1973
VOLUME
II
NUMBER
KOREA
253
252
voL
ll
No.
5
WON BUDDHISM EDITORIAL
WON BUDDHISM
of A Creative View of Life To make a country anew, the people's way of thinking must b9 of revoluti,o nized. And to do this, a new- spirit must be drawn out peonew nation, new a have is to race everyone. In other words, if a ple, and a new spirit, it must start bV 99-tablishing new human beings' Establishing, u f,r*r" being begins with establishing and {gvgloping f,i. qpirit. ftre most importanf motivating fo'rce for establishing a new spirit is religion. In To cultivate the mind of man, religioar can be a dynamic force' spiriof order to establish material civilization, the estrablishment the tuality i,s inaispensable. For the est'abiishment of an economy' only when foremost' and establishment of morality is required first the an ec.ono,my and a material civilizatio,n are established without material and economv the life, moral es,tablishment ;i ;di;iiuui ""ahuman beings to perish. civilization is apt to cause the 'what, then, should be the spiritual for our modern life? -indexI have three proposals. live? to what should we trust in or ,"tv ,pon cultivate our First, do not deceive others. Religion means to important mo're but to cultivatJ a field, important minds. It is -ot we should then, """V What, mind. tft" field of our is the cultivation plarnt in the field of our mind? plant the we most root out the weeds of falseness and should flowers bearing and trees of truth, keeping the trees of truth thriving of fresh fragrance. We Try to distinguish truth from f'alsemess strictly and clearly' to Try strictly' wrong, sLrould know how to distinguish right from to follow and Truth, on live to ;fik truthfuliy, to pr'actieJ sinceriiy, and courage. jistice in doing'things with confidence falseness and I am confident that only those people who hate are ald great history; 91rlv those Iove truth will be able to .r"Lt" a One' Almighty the Buddha, grac" fton qualified to receive love and we see that A religion must be founded on Truth. Nowadays, the truth while society our evil custom of falseness prevailing over influence the taee, our for life is disapp"r"irg. io mainiain a Uetuer urgent most the of One extended. and of truth should be enlargecl and truth of influence the enlarge to is toari roles of * ruiGiol Establishment
Published by:
Research Institute for Overseas Missions Won Ktoang Unioersity,
lri City, Cholla
Pukda, Korea
CONTENTS Editorial Be A Moral Master Creating A New History by Prime Master Tai-San
D
The Dharma Words of Rev. Jung-San
b
o
The Reason Truth is Symbolized in A Circle (II-Won-Sang) by Pai-Khn Chon
The Three Evils, Five Desires, And Attachment by Atawon
A Morning Practice At The Headquarters of Won Buddhism by Nah Tao-Kook
10
Venerable So-Tae-San, The Great Master by Yoo Byung-Duk . .
13
Won Buddhism: An Outsider's View by Dennis Puccinelli
2l
News Corner
1973
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justice.
If
a religion is indifferent to this role, the religion will
be
I,eft behind. Therefo,re, 'No,t to deceive others' should be the first article of our principles of conduct. From the field of our mind, poisonous mushrooms should be rooted out, and instead, we should try to- make the trees of truth thrive until our country and all countries of the world become prosperous, happy, and creative. Second, do not waste time. Shake yourself out of the habit of Iaziness. The man who works hard or perspires from labor is to be treated well. The wo,rds 'do not waste time' are very eommon; but so is the word 'truth'. However, it is not the word but the action or practice that is important. Religion implies practice. Just talking about justice means little. The core of religious life exists in the doing or experience of its doctrine. It is important to know how to respect thoee who dedic,ate themselves to a nation, to a race, or to a society, as we worship Buddha. This attitude of looking up to those who work hard is the backbo,ne of a. prosperous and happy society. With the unhealthy value or view of life of regarding a man doing nothing but pursuing pleasure as most happy, it is very hard to have a worthy life. Try not to have a lazy life. It seems to be a very common word, but we know Lhat when the common truth is not practiced, social disorder follows. Third, do not hate others. Try to maintain peaeeful relationships. Do not fight with each other. Root out the trees of hatred and the weeds of conflict and plant the trees of peace and the flowerrs of love. Society, then, will be surrounded by a peaceful atmosphere of harmony. In socioty today, we notice that words of hatred and contempt are increasing faster than those of love and respect. This is a symptom that society is bec.oming more uncivilized. Lately, we can hear people on the radio encourag:ing us to use more kind and gentle words in our speech. If ones mind is full of kindness, kind and gentle wo,rds will come out naturally. How can we expect beautiful words to come out of an evil and wicked man?
Through religion we must train our mind. Religion is training of the mind. Do not deceive others. Do not waste time. Do not hate others. These seem to be the three great precepts of life which
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The fotlowing is a message from th,e present Pri,me Master of Won Budd,hism, cleliuered. to Won Dh,armn teach,ers who attended, th,e lgth Anrurul Training Course lteld at the Headquarters for twentA dWs last October. Be
A Moral Master
Creating
A New History
History is not a mechanical flow, but rather a creative proeess. For this creative process, there must be exceptional personalities who administer history. The prosperity of domestic life, society, and the nation can be realized and maintai'ned by making the quality of future generations increasingly better than the past ones. Thenefore, in order t,o accomplish infi,nite development and everlasting peace in the world and in our order, a Iarge number of these well-trained personalities must be developed, who are able to realize the aspirations and teachings of our Great Master, inspiring others to lollow the light of the Gr''eat Way of Il-Won and the genuine concepts of buddhas and saints. This is why the Great Master showed us the way to a new history thro,ugh irit teachings of the Great Way o,f Il-Won. The perfect way of faith and practice is clearly explainei -fy him. At lfr" same time, he systematized a revolutionary training method which had never been used before by any other saint. Through this training method, people can train themselves everyday and at every moment. He als-o devised the porfect group system of ten p"opi" through which all followers and all people of all races will be able to encou rage mutual training and development so that they may become living Buddhas and establish a Buddhist world. Training m,eans practice. Practice is desigrred tq tt--, the mind and the body. Through the training of the mind and body, ones mind or spirit, as well ur ones temperament, should be noticeably and agreeably transformed.
