urr%
1977 VOLUME III NUMBER
KOBEA
II
145
111
VOL.
WON
BUDDHISM
lll
No.
2
WON
BUDDHISM
A New Yeqr's Messsge in 1977 from Ven. Taesan, the Prime Master
Published by:
Research Institute for Overseas Missions Won Kwang UnioersitY, lri City, Cholla Pukto, Korea
On this New Year's D ry,
CONTENTS Message
\n
1977
from Ven. Taesan, the Prime Master
The Three PrinciPles of Life
4
The Grace of Heaven and Earth by Prof. Khn Pal-Kon
6
10
The Grace of Parents by Prof. Chun Eun
Song
The Grace of Brethren by Prof. Shu
L4
Chang-NYul
The Grace of Law by Prof. Kim Hong-Crrul The Relationship between Religion ancl Politics by Prof. Pal Khn Chon
18
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Buddhist Story News Corner
I pray
for a bright and blessed life for all mankind, all nations, and all of our
*
A New Year's
r977
26
Won Buddhist members. In commemoration of this New Yearts Day, I wish to present the best way whieh leads us into the happiest life by explaining the desire which becomes a crossroad leading people in two directions; the one to the way of Buddhahood and deliverance, and the other, to the way of delusion and restraint. All human races or sentient beings strive to live well. That is desire. 'Ihis desire may be broken 'down into two segments. One is wish and the The Vm. Taesaa other is avarice. The wish may grow into a great desire which gives benefits to the world. It will give philosophy, the Way, and the Law to one's mind. This mind renders a great light and deliverance to the people, leading them into a broad path. Greedy avarice, however, comes from an excessive desire which leads human races into darkness and restraint. 'We must have a desire which wishes to do something, but not greedy desire which is avarice. Buddhas and saints with pure desire became great leaders and the everlasting lights of the world, whereas common people consumed by greedy avarice are suffering in their dark and painful lives. Ven. Sotaesan, therefore, announced that greedy avarice breeds suffering and unjust pleasure whereas pure 'desire results in righteous pleasure which Iasts for an eternal life. The Shakyamuni Buddha also had the pure desire to attain Buddhahood and to deliver all sentient beings. When he reaehed Buddhahood, he preached the great Law of the Four Dogmas, that is sufferi,ng, thâ‚Ź
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of its Assembly, (the possibility of its cure), Etti,nction, and the Way (to extinction) which led human beings to the path of truth, deliverance, and paradise. sufferi,ng comes first of the Four Dogmas. The dogma of suffering means that the unenlightened have to suffer from birth, decay (growing old), disease (illness), and death, combined with the pain of parting from the loved, meeting with the hated, failure in one's aims, and the pain eaused by the five Skandhas. The second is the cause of wsembly of sufferings. Suffering assembles from the ignorant deeds of avarice, ang'er, stupidity, five excessive desires, and from breaking the thirty precepts. The third is the possibility of Er,tinction of. sufferings, which shows the state of eestacy in which no sufferings or no pleasures remains. This is the state of complete oneness witfr the truth of II-Won, the utmost ideal paradise, Eden, whatever the name may be. Ii is bhe very state that all human beings regard as the perfect stage, where all Buddhas and saints reside. The fourth is the Way to extinetion of sufferings. This is the Eightfolo Noble Path, the eight right or correct ways. The Eight Ways ere: (1) to have correct views in regard to the Four Axioms and to be free from the common delusions, (2) to have correct thoughts and purpose, (3 ) to speak correctJy and to avoid false and idle talk, (4) to conduct rightly and to get rid of all improper actions, (5) to have a correet livelihood or occupation, (6) to make constant and energetic progress in the way of Nirvana, (T),'to retain the true thought and to exclude the false, and (8 ) tc keep the uninterrupted, correct mind of meditation. The Threefold Trainings and the Eight Articles which are the essential ways of moral practice, and both the Regular Training and Constant Training, the Practice of Continual Meditation and Meditation Everywhere which are purposed to have people practice the essential ways of moral practice, are the correct ways of moral training which extinguish all sufferings. In other words, all suffering is caused by the assembly of the three poisons of avarice, anger, and stupidity, five desires, and commitment to the thirty precepts. Then, in order to get rid of suffering, the Assembly, the cause of suffering must be rooted out. To root out the ossambly, a eonstant effort to practice the Eightfold Nobel Path should be made until we reach the true state of Ertincti,on, the state of the ultimate Truth. To realize this ideal, we must, first of all, standardize the following three points for moral practice in our everyday cause
Iives.
