News and Photos
Sperryville Retreat
September 2011
"Sunim, can Little Buddhas show us Beginner's Mind? No, it's past bedtime."
Sunim led us in a Sperryville retreat.
Albuquerque Retreat
September 2011
Blue sky, hot sun, bright eyes...burned tongue
Sunim in Albuquerque.
Chesapeake Bay Retreat
May 2011
Sunim, can we burn away our sins during a two day retreat on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake? The Artic winds blow furiously.
Sperryville Retreat
October 2010
Sunim led us in a two day retreat near the Blue Ridge mountains.
Chesapeake Bay Retreat
October 2010
Sunim led us in a three day retreat on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake.
Watch the pre-meditation fire video.
Art on the Avenue
October 2010
Master, if I create a Lotus Flower, will the mud in my mind bloom into beautiful peace?
Brown petals bloomed yesterday.
Meditation, Dinner and Precepts with Sunim
May 2010
Friday Meditation
Friday Dinner
Does the tongue taste or speak wisdom? Gargle first.
Precept Takers vow to find the Gateless Gate
Annual Rocky Mountain Retreat
Turn the whole Universe inside out.
Swallow the rocky mountains in one gulp.
Vomit the starry blue sky through the sweat-pores of the Sun.
Show that you are here,
When even the gods cannot see you.
Young Pyung Sa International Zen Center
Dinner and Meditation with Sunim
September 2009
Eating Your Words?
Sunim's golden tongue bloomed spontaneous koans to spur our 7-midnight meditation at the Sangha.
Korean Temple Retreat
Master, when intense effort leads to no effort, what happens?
Buy a drink for the ambulance driver.
Korean Temple Retreat
Did minds blossom like lotus flowers at the Spring Retreat?
Winter snows fell heavily, green grass grows deep.
Pohwa Sunim led members in the Spring Retreat at the Seoul Zen Center, located at beautiful Hwa Gye Sa Temple (http://www.seoulzen.org/information.html). Hwa Gye Sa was built in 1522 by Zen Master Shin Wol. Members meditated for ten hours a day, hiked in the adjacent mountain park and visited nearby temples.
Kasa Night
French Embassy's La Maison Française
In the deep forest of ancient India, wisdom seekers meditated on the true meaning of life and death. To protect themselves from the bitter cold, they collected shrouds from the dead and sewed them into robes. This practice became a part of the Buddhist tradition known as Kasa, a symbol of enlightenment and compassion.
In this fast paced, material world, most of us would like to recover some heartfelt original truth. On Kasa Night, we celebrated meditation in its various forms, as a path to ancient wisdom and perfect compassion.
Zen Master Ven. Pohwa Sunim gave a special talk entitled: "The World Turning Word".
Zen Teacher Wisdom Moon gave an amazing Zen Drum performance that captivated the audience.
Roland and a friend painted the evening with delicate brush-strokes of French poetry.
A wonderful time was shared by all.
Buddha's Birthday Celebration and Precepts Ceremony
at the Baltimore Zen Center
When Buddha said that he has never born nor gone, why do we celebrate his birthday? It is entertaining where there is no entertaining.
Also held was the 9th annual Precepts Ceremony. Congratulations to everyone who took the precepts!
When we take the Precepts, we receive a Kasa and become a Blue Mountain Sangha Member. As such, we become full members of our Zen community. The Kasa is a symbol of our freedom from life and death and of the great wisdom of Zen practice. If you want to take Precepts, please call Sunim at (703)608-0900 or E-mail to potomaczen@yahoo.com.