(Continued on Page 4)
(iontinued from, Page 2)
everyone in our modern gelneratio,n should observe. We may think of these as the principles of our life.
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The training received from a master will be important. However, more important is to teach oneself and to train oneself. A revoluti,onary sprout was budding in the mind of the Great Master from the age of seven. And finally, at the age of 26, through many hardships; this sprout blossomed into a great revolution in his mind. Since his great spiritual revolution, the Great Master devoted himself to training all his followers and all sentient beings day and night for 28 years. Everywhere we can see that our nation and the world is deveIoping with more variety and, spgefl everyday, which can be most cornfusing. In our order alsq changes and developmernts, which would have taken ten years to come about in the past, take only one or two months to bring about nowadays. In view of this, a larger number of well-trained personalities are most needed. A soldier who is not trained perfectly will never win on the battl,efield, and may even Iose his life. Likewise, a follower who is not trained well will hardly be able to attain his great wish of attaining Buddhahood and of rescuing all human beings. His Iife will bec,ome empty. A Ieader who is trained poorly will find it almost impossible to acquire a truely str,ong leadership which requires the oneness of knowledge and conduet. It will be impossible for him to accomplish his great task of being a great saver of this diseased world. This is why I beseech you that when you return to your place of work after this training course, you will never discontinue to practice this training in your everyday life. AIso, f wish our order would practice 'Regular Training and Constant Training' incsssantly, along with The Threefold Trainings while moving and working and while being quiet. The power of spiritual stability, the power of wisdom to be versed in Faets and Principles, and the power of selection of righteous oonduct will be obtained through those tnainings. I wish all our devotees and lay followers could obtain those powers completely, and, by establishing a perfeot character like that of Buddha, cultivate a new world and weave a new history as the moral masters of a new world.
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From The Dharma Words of Jung-San, Prime Master
Former Prime Master Jung-San, the immediate successor to th,e Great Master, suid, "Generally, ordinarA people do not beli,eae in an inaisible eristence, but belieae onlu in the ex'istence of aisible things. Such people are anrious to follow after otr,tword splendour but indifferent, to inward Truth, a,nd too mindful of temporary interests but careless of eaerlasting benefits and punishment. Therefore, their ideas ond conduct are usu,ally based uporl aoni,ty artd falseness. TheA do not accumulate suffici,ent inner power but are allured on@ ba temporary aanity and interests which recklessly lead them i,nto a pi,t of misera. What a pi,tiful sight thi,s is! Here i,s a representatitse story which alludes to this situation of modern society clearly:
A
dear was aerA proud of his gorgeous horns but hated his uglu legs. BtLt when he was cltased bA a hunter, it was these uglA legs he hated which saaed his life. His gorgeous horns u)ere just an obstacle, getting caugltt in branches of trees.
This seenls merelE a fable but it implies a m,uclt, deeper meaning whi,ch alludes to the present social si,tuation.
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Ihe
A
bg Pal-khn Chon
Such words as Reality, the concept pursued by Western philosophers, the Ultimate God, regarded as the dominator of the universe in religion, Tae-geuk, Tao (the Way), Ri (the Reason) in Oriental philosophy, and the thought of Dharma-Kaya Buddha in Buddhism are all ways used to interpret the concept of the Law of the universe. They are just different words for the same Truth. In other words, people have been maki,ng efforts from many sides to find out the best way to express this one Truth. There exists one Truth in the universe; the universe is made of the one Truth, and all things and phenomena in the universe are eonstantly being formed or destroyed by the influence of the one Truth. It is the state which can be expressed by no word, the state where no mind exists. However, if it is to be expressed in a form or symbol, the symbol of Il-Won-Sang (a circle) is the only one to express it. This is because the Absolute Truth is characterized by five principles: In the first place, the Truth turns round and round. Days and nights return again and again. The four seasons move in a cycle or circulate. Nothing in the world remains in an everlasting fixed condition. Everything circulates, oonstantly changing into other forms, but never turning into nothing. That is, the Reality of the universe is endlessly turning and turning. To symbolize this eharacteristic of the Truth, a circle is most suitable. In the seeond plaee, the Truth has no beginning and no eord. Human beings calculate human history to be three thousand or five thousand years long, while estimating, from the study of antiquity, the origin of living things on the oarth, from the stone zga, to be about 500,000 years ago. Ho,wever, nobody can give a correct answer about the beginning or the end of things in the universe. The Truth of the universe has no beginning and n'o end. This characteristic of the Truth can be symbolized only by the circle, Il-WonSang.
In the third place, the Truth is to be perfeetly harmonized, Iacking nothing. The Reality in the universe is the one'that creates, dominates, and operates the universe thro,ugh perfect, mighty po-
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It lacks nothing and is strictly impartial, perfectly harmonized. Therefore, such Absolutc Truth must be expressed by a circle (Won). In the fourth place, the Truth is to be characterized by perfect voidness wherein no feeling of delight or joy, or anger or sorrow resides. It is also the void state where no evil thought of hating or harming other people exists. Accordingly, this absolute voidness, the Reality, has been called human nature, Law, I)harma-Kaya Buddha, and etr. Therefore, there is no other way to adequately symbolize this Truth except by Won, a circle. Finally, the basic Truth of the universe resides in the energy of the universe. Iluman beings, animals, plants, all things basically have this one source, this energy. Accordingly, no life ,and no death can exist in this Truth whieh originates from this source. Such Truth is expressed as true Such,nessr One Suchness, Suchness in Buddhism. As all beings are part of one R,eality and all things originate from one Truth, thi,s Truth is to be symbolized by Won (a circle). wer.
lhuth Is
Symbolized In Circle (II-IYon-Sang)
Reason
BUDDHTSM
Note:':L:,";:ff ness, hence
?ilorll,!,,':#:"ffff,'1il'"::i,":{ff1":Xil,::i#r;
a circle to sgmbolize this.
