Contributor

Dharma Master Hwansan Sunim

Teacher of the Living Phrase Son Meditation of traditional Korean Buddhism and representative disciple of Son Master Songdam, the most venerated Buddhist master of Korea.

Dharma Master Hwansan Sunim is a graduate of Harvard University. In 1990 he ordained as a Buddhist monastic under Son Master Songdam, the most venerated Buddhist master in Korea and has been practicing Son (Korean Zen) meditation for nearly 30 years. He has been the personal attendant for Son Master Songdam for the past 15 years. In 2012 Son Master Songdam instructed him to spread the Son meditation teachings of Korean Buddhism both within Korea and around the world. Since then Hwansan Sunim has taught in many places which include Facebook headquarters, the University of California - Berkeley, the Palo Alto Veteran Affairs Hospital, the Division of Citywide Case Management Programs at the University of California - San Francisco Department of Psychiatry, the National Assembly (Congress) of the government of South Korea, and the Sejong Cultural and Performing Arts Center in Seoul. For the past five years he has been holding the post of Dharma Guidance Master for the Buddhist Student Associations for Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University, considered to be the three most prestigious universities in Korea. He has been interviewed on HuffPost Live, the Central Daily (Joongang Ilbo Korean daily newspaper), the "Global Guest Spotlight" program of YTN (Yonhap Television Network), and Arirang TV's "The INNERView" and "Heart to Heart" talk shows. Finally, on BTN, Korea's official Buddhist television network, he is currently hosting the third season of his own program, "Hello, This is Hwansan Sunim," which teaches viewers how to apply Son meditation teachings and practices in a modern societal context.