Seoknamsa South Stone Temple October 21, 2014

(http://www.seoknamsa.or.kr)

The history of Seoknamsa can be traced back 1200 years to when Korean Zen Master Toui returned from China after getting Dharma transmission in the Great Patriarch Ma-Tzu's Zen lineage. At that time, in 824 CE, he settled in Seoknamsa eager to introduce Zen teaching to Korea. Unfortunately, he faced strong opposition, as the schools of Buddhism in Korea at that time were not ready to give place to this new teaching. Toui was forced to leave the temple and stay alone in a remote hermitage for several decades, until the country became more open to Zen teachings and he was able to establish the Kaji Mountain School of Zen.

Many centuries passed, with the history of Seoknamsa mostly in the dark.

Sometimes, briefly, it appears in records when some famous monk lived there or when a great fire burned. Sometimes, it was abandoned for centuries with only the small nearby creek or the Kaji Mountains knowing what happened there. It was just shortly after the Korean War (1950-1953) that Seoknamsa, along with the country itself, began to rise from the ashes. At that time, like 1,000 years before, it was to carry the lamp of Zen.

In 1957, a nun by the name of In Heong Sunim came to the ruins of Seoknamsa. She had practiced under the guidance of the greatest teachers in Korea at that time—Man Gong Sunim, Han Am Sunim, Song Cheol Sunim—and was determined to establish a place for nuns to practice Zen. When she first arrived at Seoknamsa, with a small group of nuns, they began to rebuild the place. They worked heavy jobs all day long and sat meditation only in the mornings and evenings.

However, more challenging for them than the physical work was establishing a nun's temple in a strict Confucian society that believed a woman's place is in the home with the family. During those chaotic times after the war, the nuns were attacked on several occasions by a group of married monks who wanted to take over the temple and move in with their families.

In Heong Sunim, however, had strong determination to keep the temple for nuns who want to practice Zen. Still, despite her efforts, the balance of

forces was uneven and it became obvious that the nuns were going to lose the temple and be forced to leave. At that time, by chance, a general was passing Seoknamsa and heard of the hardships the nuns were experiencing. It is said that he took out his gun and chased away all the married monks so that they never entered the temple grounds again. Even today, old nuns in the temple say that this general was actually not a human being, but a Dharma Protector whose job was to save the Dharma in Seoknamsa

After the main buildings were rebuilt and established, antipathy from the outside subsided and In Heong Sunim, with her nuns, started concentrating all their efforts on Zen practice and training younger nuns. In Heong Sunim was widely known for her strictness, especially in keeping Zen Master Pai Chang's rule of "A day without work is a day without eating," to which she also added, "No morning chanting, no meal." She was often called the "tiger of Mount Gaji."

There are many famous stories of In Heong Sunim's admonishments to lazy nuns or to nuns who lack determination in their practice. One time, a very young nun had a difficult time staying awake during morning practice. No matter how hard she tried, most of the time, she was simply dozing. In Heong Sunim, on a very busy day when hundreds of people came to visit the temple,

handed this nun a sign, on which was written in big letters, "I'm the most sleepy nun in this temple." For several hours, she made her stand in front of the Buddha Hall as people came in to bow. The young nun did not have a problem with sleeping again.

An important figure in modern Korean Buddhism, In Heong Sunim was an enormous influence on developing a nun's community—especially one with freedom for practice. Today, Seoknamsa remains home to one of the first and largest meditation halls for nuns. 10 years ago, the temple regularly held 3-year retreats. These days, however, the retreats have been shortened to one year. In addition to a meditation hall dedicated to long retreats, there are two more meditation halls on the temple grounds—one for the regular three-month summer and winter retreats and another reserved for older nuns.