Kobong Explained

Kobong / 고봉 / 高峯
Birth Date:1890
Birth Place:Korea
Death Date:1962
Religion:Buddhism
School:Chogye (Seon)
Zen master
Predecessor:Mangong
Successor:Seungsahn
Module:
Child:yes
Headercolor:
  1. FFCC33
Hangul:고봉
Hanja:古峰
Rr:Gobong
Mr:Kobong
Hangulborn:박경욱
Hanjaborn:朴景昱
Rrborn:Bak Gyeonguk
Mrborn:Pak Kyŏnguk

Kobong seonsanim (Korean: 고봉선사, Hanja: 高峯禪師, 1890–1962),[1] [2] the 77th Patriarch in his teaching lineage, was a Korean Zen master.

Biography

At an early age, Kobong became a monk at Namjangsa.[2] Known for spontaneous and eccentric teaching,[1] [3] he sometimes said that he preferred to teach laypeople because monks were too lazy to practice hard.[4] [5]

Kobong never held a position at any temple or established a temple of his own.[6] When he was elderly, his student Seungsahn brought him to Hwagyesa[6] in Seoul, South Korea where Kobong died at the temple in 1962.[5] A large granite monument was built in his honor on the hillside overlooking Hwagyesa.

Lineage

Kobong Sunim was Dharma heir to Mangong Sunim, who was in turn Dharma heir to Kyongho Sunim. Kobong Sunim's best known student was Seungsahn Sunim (1927–2004), founder of the Kwan Um School of Zen. Seungsahn Sunim received Dharma transmission from Kobong Sunim at 22 years of age. Kobong had never given inka to any monk before he met Seungsahn Sunim[2] and Seungsahn remained his only dharma heir.[5]

Sunim is a Korean word that means ordained Buddhist and can refer to both men and women who have taken ordination vows.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ko Bong. Sweeping Zen. April 16, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140330131637/http://sweepingzen.com/zm-ko-bong-bio/. 30 March 2014. dead.
  2. Web site: Ko Bong Sunim. Chogyesa Zen Temple of New York. April 16, 2013.
  3. Web site: Korean Zen: Ko Bong. Ox Herding. April 16, 2013.
  4. Web site: Ko Bong's Try Mind. Kwan Um School of Zen. April 16, 2013.
  5. Web site: Zen Master Ko Bong. Mu Sang Sa. April 16, 2013. https://archive.today/20130704090204/http://www.musangsa.org/english/sub02/sub02_3.php. 4 July 2013. dead.
  6. Web site: Flower Valley Temple The Story of Hwa Gye Sah. April 16, 2013.