The Three Evils, Five Desires, And Attachment by Atawon
A farmer works hard to harvest rich crops so that he may lead a wealthy life. Likewise, those who are interested in trainirng their minds aim at Enlightenment for themselves, as well as for others, which will lead them to an everlasting, peaceful, and blessed life. If rveeds thrive in a field, the growth of the crops will be poor. If evil dominatss our minds, the Buddha mind in us will naturally weaken until
it is extinguished
cornpletely.
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A farmer,
WON BUDDHISIIT
t_herefore, weeds
his field befo,rc he sows seeds and to keep weeding until he harvests the crops. Likewisi ;h;; intend to study Buddha's teachings to attain Enlightenment, ;i;; have to. constantly root out all of the dark human ttroughts from their minds until they attain liberation of the mind una ,fi"n In the course of training thJ mind, the darkest and most deeply rooted thoughts are the Three Evils, the Five n.sir.., and Attachment. what is the way to get rid of them ? what, then, are the characteristics of these dark rnoughts and fnas
The Three Evils The Three Evils are the most deeply roo,ted of the thoughts. They are covetousnes,s, ang.er, and foorishness.dark human
1' C'ovetousness is an exoessive desire which c,auses one to demand everythi'ng to an unreasonable aegru" and to try to take every_
thing he sees. 2' Anger is an outflow of fi,erce feelings when does not meet or conflicts with his desires. Anger hurtssomething not only ones own mind but also the minds of other p"opl". 3. Foolishness is when a mind becomes stupid due to notions, ideas, and habits. The rnan with a rootisrr-mi"a pretends to have something that he does not have, pretends tha,t rre aia a very good job when he made mistakes, and pretends to know -".*ti,ing when he knows that he d'oes not know it. He nuco-L* il;i;i^ it u, not supposed to be and is afraid of doing something when he he is has no reason to be. Foolishness is causecl by unreasonable habits, systems, customs, and vanity. The wav to root out the Three Evils. First of alt we must know that thos,e Three Evils are the roots of all the sins and crimes we commit. 1. To eradicate coveteousness, we must believe in the simple Iife, training our mind with the sense that all the world is one and originally we are not seperate from others. 3. To eradicate the mind of fooli,shness, we must establish the creed that we will Iive with a bright, clear, and righteous mind. Constant training of thinking based on justi,ce is indisp?nsable, while reflecting on the state where o,riginalli ,, foolishnei; -"*i.t.. UItimately, however, wâ‚Ź must tealize bur own, original, true-setves: the
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existence of Absolute Wisdom in Absolute Void, which should be the standard of our everyday life. The Five Desires
The Five Desires are the five instinetive desires which arise from our physic,al body. They are the desire for eating, sex, property, fame, and for sleep and rest. 1. The desire for eating is the most basic instinct for maintaining life. When we see delicious food or the food we prefer, the desire for eating becomes excessive. 2. The desire for sex is the m,ost basic instinct for maintaining tribes. People are apt to become unduly avaricious for sex. 3. The desire for property is the instinct to secure property for a stable life. This desire extends so far that people desire to ancumulate, to excess, money, gains, and valuable treasures. 4. The desire for fame is the instinct to secure social stability in their lives. People often become avaricious for higher positio,n, status, stronger power, or glory. 5. The desire for sleep and ea.se is the basic instinct for physical stability. This can become an unduly excessive craving for sleep and egoistic, tempo,rary physical ease. If we trace the origin of the Five Desires, we find that all physical beings naturally have these instinctive five desires. However, if we are only led by these desires and happen to go astray, clearly our lives will degenerate into the lives of mere animals. After this degeneration this world will experience a continuous cycle of evil. The entire world will degenerate into an animal world where diso,rder and corruption will prevail. How to eradicate the Five Desires. 1. We must deeply realize that the Five Desires carried to excsss are the most serious factors in the ruin of a person, a home, a society, a nation, and a world. 2. We must train ourselves to control these desires adequately according to our own circumstances and abilities. 3. We must establish a higher desire: to be enlightened to the great Truth and to share the happiness with other people. So, when trifling desires arise, remind yourself of the higher desire. It is Iike a hunter who aims to catch a lion or a tiger; he doesn't want to shoot
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rabbits or squirrels. 4. As the Five Desires usually arise from our physical body, we must always try to reflect on the state where both the mind and the body are originally void. Continual practice to keep this state of mind is most important. Attachment
to
Attachment means becoming stuek on some person or object, may divide the state of attachment into three parts:
exce'ss. We
love, covetousness, and grudges. 1. The attachment of love is attantrment to any object such as a man or woman, p'a/rents or children, a job, or some special object. It is the sta,te of mind where one is inextricably involved with this person or object. They thi,nk it is all they have in their life. 2. The attachment of covetousness means the state of the particularly excessive desire for money, property, and other precious treasures. It is the state of being enslaved by this avarice. 3. The attachment of grudges meons the state of mind which is not free from hatred and grudges against any particular person or thing. The way to eradicate attachments. 1. First of all we must cle,arly realize that we are neither able to see all beings as they really are, nor are able to acquire the freedom from life and death, a"s Iong as these attachments darken our minds. 2. We must experience the transiency of the physical world, while believing i,n the endless cycle of Cause and Effect. 3. By refleeting on the original state of mind where no l,ove, hate, discrimination between self and others, or attaehment exists, we must try to dissolve all kinds of attachments.
