you, what is the most valuable aspect of this style of Zen? 8:23 As a Teacher, what advice would you give to new students? 9:49 Do you have an experience or memory that demonstrates the quality of "aliveness" you say Dae Soen Sa Nim exuded? 11:07 There seems to be a lot of discussion about changes within in the School. What is your idea or vision for potential changes? 12:26 Can you tell us about the way the executive board works? 13:10 What sort of changes have you observed in the last 25 years? 14:58 How would you describe "don't know mind"? 17:02 Are you involved in any political or social activism? 17:52 What advice do you have on how to bring practice into everyday life? 19:17 Would you mind sharing with us any memories or moments of wonder and curiosity that this practice has brought about? 21:31 Since we never had the opportunity to experience Dae Song Sa Nim, do you have a particular memory where the aliveness you say characterized him really stood out?

[@Miguchingu24]

🙏🙏🙏

[@anniehammond3315]

This is such a good interview! I really enjoyed it! Thank you so much!!!

[@KwanUmSchoolofZen]

You are welcome!

[@hawkkim1974]

I don't know about Buddhist culture in America, but I know some about Korea. So here I tell you my understanding about it. 1. For Korean monks, there is no such thing as private life. Monks are supposed to seek the truth abandoning "I". There is no "I" for them. How can there be a private life? I know the current korean buddhist society is full of craps and bureaucracies, especially regarding money. Back in 60s and 70s, Buddhist monks used to burn unnecessary donation money. I guess these days it's directed into bank account. 2. Regarding the sex scandal, it's very little known here in Korea. Actually I just heard about it in this video. For truth seeker, I don't see any problem with that. That could happen as a human being. But He was a Korean monk, holding various titles with his hair shaved, most importantly claiming he attained Tao or was enlightened! In this regard, his reaction never seems appropriate to me. I clearly see the "I" in his reaction you just talked about. According to Korean Buddhist tradition, he should have abandoned monk title, stopped shaving his head, and continued his relationship with whoever that was. That's the example of taking responsibility for the decisions he made. But instead, he chose to hold the monk title whatever the reason was. 3. I agree he was a good teacher. But we should stop bullshitting like live Buddha, enlightened, or whatever similar.