Wu Bong
Encyclopedia
Wu Bong, born Jacob Perl, is a Soen Sa Nim (Zen master) in the Kwan Um School of Zen
. Perl currently acts as the head teacher of the European Kwan Um School of Zen. As the first student of Dae Soen Sa Nim (Seung Sahn) in the United States
, he had previously practiced Zen Buddhism in the Sōtō
tradition at the San Francisco Zen Center
under Shunryu Suzuki
. He also spent one year studying Tibetan Buddhism
at the Tibetan Nyingmapa Meditation Center in Berkeley, California
under Tarthang Tulku
.http://www.kwanumzen.fr/spip.php?rubrique2 Born in Poland
, he and Dae Soen Sa Nim established the first Zen center ever to exist in his home country in 1978.http://www.zen.pl/kwanum/en/teachers.html In 1983 Perl was made a Ji Do Poep Sa Nim in the Kwan Um School—granting him some teaching responsibilities—and in 1993 he received Dharma transmission
from Dae Soen Sa Nim, making him an independent Zen master. Perl's wife, Grazyna Perl (Bon Yo), is also a Zen master in the Kwan Um School of Zen. The pair moved to Paris, France in 1995 and established the Paris Zen Center.http://www.igougo.com/travelcontent/journal.aspx?JournalID=32411#1194700
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...
. Perl currently acts as the head teacher of the European Kwan Um School of Zen. As the first student of Dae Soen Sa Nim (Seung Sahn) in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, he had previously practiced Zen Buddhism in the Sōtō
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...
tradition at the San Francisco Zen Center
San Francisco Zen Center
San Francisco Zen Center , is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising the City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. The sangha was incorporated by Shunryu...
under Shunryu Suzuki
Shunryu Suzuki
Shunryu Suzuki was a Sōtō Zen roshi who popularized Zen Buddhism in the United States, particularly around San Francisco. Born in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan, Suzuki was occasionally mistaken for the Zen scholar D.T...
. He also spent one year studying Tibetan Buddhism
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...
at the Tibetan Nyingmapa Meditation Center in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
under Tarthang Tulku
Tarthang Tulku
Tarthang Tulku is a Tibetan teacher in the Nyingma tradition who lives in America, where he works to preserve the art and culture of Tibet. He oversees various projects including Dharma Publishing, Yeshe-De, Tibetan Aid Project, and the construction of the Odiyan Copper Mountain Mandala...
.http://www.kwanumzen.fr/spip.php?rubrique2 Born in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, he and Dae Soen Sa Nim established the first Zen center ever to exist in his home country in 1978.http://www.zen.pl/kwanum/en/teachers.html In 1983 Perl was made a Ji Do Poep Sa Nim in the Kwan Um School—granting him some teaching responsibilities—and in 1993 he received Dharma transmission
Dharma transmission
Dharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Dae Soen Sa Nim, making him an independent Zen master. Perl's wife, Grazyna Perl (Bon Yo), is also a Zen master in the Kwan Um School of Zen. The pair moved to Paris, France in 1995 and established the Paris Zen Center.http://www.igougo.com/travelcontent/journal.aspx?JournalID=32411#1194700
See also
- Buddhism in EuropeBuddhism in EuropeAlthough there was regular contact between practising Buddhists and Europeans in antiquity the former had little direct impact. In the latter half of the 19th century, Buddhism came to the attention of Western intellectuals and during the course of the following century the number of adherents has...
- Buddhism in the United StatesBuddhism in the United StatesBuddhism is one of the largest religions in the United States behind Christianity, Judaism and Nonreligious, and approximate with Islam and Hinduism. American Buddhists include many Asian Americans, as well as a large number of converts of other ethnicities, and now their children and even...
- Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United StatesTimeline of Zen Buddhism in the United StatesBelow is a timeline of important events regarding Zen Buddhism in the United States. Dates with "?" are approximate.-Early history:* 1893: Soyen Shaku comes to the United States to lecture at the World Parliament of Religions held in Chicago...