Literally nestled in the foothills of the Catskills, way up Mt. Vernon Road from Summitville off Route 209, lies the Bak Lim Korean Zen temple.

The temple — which sits among other structures, forest walks and monuments — is the scene of daily Zen practices. But what, you might ask is Zen?

To quote from the Catskill Zen Monastery booklet, "Understanding Zen through words is like eating a cookbook instead of a meal. Words suggest only a shadow of its true meaning."

The temple sits on 180 acres; its buildings vary from functional offices, kitchen and accommodations for guests to an elaborately carved and decorated main temple building, as well as other structures with ritual uses. Buddhas in various guises dominate the scene. A magnificent six foot tall temple bell is housed in its own special structure and is rung with a log suspended from the ceiling. Next to it is the enormous drum used to pound out dynamic rhythms at appropriate moments.

The practices at the temple include zazen, or seated meditation, koan, the study of Zen paradoxes through chanting, and teaching of the Dharma.

The definition of Dharma varies from one side of the Buddhist spectrum to the other, although no single word translation exists in western languages. The concept covers everything from "what is established" to "right way of living," and encompasses "duty," "character," "correct behavior" and even "religion" itself.

The style of Zen practiced at Bak Lim Sa traces its history back to the ancient Chinese Zen Masters, Hui-Neng and Lin-Chi. The resident Abbot is Hye Seong, a Buddhist monk who is also Abbot of the Kum Kyang Sa Temple in Pusan, South Korea.

Bak Lim Sa temple is the only traditional Korean Buddhist temple in the Eastern United States.

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