History of the Zen Order

Zen Master Sŭngsan, Zen Master Robert Moore and Paul Lynch, JDPSN founded the Huntington Beach Zen Center on August 14th of 1993. The first Zen Center was a four bedroom house with the Dharma Room located in the back of the house as an added on room. In early 1994 the Zen Center accepted its first resident, Carlos Montana, who then became a hangja and lived as a novice monk full time at the Zen Center. A few residents moved in and out of the Huntington Beach Zen Center, including a Korean Monk from Ssangwon sa named Eungho sunim. In 1995 the Zen Center was moved to a larger six bedroom house in Stanton and at that time Zen Master Sŭngsan suggested to change the name of the center to Hae-an Sŏnwŏn or Ocean Eyes Zen Center.

Due to logistics and an impending donation in 1997 the Ocean Eyes Zen Center moved from Stanton to a residence on Lime Ave. in Long Beach where it was established again as a residential Zen Center with 5 to 6 full time resident zen students until December of 1999. The center was temporarily homeless, due to a few zoning issues but kept the practice running in Whittier and a new location in San Pedro until it finally reopened in Long Beach at our current address on September 17, 2000. In the Winter of 2004 Zen Master Robert Moore opted to change the name of the Center to Golden Wind Zen Center and to affiliate with a new independent organization called the Golden Wind Zen Order.