Zen Master Jok Um will lecture on the use of kong-ans, or koans, in the Kwan Um School of Zen. A koan is a paradox to be meditated upon that is used to train Zen Buddhist monks to abandon ultimate dependence on reason and to force them into gaining sudden intuitive enlightenment.

The lecture, which is FREE & open to the public, will be held on Monday, Sept. 30, from 7 to 8:15 p.m. in Griffin Hall, room 3.

Zen Master Jok Um received transmission in April 2017. He began studying with Zen Master Seung Sahn in 1975. He is a Licensed clinical social worker and a psychotherapist, working with children and families in foster care, substance abuse, outpatient and inpatient mental health and therapeutic preschool settings, as well as in private practice. He specializes in infant and early childhood mental health. He is a guiding teacher for the New Haven Zen Center, Hwa Um Sa-Orlando Zen Center, and Florida’s Gateless Gate Zen Center and Cypress Tree Zen Group. He also teaches at the Chogye International Zen Center of New York, as well as at other Zen Centers and affiliates.