Member of the Ten Directions Zen Community    Kwan Um School of Zen

Our Community

We are part of a cluster of Chicago area Zen groups called the Ten Directions Zen Community. This larger community meets quarterly for weekend retreats with our guiding teacher, Zen Master Soeng Hyang. Check the events schedule for the next retreat.

Zen Master

Seung Sahn
1927-2004

Our School

Ten Directions is part of the Kwan Um School of Zen, an international organization founded over thirty years ago by the late Korean Zen Master, Seung Sahn. The 78th Patriarch in his line of transmission in the Chogye order of Korean Buddhism, Seung Sahn came to the United States in 1972 and started the Providence Zen Center, the first center in what is now the Kwan Um School. Zen Master Seung Sahn died on November 30, 2004.

Our Guiding Teacher

Zen Master Soeng Hyang (Barbara Rhodes), received dharma transmission from Seung Sahn in 1992. She was one of his first students in the United States, studied with him since 1972, helped to establish the Providence Zen Center, and currently serves as School Zen Master. Soeng Hyang has been our guiding teacher for over 15 years. She resides in Providence, RI but visits the Chicago area at least twice each year to lead our weekend retreats. A hospice nurse for many years, Soeng Hyang often conveys the teachings of the dharma through her experiences as a caregiver to the sick and the dying.

Zen Master Soeng Hyang

 Dharma Teachers

Paul Lemrise became involved with our school after hearing a dharma talk by Zen Master Seung Sahn in 1988.  He is currently serving as director of the Ten Directions Zen Community. Paul is connected via his wife, Sung, to the Korean Buddhist community and leads a Sunday morning practice at Bultasa Buddhist Temple in Chicago.

Mark Garrett serves as our moktak master (chant leader). A strong practitioner, Mark has been known to attend retreats throughout the midwest plus a one-week intensive retreat with Zen Master Soeng Hyang at Providence Zen Center.

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Ji-hak Sunim 

The Woodstock Zen Group is fortunate to have many good friends who provide teaching, inspiration, and support. Zen monk Ji-Hak Sunim, provides all three, including a place for our group to practice on Thursday nights at his home in Island Lake. We enjoy his quiet presence, his insightful talks, and his beautiful dharma room. A cup of tea with him in his kitchen is a great way to finish off an evening of practice. 

Rev. Ji-Hak Sunim