A Morni,, ;,,;"
; *. ,;dquarters or
Won Buddhism
by Nah Tao-Kook Stars are still glittering over the sky before dawn. ,The washed half-moon is setting in the west. All things in the universe are still
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asleep, being surrounded only
by
It is 4:30 in the morning.
quietness.
Gong, BonB, the great bell begins striking to wake up all sentient beings who are still in deep sleep. After thirty-three strokes the trailing note of the gong gradually fades away. Hearing the first stroke of the gohg, a Won Buddhist devotee, Miss Kim, inhales a deep breath and exhales it, gets out of her bed, and opens the doors wide. The cool air of the early morning bathes her body. She feels refreshed. From now, the morning practice of Devotee Kim begins. Three minutes after the last str,oke of the gong fades, the premises of the Headquarters of Won Buddhism is once again filled with the sound of the beating of wooden fish, a rhythmic device used wh,en chanting sutras. Hearing this sound, Devotee Kim halts wherever she may be and faces the 'sacred Everlasting Memorial Building' where The Great Master is worshipped and all Won Buddhist devotees are revered. She folds her hands quietly and star"ts her 'Inward Confessi,on' with the utmost sincerity, ,so that not the slightest falseness nor evil thought will enter her mind. "All Divine Dharma Buddha, the Four Graces I I pray and confess. May you give all sentient beings a chance to be saved by your gr,a,ce. May all Buddhist discipl,es attain Enlightenment. May all of us have your almighty power so that we m,ay requite the graces we receive and may keep a spiri,t of gr,atefulness in our everyday life. May you respond to my confessio,n." She deeply worships inwardly the Buddhas and masters of the p'ast, the present, and the future, as well as the parents and ancestors of a^ll ages. She shows her dedicated worship through deep bows to the sound of the wooden fish. The worship and vows of a Buddhist di'sciple are sublime and devout. After her 'Inward Confession' Devotee Kim goes to the 'EnIightenment Hall' to practice 'sitting-type meditation.' In the 'EnIightenment Hall' more than 200 devotees are practicing meditation in order to have their original, pure, clear, bright, and unprejudiced nature mind restored. Facing the directio,n of the alter in the hall where Il-Won-S&ilg, the Dharma-kaya Buddha, is worshipped, Devotee Kim sits on her cushion. She makes her back and neck straight, focusing all her physical power on a spot under her abdomen. Superfluous thoughts attack her. She is, however, successful in keeping her original nature every morning. She checks herself from time to time lest she should become unaware of her original nature.
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She checks herself to make sure she is not losing her spiritual awareness or her clear consciousness in voidness and voidness in consciousne$s, so that she will not fall into some sleepy condition; thus
keeping herself al'ert to the invasion of illusions which disturb her maintaining her original nature. The clock on the wall of the hall strikes six. With the signal of the Chookbi (another type of rhythmic device made of bamboo or wood) the morning 'Sitting-type meditation' comes to an end. The chanting of the sutras follows. Finally, the meditation hour in the morning is closed by the song of morning prayer:
"Thou divine Dharma-kaya Buddha, the Four Graces. In the Four Graces we receive here another blessing for the day. All my mind and body in health are for the practice of the way of Buddha.
.... ."
Next, all the par,ticipants in the morning meditation adiourn to some open space for physical exercise. Male and female devotees alike are very anxi,ous to train their body as well as their mind. They believe that a healthy mind nestles in a healthy body. The physical exercise is followed by the cleaning of the premises. Everybody has his own area to take care of. Some clean rooms, others, yards, and still others, the Sacred Pagoda or passages. They wash rags and sweep the yard. Devotee Kim takes care of the Sacred Pagoda in which we keep the relics of the Great Master, So-Tae-San, the patriarch of Won Buddhism. Devotee Kim, before starting the eleaning of the Pagoda, again folds her hands before the Pagoda, giving a brief inward confession: "The Great Master, my spiritual Father......" What was her inward confession? Devotee Kim then sweeps the steps, remembering her Father's Dharm& words. She feels as if the sacred voice of her Father comes down from the Pagoda' A hymn comes from her in a low voice: "Thou are great, our Great Master, Thou incarnate Buddha ! To open a new Buddhist order, You came down to the Sabha." 7:30, the time of the morning meal. The dinning room is large enough to hold 200 people. Their meals seem not to contain much nourishment. The food is very modest. But everybody Iooks very healthy and enjoys their simple meal. Devotee Kim is not an excep-
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Yenerabls $e''Tae-San, The Great Master bq Yoo Byung-Duk
The Enlightenment of a human being will become a motivating force to change histiory. With the existence of an Enlightened soul who can shed lisht on s,ociety, a new history will be fo,rmed. In 1916, people in this country were in extreme confusion. People were lost under exploiting Japanese dornination. Under such oircumstances, a youth arose in Yung Kwang District. He tryas the Great Master, So-Tae-San, who finally reached Enlightenment after a long life of self-discipline and searching fo,r the Way through hardships. His character and his activities immediately after his Enlightenment were not those that stir up the world. However, in his philosophy of regarding the world as one, which was shown to others through his life, there is power to lead his race to a better life. In 1891, So-Tae-San was born in a remote village called Yung Chon which is located in Yung Kwang Distric,t, Chun Nam Province. He was the third of four sons of Park Sung-Sam, his father and Yoo Jung-Chun, his mother. His original name is Park Joong-bin; his Dharma name is So-Tae-San. His followers call him The Great Master. His lineage came down from Park Hyuk-Keo-Se, the founder and the first king of the Shilla Kingdom of ancient Korea. His ancestors for generations lived in Yang Joo District in Kyung Ki Province, and seven yeaJs before he was born, his family moved
to Yung Kwang District.
