The Press
15. September 2009, Seoul – South Korea
Buddhist Newspaper: Beopbo
11. – 18. September 2008
Buddhist Television Network, Seoul
The Korean Buddhist Television Network visited us in September 2008, please see the documentary in Korean here.
16. September 2008
Der Neue Tag – Daily newspaper
Day of Silenece in the Concentration Camp Memorial Site in Flossenbuerg
On September 13, 2008 Zen monk Hyon Gak Sunim led a “Day of Silence” in the Concentration Camp Memorial Site in Flossenbuerg. The camp in Flossenbueg (Bavaria – North Oberpfalz) existed from 1938 to 1945. Around 100,000 people were imprisoned in the main-camp and over 100 external camps. At least 30,000 people did not survive this terror. Today, the memorial site reminds us of the suffering and lives lost during that horrifc time.
“If we accept that there is nothing in this world that is exactly the same, we start to recognize the union of all life. However, people typically try to find this unity without accepting the differences. This leads to an endless search that goes nowhere and brings continous suffering.”
Hyon Gak Sunim JDPS, was born Paul Muenzen to a catholic family in New Jersey. Educated at Yale College and Harvard University, he was ordained a monk under Zen Master Seung Sahn in 1992. He has completed more than twenty intensive ninety-day meditation retreats and three ardous hundred-day solo meditation retreats in the mountains of Korea. He has compiled and edited a number of Zen Master Seung Sahn’s texts, including “The Compass of Zen”, “Only Don’t Know”, and “Wanting Enlightenment is a Big Mistake”. He has also translated “The Mirror of Zen” from Korean, a classic guide to Buddhist practice by Zen Master So-san (1529-1604). Currently, he is the guiding teacher of the Kwan Um School of Zen Sangha in Oslo. Therefore he travels back and forth between Korea and Europe.
5. June 2008
Rundschau Landkreis Tirschenreuth – Weekly newspaper
World Religion Festival – Water, the Elixir of Life
On Sunday, June 1, 2008 representatives of different world religions met at the “World Religion Festival”. The unique aspects of each religion along with religions’ relation to water was presented and typical culinary delicacy of each group was served. The festival provided a no-pressure, unbiased atmosphere, that gave each visitor the opportunity to rid themselves of false preconceptions concerning a variety of religions, such as Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism. The motto of the World Religion Festival was “Water – The Elixir of Life” which was the focus of the presentations taken place throughout the event. The festival was organized by the Umweltstation (Environment Station) in cooperation with the representatives from different religious groups. The Oberpfalz Zen Zentrum “Yon Hwa Am” was invited to represent the Buddhism. The Bavarian State of Ministry for Environment, Health and Consumer Prottection distinguished this project as the “Lighthouse Project” in its 2008 “WasSerleben” campaign. On Sunday, July 27 the “Path of Reflection” was officially opened. This is an internationally registered hiking trail. Info: www.kubz.de
8. February 2008
Der Neue Tag – Daily newspaper
Opening of the Zen Center “Yon Hwa Am”
On Saturday February 9, 2008 the Oberpfalz Zen Center “Yon Hwa Am” was officially opened. The event was celebrated by the Sangha and over 40 guests from all walks of life. After the ceremony, a vegetarien buffet was served.
