Drafted into the
Republic of Korea Army in 1953, he served as an
army chaplain and then as a
captain for almost five years, taking over for Kobong as abbot of Hwagaesa in Seoul, South Korea in 1957. In the next decade, he would go on to found
Buddhist temples in
Hong Kong and Japan. While in Japan, he was acquainted with the
kōan (Korean ''gong'an'') tradition of the
Rinzai school of
Zen, likely undergoing kōan study with a Rinzai master. Coming to the United States in 1972, he settled in
Providence, Rhode Island and worked at a
laundromat as a repairman, spending much of his off time improving upon his English. Shortly after arriving, he found his first students at nearby
Brown University, most of whom came by way of a recommendation from a professor there. Among these first students was Jacob Perl (
Wubong), who helped to found the
Providence Zen Center with the others. in
Cumberland, Rhode Island. In 1974, Seung Sahn began founding more Zen centers in the United States—his school still yet to be established—beginning with Dharma Zen Center in
Los Angeles—a place where
laypeople and the ordained could practice and live together. That following year, he went on to found the
Chogye International Zen Center of
New York City, and then, in 1977, Empty Gate Zen Center. Meanwhile, in 1979, the
Providence Zen Center moved from its location in Providence to its current space in
Cumberland, Rhode Island. The
Kwan Um School of Zen was founded in 1983 and, unlike more traditional practice in
Korea, Seungsahn allowed laypersons in the lineage to wear the robes of full monastics, upsetting some in the
Jogye Order by allowing lay Dharma teachers to wear long robes.
Celibacy was not required and the rituals of the school are unique. Although the Kwan Um School does utilize traditional Seon and Zen rituals, elements of their practice also closely resemble rituals found often in
Pure Land Buddhism,
Chan Buddhism, and the
Huayan school. In 1986, along with a former student and Dharma heir
Dae Gak, Seungsahn founded a retreat center and temple in
Clay City, Kentucky called
Furnace Mountain—the temple name being
Kwan Se Um San Ji Sah (or,
Perceive World Sound High Ground Temple). The center functions independently of the Kwan Um organization today. Over his tenure as Guiding Teacher, Seungsahn appointed many Dharma heirs. He created the title
Ji Do Poep Sa Nim (JDPSN) for those not ready for full dharma transmission but capable of teaching at a higher capacity. In 1977, Seungsahn was hospitalized for
cardiac arrhythmia and it was then discovered that he had advanced
diabetes. He had been in and out of hospitals for heart complications for years preceding his death, and in 1987 began spending much less time at his residence in the
Providence Zen Center.
Teaching style Seungsahn implemented the use of simple
phraseology to convey his messages, delivered with
charisma, which helped make the teachings easier to consume for
Western followers. Some of his more frequently employed phrases included "only go straight" or "only don't know". He even went so far as to call his teachings "Don't Know Zen", which was reminiscent of the style of
Bodhidharma. Seungsahn used correspondences between him and his students as teaching opportunities. Back-and-forth letters allowed for a kind of dharma combat through the mail and made him more available to the school's students in his absence. This was another example of his skillful implementation of unorthodox teaching methods, adapting to the norms of Western culture and thus making himself more accessible to those he taught. He was a supporter of what he often termed "together action"—encouraging students to make the lineage's centers their home and practice together. with Seungsahn at a
sesshin at the Ojai Foundation in 1979. Seungsahn also developed his own kōan study program for students of the Kwan Um School, known today as the "Twelve Gates". These twelve kōans are a mixture of ancient cases and cases which he developed. Before receiving inka to teach (in Kwan Um, inka is not synonymous with Dharma transmission), students must complete the Twelve Gates, though often they will complete hundreds more. One of the more well known cases of the Twelve Gates is "Dropping Ashes on the Buddha", the Sixth Gate, which is also the title of one of his books. In the book
The Compass of Zen, this kong-an is transcribed as follows: "Somebody comes to the Zen center smoking a cigarette. He blows smoke and drops ashes on the Buddha." Seungsahn then poses the question, "If you are standing there at that time, what can you do?" Not included in this version of the kōan is the Kwan Um School of Zen's following side note on the case, "[H]ere is an important factor in this case that has apparently never been explicitly included in its print versions. Zen Master Seung Sahn has always told his students that the man with the cigarette is also very strong and that he will hit you if he doesn't approve of your response to his actions." When Seungsahn first began teaching in the United States, there was an underemphasis in his message on the significance of
zazen. Under advice from some students, however, he soon came to incorporate zazen into the curriculum more frequently. More than a few of his earliest students had practiced Zen previously under the
Sōtō priest
Shunryū Suzuki, laying out a convincing argument about how zazen and Zen were seen as inseparable in the Western psyche. ==Later life==