(Continued on Page 74)
(Continued from Page 72)
ti,on. Her bright eyes are filled with happiness and hope. Though *'rapped in a simple dress and nourished with a poor meal of vegetables, Devotee Kim contains the richest treasure in her heart. After breakfast, she returns to her room with her roommates to have a brief rest before beginning her daily activities.
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His father was born sagacious and intelligent, and was looked up to by the people. His mother was popular .ir.,'u.norg ing villagers a*s a virtuous woman for- her generous andneighbor_ compas_
sionate eharacten The son of--* farmer, so-Tae-san, even from his chldhood, was meditrative on all phenomena he noticed.- rti. p"rsi.i"r*-rr.r." alow_ ed him to give up things that he onee decided to achieve. From his childhood, he was a man of sincerity and did his best his promises with adurt puopr".-while ?.-\u.p with other ;irti;; children, he scared even adurt p.oiru iy his bordness. He arso asked some embarrassing questions io aautt people. It was when he reached seven years of age that a greatquestion arose in his mind. While he was siiting on u board in the back of his house, a cloud was floating ilrroigr, irr" crear,floor brue sky: ,,lvhy is the sky so blue and how was that cloud formed?,, His questions on n_atural phenomena such as dew, rain, wind, and miJrro.. mind one after ano,ther. As years passed, two other questions in his into his mind : "what is th; reraiionship between mr-fathercame mother?" and "why are some peopre rictr and others poor?,, and His questions extended even to human affairs. AII phenome"u fr. observed were mysterious to him. This little genius was punsuing his ,,What,, and "why" and liked to ask about h"is questions'to ,arit peopre. But he could never get a satisfactory answer from them. From thi. fuilur", he became rathe'r low-spirited in his daiiy life. when he .was eleven, he heard about the Mountain God, which, !!"y said, had supqrhu-rna1 _powers. He believed that it would give him a solution to his cherished questio.rr. Without his father,s permission,-he gave up his study at a private institute. From the following_ day be began to climb N{ount Koo Soo and started p.rvi"g to have a chance to meet the Mountain God at sam Batt pass. rrri-, p*v., was continued for five years with the same sirrce"iiy as when he started. His parents, who were firyll-v moved by their son,s consistency, helped him. The Mountain God, iroweuu", neither put in an appearance nor showed him anything mysterious. Finalli, ho ;;e to lose his faith in the Mountain God ura"gru. ,p ,ry expectation of receiving any revelation from him. At the age of fifteen, he entered into matrimony a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Yang. The next New year,s daywith when he went to his wife's parent's home, he heard a group of vittagers reading
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old stories such as 'Cho Oong' and 'Park Tae B,oo', biographical stories. In these stories he heard. about Tao-sa, Super-man. So-Tae-San encouraged himself again, transferring his desire for meeting the invisible Mountain God into looking for a superhuman. He expected that all his quections would be solved when he found this superhuman. However, not even a few of the many selfstyled supermen who called on him could give a satisfactory answer
to his questions. His seriousness became deeper. Witho,ut any hint of a solution, he reached the age of twenty. Many adverse, things happened around him. One of them was his
fa.ther's death. He was forced to bear some of the household responsibilities for his dead father. His family suffered from more serious needs, but he suffered most fro,m his unsolved questions. Even in the midst of those financial and spiritual difficulties, he oould not give up his intention to find a solution. He could not be content without an answer to his principal questions. His anxiety grew more serious. His thoughtn all focused upon the question : "How should I solve these questions ?" He became unconscious even of eating, sleeping, and mov,ing around. Eventually, from the thatehed roof of his cottage, rain leaked in, making his room all wet. His body became all covered with boils. Neighbors even avoided appr,oaehing his house, calling it a haunted house. However, it may be said that when someth,ing or someone reaches an extreme condition, a change must occur. So finally at age twenffsix, Ven. So-Tae-San's questions began to thaw like the ice being melted by the mild spring sun. At dawn, March 26, in the year of Byung Jin, he was enlightened along with the ris,ing sunlig:ht, after twenty years of suffering. His mind became eestatic'ally clear. All abstruse truth in the world and universe disturbed his mind no more. They were as clear as things before a glass to him. Ven. So-Tae-San expressed his mind state in the verse that follows: "When the moon rises in a fresh breeze, Everything becornes bright of itself."
Since his Enlightenment, Ven. So-Tae-San greatly changed, even externally. He appeared very impressive and astonishing to people whom he met. Even those who ridiculed him before became his followers. Eventually, his followers, ineluding his relatives older than he, became forty in number. Ven. So-Tae-San ehose nine elite among the followers as the loaders who would be trained to be the
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basic stones of Won Buddhism. After his Enlightenment, So-Tae-San held up the following sloSan, founding W'on Buddhism: "As }vf aterial Civilization Develops, Cultivate Spiritual Civilization Accordingly." The material civilization meant scientifie civilization, and spiritual civilization meant moral civilization. The wo,rds 'develop' and 'cultivate' here were understo,od as meaning that an unprecedented civilized world would be well harmonized by spiritualism and materialism. He said, " . . . .. Our order is to be of unprecedented greatness, and at the same time, it will be the last of its kind. To establish such a great order, we must prepare a doctrine which inco'rporates the following teachings: moral study and philosophy of science should be compatible, which might bring real civilization to the world; Study in Moving should be harmonized with Study in Being Quiet in order that the study of Buddhist Dharma might parallel our prac.tical works; ...." (Page 82, "The Discourses of the Great N{aste,r", T'lle Canonical Tertbook of Won Buddhism) Ven. So-Tae-San never took a negative attitude toward real and material life, but rather was co,nfident that if scientific civilization could go along with inner spiriiual civilization in mutual harmony, an ideal society could be estabLshed in the world. He started teaching not from a religious theory or mysticism, but from a new way of life. He recognized that the most urgent necessity is to teach the improved way of life to people, who, under the Japanese occupatio,n, were living abandoned lives. As his first step, Ven. So-Tae-San o,rganized a saving cooperative with his nine disciples in 1917. He told them to restrain from smoking and drinking, to wear modest clothes, and to live in a simple manner. He tried to tr.ain the people by motivating bheir lazy spirit and b,ody through cooperative work. In addition to the economical Iife of saving, he placed emphasis on spiritual independence and subjectivity. After three years of work, the cooperative members succeeded to save some amount of money. Ven. So-Tae-San made up his mind to build a dam to reclaim land from the sea with this foundation. On March, 1918, he became the director of the savings cooperative and his nine disciples were his members. They organized the Ten Members Gr,oup, cemented with one prlrpose. AII members started building the dam and swore not to change their aspirations to achieve their purpose until their death.
