Whoever takes part in the ten day intensive meditation in the International Zen-Temple in Kreuzberg needs discipline. The day proceeds according to strict rules and in complete silence: rising at four in the morning, 9:30 p.m. is bed time. Between waking and sleeping there are more than ten hours meditation. Even the meal times (strictly vegetarian) follow a precise procedure. Nothing should disturb the concentration. .
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Mit Youngsan Seong Do, Zen-Mönch – Notiert von Iris Hanika
"Ich bin Zen-Mönch im'Berliner Zentrum für koreanischen Seon-Buddhismus' an der Oranienstraße in Kreuzberg. Nach Deutschland bin ich gekommen, vor gut drei Jahren, weil es hier nur sehr wenige koreanische Mönche gibt, während es in Amerika relativ viele sind. Ich weiß zwar nicht viel über Deutschland, aber ich dachte mir, dass Religiosität hier vielleicht noch eine Rolle spielt...
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Ethics and the Buddhist precepts are directly concerned with human activity. Who is the one who is active? The very existence of the precepts has to do with the study of one’s own mind, research into the self and the nature of things. Working with the main Koan “Who am I” is the core of the Korean Zen Master Young San Seong Do’s method of teaching. Since 1998, Zen Master Young San Seong Do has been living in Berlin where he founded the International Zen Temple.

Lotusblätter: You teach Gongan Seon (Jap. Koan Zen) in Berlin and in other cities in Germany. What is Gongan Seon?
Young San Seong Do: First we should discuss Seon and then we can talk about Gongan. That is the correct order to understand Gongan Seon. ‘Seon’, in Sanskrit ‘dhyana’, means observing the mind in stillness. Ever since Buddha’s death, countless practitioners have developed various methods of Mediation. However, the point of the practice has always remained the same: That is to overcome all suffering, to realise one’s true nature and attain enlightenment. But before I enter into the question of Gongan Seon, I would like to pose you a question: What are you? A human being? God? An animal… or something else?
LB: A human being.
SD: You say you are a human being. But that is just an idea, a thought. What is it that knows that I am a human being?
LB: I do not know.
SD: So, one who does not know, is looking for one which is not known. (A do not -knower is looking for an unknown.) If you do not know your own self then it is not sensible to know what Gongan Seon is. What use is it knowing what Gongan Seon is if you do not know who you are? It is of prime importance to know what one is, what one’s own self is. As long as you are not clear about who you are, then you are straying. Gongan Seon is the determined effort to see one’s self, the attempt to discover one’s true nature. That is a means of our practice. one’s own self who dose not know, i.e. a question “What am I ?”, this is a Gongan, and the determination to break through this question is Gongan Seon.
LB: You said that Gongan Seon is an ideal method of meditation for the modern man and woman. Why is that?
SD: Gongan Seon is a style of Meditation that enables one to combine and unite everyday activities with practice. You do not have to give up your everyday life. Exploring one’s true self can be done even during one’s most mundane affaires. Many people however just want to sit quietly in a peaceful place and probe deeply into their true nature and thus discover the truth. That is a problem...
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