Meet The Faculty of Buddha Dharma University
Ven. Dr. Wonji Dharma (President and Chancellor)
Ven. Dr. Wonji Dharma is the Founder and Guiding Teacher of the Five Mountain Zen Order and the Chancellor of Buddha Dharma University. He is also a fully ordained Bhiksu, having taken the Dharmagupta Vinaya precepts with H.T. Thich An Duc (Ven. Dr. Suhita Dharma).
Soensanim began practicing Advaita Vedānta as well as Vipassana Meditation in 1986 with Swami Chaitanya Siraj and took refuge vows with his teacher that same year. Swami Chaitanya Siraj had studied in an Indian Ashram for many years and his path of teaching was wide and open to all of the Wisdom Traditions. Soensanim's direction has been informed by Zen since his College days of studying Psychology. Wanting to experience the direct experience of koan study he eventually discovered Zen Master Seung Sahn and the Kwan Um School of Zen in 1989 and began practicing regularly at Dharma Zen Center in Los Angeles.
Throwing himself headlong into Zen practice for five years he received sanction and encouragement from Zen Master Seung Sahn to open the Huntington Beach Zen Center on August 14, 1993, where Soensanim was installed as Abbot by Zen Master Seung Sahn during the Opening Ceremony.
The Huntington Beach Zen Center was renamed one year later at the first anniversary ceremony by Zen Master Seung Sahn to (Hae An Soen Won) Ocean Eyes Zen Center. The center was originally founded as a residential Zen Center where up to eight students lived and practiced together every day. The Zen Center eventually moved to Stanton and later to the Bixby Knolls area of Long Beach where it remained until the center was forced to close and relocate to a non-residential Center in 2000 due to zoning Issues with the City of Long Beach.
Soensanim was ordained by Zen Master Seung Sahn as a Dharma teacher in 1995 and received teaching authorization from Zen Master Ji Bong, (an independent heir of Zen Master Seung Sahn), in the Golden Wind Zen Order in April, 2006.
He has practiced with more than thirty different Zen Buddhist masters during his time and maintains an eclectic approach to spirituality. Having founded the Five Mountain Zen Order, he no longer participates with the Golden Wind Order.
Having obtained a BA in Psychology from California State University, he earned his Masters (M.Dh) and Doctorate (D.Dh) degrees from BSI-LA before becoming a primary staff member. Ven. Dr. Wonji has practiced with more than thirty different Zen Buddhist masters during his time and maintains an eclectic approach to spirituality.
If you have a question regarding your classes, please e-mail Ven. Wonji Dharma. If you can best be served by e-mailing Student Affairs, please consider that method of contact first. Thank you!
Soensanim began practicing Advaita Vedānta as well as Vipassana Meditation in 1986 with Swami Chaitanya Siraj and took refuge vows with his teacher that same year. Swami Chaitanya Siraj had studied in an Indian Ashram for many years and his path of teaching was wide and open to all of the Wisdom Traditions. Soensanim's direction has been informed by Zen since his College days of studying Psychology. Wanting to experience the direct experience of koan study he eventually discovered Zen Master Seung Sahn and the Kwan Um School of Zen in 1989 and began practicing regularly at Dharma Zen Center in Los Angeles.
Throwing himself headlong into Zen practice for five years he received sanction and encouragement from Zen Master Seung Sahn to open the Huntington Beach Zen Center on August 14, 1993, where Soensanim was installed as Abbot by Zen Master Seung Sahn during the Opening Ceremony.
The Huntington Beach Zen Center was renamed one year later at the first anniversary ceremony by Zen Master Seung Sahn to (Hae An Soen Won) Ocean Eyes Zen Center. The center was originally founded as a residential Zen Center where up to eight students lived and practiced together every day. The Zen Center eventually moved to Stanton and later to the Bixby Knolls area of Long Beach where it remained until the center was forced to close and relocate to a non-residential Center in 2000 due to zoning Issues with the City of Long Beach.
Soensanim was ordained by Zen Master Seung Sahn as a Dharma teacher in 1995 and received teaching authorization from Zen Master Ji Bong, (an independent heir of Zen Master Seung Sahn), in the Golden Wind Zen Order in April, 2006.
He has practiced with more than thirty different Zen Buddhist masters during his time and maintains an eclectic approach to spirituality. Having founded the Five Mountain Zen Order, he no longer participates with the Golden Wind Order.
Having obtained a BA in Psychology from California State University, he earned his Masters (M.Dh) and Doctorate (D.Dh) degrees from BSI-LA before becoming a primary staff member. Ven. Dr. Wonji has practiced with more than thirty different Zen Buddhist masters during his time and maintains an eclectic approach to spirituality.
If you have a question regarding your classes, please e-mail Ven. Wonji Dharma. If you can best be served by e-mailing Student Affairs, please consider that method of contact first. Thank you!
Ven. Domun Gaffaney, MDiv (Professor of Buddhist Studies)
Ven. Domun Gaffaney is a Zen Teacher and a Bodhisattva Monk in the Five Mountain Zen Order. He began training with Ven. Wonji Dharma in early 2004 at the Ocean Eyes Zen Center in Long Beach.
