The Way of Clear Mind, Clear Thinking and Clear Action
On December 17, 2014 in Seoul, South Korea Great Zen Master Chang Sik Kim was awarded the 2014 International PEN Korean Center’s Special Literature Award for his book: Great Nature: Poems for All of Nature.
Happy 78th Birthday Sa Bu Nim!
You gave us the Great Dharma of Shim Gum Do, Mind Sword Path, the way of clear mind, clear thinking and clear action.
We always remember you with great love and great compassion. We especially honor you today, January 8th, 2022, on your 78th Birthday.
Shim Gum Do is eternal because it lives in all of us and we continue to pass on Shim Gum Do and your teaching now and into the future. We are eternally grateful to you, Shim Gum Do Founding Master Great Zen Master Chang Sik Kim.
Dharma Talk Friday January 7th – 5:45 – 7:30 PM!
A Great Zen Master asks: Do you know your own mind? Can you see your own mind?
Start the New Year learning more about clear mind, clear thinking and clear action. Come join us on Friday January 7th for our free meditation and reading of a Dharma Talk given by Shim Gum Do Founding Master Great Zen Master Chang Sik Kim.
There will be a short demonstration of the Zen martial art Shim Gum Do after the Dharma Talk.
All are welcome!
Happy New Year 2022
Today is January 1st, 2022, it is a New Year. The past few years have been filled with unthinkable tragedies – an ongoing pandemic, natural disasters and so much loss – that have touch people all over the world. Sa Bu Nim often talked about taking care of your ‘seed’. Your seed is what it is that you want to accomplish in your life. Every moment by moment of every day of our lives are filled with challenges. Every day we all have responsibilities that we have to take care of. In the background you have to take care of your seed; nurture it. Sa Bu Nim talked about the importance of only going straight, to keep in your mind what you want. The moment you stop, your accomplishment is always just ahead or around the corner. The moment you stop, your seed will never sprout and grow.
Today a new year begins. Take a moment to reflect on yourselves and your ‘seed’. This year try to practice Shim Gum Do mind training even for 5 or 10 minutes every day. Cut thinking and take care of your seed.
I wish everyone a Happy New Year filled with health, joy, love and success.
Chong Kwan Jang Nim
Our 200 Year Old Revere Bell
Our Shim Gwang Sa Temple holds a piece of American History. The bell hanging in our bell tower was made by Paul Revere’s son, Joseph in 1821. Paul Revere, known as a Patriot in the American Revolution, started casting bells in 1792. In the early 1800s, Paul Revere’s son Joseph traveled to Europe to study bell casting. Over the years the Revere foundry went on to make hundreds of bells for churches, ships, court houses, schools, town criers, and factories.
In “The Bells of Paul Revere, his sons & grandsons” by Edward and Evelyn Stickney (Revised Edition 1976), on page 21 our bell is described as follows:
1821 First Parish Church, Brighton, Mass. – 1115lbs.
REVERE BOSTON 1821
First Parish of Brighton
To replace Revere bell of 1809
Dharma Talk Friday December 3rd – 5:45 – 7:30 PM!
A Great Zen Master asks: Do you know your own mind? Can you see your own mind?
Learn more about clear mind, clear thinking and clear action. Come join us on Friday December 3rd for our free meditation and reading of a Dharma Talk given by Shim Gum Do Founding Master Great Zen Master Chang Sik Kim.
There will be a short demonstration of the Zen martial art Shim Gum Do after the Dharma Talk.
All are welcome!
Tonight’s Dharma Talk is Cancelled
The Meditation and Dharma Talk scheduled for this evening has been cancelled.
The next Dharma Talk is scheduled for Friday December 3rd – 5:45 – 7:30 PM.
Shim Gwang Sa in the News
Shim Gum Do Founding Master Great Zen Master Chang Sik Kim brought the Dharma of Shim Gum Do to Brighton in 1981. Shim Gwang Sa, located at 203 Chestnut Hill Avenue in Brighton, is featured in the newest edition of DigBoston in an interesting article about ‘repurposed’ churches in Boston: Jesus and Buddha Shake Hands
Dharma Talk Friday October 1st – 5:45 – 7:30 PM!
A Great Zen Master asks: Do you know your own mind? Can you see your own mind?
We are resuming our free First Friday Meditation and Dharma Talks sessions. Come join us on Friday October 1st for Meditation and a reading of one of Shim Gum Do Founding Master Great Zen Master Chang Sik Kim’s Dharma Talks.
There will be a short demonstration of the Zen martial art Shim Gum Do after the Dharma Talk.
All are welcome!
