Venerable Samu Sunim

Ven. Samu Sunim was born in Korea in 1941. Orphaned during the Korean War, he entered a Buddhist monastery following a period of homelessness. He studied as a novice monk and then undertook and completed his Zen training under Master Solbong Sunim at Pomo-Sa monastery in Pusan, Korea. When he was conscripted into active military service even though he was a monk, he left his native country for Japan and finally the West. In New York City in 1968 he founded the Zen Lotus Society (now the Buddhist Society of Compassionate Wisdom). After moving to Toronto in Canada in 1971 he completed a three year solitary retreat before beginning his teaching career. He reactivated the Zen Lotus Society from a basement apartment in Toronto serving the Korean-Canadian community and gave meditation instruction during the week. In 1979 Ven. Samu Sunim and a small group of his students (lay monastics in training) moved the Zen Lotus Society into a former flophouse. The building was extensively renovated through the effort and manpower of those first disciples. Over the years Ven. Samu Sunim and the Zen Lotus Society has provided Buddhist meditation training, held Buddhist art and photography exhibitions, hosted visiting Buddhist teachers and organized public events such as Buddha's Birthday celebrations, benefits for the poor and hungry and peace vigils. In 1985 he established a three year Dharma Student Training Program (now the Maitreya Buddhist Seminary) to provide a consistent study-practice program for serious students wishing to train as priests or teachers. In 1986, he founded the Buddhist Institute of Canada to provide the public with accurate courses on Buddhism taught by qualified teachers.

Ven. Samu Sunim is the spiritual director and head of the Zen Buddhist Temple in Ann Arbor founded in 1981 and the Zen Buddhist Temple in Chicago founded in 1992. In the tradition of community effort both temples have been renovated and remodeled with the help of many volunteer man-hours always under the strong leadership and spiritual guidance of Ven. Samu Sunim. In 1988 the Zen Lotus Society in Toronto moved to larger premises where in 1989 Ven. Samu Sunim organized "A Day of Celebration in Honor of the Dalai Lama receiving the Nobel Prize for Peace". In 1990 delegates came from across Canada to attend the seven day "Conference on Buddhism in Canada" which he organized and co-hosted. Ven. Samu Sunim's concern for inter-Buddhist dialogue led to his organizing the conference "Zen Buddhism in North America" held at his temple in Ann Arbor Michigan in 1986 for the new generation of North American trained Zen teachers. In 1987 also in Ann Arbor he organized the "Conference on World Buddhism in North America", a historic gathering of ethnic and Western Buddhist leaders of most traditions active in North America. In addition, Ven. Samu Sunim has published two Buddhist publications, Spring Wind- Buddhist Cultural Forum, an international Buddhist quarterly journal from 1983-1986, and Buddhism at the Crossroads, a Buddhist magazine initiated in 1990.

"Sunim", as he is known to many, is a talented and creative person. He is a superior meditation teacher, a poet and storyteller who transforms run-down buildings into beautiful temples. As a teacher, he is a disciplinarian with an eye for detail coupled with a great understanding of his students' Western ways. His frank, straightforward manner, ready smile, helpful attitude and compassionate heart combined with a tireless enthusiasm and determination for seemingly impossible tasks have earned him the respect of whoever comes across his path.  He is now president of the Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom and founding teacher and Zen Master of the society's three temples in Toronto, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Chicago, Illinois, and a growing sangha in Mexico City, Mexico. Ven. Samu Sunim formerly served on the International Advisory Board of the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions.

For the full story of Samu Sunim's life, see Have Hammer, Will Travel in Articles and Stories.

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Reverend Haju Sunim

The Rev. Haju Sunim (Linda Murray) has been a student of Samu Sunim's since she first showed up on a motorcycle for a full morning meditation sitting in Toronto, Canada in 1976.  Since that time she has dedicated her life to the Dharma, most recently as the resident priest and spiritual director responsible for the Ann Arbor Zen Buddhist Temple in Michigan, where she has lived since 1982.  Much loved, Haju is an example of "an ordinary Buddha, a Buddha of deep humility and compassion" according to Samu Sunim.  She was ordained a priest in 1991 and was recipient of his Dharma transmission in July, 1999.  Haju Sunim was born in Vancouver, Canada in 1944.  She taught in alternative schools in British Columbia and in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser College.  As a single mother Haju raised two daughters.

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Reverend Toan Sunim

Information forthcoming...

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