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Criticism ,and ridicule again arose around them. IIowever, they finally succeeded in the construction of the dam in a year. They said that such an ,achievement, to reclaim the land from the sea by constructing a dam, would be a first in the pages of histo,ry. This ultimate cooperative power, which cemented Ven. So-TaeSan and the other members, caused great alarm to the degenerating confucians of the times who did nothing but voice empty theories and arguments. The aehievement was a miraele which succeeded only with courage and cooperative faith in spirit and in man, thus overcoming all difficulties and hardships without any assistance from machines or other outside sources. There were several reasons why Ven. So-Tae-San wanted to construct the dam. First, he wanted to show his disciples that nothing is impossible for those who cooperate and are of one will. Second, he wanted them to know the way of self-sufficiency attained thro,ugh a thrifty and econo'mical w,ay of life and through hard work. Third, he sho,wed them the basic source of blessedness. While the members were still constructing the dam, one of their neighbors, who was jealous ,of them, tried to obsrtuct their d,ork with the help of a Japanese police officer. When Ven. So-TaeSan saw the disciples beginning to feel hate fo,r the man, he said, " . . .. Don't worry'about this; neither hate nor bear a grudge against him.. . . . Ivforeover, as our original purpose in life is to serve the public, it will not be entirely meaningless to serve him. Right wiil win in the long run." Thus Ven. So-Tae-San instructed people with the spirit of public service, inspiring their cooperative spirit. He tried to teach people thr,ough no,t ,only religious theories, but through industrial antivirties.
So-Tae-San, when he accomplished the construction of the d'am, started prayer with the members of his group and continued for three months. 'They pray,ed sincerely that they would devote their lives wholeheartedly to realize their goals, that is, to serve the public and the world. Fo,llowing the prayer, he began to prepare to te,anh his Light (law) to the people. In 1920 he announced the 'Principle of Doctrine'. When he completed this work of composing his doctrines, which would be his teaching materials, he started searching for a place to be the center of his new religious order. The site of the present Won Buddhism Headquarters, also the site of Won Kwang University, was chosen by him at that, time.
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At this place, he announced_ the temporary name of his rerigious orcler, the Research Group for the riuddha Dharma. He cailed his order by this name, which did not imply hi* ,r** religio,us in order to avoid interference with the iapanese occupationthoughts, govern-
ment, whose oppression was getting serious. So his order started under the guise of an academic ,.*.ur.h group. He established an industrial section lrnd lris__discipres workedlas peddrers of rice jepy as a -means of livelihood. His followers increas.a in ,rr*u.". His follo,wers, being in such need as to eat the dregs of rice jelly, devoted themselves to lab,orious work in the daytime the and at night strived to establish their character and to develop their ,,Keep the spirits. Thev put the doctrine and the Body _of ,,K".pspirit Integrated" into action. I.,iterally^ Iuly Fully the spirit and the Integrated" means to lreep t"he soul and the itestr perfect. Ftdv Iy integrated. In other wor,ds, it is io check a p"ejraiceo Iife in which only the deriverance of the so,ul ls regarded,erigious as important. He insisted that physical life also should be valued as much as spiritual life. Here Iies the most important characteristic of living religion. For example, he established a Mutual Aid Association. It had the characteristics of a banking organ and of a credit union, similar t9 the one put into operration -in Germany during the last part of the 19th Century. Alo,ng with the Mutual Aid Association, other examples that indicate the characteristics of a living religion are the establishment of the Associated Group for Agriculiure and the Associated Group for Soholarships for Young people. In 1927, he epitomized his general teachings and published them in a book called !-ht _code of the Research Aisociation /or Buddha Dharma. Later The Boolc of Buclcthist Cultiuation, fhi Str Great Essentials, Tlte Three Great Essentials, The Reuoitttion of Kore,an Buddhism were also publi,shed. In 1943, just before his Nirvana, he published The canon of won Buddhism, which is the basic sutra of wo,n Buddhism nowadays. Further, in 1926, he revolutionized the formal and unpractical Buddhist proprieties by publishing Ttr,e New proprietfes which was appropriate for the times and modern rife. In order to promote the idea of rh,e New Propric'ties, he revised the book completely an6 republished it in 1935. It has been popul,arized and is stitt in force today. On the other hand, he continued his jo,urnalistic and literary
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The lWortthly Coruespondence of Won Buddhism was first issued 1928 and was continued fo,r a few years until it was checked and fo,rced out of circulation in L932 by the government of the Japanese occupation. Also, he published sixty-five issues of. The Research Grotry Report from 1938 to 1943, when he was again forced to stop circulation by the Japanese occupation government. The Great Master, So-Tae-San, establi.qhed the order of Won Buddhism in 1910, six years after the advent,of Japanese domination. He passed int6 Nirvana in 1943 which was two years before the Korean liberation. He was a thinker as well as a nidden social innovator who was born in the midst of many difficulties for his race. February, 1928, in Kaedong, Seoul, So-Tae-San, now 32, pointed the way for his race to go. For him, acco,rding to his times, history was a cycle in which the strong oppress the weak and the oppressed weak hate the strong. He criticized the unjust oppression of the Japanese domination, clearly indicating the direction for Korean people. He maintained this philosophy in the midst of unbearable foreign oppression. So-Tae-San lived in a very difficult age. In his day, The Research Group for Buddha Dharma had to be inspected by the Japanese police often. The group had to stand at a cross roads: to withdraw or to be on the side of the Japanese. So-Tae-San, however, successfully Ied the order, overcoming all dangerous circumstances. The trait of Won Buddhism is, filst of al}, to have the Truth of Il-Won-Sang, the One Circle, as the object of faith. To understand a religion, it is most important to understand the object of faith
in
concretely.