New Shim Gum Do Class Schedule Starting September 7th
We are changing the times of our Shim Gum Do classes.
Beginning on Tuesday September 7th, Sword and Shin Boep Classes will meet on:
Monday – Thursday 6 – 7 PM & 7 – 8 PM
and Saturday at 10 AM.
To preserve the health and safety of our temple and its members during the ongoing COVID pandemic, we are still requiring mask wearing at the temple.
Shim Gum Do Classes Resume on Monday July 12!
The Shim Gum Do Temple is opening up again. Visitors are welcome during our scheduled class time.
Sword and Shin Boep classes meet on Monday – Thursday 6 – 7:30 PM and Saturday at 10 AM.
To preserve the health and safety of our temple, we are still requiring mask wearing at this time.
Happy 47th Anniversary Sa Bu Nim!
June 25 was always one of the most important dates for Sa Bu Nim to celebrate. Sa Bu Nim arrived in the United States of America on June 25, 1974. We remember Sa Bu Nim today and will always be grateful to Sa Bu Nim for bringing the Universal Light and Wisdom of Shim Gum Do to us.
Here is Sa Bu Nim celebrating this important anniversary last year.
We love you Sa Bu Nim!
Honoring Sa Bu Nim at Brighton AAPI
Sa Bu Nim, who established the Mind Light Temple in Brighton in 1981, was honored on Saturday at the Allston Brighton AAPI event at Sisters of St. Joseph’s in Allston. To introduce who Sa Bu Nim was to those at the event, Chong Kwan Jang Nim read the poem Sa Bu Nim wrote for the Brighton Bicentennial on February 24, 2007 and one of his favorite poems, The Chickens Cry For Peace. This was followed by a short demonstration of Shim Gum Do
On Saturday May 22nd, Shim Gum Do joins the Allston Brighton Community to celebrate Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Chong Kwan Jang Nim and members of the Shim Gum Do community will be honoring Sa Bu Nim with a demonstration and poetry reading. For 40 years, Sa Bu Nim reached and influence so many through his teaching at his Shim Gwang Sa, Mind Light Temple. His legacy will always be a part of Brighton history.
Come celebrate with us!
Memorial Ceremony for Sa Bu Nim Video
The video of the Memorial Ceremony for Shim Gum Do Founding Master Great Zen Master Chang Sik Kim has been uploaded and is now available. He will forever be in our hearts and minds.
Shim Gum Do Founding Master Great Zen Master Chang Sik Kim passed away peacefully at Shim Gwang Sa on Friday March 12, 2021.
Known as “Sa Bu Nim” (father teacher) he was the creator of Shim Gum Do (Mind Sword Path), an integrated practice of Zen martial arts and meditation. With branches in Italy and Korea, Shim Gum Do’s world headquarters, Shim Gwang Sa (Mind Light Temple), is in the historic 1894 First Parish in Brighton stone church on Chestnut Hill Avenue in Brighton, Massachusetts.
Sa Bu Nim was born in a small farming village in Korea in 1944. When he was 13 he entered the Hwa Gye Sa temple of the Jogye Order of Zen Buddhism and began his formal Zen training under Zen Master Seung Sahn Lee, Dae Seon Sa Nim. Dae Seon Sa Nim gave him the precept’s name “Won Gwang” (Universal Light).
When he was 21, Sa Bu Nim underwent a 100-day meditation retreat and during that time attained Mind Sword enlightenment. Following his retreat he began teaching his path, emphasizing compassion and meditation through the practice of his martial arts. He always said that Shim Gum Do training was about developing a clear mind, clear thinking and clear action. He came to America in 1974 and became a United States citizen in 1985.
In addition to his teaching, Sa Bu Nim was an accomplished calligraphy artist and poet. He has written more than 83,000 poems, some of which are published in his 18 poetry books beginning with The Pillow Head Collects Your Dreams in 1996. His work has been translated into Korean, French, Spanish, Persian and Japanese. In 2014 he was awarded the International PEN Korean Center’s Special Literature Award for his book Great Nature: Poems for All of Nature. He has also written two books about Shim Gum Do.
He is survived by his wife, Shim Gum Do Head Master Mary Jeanette Stackhouse, a large extended family, and by the worldwide Shim Gum Do Family of Heroes.
Due to the COVID Pandemic, no public gathering is scheduled at this time. All are invited to join virtually in a ceremony to honor Sa Bu Nim on Saturday March 20th @ 11 AM EST via a live feed through Facebook and Instagram
In lieu of flowers, donations in his honor may be made to the American Buddhist Shim Gum Do Association: