Zen monasteries and zen temples in Korea and Japan – The family tradition of the Zen Order in Switzerland

Zen Monasteries - Sacred Places

Monasteries are sacred places. They are closed places where the monks and nuns devote themselves with body and soul to the search for truth. The monasteries preserve monasticism and form the basis of a healthy society. The monasteries are the homes of fathers, mothers and brothers and sisters to the people.

Monastic-Mystical Striving

In the Middle Ages, the personal mystical experience of God was primarily found in monasteries. Monasteries were thus the backbone of religion and the foundation of a healthy society. The highest goal of monastic-mystical striving remained this experience of God, of mystical union with God, in a broader sense, the search for an "awareness of the immediate presence of God" or the experience of absolute reality.

Between sounds and silence: Typically, the monastic community has respected the eloquence of silence. More than most, the contemplative tradition has insisted that wisdom comes only when people are brought to contemplation, leaving us deaf to the soul without the capacity for stillness.