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The Great Way
is not difficult
if you do not make distinctions.
Only throw away likes and dislikes and everything will be perfectly
clear
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| Who are we? |
We are a group
who gather regularly to practice Zen meditation, following
the teaching style of Zen Master Seung Sahn, the founding
teacher of Kwan
Um School of Zen. Everybody is welcome at our weekly
meditation practice. This includes beginners who have
never meditated before. If you a beginner, you in
fact possess one of the most precious assets to practice
Zen: "beginners mind". We will
provide you with a basic introduction to the practice
forms. Our group is growing in size and enthusiasm, so
this is a great time to come. To understand Zen, you
must try it. |
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| What is Zen? |
Zen is understanding yourself. The
Zen path of this begins and ends by asking "Who
am I?" When you ask this question very deeply, what
appears is only "don’t know". All thinking
is completely cut off and you return to your before thinking
mind. If you attain this don’t know, you have already
attained your true self. It is sometimes called enlightenment,
satori, or kensho. The Buddha taught us that
we must walk the Great Bodhisattva Way and save all beings
from suffering. If you cannot save yourself, how can
you possibly save other people? So this is why we must
attain our true self, our true nature. This true nature
cannot be found in books or conceptual thought. A Ph.D.,
no matter how wonderfull, cannot match the power of even
one moment of clear insight into our own true original
nature. And the most direct path to that experience is
meditation |
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| Contribution |
The practice is free, however monetary
donations to help support the group will be gratefully
accepted. |
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| Teachers |
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Zen
Master Seung Sahn,
called Dae Soen Sa Nim, (Great Honored Zen Teacher
by his students), is the 78th Patriarch in
his line of Dharma Transmission in the Chogye order
of Korean Buddhism. After founding
temples in Japan and Hong Kong, he came
to the United States in 1972 and started the Providence
Zen Center, the first center in what is now the
Kwan Um School. His books include Ten Gates, The
Compass of Zen, Dropping Ashes on the Buddha, Only
Don't Know, and The Whole World is a Single Flower
- 365 Kong-ans for Everyday Life. Dae Soen Sa Nim
has given Dharma Transmission to ten Zen Masters
and "inka" - teaching authority - to
senior students called Ji Do Poep Sa Nims, (Literally,one
who can show the way). |
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Zen
Master Dae Kwang is the abbot of the
Kwan Um School of Zen. He is the guiding teacher
of Providence Zen Center in Cumberland, Rhode
Island, the head temple of our international
School. He is also the teacher for Zen centers
in Wisconsin and Delaware. Zen Master Dae Kwang
travels widely, leading retreats throughout North
America, Europe, and Asia. His interests include
meditation practices common to Christianity and
Buddhism. He was ordained a monk in 1987. |
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Zen Master Soeng Hyang
(Barbara Rhodes) is the School Zen Master
and Guiding Dharma Teacher of the Kwan Um School
of Zen. She received dharma transmission from Zen
Master Seung Sahn on October 10, 1992. She was
one of Zen Master Seung Sahn's first American students
and studied with him since 1972. She was given
inka in 1977. A registered nurse since 1969, she
works for Hospice Care of Rhode Island. She helped
found Providence Zen Center, and lived there for
seventeen years, serving in a number of administrative
capacities. Zen Master Soeng Hyang has a daughter
and lives with her partner, Mary, in Providence. |
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| How to contact us? |
The Ontario Zen Group
practices on Tuesdays, 7-9 pm
on 1041 Avenue
Rd. Unit 201, Toronto, Ontario M5N 2C5
(North-East corner of Avenue
Rd. and Eglinton St. West) enter from Avenue Rd.
If you are
new, please try be at the meditation room by 6:45pm.
Contact person:
Janusz Madej, e-mail: januszmadej@rogers.com
phone: 416 239 6222
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