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First, we must practice the middle life by realizing that all beings in our actual life will return into the void. Second, we have to be delivered in our everyday life by realizing the fact that our life, the most precious thing in the world. will be extinguished between a breath. Third, we must learn to be grateful and to requite grace in our everyday life. We are the ereator of our own happiness or misfortune. We must keep our mind calm when we suffer and when a ehance for revenge eomes, we must be very careful not to harm the eounteqpart but to try to exoreise all sprouts of evil in our mind. This Truth should be realized and praetieed. Avaricious geediness should be overeome and controled while the middle way should be praetieed. Once in a while, a period of training specially arranged for moral training is very desirable. All our brethren should become one mind to attain the great power which is able to kindle the dark mind of all human beings. I pray for the perpetual prosperity of my friends all over the world.
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from The Canonical Textbook of Won Buddhistn
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The Great Master said, "The hunter trnng to hunt a lion ora tiger does not shoot a hare or a pheasant recklessly because shooL ing at small animals will cause him to fail in catching the larger ones. Likewise, the man who has made a deeision to study the great Way is similar to this hunter in that he is not e,oncerned with small objects because he knows this small avariee will be an obstacle to achieving his goal of studying the great Way. Hence, he who seeks to attain Buddhahood should be able to ignore all worldly desires and attachments in order to accomplish his gioal. If he cannot shed trivial worldly desires and is thus unable to achieve his great goal, he will be compared to the hunter whose shootin! at a hare or a pheasant causes him to lose the lion or the tiger. What a pity it is ! Therefore, I ask those who seek to attain Buddhahood to eut themselves off from trivial worldly desires."
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The Three principles
of Life
In the world, there are visibre ways roads for peopre, _many eirplanes, ships, etc. to traver. gui th.".-rrro are or some ways or roads which are not visible, but have to be observed. in us to happiness or to darkness, to paradise or our tire. trrey lead to heu. The evident ways are easily visible to ordinary individuuir, uri-ti" rutt", are not to be readily seen by them. someti*", p*ple take *rorg ways or find their initial ways difficult to foilow *ii"i. or. Thereforg we need Masters to direct and guide u's to i *uy so"; of brightness, righL ness' and straightness. Some Master's roles are greater than others and, according to their rolg they ,". g"""ier i, masters or minor masters. slrakyamuni iruddhf-tnri.t, "-"gurded and confucius are greater Masters, but I would call the Ven. Sotaesan ,-s";"r Master. confucius said he would be satisfied, Lven rrrppy,- to ai. in the evening if he. cguld be enrightened to the way in il;; morning. He meant, the bright and right way will be found only when a man beeomes very anxious to seek for it. In the minds or ttrose ;;; M;il;, the desire to pulsue the lvay were burning ceaselessly." The Great Master sotaesan acqui".dth. way *t.o he was 26 a long period of cherishing ttris trurning desir" io" the 3{!., way. Likewise, in order keep ourselies on ilre urigrrt, rieht uro ,t right !9 way, we must establish three principles. First i lve must have u Iil" of Right mlightenment. Right enIightenment includes three kind-s of enlilhtenment: proper enlightenment, gteat enlightenment, and perfecfenlightenment.^Even though Jesus Christ lived only a short time after his enlighl*"-""t, B years, he pronounced that his words were the Way, the Truth and the life. Ih,". s,i1 years.of Buddha's ascetic Iife were ihe .ourr"r of his great Enlightenment, which still vividly lives in our hearts as the p."rt".t enlightenment. The Truth is expressed as the Dharma in Buddhism, as the lvay in confucianism, one cirele.(Il-w_on-sang) in won Buddhis*, as Logos in western countries. we must't"y to be men of truth "ri through the self-awakened life which i,s fill;d wiir, for Truth. The real features of religious men may be found"in "rs""""r, the true man, a man of Truth. - second; we must try to esta-blish a great and right wish. Every human_ hi"g has wishes. we all wish to do sometfring." There are kinds of wishes, noble wishes, mean wishes, *o"t]hy or mean^gny -4-
ingless wishes. A noble and worthy wish should be cherished. The deliverance of unenlightened people by Shakyamuni Buddha, the realization of world peace by Confucian, the guidance for lost people by Christ, are all the result which came out of their great wishes. Once we establish a great wish our attitude towards life will become better and our conduct will change, finally producing the power of the wish. When we pray for the realization of established wishes, they have to be pursued from the closest to the farthest. The Great Master Sotaesan suggested the principle of gradually achieving greater results by beginning from a tiny size. Everything will be achieved when one cherishes a wish anxiously, desperately, and consistently. The biggest wish in the world may be the fourty-eight vows established by Amidabuddha. The fourty-eighth last vow is that he will not be delivered from himself until all sentient beings are delivered by him. Is