SOSHIMSA ZEN CENTER - BLOG

A Rutgers University Dean's Grant has funded a research study on the effects of meditation and exercise on depression. This study is a collaborative work between So Shim Sa and Rutgers University. So Shim Sa created the curriculum for meditation education to be used in the study, while the University's Recreation Department provided the exercise curriculum. Also involved are the Psychology Dept., Dept. of Alcohol Studies and CAPS Health Services. The projected length of the study is 3 years. We hope that the collected data will help reinforce the therapeutic effects of meditation and that our program of meditation and exercise can become standardized as an intervention to alleviate the suffering of people with depression.

When a correspondent from New York's Korea Daily (중앙일보) found out that there was an American Zen Monk auditing Korean language classes at Rutgers University she contacted Ven. Myong-Ahn for an interview.The article was published on page 4 of the January 30, 2012 edition of Korea Daily (중앙일보)under the heading  "예불 위해 한국어 배워요". An Internet version is available at: http://www.koreadaily.com/news/read.asp?art_id=1346886. (Only Korean language version is available.)

During the 2012 Lunar New Year celebration So Shim Sa Zen Center launched Deer Park Academy. The Academy serves as the educational branch of the Zen Center and will offer a variety of courses and workshops. Currently the courses are divided into three categories: Dharma Courses, So Shim Sa Fellowship Certification Courses and Enrichment Courses. The very first course to be offered soon is the CPR & AED Certification. A valid CPR certification is required of all So Shim Sa Sunim (Monks) as well as Chapter Presidents and Meditation Class Facilitators of  So Shim Sa Fellowship chapters. The mission of Deer Park Academy is  to help children, youth and first-generation adult Buddhists establish  a working knowledge of Buddhism and develop a healthy spiritual life. To learn more about Deer Park Academy, its logo and the meaning of the name go to: http://soshimsa.org/index/Deer_Park_Academy.html