OUR TEACHERS

Zen Master Seung Sahn (1927 - 2004)

Zen Master Seung Sahn was the 78th patriarch in his line of dharma transmission in the Korean order of Chogye Buddhism and was a regular visitor and teacher at Cambridge Zen Center in the 1970s and 1980s. After a long illness, he died at his home at Hwagesa Temple in Seoul on November 30, 2004. Many videos of his talks are available on YouTube. His books include Dropping Ashes on the Buddha, The Compass of Zen, and The Whole World Is a Single Flower. Please enjoy a slideshow by Zen Master Bon Yeon (Jane Dobisz), chronicling the journey of Zen Master Seung Sahn from Korea to the West, with an emphasis on the building and establishment of the Providence Zen Center. Click on YouTube.

Zen Master Bon Yeon

Zen Master Bon Yeon (Jane McLaughlin-Dobisz) has been Co-Guiding Teacher of CZC since 1993. She received inka (authorization to teach) in 1991, and transmission from Zen Master Seung Sahn in 2000. Before training in the Kwan Um School of Zen, she spent several years in the Tibetan and the Vipassana traditions. Zen Master Bon Yeon has completed many Kyol Che 90 day retreats in the US, Europe, and Korea, and taught around the world. She is an editor of The Whole World Is A Single Flower, a collection of kong-ans by Zen Master Seung Sahn. She is also the author of One Hundred Days of Solitude: Losing Myself and Finding Grace on a Zen Retreat, which chronicles a one hundred-day solo meditation retreat in the winter woods of New England. She is a native of the Boston area. Check out her talks via a dharma talk clip on the CZC YouTube channel.

Zen Master Bon Shim 

Zen Master Bon Shim (Aleksandra Porter) is Co-Guiding Teacher of CZC whenever she is in residence. She is also the Regional Zen Master for the Kwan Um School of Zen in Europe, and she is the Guiding Teacher of Borisa in Barcelona, Spain. Zen Master Bon Shim continues to live at the Warsaw Zen Center, where she began training and served as Abbot for many years. She met Zen Master Seung Sahn in 1978, receiving Inka in 1992 and transmission in 2006. She has two adult sons and two grandchildren. Zen Master Bon Shim resides with us and teaches at CZC several months during the year.

dyan eagles jdpsn

Dyan Eagles JDPSN began studying with Zen Master Seung Sahn in 1974. She received Inka in December 2020. Dyan is one of the founding members of Cambridge Zen Center where she served as Housemaster and Head Dharma Teacher. Prior to retiring in 2019, Dyan was the Founder and CEO of DharmaCrafts, Inc. Watch her give her INKA speech on Facebook.