this not a noble wish? Third; When we acquire spiritual enlightenment, it should show itself in our eonduct. A wish in our heart should be rcalized in our practical life. Jesus Chirst Shakyamuni Buddha etc. are those who realized their wishes in their lives. They are the people who know the meaning of sacrificing themselves for other people and who truly disregarded their own personal desires. There is a law of giving and receiving among people, and this law is mediated by love, friendship, or in some cases, some matter. Our greatness can he measured by how much, or by what kinds of things, we can give others. Christian service and Buddhist alms should not be a forced practice. The real meaning of service or alms is to give ones own knowledge, money, and labor to others voluntarily. The giver should not be arrogant or stingy when he serves others. He should be filled with pleasure. Similarly the receiver should not become mean or independent beeause he is being served. Both giver and receiver should be connected by a blessed relationship. The spring of love and sincerity must continually flow in our hearts. In order to bestow benefit to others and to lead our lives to the way full of grace, we must continually anticipate the needs of others. A great man is always ready to serve others in many ways. When the three principles I have pointed out are firmly impressed in the hearts of all people and their lives are led by those principles, they will have an eternal life like those of Shakyamuni Buddha, Jesus Christ, Confueius, and Sotaesan.
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The Grqce of Heoven ond Eqrth W Prof. Ktm Pal l(on
While Shakyamuni Buddha advocated benevolence and Jesus love, the Venerable Sotaesan advocated Grace. It is one of the great tasks for Won Buddhists to do that. They should find out graces and requite them in their daily lives. Accordingly, they should try to look for graces in their circumstances and cultivate the force to change a mind full of resentment to a mind full of gratitude even during a hard and painful life. Thus, in order to help them diseover graces more easily, the Venerable Sotaesan proposed objects of Grace more coneretely, that is, he ciassified all beings in the universe into four great parts flsayen and Earth, Parents, Brethren, and Law, and [e made it clear what grace each part gave us and how we could requite it. In this paper I will examine what the grace is which Heaven and Earth give us and how we can requite it. Man can live, depending on the virtues of Heaven and Earth, namely, the favour of sunlight and moonlight, that of winds and clouds, rain and dew, that of air in the heavens, and that of soil on the earth. The virtues of Heaven and Earth ean emerge where the ways of Heaven and Earth opera+e rightly, that is, the results of the operations of the ways are virtues of Heavm and Earth. There are eight great ways which Heaven and Earth keep and they are extremely bright w&Y, the sincere, the righteous, the proper and natural, the vast and immeasurable, the eternal, the way containing neither good luck nor bad, and the way having no pride in offering its benentr. AU things retain their lives and their shape, owing to the great virtue that results from the operation of the great ways. Accordingly, one should live a life requiting the grace of Heaven and Earth, by attaining and praeticing the great ways. Now let us examine, item by item, how we can attain and practice the great ways. 1. The Venerable Sotaesan said, "Following the very bright way of Heaven and Earth, one should be well versed in all Facts and Principles by studying them." It follows that one should try to keea one's wisdom brightly like the liefht of the sun and the moon' It should be noticed that there is a difference between wisdom and knowIedge. Knowledge is neutral, neither good nor evil, informing us of *"i" facts. Whether knowledge can increase good or evil depends -6-
upon the way in which it is used. But wisdom is the foundation on which Imowledge should be based in order for it to be used in the right way. On the other hand, wisdom without knowledge is apt to neglect practical issues. Accordingly, both wisdom and knowledge should not reject, but supplement, each other. Ideally, knowledge as it is presented by science and religion should work to increase wisdom. Therefore, a religion which fails in increasing mankind's wisdom is disqualified for the continuation of its existenee. Thus, the Venerable Sotaesan taught us that one should attain the bright wisdom to use scientific knowledge rightly, adapting oneself to the very bright way of Heaven and Earth. 2. The Venerable Sotaesan said, "Following the very sincere way of Heaven and Earth, one should fulfill the purpose of all one's works consistently." It follows that one should try to ceaselessly keep sincerity, modeling oneself on the sincerity of the sun and the earth moving without ceasing. In Asia, from ancient times, a wise saying, "Sineerity ean be aceepted by everything at last" has been handed down. Truly, sincerity is the motivating force to fulfill purpose when one tries to accomplish something. As heavenly bodies move round consistently, day and night, four seasons come to be distinguished and one can live one's varied life accompanied by all kinds of living things, by virtue of the changing seasons. Thus, the Venerable Sotaesan taught us that one should not
only cultivate one's own personality with persistent sincerity in practical life, but also that we should assist others to cultivate their own.
