The Compass of Zen

My parents are believers in Buddhism. I went to a preschool run by a small Buddhist temple. I learned not regular courses like Hangeul(the Korean Alphabet), simple counting, and manners, but also Buddhist culture like the tea cult, meditation, and the way of bow politely.

I'd like to go Hwagyesa where my family go to. Like a normal temple, Hwagyesa also nestles in the valley, Samgak Mountin. I enjoyed to take a path through a forest, smell a moist wood, and listen the sound of running water. When I was a boy, I regarded the temple as a playground.

On November 2004, my mother brought along me and my older brother to attend a funeral of one monk. His Buddhist name is Seung Sahn(숭산). He was the head monk of the Hwagyesa. I didn't recognize that he is renowned for virtues and one of the four great monks in the whole world, who are Dalai Lama, Thick Nhat Hanh, and Maha Ghosananda. Besides, Seung Sahn became more generally known as founder of Zen centers in the United States.

Here is the name of Zen centers which Seung Sahn founded:
The Dharma Zen Center in Los Angeles, the Choqye International Zen Center and the Empty Gate Zen Center in New York City, and the Providence Zen Center in Cumberland.

When Seung Sahn was engaged in missionary work in United States, he met one smart American grad student at Havard, who become a monk later days. His Buddhist name is Hyon Gak(현각).

Both of monks, Seung Sahn and Hyon Gak, wrote a book, The Compass of Zen(선의 나침반1,2)

They tried to explain about Hinayana Buddhism(소승불교), Mahayana Buddhism(대승불교), and Zen Buddhism(선불교) in a luminous remark. But it maybe still hard to understand to a novice because of an irrelevant answer.

When googling about Zen, there are definition and a bunch of links and data. Those are right. And those are not right. There is Zen. But, Zen is empty. There is not Zen.

I'm still confused, but only I don't know.
Seung Sahn didn't say what is Zen. But, he just snap down his table with a BANG!