Kusan Sunim

Kusan Sunim (1908–1983) was one of the first Korean Seon masters to teach Western students in Korea and a key figure in opening Korean Buddhism to the international world. Born in Namwon, South Jeolla Province, he ordained relatively late in life after working as a barber. He studied under several masters and attained awakening through intensive hwadu practice. He eventually became the Seon master of Songgwangsa Temple, the very monastery that Bojo Jinul had founded eight centuries earlier, and under his guidance it became a major center of international Seon practice.

In 1972, Kusan established the International Meditation Center at Songgwangsa, making it one of the first Korean monasteries to welcome and accommodate foreign practitioners. Western students who trained under him experienced the full rigor of the Korean monastic retreat system: three-month intensive meditation periods, predawn waking, and the relentless investigation of hwadu. His book "The Way of Korean Zen," translated by Martine Batchelor, became an important introduction to Korean Seon practice for English-speaking audiences. Kusan's legacy at Songgwangsa established the template for Korean monastic training of Western students that continues to this day.