Zen Master Won Ji Do Chong - Paul W. Lynch (1957-2021)
Zen Master Won Ji Do Chong began his life as Paul W. Lynch in 1957. Born to an American GI father and an Irish mother, Paul first encountered the dharma in 1985. In 1988 he met Zen Master Seung Sahn and began practicing earnestly in the Ganhwa Seon tradition of Deok Seung Mountain.
After several years, and with the support and encouragement of Zen Master Seung Sahn and Robert Moore JDPSN, Paul founded the Huntington Beach Zen Center. He was installed as its abbot on August 14th 1993 by Seung Sahn Sunim at the opening ceremony. One year later the center was renamed to "Hae An Seon Won" (Ocean Eyes Zen Center) which became an institution that Do Chong would steward in many incarnations for the next several decades.
Paul was ordained as a full Dharma Teacher in 1995 and given the name Do Chong ("Clear Path"). He subsequently received authorization as a Senior Dharma Teacher in 2001, and as a Bodhisattva Dharma Teacher (aka Bodhisattva Monk) in 2002, all within the Kwan Um School of Zen.
After several years, and with the support and encouragement of Zen Master Seung Sahn and Robert Moore JDPSN, Paul founded the Huntington Beach Zen Center. He was installed as its abbot on August 14th 1993 by Seung Sahn Sunim at the opening ceremony. One year later the center was renamed to "Hae An Seon Won" (Ocean Eyes Zen Center) which became an institution that Do Chong would steward in many incarnations for the next several decades.
Paul was ordained as a full Dharma Teacher in 1995 and given the name Do Chong ("Clear Path"). He subsequently received authorization as a Senior Dharma Teacher in 2001, and as a Bodhisattva Dharma Teacher (aka Bodhisattva Monk) in 2002, all within the Kwan Um School of Zen.
Do Chong receiving the postulant Dharma Teacher precepts with Zen Master Dae Kwang and Zen Master Dae Gak presiding (1994).
Do Chong receiving Full Dharma Teacher precepts at Dharma Zen Center with Robert Moore PhD (now Zen Master Ji Bong) and Mu Sang Sunim presiding (1995).
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Do Chong's Senior Dharma Teacher Certificate
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Do Chong receiving Senior Dharma Teacher precepts at Ocean Eyes Zen Center with Zen Master Ji Bong, Paul Park JDPSN, and Thom Pastor (now ZM Ji Haeng) presiding (2001).
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Do Chong engaging Ji Bong in Dharma Combat in front of Zen Master Seung Sahn during Ji Bong's Transmission Ceremony (1997).
Throughout his time in the Kwan Um School of Zen, Do Chong was supported in his practice by Zen Master Ji Bong Hae Um (Robert Moore, PhD) who himself received inka, and in 1997, dharma transmission from Zen Master Seung Sahn. While Ji Bong served as Do Chong's Guiding Teacher within the Kwan Um institution, he was able to study concurrently with Zen Master Seung Sahn and his other senior students.
Following the passing of Seung Sahn Sunim in 2004, Ji Bong made himself independent of the Kwan Um School of Zen, citing several criticisms of the increasing institutional character of the organization, which he thought had come to interfere with sanctity of the teacher-student relationship, especially with regard to the institution of dharma transmission.
Subsequently, Zen Master Ji Bong (with Do Chong) founded the Golden Wind Zen Order, and the Ocean Eyes Zen Center took on the same name.
Following the passing of Seung Sahn Sunim in 2004, Ji Bong made himself independent of the Kwan Um School of Zen, citing several criticisms of the increasing institutional character of the organization, which he thought had come to interfere with sanctity of the teacher-student relationship, especially with regard to the institution of dharma transmission.
Subsequently, Zen Master Ji Bong (with Do Chong) founded the Golden Wind Zen Order, and the Ocean Eyes Zen Center took on the same name.
On April 9th 2006, under the auspices of the Golden Wind Zen Order, Do Chong received Inka from ZM Ji Bong alongside his dharma brother Ja Poep (Jeff Tipp, 1947-2025).
Dharma Masters Paul Lynch (Do Chong) and Jeff Tipp (Ja Poep) with Zen Master Ji Bong at the conclusion of their Inka ceremony (2006).
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Dharma Master Do Chong giving a formal Dharma Speech during his Inka ceremony (2006).
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Do Chong's Inka Certification from Zen Master Ji Bong
Inka Gatha from Ji Bong to Do Chong:
What is Zen's elixir of immortality?
Awareness, here and now, reveals all.
Reality resides in the ungraspable mirror.
Golden wind exposes each moment's evanescence.
Audio Resources from Conferral of Inka:
Zen Master Ji Bong's Poem and Talk from this Inka Ceremony has been preserved in Audio format, and can be played here. In this audio clip ZM Ji Bong offers his hearty endorsement of his newly empowered Dharma Masters, especially noting:
Zen Master Ji Bong's Poem and Talk from this Inka Ceremony has been preserved in Audio format, and can be played here. In this audio clip ZM Ji Bong offers his hearty endorsement of his newly empowered Dharma Masters, especially noting:
"...of all of my students, Paul probably understands my mind better than any student I've ever taught...If you train under him, you will get a real insight into the way that I teach. You're going to see it reflected through a different personality, but its going to be very similar, because he has sat at my knee literally...when he told me that he was my student in 1988, that was 18 years ago, he has done nothing but train as hard as a go could from that day forward."
