American Zen College
A Zen center derived from the eclectic Chogye Buddhist sect
of Korea and the activities of Zen Master Gosung Shin. Shin
had been abbot of several large temples in southeastern Korea
when he was invited to continue the work begun by Bishop Seo
Kyung-Bo, who had previously established the World Zen Center
at Spruce Run Mountain, Virginia.
Shin first came to the U.S. in 1970 as a student at Harvard
University. In 1971 he moved to Philadelphia and taught religion
at Lehigh University. He was offered space for a Zen center
at Easton, Pennsylvania, and founded the Hui-Neng Zen
Temple. After several years the Temple outgrew its space, and
Shin moved to Woodhull, New York, where he established the
Kwan Yin Zen Center.
Continued growth led to the closing of the Woodhull center
and the creation of two new centers the Zen Center of Washington
(1977), which primarily serves Koreans living in the
Washington, D.C. area, and the Seneca Lake Zen Center (1978)
at 16815 Germantown Rd., Route 18, Germantown, Maryland
20767. The name American Zen College was adopted as an
inclusive designation in the early 1980s. The college publishes
the journal Buddha World.
Sources
Shin, Gosung. Zen Teachings of Emptiness. Washington, D.C
American Zen College Press, 1982.
