Published On:Sunday, 7 September 2014
Posted by Celebrate Life Style information Blog
Interview with Beomasa Temple Buddhist Monk Chun Moon
Two months ago, I participated in a Temple Stay at Beomasa Temple in Busan, South Korea. The stay turned out to be a sort of meditation retreat. After arriving and getting comfortable in my monk-like robes, I was introduced to Polish monk Chun Moon. After some small talk, he was thrilled to learn I was from Woonsocket, RI; a stones-throw from the Zen Center in Cumberland, RI where he once studied. It was a definite moment of synchronicity to be sure.
Chun Moon’s Polish background, his time spent at the Zen Center in Cumberland and his presence at a mountain temple in Korea fascinated me and I wanted to learn a bit more about his story and some of his thoughts on Buddhism from a monastic point of view; particularly a monastic in Korea, one of the predominantly Buddhist regions of the world, as opposed to the Western lens of Buddhism that I was brought up with.
S.A.L: You are probably one of the few western born monks living in Korea and I for one was surprised when I met you.
C.M: There are actually quite a few western monks in Korea. There are American monks, Russian monks, some Argentineans; there are over fifty monks living in the Cho Gye Jong Order.
S.A.L: Where did your path to being a monk begin? Was there an epiphany moment? Many Christians speak of hearing a call to priesthood or to be a monk, but was your calling more subtle?
C.M: It was not really a calling. I don’t like those Christian terms. I started getting into yoga and Buddhism in my late teens/ early twenties. At twenty I met my teacher Soong Sang. He was a Korean and he started a Zen Center in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1986, I went to the United States to study at the Zen Center and after Soong Sang’s death in 2004 I made the decision to become a monk. In 2007, I came to Korea and started living as a monk. -See at More: http://www.studentatlarge.net/interview-with-buddhist-monk-chun-moon.html
Chun Moon’s Polish background, his time spent at the Zen Center in Cumberland and his presence at a mountain temple in Korea fascinated me and I wanted to learn a bit more about his story and some of his thoughts on Buddhism from a monastic point of view; particularly a monastic in Korea, one of the predominantly Buddhist regions of the world, as opposed to the Western lens of Buddhism that I was brought up with.
S.A.L: You are probably one of the few western born monks living in Korea and I for one was surprised when I met you.
C.M: There are actually quite a few western monks in Korea. There are American monks, Russian monks, some Argentineans; there are over fifty monks living in the Cho Gye Jong Order.
S.A.L: Where did your path to being a monk begin? Was there an epiphany moment? Many Christians speak of hearing a call to priesthood or to be a monk, but was your calling more subtle?
C.M: It was not really a calling. I don’t like those Christian terms. I started getting into yoga and Buddhism in my late teens/ early twenties. At twenty I met my teacher Soong Sang. He was a Korean and he started a Zen Center in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1986, I went to the United States to study at the Zen Center and after Soong Sang’s death in 2004 I made the decision to become a monk. In 2007, I came to Korea and started living as a monk. -See at More: http://www.studentatlarge.net/interview-with-buddhist-monk-chun-moon.html
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