Becoming a Korean Seon practitioner is less a matter of adopting a label than of entering a living stream of practice centered on meditation, ethical commitment, and guidance from a qualified teacher. The journey usually begins by seeking out a Seon temple or center, often within an established lineage such as the Jogye or Taego Orders, and meeting a Seon master (sunim) or experienced teacher. This initial step already carries an important intention: to entrust one’s training to a community and a tradition rather than to private experimentation. From there, one is gradually introduced to the rhythms of temple life—chanting, bowing, work practice, and communal meditation—so that practice is woven into the fabric of daily conduct rather than confined to special moments.

A formal entry into the Buddhist path is commonly marked by taking refuge in the Three Jewels—Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha—and, for lay practitioners, receiving the Five Precepts. This ethical foundation supports the central meditative discipline of Seon, which often takes the form of seated meditation (jwaseon) and hwadu practice, a focused inquiry into a critical phrase or question that cuts through habitual thinking. Alongside seated meditation, walking meditation (gyeongheng), chanting (yebul), and work practice (ullyeok) are cultivated as extensions of the same awakened attention, so that no aspect of life is left outside the field of practice. Study of Buddhist scriptures and Seon literature complements this, not as mere intellectual accumulation, but as a way of clarifying and deepening experiential insight.

For those who feel called to a more radical renunciation, the monastic path offers a more encompassing form of Seon training. After taking refuge, a candidate enters a training monastery, receives novice ordination, and lives under monastic discipline, eventually progressing to full ordination as a bhikshu or bhikshuni. Daily life in such a setting is structured around meditation, chanting, work, and study, with particular emphasis on intensive retreat periods (kyolche), traditionally held in winter and summer. These retreats, often of extended duration, are designed to concentrate body and mind on the hwadu or on silent sitting, with regular private interviews (doksan or similar formats) in which the teacher tests and guides the practitioner’s understanding.

Whether lay or monastic, authentic Seon practice unfolds within a relationship to a living lineage and a trusted teacher. Regular meetings with a dharma teacher allow obstacles to be exposed and clarified, and over time the teacher may acknowledge a student’s maturation or insight. Yet the heart of becoming a Seon practitioner remains quite simple: maintaining consistent meditation, honoring the precepts appropriate to one’s life situation, and participating in the communal forms of practice—temple services, work, study, and retreats. When these elements come together, the path ceases to be a set of techniques and becomes a way of being, sustained by the shared aspiration of the Seon community.