Zen Master Dae Jin (1958~2015)
Zen Master Dae Jin was born in Philadelphia, USA in 1958. He first came to Korea from the United States in 1984 after meeting Zen Master Seung Sahn in 1979 at the Cambridge Zen Center. He received ordination as a Bhikkhu in the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism in 1986, He practiced at International Zen Center in Hwagyesa and also studied the Korean language.
He served as Zen Master Seung Sahns personal secretary and assistant for fifteen years, during which time he traveled extensively with him. He was also able to experience Zen practice and retreats at various Korean Zen temples such as Su Dok Sa, Shin Won Sa, and Bom Eo Sa. Naturally, he visited various International Kwan Um School of Zen Centers overseas with Zen Master Seung Sahn as a secretary and played a vital role in connecting Korean Buddhism and the International Kwan Um School of Zen.
Zen Master Dae Jin received Inka from Zen Master Seung Sahn and the authority to teach Zen as a Ji Do Poep Sa in January 1997. Fluent in the Korean language, Zen Master Dae Jin edited a new Korean translation of the kong-an book, The Whole World is a Single Flower, published in Seoul in May 2001.
Zen Master Dae Jin was the abbot and co-guiding teacher of Seung Sahn International Zen Center, Mu Sang Sa in 2003 in Korea. He became a Zen Master in September 2008. He was also the Guiding Teacher of the St. Petersburg Zen Center in Russia and of the KUSZ Zen groups in Australia
He passed away in 2015 while actively giving teaching as a Zen Teacher and abbot at Musangsa.