Seung Sahn
Seung Sahn Haeng Won Dae Soen-sa (Korean: 숭산행원대선사, Hanja: 崇山行願大禪師) (August 1, 1927 – November 30, 2004), born Duk-In Lee, was a South Korean Jogye Seon master and founder of the international Kwan Um School of Zen—the largest (Western Based) Zen institution present in the western hemisphere[citation needed]. He was the seventy-eighth Patriarch in his lineage. As one of the early Korean Zen masters to settle in the United States, he opened many temples and practice groups across the globe. He was known for his charismatic style and direct presentation of Zen, which was well tailored for the Western audience. Known by students for his many correspondences with them through letters, his utilization of Dharma combat, and expressions such as "only don't know" or "only go straight" in teachings, he was conferred the honorific title of Dae Jong Sa in June 2004 by the Jogye order for a lifetime of achievements. Considered the highest honor to have bestowed upon one in the order, the title translates to mean Great Lineage Master and was bestowed for his establishment of the World Wide Kwan Um School of Zen. He died in November that year at Hwa Gae Sah in Seoul, South Korea, at age 77.