Empty house: Zen masters and temples of Korea
by Chris Verebes
Category: Religion

Empty House explores the origins of Korean Zen and traces its history as a living tradition right up to the present day. While Chinese Zen was effectively wiped out by the Cultural Revolution, the Korean tradition maintains the original teaching style of the Lin Chi school. The primary teaching device still used in Zen halls today is the Hwadu. This means the Korean Zen tradition is closer to the original Chinese style in both method and spirit than its Japanese counterpart. Empty Houses explores the Hwadu teaching device and presents biographical materials on the most notable Korean Zen masters, together with selected teachings and poems.