Ven. Domun was interested in the Buddha and meditation from an early age. Interest turned into meditation practice in the early '90s, starting 5 thought-filled minutes at a time. He briefly visited a few different meditation centers. However, a life Koan became “If the Buddha was able to attain enlightenment without belonging to a Sangha, why can't I?”
He continued his personal practice of sitting along with reading the books of Seung Sahn. In 2004, he met Ven. Wonji Dharma at the Golden Wind Zen Center. Not yet ready to join a Sangha, he worked on and off with Ven. Wonji Dharma. In 2010, he added to his meditation practice intensive Koan practice with Ven. Wonji Dharmaì. This Koan practice turned out to be the missing ingredient, and his personal Koan was answered in January of 2012 when Domun was made a Dharma holder in the Five Mountain Zen Order.
He now wishes to share the benefits of Zen and Koan practice with others.
If you have a question regarding your classes, please e-mail Ven. Domun Dharma. If you can best be served by e-mailing Student Affairs, please consider that method of contact first. Thank you!
Ven. Domun was interested in the Buddha and meditation from an early age. Interest turned into meditation practice in the early '90s, starting 5 thought-filled minutes at a time. He briefly visited a few different meditation centers. However, a life Koan became “If the Buddha was able to attain enlightenment without belonging to a Sangha, why can't I?”
He continued his personal practice of sitting along with reading the books of Seung Sahn. In 2004, he met Ven. Wonji Dharma at the Golden Wind Zen Center. Not yet ready to join a Sangha, he worked on and off with Ven. Wonji Dharma. In 2010, he added to his meditation practice intensive Koan practice with Ven. Wonji Dharmaì. This Koan practice turned out to be the missing ingredient, and his personal Koan was answered in January of 2012 when Domun was made a Dharma holder in the Five Mountain Zen Order.
He now wishes to share the benefits of Zen and Koan practice with others.
If you have a question regarding your classes, please e-mail Ven. Domun Dharma. If you can best be served by e-mailing Student Affairs, please consider that method of contact first. Thank you!
Ven. Doshim Dharma, MDiv (Professor of Buddhist Studies)
Ven. Dōshim Dharma is the Founder, Abbot, and guiding teacher of the Original Mind Zen Sangha.
Dōshim Dharma is a Bodhisattva Monk and Zen Teacher in the Five Mountain Zen Order. He teaches high school English and online courses at Buddha Dharma University, where he is also completing his doctoral degree in Buddhist Studies. He practiced for several years in the Japanese Harada-Yasutani and Soto lineages before finding his home in the Korean Five Mountain Zen Order. Dōshim's guiding teacher is Ven. Wonji Dharma.
You can visit Dōshim at his Zen blog, Original Mind.
If you have a question regarding your classes, please e-mail Ven. Dōshim Dharma. If you can best be served by e-mailing Student Affairs, please consider that method of contact first. Thank you!
Dōshim Dharma is a Bodhisattva Monk and Zen Teacher in the Five Mountain Zen Order. He teaches high school English and online courses at Buddha Dharma University, where he is also completing his doctoral degree in Buddhist Studies. He practiced for several years in the Japanese Harada-Yasutani and Soto lineages before finding his home in the Korean Five Mountain Zen Order. Dōshim's guiding teacher is Ven. Wonji Dharma.
You can visit Dōshim at his Zen blog, Original Mind.
If you have a question regarding your classes, please e-mail Ven. Dōshim Dharma. If you can best be served by e-mailing Student Affairs, please consider that method of contact first. Thank you!
Rev. Do'an Prajna, M.Div. (Professor of Buddhist Studies)
Rev. Do'an Prajna is the Chief Abbot of Five Mountain Zen and the Head Teacher and Abbot of Lotus Heart Zen in Oneida, NY. In 2002 he took five precepts at the Providence Zen Center, part of the Kwan Um School of Zen in the lineage of Zen Master Seung Sahn. Do’an then practiced under the instruction of the late Myo Ji Sunim, JDPS, Abbot of the Chogyesa Zen Temple of New York in New York City. He assisted her with various temple related activities, such as teaching "Sunday" school to the temple youth, participating in Buddhist ceremonies, performing as Moktak Master and acting as temple office assistant. In 2003 he traveled to South Korea with Myo Ji Sunim visiting temples throughout Korea and attending the World is a Single Flower conference. One of the highlights of his trip was having the opportunity to sit with Zen Master Seung Sahn.
Rev. Cheryl Barnes-Neff, PhD, MDiv, RN (Associate Professor of Buddhist Studies)
Registered Nurse for over 40 years, she is a graduate of Buddha Dharma University with a Master’s of Divinity, and completed her PhD in Biblical Studies in 2015. She has certificates in Religious Studies and World Religions from the Harvard Divinity School, and completed an extended unit in Clinical Pastoral Education. She has worked for the past twenty years in the hospice field as a nurse, quality manager, and chaplain. Ordained as a lay member of Thich Nhat Hahn’s Order of Interbeing in 2005, she practices with the Chua Bao An Pure Land temple in Central FL under Abbess Thich Nu Lieu Ha. She is a certified meditation instructor for healthcare professionals, and has studied Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction at the UMass Medical Center. She is the author of Open Hearted: Essays on Buddhist Study and Practice.