Noting his own age, and medical conditions, Zen Master Ji Bong concurrently gave final dharma transmission to both Ja Poep and Do Chong, post-dated to 2009 and 2011 respectively. With this, Do Chong was given the name and title of Zen Master Won Ji. This was accompanied by a letter from January of 2006, which outlined the specific steps for Paul Lynch (Do Chong JDPSN) and Jeff Tipp (JDPSN) to take, "should their teacher not be alive" when the transmission was to become public, several years later.
This document also outlined the dharma transmission names for Ji Bong's other intended dharma heirs. The certificates of Inka and Transmission for each of these individuals had been made and signed by ZM Ji Bong and maintained by Won Ji for the duration of his life.
This document also outlined the dharma transmission names for Ji Bong's other intended dharma heirs. The certificates of Inka and Transmission for each of these individuals had been made and signed by ZM Ji Bong and maintained by Won Ji for the duration of his life.
Dharma Transmission Certificate from Zen Master Ji Bong Hae Um.
Transmission Gatha from Ji Bong to Won Ji:
Where is the trail to Cold Mountain?
Mind becomes quiescent, like autumn river water.
Take sincere delight in the everyday Way.
Priceless freedom abides right here, right now.
Pg. 1 of a Schedule and Letter of Instruction provided to Won Ji by Ji Bong in early 2006.
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Pg. 2 of a Schedule and Letter of Instruction provided to Won Ji by Ji Bong in early 2006.
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Note: Within the immediate history of the Deok Seung lineage, there is precedent for dharma transmission being conferred in this way. For instance, in May of 1997 Mu Shim Sunim received Inka from Zen Master Seung Sahn. Then, privately, in May of 2002 Seung Sahn conferred dharma transmission upon Mu Shim Sunim as Zen Master Dae Jin, relegating the public revelation of this transmission to be handled by the institution he founded at some point in the future, which came about in September of 2008, after Zen Master Seung Sahn's passing into nirvana and a requisite mourning period.
Unfortunately, in a tale as old as time (noting the concept of ryu pa - 流派 - the tendency for water to flow downhill divided), Zen Masters Ji Bong and Won Ji parted ways in 2008, after a 20+ year student-teacher relationship, both before Ji Bong's passing, and before his transmission to Won Ji was to become public. Do Chong JDPSN thus became independent of the Golden Wind Zen Order, and subsequently taught under several banners, such as the "Before Thinking" group, the "Blue Mountain Chan Fellowship," and the "Five Mountain Sangha."
As has sometimes happened in the burgeoning history of American Zen, accounts differ on the specifics of the circumstances that led to the fracture in Masters Ji Bong and Won Ji's relationship. In 2008 Zen Master Ji Bong circulated a public letter with his side of this story, which is no doubt rooted in a part of the truth. However, throughout the duration of his life, Zen Master Won Ji refused to publicly comment on this matter, sharing his side of the story only with his students and Zen seniors, which is no doubt rooted in part of the truth.
While Won Ji did assume publicly the status of Zen Master (in 2012) that had been privately conferred on him in 2006, he did not want to disparage his longtime teacher (Ji Bong), or his legacy. Instead of engaging in a public disagreement about the details of their relationship, he simply continued his teaching, and gradually sought to graft himself into the wider Zen Buddhist world outside of the confines of the Deok Seung lineage, as a way of lessening the impact of his disagreements with and separation from his own teacher on his own students.
While ideologically Won Ji remained a firm adherent to, and proponent of, the Korean Zen (Ganhwa Seon) tradition, he largely lived out his teaching life as a monastic from 2012 until his passing in 2021 within Vietnamese Buddhist contexts, largely centered around the Desert Zen Center (Chua Thien An) complex under the leadership of the Most Venerable H.T. Thich An Giao* who affirmed and supported Won Ji's in his role as a senior Zen teacher.
As has sometimes happened in the burgeoning history of American Zen, accounts differ on the specifics of the circumstances that led to the fracture in Masters Ji Bong and Won Ji's relationship. In 2008 Zen Master Ji Bong circulated a public letter with his side of this story, which is no doubt rooted in a part of the truth. However, throughout the duration of his life, Zen Master Won Ji refused to publicly comment on this matter, sharing his side of the story only with his students and Zen seniors, which is no doubt rooted in part of the truth.
While Won Ji did assume publicly the status of Zen Master (in 2012) that had been privately conferred on him in 2006, he did not want to disparage his longtime teacher (Ji Bong), or his legacy. Instead of engaging in a public disagreement about the details of their relationship, he simply continued his teaching, and gradually sought to graft himself into the wider Zen Buddhist world outside of the confines of the Deok Seung lineage, as a way of lessening the impact of his disagreements with and separation from his own teacher on his own students.
While ideologically Won Ji remained a firm adherent to, and proponent of, the Korean Zen (Ganhwa Seon) tradition, he largely lived out his teaching life as a monastic from 2012 until his passing in 2021 within Vietnamese Buddhist contexts, largely centered around the Desert Zen Center (Chua Thien An) complex under the leadership of the Most Venerable H.T. Thich An Giao* who affirmed and supported Won Ji's in his role as a senior Zen teacher.
* Born Michael W. Stafford (1945-2024), an early student of Soyu Matsuoka Roshi, and later HT Thich Thien An, he became one of two western dharma successors to the 2nd Supreme Patriarch of the Vietnamese Buddhist diaspora, HT Thich Man Giac, and was an ordained Buddhist monk for some five decades.