The Zen Buddhist Monk of 96th Street

By Allan Ripp

Buddha’s birthday was approaching. I knew this not because I’m an adherent of Eastern religion but thanks to a reminder text from my neighbor Ingoong, the gentle, portly monk who heads the Korean Buddhist temple a few doors down from me on West 96th Street.

I also saw the birthday notice posted outside the white townhouse where Ingoong lives and leads sessions in meditation and chanting – you often hear woodblocks knocking rhythmically as you walk past the building. Lately, the exterior has been festooned with colorful lanterns signaling the godhead’s birthday, celebrated on May 4.

Our block is not exactly tranquil. Crosstown buses and two-way traffic keep up a constant din, with people rushing to catch the subway or stream into Central Park. But the Korean Jo-Gei Temple – also called Chogyesa – is a blissful retreat for practitioners of Seon, the Korean form of Zen Buddhism. Dressed in a plain gray robe, occasionally wearing a pith helmet in the sun to protect his bald dome, Ingoong can be seen sweeping the steps, stuffing trash into bins, or strolling the neighborhood with a knowing, peaceful smile that seems genuinely Buddha-like.

Chogyesa is open 24 hours a day, year-round. When you first enter, it looks like a drab walk-up apartment, with a sweet fragrance of incense permeating the halls. A cubby for shoes is a reminder that footwear is discouraged in the meditation rooms.

The stairwell is dim and the steps creaky.

But then the door on the second-floor landing opens and you enter what is called Dharma Hall. It’s a magnificent space, with an ample open floor facing an altar of multiple Buddha statues and engravings in brilliant gold. The reflection emanating from the display is almost blinding.

Candles and urns are placed throughout, as are golden figures, including some with long beards and warriors’ swords to go with their mythic helmets. Buddha, the Nepalese Prince Siddhartha, is said to have been born in spring of 563 BC and lived 80 years. To mark his birthday (which this year actually falls on May 5 according to the Buddhist lunisolar calendar), Dharma Hall is filled with bowls of candy, fresh fruit and other offerings. Spending just a few minutes in this sanctum brings a refreshing head-clearing – it’s easy to imagine enlightenment visiting those steeped in the Buddhist way.

From Silicon Valley to 96th Street

Ingoong – officially Seon Master Ingoong – recently shared with me his unexpected journey to the Upper West Side. Several of his younger followers prepared a hearty ramen lunch while we met in the temple’s downstairs study. There’s a quiet backyard garden there, where Ingoong performs the ritualistic “bathing” ceremony on Buddha’s birthday, pouring water over a baby Buddha statue to wash away bad karma.

Born in Seoul in 1968, Ingoong first studied meditation as a teenager, but a bachelor’s degree in physics and applied materials led him to a job at Samsung Electronics in Santa Clara, California, where his brother also worked. Seeking to learn the “fundamentals of spiritual science,” he returned to Korea in 1997 to study with eminent monks, earning master’s and doctoral degrees at Dongguk University in Seoul, one of the world’s few Buddhist-affiliated colleges.

Eventually, through recommendations, he was made head of a monastery in New York’s Rockland County, “near Woodbury Common,” he notes. That was just before the pandemic struck in 2020. He arrived at Chogyesa in June 2023, 20 years after the temple had relocated to West 96th Street from its original location in Woodside, Queens.

Ingoong estimates Chogyesa currently serves around 500 members, with regular classes for all levels of learning – Zen yoga for beginners to courses in higher-grade chanting. “Our facilities are open for public use,” the temple’s website says, “and serve as a getaway from the busy New York lifestyle.”

Up at 5 am, midnight walks in Central Park

Though Ingoong occasionally ventures to other parts of the city – especially Koreatown near Herald Square for his favorite soups and tofu dishes – he mostly stays close to the UWS temple. Up at 5 a.m., he’s already chanting at 6, then welcoming visitors for classes and private mediation. The last formal chant is at 11 a.m. During my visit, we were joined by members from Germany, India, and Korea, including a professional animator and post-production artist, as well as several Columbia University undergrad and graduate students.

All are practicing Buddhists.

“New York is not so different from Seoul,” Ingoong says. “It’s fast, energetic and can be tough on the spirit.” He’ll sometimes take midnight walks in Central Park. “I find it calm and never feel unsafe. People are still walking and running and I love to see the moonlight,” he says.

Ingoong hopes to expand attendance through promotion of Chogyesa as an international cultural center, with concerts and dance performances, a book club, and basic classes in Buddhism. “Of course, that takes money and staff, so nothing is rushed,” he adds. He’s tried livestreaming ceremonies but says the format is not conducive to true meditation.

In halting English, Ingoong can go deep into Korean Buddhist theology, back to its roots in the Three Kingdoms Era, a period early in the first millennium when India, China, and Tibet adopted Buddhism as a state religion. The meditation he teaches urges reflection about identity and self-nature, supported by student-teacher dialogue to “bring clarity and energy to everyday life” and engagement with the real world.

He is also attentive to making his faith relevant to his surroundings. “Buddhism is about coming home,” he explains. “Everyone has a hometown or place of origin. Our teaching helps you return there. It is about being kind, generous, polite, and living in harmony with your neighbors.” You don’t have to be Buddhist to recognize the wisdom of the Seon Master.

Allan Ripp runs a press relations firm in New York.

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