Il-Won-Sang is the Alpha and Omega in all coneepts of So-TaeSan. Agcordingly, Il-Won-SdnE, for all Won Buddhists, is the core of doctrine, the object of faith, and the standard of practice. The great Enlightenment of So-Tae-San means his experience with the Truth of Il-Won-S&DB, which formed the basic eonceph when he established the order. On the other hand, the h,alf-century Iong history of Won Buddhism has been the history of works to realize lVonism.
Won Buddhism has been often said to be a religious order which is modernized. Prior to making it clear what Won-ism is, it will be
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to refer to the r,elationship between 'Won Buddhism and traditional Buddhism. In The Canoruical Tertbook of lvon Bud,dhism necessary
we read the foilowing words: "The Great Master after his Enlightensaid, 'sakyamuni Buddha is really the sage of all -.ug"., I will regard the Buddha as the antecedLnt of my Law., ,In the future, when I establish my great and perfect religiols order, Buddha Dharma should be the central princ1ple.,,, Through these word,c we can see that Won Buddhism has a strong tie with traditional Buddhist thought. However,,from the point of view of its sour,ce and derivation, its course of development, and its method of operation, it has never been that closely related with the old Buddrhi,sm, as it is organized on a different basis. The most characteristic difference outwardly between the two orders is that the old Buddhism worships guaaha images but Won Buddhism worships Il-Won-Sang (o), which represents Truth. Even though he connec'ted his source of concepts to that of ancient Buddhism, he tried to innovate from interpretation of parts of its doctrines and antiquated systems. The motto of innovation of Won Buddhism is the popul,arization and genetalization of Buddhism. Not only Buddhist Renaissance but also religious renaissance will be realized from the populari zation and generalization of religion. As I have already mentioned, so-Tae-san systematized the thought of Won-ism by worshipping II-Won-Sang as the object of faith and the standard of practice. As the philosophical basis of worshipping Il-Won-Sang as the ohject of faith, So-Tae-San declared in the 'Chart of Doctrine' in The Cartonical Tertboolt of Won Buitdhism: "Il-Won-Sang, the one circle, is the Dharma-Kaya Buddha; it is the o,rigin of all beings in the universe, the mind-seal of all Buddhas and saints, and the original nature of all living beings.,,
ment.
thereby oreating blessednes.s and happine-ss in your real life. In a word, thi,s is the way to turn partial faith into perfect faith, and a superstitious belief into an actual ,one." (Chapter 4, 'On Doctrine', The Canoruical Tentbook of Won Buddhisrn) So-Tae-San worshipped Il-Won-Sang through faith in a religion based on Truth and thro,ugh actual moral training. If Il-Won-Sang is viewed from the respect of ethics, it is the Buddha of Grace. If Christian ethios is based on love, and if Sakaymuni Buddha's ethics is based on compassion, then the Great Master's ethics is based on Grace. What we are now is an outcome or a fruit of Grace. We live in Grace. The origin of existence is Grace. Therefore, one who is enIightened to this Grace must requite the Graee.
VIon Buddhism: An Outsider's Yiew by Dennts Puccinelll
How, then, can we have faith in Il-won-s ang? so-Tae-san taught as follows: "The way is to believe in the Truth of Won as our object of faith and to pray for all blessedness and happiness from the Truth. Il-won-Sang is composed of the Four Graces, and the Four Graces comprise all beings in the universe. All things that we see in the universe are nothing but Buddhas. Therefore, at all times and in ail places rve must be very respectful and cautious toward all things, keeping a pure mind and a pious manner, as if we were before the real Buddha. You are also to try to practice ffiering Worship to Buddha directly to all things with which you are involved,
Man succumbing to immediate worldly desires and needs as he strives for spiritual happiness,is a common theme. Especially in this modern society this phenomenon seems to be all to prevalent. To oounter this, man needs a reliEion which is appropriate to his times and circumstances. Won Buddhism, a relatively modern order of Buddhism, has attempted to keep pace with the times by recognizing that modern society has altered some of man basic motivations, aspirations, and his view of life. Exactly why the traditional religious institutions have recently had trouble attracting the masses of middle class people is not clear. A number of factors seem to have contributed to modern m&n's oasual attitude toward religion and spiritual life. First. a majority of people in sueh societies have become middle class in terms of material comfort; thus thev don't need religion as a psychological crutch to help them endure lives of suffering and poverty. Secondly, many such people are overly concerned with their immedi,ate physical Iife, thei,r career, their 'futurc.' Su'ch a person has an increasingly Iarge number of opportunities, possessions, and worldly goals, thus an increasi.ng amount of preparation and an increasingly l,arge number of decisions to make. This tends to overburden ones mind and obstructs
