History

History of Tea House Zen

Tea House Zen is a zen group in the tradition of the Kwan Um School of Zen, which was founded by the Korean Zen Teacher, Zen Master Seung Sahn, a zen monk in the Korean Zen tradition. Tea House Zen was founded by Nancy Hathaway, Senior Dharma Teacher (SDT) of the Kwan Um School of Zen, in Surry, Maine at the Morgan Bay Zendo around 2012. Nancy has been studying in the tradition of Kwan Um School of Zen since 1978, and lived at the Providence Zen Center from 1979-1985 with her family. Her ex-husband was the master builder of the Diamond Hill Monastery. She was a member of the Cambridge Zen Center for many years and in 2002 moved back to her beloved home state of Maine across the road from the Morgan Bay Zendo where she had practiced in 1978 before moving to the Providence Zen Center.

The Kwan Um School of Zen is an international organization of Zen centers and groups founded under the direction of the Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn. Zen Master Seung Sahn first traveled to the West in 1972, and met his first Western students in Providence, Rhode Island, in the United States, where he established the first Zen center, Providence Zen Center. Soon, more Zen centers were created on both coasts and in the midwest.

In 1978, Zen Master Seung Sahn began traveling to Europe and new Zen centers quickly appeared in many countries including Spain, Poland and Germany. He also regularly visited Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, establishing new Zen centers in Asia outside of Korea. Zen Master Seung Sahn introduced many Western students to the traditional 90-day intensive Zen retreats known as “Kyol Che,” which has been a central aspect of Korean Zen practice for monks and nuns for over 1,000 years. Today, Kyol Ches are held each year in summer and winter at designated Zen centers in North America, Europe and Asia, where monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen can all practice Zen together.

Over the years, more centers and groups were founded around the world, and in 1983, this growth led to the formal organization of the Kwan Um School of Zen, with the purpose of providing cohesion and administrative support to all of its centers. Kwan Um means “perceive world sound,” to hear the suffering sounds of the universe and offer help.

Today, the international Kwan Um School of Zen has more than a hundred centers and groups and over 40 authorized Zen masters (Soen Sa’s) and Dharma masters (Ji Do Poep Sa’s) who teach in more than 12 languages. Kwan Um Zen centers provide scheduled meditation practice sessions, public talks and retreats that are open to all who wish to practice Zen. The School also provides Dharma Teacher training for lay practitioners, and residential training and monastic training at designated centers. There are three main administrative regions within the organization: the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

The Korean Soen lineage comes from the Chinese Rinzai lines and became separate around the year 1200. Famous Zen Masters in our lineage include the six Zen Patriarchs, Ma-tsu, Pai-chang, Lin-chi and Nan-chuan. Zen Master Seung Sahn received Dharma Transmission from Zen Master Ko Bong at the age of 22. His lineage also includes the noted Korean Zen Masters Man Gong and Kyong Ho.The Kwan Um School of Zen is an international organization of Zen centers and groups founded under the direction of the Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn. Zen Master Seung Sahn first traveled to the West in 1972, and met his first Western students in Providence, Rhode Island, in the United States, where he established the first Zen center, Providence Zen Center. Soon, more Zen centers were created on both coasts and in the midwest.