[KS] Korean Kanhwa Sŏn Meditation Conference, Retreat, and Tour in June, 2012 (revised) (Buswell/Joo)

[Buswell, Robert]

Korean Kanhwa Sŏn Meditation Conference, Retreat, and Tour in June, 2012 (revised) (Buswell/Joo)
Applications are now being accepted from advanced graduate students, professors, and independent scholars in Korean Religions and Buddhist Studies for the conference, retreat, and tour related to Kanhwa Sŏn 看話禪  (“observing the hwadu” meditative technique, the Korean counterpart of kōan meditation), which was previously announced by the Center for the Study of the Chogye Order (Chonghak Yŏn’guwŏn) at Dongguk University. The revised dates for the events are June 21-July 4, 2012. All paper slots for the conference are now filled, but there is still room for participants who wish to audit the conference and attend the subsequent Kanhwa Sŏn retreat and tour.
The conference title this year is “Kanhwa Sŏn in the History of Buddhist Thought.” The conference will be followed by a seven-day Kanhwa Sŏn retreat specifically tailored for professors and students, which will be led by Subul Sŭnim, one of the most renowned contemporary teachers of this meditative technique in Korea today. Subul Sŭnim has designed an approach to Kanhwa Sŏn that speeds the development of “doubt” or questioning so that retreatants quickly generate a “personal experience” (ch’ehŏm  經驗). The retreats are done free-style, so retreatants are free to tailor their practice to fit their abilities and background. The retreat will be held at a major Korean monastery and participants will therefore be personally exposed to traditional Korean monastic life.
After the seven-day retreat, participants will be escorted on a two-day tour of several Kanhwa Sŏn monastic centers deep in the mountains of the Korean peninsula. In addition to visiting some pristine Buddhist monastic sites, participants will also have a chance to meet and talk together with several advanced monastic exponents of Kanhwa Sŏn.
Everyone selected is expected to participate in all three events (auditing the conference, participating in the retreat and tour); we will be able to accommodate a total of 20+ participants. All expenses except airfare will be covered by the Korean organizers.  For those scholars who do not speak Korean, translation between Korean and English will be provided during all the events.

Application Deadlines: Applications are due no later than April 23rd (and early applications are strongly encouraged); selections will be announced by April 30th in order to give participants sufficient time to plan their flight itineraries.

Schedule: Participants should schedule their flights to arrive in Seoul on Thursday, June 21. The conference starts on the morning of Saturday, June 23 and ends on the evening of June 24. Participants leave for the retreat on June 25 and the retreat continues through July 1st. The tour takes place July 2-3, returning to Seoul late that evening. Participants should schedule their flights to depart from Seoul on Wednesday, July 4.

Expenses: All expenses in-country (lodging, meals, and ground transportation) for all participants will be covered by Dongguk University and the Chogye Order. Lodging will be on a shared basis (some individual hotel reservations may be possible at extra cost; monastic quarters will all be shared). Participants are responsible for their own airfare (viz., airfares will not be reimbursed).

Please apply by sending a short letter of interest and a CV to Robert Buswell (Buswell at humnet.ucla.edu<mailto:Buswell at humnet.ucla.edu>) of UCLA and Professor Ryan Joo (bjoo at hampshire.edu<mailto:bjoo at hampshire.edu>) of Hampshire College. All applications will be turned over to Professor Jongho Sŭnim, director of the Center for the Study of the Chogye Order, and his staff, who will make the selections and be in touch directly about the arrangements.

Robert Buswell
(Distinguished Professor of Buddhist Studies, UCLA)

Ryan Bongseok Joo
(Assistant Professor of Asian Religions, Hampshire College)

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