Seung Sahn
Korean Seon · 1927–2004
“Only go straight, don’t know.”
Seung Sahn was a Korean Seon master who came to the United States in 1972 and became the first Korean Zen teacher to establish a school in the West. He founded the Kwan Um School of Zen.
His teaching cuts through every conceptual move the student tries to make. “Don’t-know mind” became his signature — the open, listening quality of mind before opinions arrive.
Seung Sahn rounds out Mushin’s lineage breadth — Korean Seon alongside Chinese Chan, Japanese Zen, and Vietnamese Thiền.
Key teachings
Don’t-Know Mind
Before opinions, before conditions — that is don’t-know. Keep it 100%, and you and the universe are no longer two.
Just Do It
When you eat, just eat. When you walk, just walk. The moment is already complete.
How May I Help You?
The whole of practice. Not what can I get — how can I be useful, right now.
Notable works
Dropping Ashes on the Buddha
Teaching letters and dialogues with American students. Direct, often funny, deeply practical.
Only Don’t Know
Selected letters of Zen Master Seung Sahn. Personal correspondence as dharma teaching.
One teaching like this each morning — and Mu, a companion who remembers your path.
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