The Chogye International Zen Center of New York was founded in 1975 by Zen Master Seung Sahn who is the first Korean Zen Master to live and teach in the West. Addressed by his students as Dae Soen Sa Nim, he arrived in the United States in 1972 and established Zen Centers in the U.S. as well as Europe and Korea. These centers are linked together through the Kwan Um School of Zen.

Kwan Um School Lineage

The Korean Soen lineage comes from the Chinese Rinzai lines and became separate around the year 1200. Famous Zen Masters in our lineage include the six Zen Patriarchs, Ma-tsu, Pai-chang, Lin-chi and Nan-chuan. Zen Master Seung Sahn received Dharma Transmission from Zen Master Ko Bong at the age of 22. His lineage also includes the noted Korean Zen Masters Man Gong and Kyong Ho.

Continue reading about our full lineage.

Our Teachers

Zen Master Seung Sahn

The Founding Teacher of our School was the Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn, who was called Dae Soen Sa Nim (Great Honored Zen Teacher) by his students.

He was the 78th Patriarch in his line of Dharma transmission in the Chogye order of Korean Buddhism, and founded temples in Japan and Hong Kong. In 1972 he came to the United States and started what became the Providence Zen Center, the first center in what is now the Kwan Um School. Dae Soen Sa Nim gave dharma transmission to Zen Masters and “inka” teaching authority to senior students called Ji Do Poep Sa Nims (Guides to the Way, or Dharma Masters).

Founding teacher, Kwan Um School of Zen

Dae Soen Sa Nim died on November 30, 2004, at Hwa Gye Sah temple in Seoul, Korea. He died peacefully, surrounded by his students. He was 77.

In June 2004, he had received the title “Great Master” from the Chogye Order of Korean Buddhism, in appreciation for his lifetime of teaching. This is the highest honor the order confers.

Zen Master Wu Kwang

Zen Master Wu Kwang, (Richard Shrobe), is one of the first American students to receive transmission from Dae Soen Sa Nim and is the guiding teacher of the Chogye International Zen Center. He is authorized to perform all the formal teaching activities of Zen, including the traditional kong-an practice of private interchange between teacher and student. He has been practicing meditation since 1966 and received formal certification, or “inka,” from Dae Soen Sa Nim in 1984. He received dharma transmission on August 1, 1993. Soen Sa is a practicing psychotherapist with an M.S.W. and B.A. degree in music. His teaching emphasizes that “Zen is everyday life and everyday life is Zen.” His books include Don’t-Know Mind: The Spirit of Korean Zen (Shambhala, 2004), Open Mouth Already a Mistake (Primary Point Press, 1997), and his latest, Elegant Failure: A Guide to Zen Koans (Rodmell Press, 2010).

Guiding teacher, CIZCNY

Zen Master Jok Um

Zen Master Jok Um (Ken Kessel) received transmission in April 2017. He began studying with Zen Master Seung Sahn in 1975. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a psychotherapist, working with children and families in foster care, substance abuse, outpatient and inpatient mental health and therapeutic preschool settings, as well as in private practice. He specializes in infant and early childhood mental health. He is guiding teacher for New Haven Zen Center, Hwa Um Sa-Orlando Zen Center, Gateless Gate Zen Center (Gainesville) and Cypress Tree Zen Group (Tallahassee). He also teaches at the Chogye International Zen Center of New York, as well as at other Zen Centers and affiliates.

Steven Cohen MD JDPSN

Steven Cohen MD JDPSN has been a student of Zen Master Seung Sahn since 1974. Before moving to New York in 1984, he was a founding member of the New Haven Zen Center where he served as administrative director (1975-79) and head dharma teacher (1979-84). He received inka on April 6, 2002. Cohen PSN is a Professor of and Chief of Dermatology at The Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In February 2006, he was the first dermatologist ever to receive the Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education. Steve and Phyllis Cohen have been married for 37 years; they have two children. Twice National Champion (1966-67) and a member of the US Olympic Team 1968, he was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1991.

History and Teachers