The way The "goal" Background Chinese texts Classical Post-classical Contemporary Zen in Japan Seon in Korea Thiền in Vietnam Western Zen The Taego Order or Taego-jong is the second largest order in Korean Seon, the Korean branch of Chan Buddhism.
Monks tend to remain more separate from society and live in mountain temples, whereas the married clerics are more like parish priests, though this is not always the case.
Both the Taego and the Jogye use the Brahma Net Sutra, which contain 10 bodhisattva vows and 48 lesser precepts.
Today, the Taego Order preserves the full ritual tradition of Korean Buddhism, including the Yeongsanjae, which is a reenactment of the Buddha's preaching of the Lotus Sutra on Vulture Peak.
This ritual is held each year at Bongwonsa on June 6, South Korea's Memorial Day, in part to pray for the dead from the Korean War.
Before 1945 the majority of Korean Buddhist monastics were descended from Taego Bou, especially within the Jogye Order, which was founded at the end of Goryeo.
The group of 300 celibate monks retained the name "Jogye Order" but changed the color of the kasa, the outer monastic robe worn over the left shoulder and under the right arm, to brown despite the fact that the traditional color of a Korean kasa was red.
This ritual is chiefly preserved in the Taego Order and has been recognized as an intangible cultural asset by UNESCO.
Taego novitiates can study at a gangwon, which is a traditional academic institute similar to the Tibetan shedra.
After this, they may be ordained a bhikkhu or bhikkhuni if they pass an examination and then either work at a temple in a capacity similar to that of a "parish priest," or continue their training and education.
In rare cases, a student may receive dharma transmission or inka from a master of Seon after 20 or 30 years of practice.
The website currently lists more than 56 clergy in the America-Europe Parish (covering the U.S., Canada, and Europe) though a few are Koreans living overseas.
There are also temples in New Jersey (Bogota and Warren), New York (Staten Island), Georgia (Hampton), Virginia (Annandale),Texas (Austin), Michigan (Royal Oak and Grand Rapids), Canada (Brampton, ON), California (Anaheim, Los Angeles, Seal Beach, and Pinion Hills), Idaho (Mountain Home), Missouri (St. Louis), the Washington, D.C. area, Hong Kong, Poland (Opole), Austria (Vienna), Hungary and Germany in Solingen, Nuremberg and Munich).