INTRO | Why I Started This Zen History BlOG
Before founding the Mind Light Way School of Zen, I lived for 16 years at Shim Gwang Sa, a Zen Buddhist temple in Boston, Massachusetts. There, I trained under the direct guidance of my teacher, Great Zen Master Chang Sik Kim, the founder of the Zen and Martial Art School, Shim Gum Do. He was a successor of Great Zen Master Seung Sahn, a lineage holder in the Jogye Order of Korean Zen and the founder of the Kwan Um School of Zen.
In 2014, I was formally recognized as a Zen Master by my teacher, becoming the 80th teacher in our lineage—a line that stretches back through Korea, China, and India to the historical Buddha himself.
My Zen training emphasized a deeply practical approach: discovering how the Buddha’s teachings could be lived and embodied in every moment. Our daily routine included sitting meditation and chanting sutras. We also received koans and occasional teachings on Zen history through my teacher’s Dharma talks. But at the heart of our practice was learning how to maintain meditative awareness in all aspects of temple life—whether sweeping the floor, preparing food, or engaging in conversation.
When I began teaching at my own school, I quickly became aware of several widespread misconceptions about Zen in contemporary culture. I had always been curious about the history of my lineage, but the oral lessons we received only scratched the surface of Zen’s vast historical record.
As I began to explore the roots of these misunderstandings, I encountered puzzling English translations of classical stories and koans—versions in which the original message often felt obscured. This led me to study the original Chinese texts more closely, using modern translation tools to better understand the nuances that had been lost, altered, or overlooked.
I acknowledge that every translation involves a degree of interpretation—the words we choose shape the meaning we convey. Yet I believe my 16 years of rigorous training under my teacher, along with my continued experience teaching as a Zen Master, offer me a unique perspective and certain inherent advantages in navigating this interpretive process.
The teachings I received were preserved through a continuous lineage of direct transmission from living Zen Masters, independent of interpretations compiled by scholars or academics. This tradition involves rigorous testing by one’s teacher to ensure that the heart of the teaching can be expressed clearly within the context of each moment.
In this way, Zen Masters have upheld the continuity of the original meaning—not through fixed texts, but through insight transmitted in the immediacy of direct experience. Every lesson is tailored specifically for the student, in the context of the time in which it is given.
Lessons are also frequently transmitted through nonverbal means. Zen directs each student toward an insight that lies beyond words, so these interactions can often appear confusing—or even contradictory—to an outside observer.
For example, according to Zen tradition, the Buddha transmitted his teaching to his disciple Mahākāśyapa in the famous “Flower Sermon.” In this story, the Buddha silently held up a flower before the assembly. Only Mahākāśyapa responded—by smiling. This subtle exchange signified a transmission beyond words.
The Buddha then declared, “I possess the true Dharma eye, the marvelous mind of Nirvāṇa, the true form of the formless, the subtle Dharma gate that does not rest on words or letters, but is a special transmission outside the scriptures. This I entrust to Mahākāśyapa.”
The earliest known record of this story appears in the Chinese Chan text Jingde Chuandeng Lu (景德傳燈錄, Record of the Transmission of the Lamp), compiled in 1036 CE during the Song dynasty. This is considered the origin of Zen’s direct transmission beyond words.
As you can imagine, there are countless ways this story could be interpreted. It’s easy to project one’s own assumptions or biases onto such a subtle moment. That’s why Zen training is so important—not only for understanding the context and intention behind the lesson, but also for choosing the right words when translating it. Informed commentary can also provide valuable context, especially for contemporary readers encountering these teachings for the first time.
Despite all the challenges, what I discovered in my research was truly remarkable: after thousands of years, the core teachings of Zen have remained strikingly consistent—sometimes even word-for-word with the lessons I received from my teacher, passed down through 79 generations of teacher to student.
Throughout the history of Zen, each Zen Master has expressed the teachings with their own subtle nuances, shaped by the era they lived in and the students they guided. Yet they all point to the same essential truth: realizing one’s true nature through direct experience of the mind.
My research began with a simple question: What is the origin of the word Zen? I wanted to trace it back to its roots. That inquiry led me deep into the earliest texts of the Buddhist canon and into various regional sources that offered additional Sanskrit context. I was looking for threads of consistency across how the term was used in Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese, and the English I had been taught.
Much of what I found was unfamiliar to me, and as my curiosity expanded, so did the list of topics I wanted to explore. I realized it might be helpful to others if I documented my findings—so this Zen History Blog was born.
For the purposes of this blog, I’ll focus primarily on the teachers within my own lineage, along with a few influential figures who played major roles in shaping Zen practice within their respective cultures. In many cases, I found I could trace a thread from the Pali Canon all the way to the teachings I received in modern times. So before diving into specific topics, I thought it would be helpful to begin with a brief overview of Zen history in this first blog post.
Thank you for reading. I hope these explorations support your practice and offer something of value along the way.
In the near future, I plan to explore the origins of Zen in India, the story of Bodhidharma, and the teachings of several influential Zen Masters from China. If there are other topics you’d like to see covered in future articles, feel free to send us an email [hot link: contact@mindlightway.org, Subject: Zen History Blog]—I’d love to hear from you.
If you find these history blogs valuable and want to see more, consider supporting the Mind Light Way School of Zen, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your support helps make this research possible and allows us to continue sharing Zen’s rich history with a wider audience.
