Introduction
The Green Mountain Zen Center (GMZC) has had multiple locations over the course of its history since its founding in 1993. It owes its heritage to prior instances of Zen in Huntsville, dating back to the early 1970’s. And its deeper heritage draws from Zen Masters from Korea and Japan, and their first generation American successors. These root teachers came from the Chinese Linji (J: Rinzai) tradition as it developed in Korea and Japan, as well as the Chinese Caodong (J: Soto) tradition through Japan. Each teacher was instrumental in establishing Zen in America, and for the flowering of a small but robust group of earnest practitioners in the Huntsville area. These lineage threads are discussed briefly below. Currently, we meet in a dedicated space within the personal residence of one of these earnest practitioners.
Origins of Zen in Huntsville
In 1964, Venerable Il Bung (Dr. Seo Kyung Bo), arrived in America to visit several universities as a visiting scholar. He was a Patriarch of the Chogye Order of Buddhism in Korea, having served as Abbot of the Bulguksa temple and as a faculty member of the Donguk Buddhist University in Seoul. In 1966, he enrolled in a Ph.D program in Philosophy at Temple University, receiving his degree in 1969. While living, teaching, and studying in the United States, Master Seo travelled widely, renting houses and transforming them into makeshift temples for teaching Dharma to an American audience. During this period, Robert (Bob) Maitland, a resident of Huntsville, learned of the existence of the Hui Neng Zen Temple in Pennsylvania, and traveled there to practice under the guidance of Master Seo. While under Master Seo’s guidance, Bob received the Dharma name Tae Chi and authorization to teach Zen in Huntsville.
(Portions borrowed from: https://ilbung.weebly.com/history.html)
I. Zen Center of Huntsville Origins
By the mid-1970’s, Dr. Seo had established a large following of dedicated American students, and numerous Zen Centers had been founded across the country by his disciples. One of these was the Il Bung Zen Center in Huntsville, founded by Tae Chi Robert Maitland, who had met Master Seo in Pennsylvania. Known also as the Zen Center of Huntsville, it remained active until 2003. Several current attendees of GMZC were regular participants in ZCH activities for many years. One of these was Mike Fague, who was active with ZCH from its beginnings and received the Dharma name Sim Hwa from Master Seo. He later received authorization to teach from Master Seo, and remained active in ZCH until its closing after some three decades.
(Portions borrowed from: https://ilbung.weebly.com/history.html)
II. Green Mountain Zen Center Origins
Jim Gordon founded the Green Mountain Zen Center in 1993, under the guidance of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center. ASZC itself had its origins under Zenkai Taiun Michael Elliston, who was a student of the late Rev. Dr. Soyu Matsuoka-Roshi. Matsuoka-Roshi hailed from a Japanese Soto lineage. The earliest GMZC meetings were held in a very small space in Jim’s personal residence on Green Mountain. For the next ten years, larger facilities were either borrowed or rented. In 2004, a small zendo was built on Jim’s property on Green Mountain, establishing the first dedicated space for GMZC.
From the founding of GMZC in 1993 to the closure of ZCH in 2003, the two groups operated concurrently, with several practitioners participating in the activities of both groups.
III. Transitions
After its founding by Jim, one of the early supporters of GMZC was Gary Beard (Bodhin), a student of Zen Master George Bowman (BoMun). ZM BoMun had himself studied under the late Zen Master Seung Sahn, founder of the Kwan Um School of Zen. Seung Sahn hailed from the Chinese Linji (J: Rinzai) lineage, as it had developed in Korea. BoMun had received Dharma Transmission from Seung Sahn before establishing his own independent sangha, which he called the Single Flower Sangha (SFS). BoMun had also participated for many years in koan study with the late Japanese Rinzai teacher Joshu Sazaki Roshi.
You can read more about the Single Flower Sangha at https://singleflowersangha.com. The model of SFS has been that of a “floating zendo”, bound together by George’s visits and sesshins, usually held in the homes of sangha members. (The picture on the SFS main page was taken by Bodhin Gary at an SFS retreat in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California in 2019.)
In addition to GMZC, Gary had also supported ZCH from 1990 until its closure. After the closure of ZCH circa 2003, GMZC became the predominant formal center for sincere Zen practice in the Huntsville area, and has persisted to the current day. In the time since, Jim moved GMZC out from under ASZC, and himself also became a student of Zen Master BoMun in the Single Flower Sangha. At this time, Jim received the new Dharma name Shogen. With both Jim and Gary as SFS members, GMZC follows the forms of the Single Flower Sangha, and Zen Master BoMun is considered the Guiding Teacher of GMZC. Master BoMun has led many intensive meditation retreats at GMZC over the years. From BoMun, both Gary and Jim received authorization to teach in the Single Flower Sangha lineage. After some time, Mike Fague of ZCH origins began joining in GMZC activities.
When Gary moved to Green Mountain in late 2013, GMZC began to host occasional multi-day retreats in a dedicated room in his home, though it continued to meet for weekly meditation and most retreats at the original zendo.
IV. Green Mountain Zen Center Today
Today, GMZC meets in a dedicated space within Gary’s personal residence on Green Mountain, about a mile North of its origins and first dedicated zendo. Gary, Mike, and Jim, as well as numerous old and new friends and practitioners are frequently on hand at our weekly events.