Upcoming Retreat

Beginning Friday, June 8th at 7pm
Concluding Sunday June 10th at 7pm
Contact the Director, Myungju Sunim to register.

Community Fast

Students are invited to join the monks and residents of the Zen Center in a three-day water-fast to be held:

Sunday, May 27th through Tuesday, May 29th.

Cafe Closing

Sadly, the cafe has been closed indefinitely, but you can still visit us every Saturday at Eastern Market.

Schedule for Spring training season

Visit us on Facebook 
See the cafe's weekly menu.

Detroit Eastern Market


Dharma Work Exchange Program
live work & practice at the zen center.

Zen Residency Program
for those interested in living in a zen community.

Our Homes 
renovation business since 1993; both residential and commercial.

Green Neighborhood Project
reclaiming abandoned lots and ongoing green renovation.

The Detroit Zen Center is a residential community of monks and students who practice daily meditation, manual work and arts. 

Resident monks and students work in exchange for room, board & a small stipend. Through meditation and sustainable lifestyle they sustain this  grassroots Center.  Non-resident students can attend meditations and work projects. We offer a beginner's Introduction to Zen each Sunday, and public events throughout the year.

Located in a diverse city of Hamtramck, in the heart of Detroit, the Zen Center was founded by teacher & abbot Hwalson Sunim, a Detroit native who became a Zen monk in South Korea.   We practice Lin-chi Zen, and are a branch of Sudeok-sa Temple, a 1,100 year old temple in South Korea. 

To support the Center, we operate an on-site raw vegan cafe and store with local and organic products, and sell our goods at local farmers' markets.  We perform small renovations and repairs through Our Homes, and hold a builder's license.