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his view of the rvhole, life a fog. Thirdly, many of these people in modern society, due to mass education and to the nature of their society, have the potential to clo mo,re than just provide for themselves. So many people today are searching for some meaningful way to use their lives. But too often these people get bogged down in a career, a study, or othe,r pursuit, which they have convinced themselves is meaningful. They feel they have found the goal or the 'answer' for their lives, and usually they fail to search any further. As in the second case, these people also tend to become lost in the fog of th,eir daily lives. In America we can find those who have rejected modern so,ciety altogether and have 'dropped out'. Others have withdrawn into religious institutions or othe,r enclaves. But religions and all of us, must come to terms with modern society, which will eventually encompass all mankind. Won Buddhism has taken a positive step in this direction by embracing the world as a whole, not separating the physical and' spiritual. Won Buddhism doesn't ask its followers to divorce themselves from the world, but rather to integrate their spiritual and physical lives. First one receives basic spiritual training where he Iearns and practices methods of meditation, study, control of ones daily life, and the w,ay to Enlightenment. One practices meditation daily to calm ones spirit and to attempt to reunite with nature. Also, one learns to practice a kind of continual meditation while doing all things. The aim of this is to attain a level of spiritual awareness or consciousness throughout the day, thus keeping everything in perspective and avoiding being overly disturbed merely on account of seemingly important but really trifling worldly problems. This co'nstant spiritual awarenes,s is a way of integrating worldly and spiritual life. So, W'on Buddhism is not designed to be a psychological crutch help one endure life's injustices. It is designed to help one find to his way in this confusing modern world. Of counse, if one is too busy to worry about ,his spiritual life, he cannot be helped. But if one is seeking guidance as he stumbles thrc,ugh this world, Won Buddhism can give his direction, not by asking him to escape from society, but by helping him to live with it, by showing him how to put his worldly life in true penspective with the spiritual world. He will flnd Truth, the meaning of his life, what so many people are searching for today. And one doesn't find this answer from a philosophy or
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nlu*o â‚Ź,or^", The head of the chon-Tao-Kyo religion visits won Buddhism order Up to now it has been very r?Ie for the head of a religious leader The Korea' in happerred to visit other "uiigiort ordersl This of Won Budof the Chon-Tao-Kyo religion ui*ii.a tn.-U"udquartersreached making it dhism on the irt 6t october. An agreement wa;s at mutual worship possible t* gr" ,.p.u*.rtatives-of 6oth orders to human the lead to how holy places and to'cooperate in ttre study of t'he were they as unique. were rar,e through religion. These talks religions' two of leaders gr.Ir f.ira"U.tween the il;t oi
'The Prime Master of Won Budithism welcomes Choi Duk-Shin, the won Buddhist meeting at head of the chon-Tao-Kyo religion, at a special the Comm,emotation Building' (Contiruted ftom Page 22)
spiritual dea cause, but from within. Won Buddhism's pro'gram of find his true to mind velopment forces one to soarch his heart and so mueh' self. Then worldly problems will no longer distress him
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A Won Buddhist
Dr. Park Kil-Chin visits Taiwan
Dr. Park Kil-chin, President of won Kwang University, vi,sited free china, Taiwan, from the 6th to the lgth of D*..*ber. He was invited by the Moou Hwa Hakwon (a Taiwan University) to discuss the possibility of a sister school relationship between the two schools for the purpose of academic improvement o1 Uottr schools, for friendship, and for mutual understanding. In addition, Pre,sident Park was presented an hono rary ph.D. Degree conferred by the Chinese Academic House who highly esteems the contribution Dr. Park has made to the educational ]ield. Through the sister school relationship, the exchange of students, professors, and books will be institnted, as well as active cultural
Religious Festival is hetd
For all Won Buddhists the 1st of December is the day to observe
the annual, religious, memorial service for the Great Master, the founder of Won Buddhism, and for other Won Buddhist ancestors. All devotees and lay followers attended the service at the Headquarters and at each regional Won Temple.
exchanges.
After attending the annual memori,al seroice for the Great Master at the Headquarters, these Won Buddhist members are prooeeding to the
Won Buddhism continues public work Dr. Park Kil-Chin (right) is shoon here with Dr. Chang of the Chinese Acadenic House, after the ceremonu conferring an honorary Doctor of PlilosoTthy degree on Dr. Park.
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Under the motto of 'Keep the Spirit and the Body Fully Integrated' Won Buddhism established a new branch drugstore, which is very close to Iri station, on the 1st of November. Many Won Buddhist devotees from the Headquarters and neighboring Won regional Temples attended the worship ce,remony of Won Buddha Dharma, Il-Won-Sang. -25-
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An informal seminar on Won Buddhism is held
An informal seminar was held at Won Kwang University on Won Buddhist doctrine and missionary work. Participants included won Kwang Professors Yoo Byung Duk, Chon pal Khn, Han Ki Doo, Song chon Eun, Han Jung sok, and a missionary from canada, the Reverand Russel Young, who plans to incorporate the information gained at the seminar into his Ph.D. thesis on Won Buddhism. Rev. Young is taking a temporary Ieave of absence from Korea to work on his thesis in Canada.
The 19th Tlaining Course for Won Dharma Teachers is held at the Headquarters
From the 25th of September to the lbth of october, the lgth Annual Training Course for Won Dharma Teacher.s rva^s held at the Headquarters in Iri. During the course a recreation program for senior Won Buddhist devotees was sponsored by the students of the Won Buddhist Department of Won Kwang University. on the 8th, the participants enjoyed a sports program in the beautiful autumn weather. on the 13th, students of the Music Department of Won Kwang University held a music festival to entertain those Won Dharma teachers. 203 teachers participated.
A Folklore
Seminar
is held at Vlon Kwang University
The Second International Folklore Seminar was held at and by Won Kwang Univensity from the 6th of October to the 9th. The Folklore Research Center of the university took care sp<.rnsored
of this seminar. Twelve scholars from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, France, and the U.S. participated.
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