Wonkwangsa International Zen Temple
Encyclopedia
Wonkwangsa International Zen Temple ' onMouseout='HidePop("77620")' href="/topics/Korean_language">Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...

: , English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

: Temple of Original Light) is a Korean-tradition zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...

 temple and monastery.

The temple is located in Búbánatvölgy, a valley near Esztergom
Esztergom
Esztergom , is a city in northern Hungary, 46 km north-west of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there....

, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...



Now, while the official Abbot of the temple is away for an undefined period, his tasks is done by the Vice Abbot and House Master, Dok Hae Sunim
Sunim
Sunim is the Korean title for a Buddhist monk or Buddhist nun. It is considered respectful to refer to senior monks or nuns in Korea as Kun sunim. In most Korean temples, a middle-aged monk assumes the role of a juji sunim, who serves administrative functions. The eldest sunim is typically seen as...

.
There are lay residents living in the temple in various functions, like Kitchen Master, Head Dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...

-Teacher, Garden Master or Moktak Master


Fundraising for the project started in 2005. Considerable part of donations are from buddhist lay-people and temples from Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

.
Buying of the first parcels and the building of the temple started in November, 2006 with a Master-beam Raising Ceremony of the Zen Hall. The building of the Zen Hall finished and the Foundation-Stone Ceremony of the new Buddha Hall was in April, 2010.

The land owned by the temple is about 2 hectares (in the summer of 2011). The planned final size of the temple area is 5 hectares.
The Zen Hall is built in traditional Korean architectural style. Wonkwangsa is the only architecturally traditional Korean temple in Europe.

Wonkwangsa Temple has also strong connections to the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism.

Public events

Wonkwangsa temple is also a place of Marriage ceremonies, 49-day remembering ceremonies, Burial ceremonies, Precepts ceremonies (usually held at the end of a retreat) and other ceremonies requested by mostly lay-people

Retreats

Since 2008, the Wonkwangsa gives place for the 90-day winter Kyol Che in Europe for the Kwan Um School of Zen. There are 100-day Kwan seum bosal chanting retreats (kido) in every summer, beginning in June.
Intensive, 3 to 7-day long retreats called 'Yong Maeng Jeong Jin' with guest teachers and zen master
Zen master
Zen master is an umbrella title sometimes used to refer to an individual who has been recognized by an authorized Zen lineage holder and teacher as having met his or her own teacher's standards of realization or insight. These standards vary widely in different traditions, and may vary among...

s are also take place in the temple.

Other events

From time to time Wonkwangsa temple gives place non-buddhist events, for example Yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...

 and wellness
Wellness
Wellness may mean:* Wellness * Wellness - The scientific meaning: health, freedom from disease.* Wellness dog and cat food, a brand used by the company WellPet* Well-being * Workplace wellness...

 weekends.
At the end of every winter Kyol Che, there is Sangha
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...

 weekend, where the members of Kwan Um School as well as practitioners from other Buddhist traditions (Soto
Soto
Sōtō Zen , or is, with Rinzai and Ōbaku, one of the three most populous sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.The Sōtō sect was first established as the Caodong sect during the Tang Dynasty in China by Dongshan Liangjie in the 9th century, which Dōgen Zenji then brought to Japan in the 13th century...

, tibetan buddhists
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...

) or even just those, who are interested in zen, can meet teachers and other sangha members.
There were workshops for non-violent communication, held by Buddhist teachers.

See also

  • List of Buddhist temples
  • Zen
    Zen
    Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...

  • Korean architecture
    Korean architecture
    Korean architecture refers to the built environment of Korea from c. 30,000 BC to the present.-Introduction:From a technical point of view, buildings are structured vertically and horizontally...

  • Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism
  • Kwan Um School of Zen
    Kwan Um School of Zen
    The Kwan Um School of Zen is an international school of Zen centers and groups, founded in 1983 by Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim. The school's international head temple is located at the Providence Zen Center in Cumberland, Rhode Island, which was founded in 1972 shortly after Seung Sahn first came to...

  • Korean Buddhism
    Korean Buddhism
    Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what it sees as inconsistencies in Mahayana Buddhism. Early Korean monks believed that the traditions they received from foreign countries were internally inconsistent. To address this, they developed a new...


Future of the Temple

Publishing any details of the Temple's inner businesses, wouldn't be good for the Temple, for the Sangha as well as it would violate Zen Master Seung Sahn's 'Temple Rules'.
Thank You!.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK