Buddhist Monk First Year of Religion Resident Scholar

Abbot Hyon Gak Sunim, editor of the books, “The Whole World is a Single Flower” and “The Compass of Zen,” will speak in Brendle Recital Hall. Sunim, abbot of the Providence Zen Center in Cumberland, R.I., will speak on “What Are You?: Zen is Understanding Yourself,” Tuesday, Sept. 30, at 4 p.m., and “Zen Way, Jesus Way,” Thursday, Oct. 2, at 8 p.m.

Gak Sunim will also teach free meditation classes in the Balcony Room of Wait Chapel. Classes are Monday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m.; Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 4 p.m.; and Thursday, Oct. 2, at 4 p.m. No pre-registration is required. Students should bring their own pillows.

The monk’s visit is the first in a monthly series of visits to Wake Forest by religion scholars under the Year of Religion resident scholars program. Representing a wide variety of faith traditions, scholars will teach classes, give public lectures and participate in discussions. Abbot Francis Kline, a Trappist monk from Mepkin Abbey near Charleston, S.C., will visit the campus in October. During his stay, Kline, a Juilliard-trained organist, will present Marcel Dupre’s organ work, “The Stations of the Cross,” with narration by Ed Wilson, provost emeritus and professor of English at Wake Forest.

The free concert is Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m. in Wait Chapel.

Other scholars who will visit Wake Forest during the 1997-98 academic year include evangelical Tony Campolo, African-American spirituality expert Rev. Claudia Highbaugh of Harvard Divinity School, Sufi Muslim Shaikh Kabir Helminski and Native American Janet McCloud.