Providence Zen Center (PZC) is the Head Temple of the Americas for the

Kwan Um School of Zen The Kwan Um School of Zen (관음선종회) (KUSZ) is an international school of zen centers and groups founded in 1983 by Zen Master Seung Sahn. The school's international head temple is located at the Providence Zen Center in Cumberland, Rhode I ...

(KUSZ) and the first Zen center established by

Seungsahn Seungsahn Haengwon (, August 1, 1927November 30, 2004), born Duk-In Lee, was a Korean Seon master of the Jogye Order and founder of the international Kwan Um School of Zen. He was the seventy-eighth Patriarch in his lineage. As one of the early ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in October 1972. The PZC offers residential training where students and teachers live together under one roof, which was one of the hallmarks of Seung Sahn's philosophy concerning Zen practice in his organization. Practice at the center, and at Diamond Hill Zen Monastery, which shares the PZC property, includes

sitting meditation ''Zazen'' (literally " seated meditation"; ja, 座禅; , pronounced ) is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. However, the term is a general one not unique to Zen, and thus technicall ...

prostration Prostration is the gesture of placing one's body in a reverentially or submissively prone position. Typically prostration is distinguished from the lesser acts of bowing or kneeling by involving a part of the body above the knee, especially t ...

s, and

chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...

ing. The Providence Zen Center was originally located in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, but in 1979 the center relocated to its current 50-acre site in

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

. One of the center's centerpiece landmarks is the Peace Pagoda, a towering high

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

located at the front of the center grounds.McGonigle PZC also serves as the U.S. headquarters for the

Jogye Order The Jogye Order, officially the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism (대한불교조계종, 大韓佛敎曹溪宗), is the representative order of traditional Korean Buddhism with roots that date back 1200 years to the Later Silla National Master D ...

Korean Buddhism Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what its early practitioners saw as inconsistencies within the Mahayana Buddhist traditions that they received from foreign countries. To address this, the ...

History

The Providence Zen Center was established by

Seung Sahn Seungsahn Haengwon (, August 1, 1927November 30, 2004), born Duk-In Lee, was a Korean Seon master of the Jogye Order and founder of the international Kwan Um School of Zen. He was the seventy-eighth Patriarch in his lineage. As one of the early ...

in October 1972 on Doyle Avenue in

as the first practice center for his

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

students. The center came to be after

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

professor Leo Pruden had invited Seung Sahn to give talks on

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

at the university, with several of the students thereafter coming to him for teachings. After relocating in 1974 to 48 Hope Street, the PZC came into possession of a plot of land in 1978 located in

Cumberland, Rhode Island Cumberland is the northeasternmost town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, first settled in 1635 and incorporated in 1746. The population was 36,405 at the 2020 census, making it the seventh-largest municipality and the largest t ...

.Ho Youn Kwon, 148; 157 During the 1980s the PZC became a catalyst for opening the dialogue on the role of women in

Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

, becoming host to various discussion panels and conferences on

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

issues in the years to follow. In 1982 the center organized a discussion group for woman at the center. Then in 1983 the PZC offered a workshop called "Feminist Principles in Zen," led by

Barbara Rhodes Soeng Hyang Soen Sa Nim (성향선사, born April 15, 1948) is a Zen Master and the Guiding Teacher of the international Kwan Um School of Zen, and successor to the late Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim. Biography Born Barbara Trexler (later Barbara Rhod ...

Maurine Stuart Maurine Stuart (3 March 1922 – 26 February 1990), a.k.a. Ma Roshi or Mother Roshi, was a Canadian Rinzai Zen ''rōshi'' who was one of the first female Zen masters to teach in the United States. She became president and spiritual director ...

, Jacqueline Schwartz and Susan Murcott. In 1984 and 1985 the center held "Women in American Buddhism" conferences and, according to the book ''The Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America'', " om then on women's retreats and conferences became common."Skinner Keller, et al.; 642 From 1983—1984 the Kwan Um School of Zen constructed Diamond Hill Zen Monastery on the grounds of PZC, a "low, pagoda shaped building" built in the "traditional Korean-style farchitecture", which today hosts their semi-annual

Kyol Che The Kwan Um School of Zen (관음선종회) (KUSZ) is an international school of zen centers and groups founded in 1983 by Zen Master Seungsahn, Seung Sahn. The school's international head temple is located at the Providence Zen Center in Cumberlan ...

retreats.Riess, 242-243 Originally designed as a training ground for those who were ordained,

expressed little interest in the training there. According to a longtime student of the Kwan Um School Mu Soeng, " eung Sahndid not even insist that all his ordained American students make the monastery their home and contribute to its growth as a monastic center. To this day, the Diamond Hill Zen Monastery remains a minor footnote to Seung Sahn's missionary activities in America."The Faces of Buddhism in America, 124

Kyol Che

Providence Zen Center annually holds a three-month Winter Kyol Che meditation retreat and a four-week Summer Kyol Che meditation retreat. The retreats are held at the Diamond Hill Zen Monastery.

Gallery

Image:Providence Zen Center stupa.jpg, Peace Pagoda File:PZC Gravesite.jpg, Grave of

Hyon Jok Hyon ( wa, Avrè) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Mons, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It was a municipality until the fusion of the Belgian municipalities The fusion of the Belgian municipalities ( ...

at Providence Zen Center in

Cumberland, RI Cumberland is the northeasternmost town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, first settled in 1635 and incorporated in 1746. The population was 36,405 at the 2020 census, making it the seventh-largest municipality and the largest t ...

Notes

References

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External links