Mu Sang Sa, International Zen Center, Chungnam Province, Korea

Mu Sang Sa, a newly built temple, has foreign English-speaking monks, nuns, as well as Korean, Chinese, Czech, Polish, Swedish, etc. monks and visitors and serves as an International Zen Center.

If you are currently a zen practitioner, or wish to learn more about Korean style zen in the ordained lifestyle and experience the mental training and cultural experience of Korea’s ancient Buddhist tradition, Mu Sang Sa is here for you. One hour from Daejon, 2 ½ hours from Seoul by car, Mu Sang Sa is located on an energy point of Kye Reyong Mountain which is renowned for its strong mystical energy.

Established in March 2000, Mu Sang Sa is an international Zen temple where anyone from around the world who is interested in meditation can easily learn about and practice Zen in Korea, a country that has maintained a deep-rooted legacy of Zen practice and a strong Buddhist tradition since the 4th century.

At Mu Sang Sa, we support a community of foreign monks, nuns, and laypeople who want to practice Zen following the teachings of Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn. Many students come to practice or train here and later return to help the Zen Centers in their own countries.

Like all Korean Zen temples, Mu Sang Sa hosts two three-month intensive meditation retreats (Kyol Che) a year, in summer and winter. Kyol Che is a time when one can completely devote oneself to meditation practice away from worldly distractions. At other times of the year, we organize short weekend retreats and hold weekly ZEN MEDITATION CLASSES on Sundays.

The Sunday Zen Meditation Class is open to everyone, beginners and advanced students alike. The schedule involves 2 periods of meditation followed by a Dharma Talk. Talks are generally held in English.
1:00 p.m. Arrival (let anyone you see know you are there for the Meditation class and talk)
1:30 Sitting Meditation
3:00 - 4:00 Dharma Talk with Q&A

Please view our website for more detailed information and retreat dates and application.

Getting to Mu Sang Sa:

By Train:
This is probably the most convenient way to get here. The nearest train station is Gye-Ryong (on the Ho-Nam line), about two and half hours from Yongsan Station (subway/rail interchange no.135 on the dark blue no.1 line) Costs about 10,000 - 12,000 Won. The trains run every hour.
Another alternative is to take the KTX (Korean Train Express) leaving from Yongsan Station at 8:30 and arriving at Gyeryong Station at 09:41. And another at 09:20 and arriving at Gye-Ryong Station at 10:37. This hour long journey costs about 25,000 Won.

From Gye-Ryong it is a short taxi ride of about 20 minutes to Mu Sang Sa and the cost should be between 7,000 to 8,000 Won. If you plan to come by train, please note that the weekends and national holidays are very busy travel times so you should book or buy your tickets well in advance.

By Car:
From the Seoul-Busan Expressway No.1, take the Ho-nam Go Sok Doro (Ho-Nam Expressway No.251) towards Yuseong and Kwangju and exit at the Gye-Ryong interchange. Driving towards Gye-Ryong City past 6 traffic lights, you make a left-turn at the sixth traffic light. From there only drive straight through the City itself and continue until you pass a large school for middle-school students on the right. Soon after that there will be a sign above the new road indicating the way to Mu Sang Sa Temple on the right. After making a right turn, you go for about one kilometer until you pass the reservoir on your right. Just past the reservoir is a left turn into Mu Sang Sa Temple and you can easily park there too.

By Bus:
There is an express bus service from Seoul Nambu terminal that goes to the Shindo-an bus stop near Omsa-ri. It takes about 2 hours 10minute. The buses run eight times a day at approximately one and a half hourly intervals. From there, it is about 20 minutes by taxi to Mu Sang Sa, costing around 8,000 Won.

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