Dae Gak (born 1947), born Robert Genthner, is a Zen master and the guiding teacher of Furnace Mountain in

Clay City, Kentucky Clay City is a home rule-class city in Powell County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,193 at the 2020 census. History The first European settlement in the vicinity of present-day Clay City was in 1786, by Stephen Collins and his ...

, a

Korean Buddhist Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what its early practitioners saw as inconsistencies within the Mahayana Buddhist traditions that they received from foreign countries. To address this, they ...

temple and retreat center co-founded in 1986 with Seung Sahn. He received

Dharma transmission In Chan and Zen Buddhism, dharma transmission is a custom in which a person is established as a "successor in an unbroken lineage of teachers and disciples, a spiritual 'bloodline' ('' kechimyaku'') theoretically traced back to the Buddha him ...

from Seung Sahn in 1994, and now teaches independently of Seung Sahn's

Kwan Um School of Zen The Kwan Um School of Zen (관음선종회,觀音禪宗會) (KUSZ) is an international school of zen centers and groups founded in 1983 by Zen Master Seung Sahn. The school's international head temple is located at the Providence Zen Center in ...

. In addition to Furnace Mountain he serves as guiding teacher for other Zen groups in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He also holds a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and is currently a licensed

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

in the state of

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Biography

Robert Genthner (Buddhist name Dae Gak, "great enlightenment") was born in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

in 1947. He went to graduate school in Psychology at

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

. Genthner graduated from Kent State in 1973 with his

clinical psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well ...

, later that year teaching psychology at

Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. It also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, and Manchester and offers over 40 online undergraduate and graduate options. History Founding ...

Richmond, Kentucky Richmond is a home rule-class city in Madison County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 34,585 as of the 2020 census, making it the state's seventh-largest city. It is the principal city of the Richmond–Berea micropolitan area, wh ...

. He stopped teaching in 1979, afterward practicing as a licensed psychologist. In 1979, Genthner met Korean monk and Zen teacher Seung Sahn during a retreat at the

Providence Zen Center Providence Zen Center (PZC) is the Head Temple of the Americas for the Kwan Um School of Zen (KUSZ) and the first Zen center established by Seungsahn in the United States in October 1972. The PZC offers residential training where students and teach ...

. In the early 1980s, he and several other individuals founded the Lexington Zen Center in his home, with retreats sometimes taking place at the homes of other practitioners. The group became affiliated with Seung Sahn's

, founded in July 1983. In 1986, he co-founded a Zen temple at Furnace Mountain with Seung Sahn. The temple, Kwan Se Um San Ji Sah (which means "Perceive World Sound High Ground Temple"), was completed in 1994. Also that year, Genthner/Dae Gak received

from Seung Sahn, and founded the Cincinnati Zen Center. In 2000, Genthner was subject to disciplinary action following allegations by two patients of sexual misconduct and violations of patient confidentiality; while denying wrongdoing, he agreed to a suspension of one year, a fine, and one year of supervised probation after his license was reinstated. Also in 2000, he left the Kwan Um School of Zen and began his own. He has since established groups in North America, Germany and England.Galveston County News Genther, and the Furnace Mountain Zen Retreat Center was featured in the 2010 documentary film Zen Furnace produced by Kentucky filmmaker Steven Middleton.

Gallery

Image:Dae Gak.jpg, Dae Gak, guiding teacher of Furnace Mountain Image:Furnace Mountain road in.jpg, The road leading into Furnace Mountain—you can see the bluff above Image:Furnace Mountain retreat house.jpg, Individual retreat house for guests at Furnace Mountain

Groups

Lexington Zen Center
(Lexington, KY)
Cincinnati Zen Center
(Cincinnati, OH)
Hamilton Zen Center
(Hamilton, OH)

(Rockville, MD)
South West Son Academy
(Houston, TX)
Zen Island Fellowship
(Galveston, TX)
Bristol Zen Centre
(Bristol, UK)
Wilmington Zen
(Wilmington, OH)

Affiliates

(Mansfield, OH)
Queensland Zen Centre
(Queensland, AU)
Zen Society of Wooster
(Wooster, OH)

Bibliography

* *

References

* * *

External links

Official site for Furnace Mountain
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dae Gak American International College alumni Kent State University alumni Kwan Um School of Zen Zen Buddhism writers Seon Buddhist monks American Zen Buddhists 1947 births Living people