The achievements Daehaeng Kun Sunim accomplished through the Hanmaum Seon Center over the 40 years since its establishment in 1972, and her ensuing nonstop efforts to edify others until her nirvana in 2012 have no precedent in the 1,700-year history of Korean Buddhism. She advocated the practice of Buddhism in everyday life, urban Buddhism (instead of mountain Buddhism), propagation to all social classes, and propagation through media, all of which were new concepts unheard of at the time. As a result, Hanmaum Seon Center presented a new direction for the propagation of Buddhism in 20th century Korea. In addition, as branches expanded to 15 centers in Korea, overseas branches also increased to 10 at various places around the world. By this pioneering work in overseas propagation, Hanmaum Seon Center became an important platform for the globalization of Korean Buddhism.


Ven. Daehaeng herself walked the Buddhist path, following the teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha, concentrating on practices that penetrated her mind and bones, and ultimately attained the One Mind [Hanmaum]. The goal of the Daehaeng Seon she advocated is to awaken the Hanmaum within us suddenly and to illuminate our inherent Buddha nature. In other words, Daehaeng Seon is an excellent practice that follows the Buddha’s teachings; a practice which sees the inherent insubstantiality of all things; a path to see the truth in which one’s own Hanmaum works as one’s True Master [Juingong]. Daehaeng Seon embodies the spirit of a bodhisattva which is to benefit others by benefitting oneself. This is accomplished by practice of the “five sharings” in daily life [shared life, shared mind, shared body, shared use, and shared eating].




Ven. Daehaeng should be regarded highly for establishing her own original Seon thought, thereby opening a new chapter in the history of Korean Buddhism and Buddhism everywhere. Daehaeng Seon Institute is committed to studying the thought, practice and culture of her unique Seon style, as well as human life, and to clarifying how Daehaeng Seon is connected to the history and tradition of Seon, and how it should be viewed in terms of the history of human thought. In addition, the Institute plans to bring the Daehaeng Seon style to light by illuminating the identity of Daehaeng Seon and spreading it far and wide.

The Center for Daehaeng-seon Studies:

As a specialized academic organization that studies and practices Daehaeng Seon in earnest, we rely on the power of Ven. Daehaeng’s vows as she bloomed 10,000 flowers from a single seed and saved many living beings in the ten directions. We present the future direction of the Institute as follows:

First,

we explore how Daehaeng Seon should be connected to and established in the history and tradition of (Patriarchal) Seon in terms of universality and distinctiveness.

Second,

we strive to bring the Daehaeng Seon style into the light by studying Ven. Daehaeng’s thought, practice and culture, by bringing its identity into perspective, and by propagating it widely.

Third,

we apply systematic analysis to her essential thoughts, study them in depth, and organize them properly to prepare a proper foundation for the future study of Daehaeng Seon. Essential topics include: Hanmaum, Foundation [Juingong], person of great freedom, the five sharings [shared life, shared mind, shared body, shared use, and shared eating], contemplation, Buddha nature, literary components of Ven. Daehaeng’s Seon poetry, science of mind-nature, interactive teaching, and Buddhism in daily life.

Fourth,

Ven. Daehaeng always stressed that practice and action are closely connected to life. We must pay attention to the reality of practice and life, scrutinize what Korean Buddhism is like at present and examine its limitations, and present feasible but dynamic alternatives in which 21st century Korean Buddhism can move forward.

Fifth,

the multi-faceted application of mind cultivation that Ven. Daehaeng presented in her teachings may provide ways to resolve some modern social issues, such as feelings of alienation, insensitivity to humaneness, degradation of morality, and amplification of conflicts. We strive to propose concrete and effective ways to address these issues.

Sixth,

the arrival of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and its emphasis on artificial intelligence can be a two-edged sword for both the Hanmaum Seon Center and the Korean Buddhist community; it is both a crisis and an opportunity. We hope to establish specific plans to face the future properly.

Guided by the aforementioned efforts and practice, we vow to dedicate ourselves for the manifestation of the second, third, fourth and fifth Daehaeng Kun Sunim. In addition, we vow to work diligently so that the activities of the Daehaeng Seon Institute may benefit the lives and practice of the fourfold Buddhist community, raise the level of meditation and the teachings of Korean Buddhism a step further, and ultimately benefit all living beings.

June 2562 Buddhist Era (2018 C.E.)