3. The Venerable Sotaesan said, "Following the very righteous way of Heaven and Earth, one should keep to the mi'ddle way without attachment to situations in whieh one feels close and intimate, or remote and estranged, and without attachment to situations in whieh one feels joy, anger, pleasure, or sorrow." It follows that one should try to keep fairness, modeling oneself on that of the sun and the earth, giving all favours impartially. The sun supplies us with its light impartially and the earth returns fairly and correctly the efforts which we make in order to grow plants. Thus, the Venerable Sotaesan taught us that one should cultivate the force to deal with everything fairly in our life, adapting oneself to the very righteous way of Heaven and Earth. 4. The Venerable Sotaesan said, "Following the proper and natural way of Heaven and Earth, one should examine and take what is reasonable, abandoning what is unreasonable in the manage-l-
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ment of all things." It follows that one should try to grasp and practice the reasonable way of human life without fail, modeling oneself on the sun and the earth, and never act against the public way of nature. There are public ways of heavenly bodies and, as the sun, the moon, and the earth follow them without fail, we can live with relief. It goes without saying that if such heavenly bodies didn't follow the public way, we could live no longer. Thus the Venerable Sotaesan taught us that one should master the reasonable and natural way of human life, adapting oneself to that of Heaven and Earth. 5. The Venerable Sotaesan said, "Following the way of the vastness and limitlessness of Heaven and Earth, one should abandon the disposition of attachment." It follows that one should try to cultivate a vast and generous mind, modeling oneself on the vacant sky embracing all things of the universe. It is said that numerous animals can live in very high and vast mountains a.nd that the greatest number of fishes can live in the widest and deepest rivers. Likewise, under the man of the highest virtue and most broadminded personality, numerous sentient beings can enjoy blessed lives by trusting in him entirely. Nowadays one of the most important things for human beings is to understand and sympathize each other. Every part of the world is connected to one body in the field of physical space and time owing to the development of science. Accordingly, human beings cannot live happily without making one body in the spiritual field. Thus, the Venerable Sotaesan taught us that one should cultivate broadmindedness, adapting oneself to the vaeant sky comprehending all things of the universe. 6. The Venerable Sotaesan said, "Following the way of eternity of Heaven and Earth, one should emancipate oneself from the transition of all things and from the birth, old age, illness and death of human beings." It follows that one should try to buil'd one's eternal life, modeling oneself on the eternity of heavenly bodies sueh as the sun and the earth. One of the ultimate purposes in the training life of Won Buddhists is to cultivate the great force of self-control by which one can overcome! many kinds of troubles and transcend even death, namely, transcending the small Self surrounded by physieal body, and according oneself with the great Self of the whole universe to approach and catch the free eternal world. In approaching the free eternal world, the greatest obstacle is the' death of the physical body. Thus, the Venerable Sotaesan taught us that one should realize the free eternal life, transcending the death and de-
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voting oneself to the public way for human beings. 7. The venerable sotaesan said, "Following the way in which Heaven and Earth have neither good nor bad luck, one should. not become attached either to good or to bad luck by trying to discover where bad luck lies when confronted with good luck, or by trying to discover where good luck lies when confronted with ua tutt.t rt follows that one should try to eultivate the force to accomplish one's own proper responsibiliff, whether one has good or bad conditions, modeling oneself on the way of Heaven and Earth not attached either to good or bad luck. one is usually apt to be glad, even if one is given Iirnited good conditions, and to be disappointed given limited bad conditions. But a goal of training for life is to cultivate the basic power which keeps one's personality from being shaken by either good or bad conditions. Thus, the Venerable Sotaesan taught us that one should cultivate imperturbability, adapting oneself to the unshakable way of Heaven and Earth. 8. The venerable sotaesan said, "Following the way of Heaven and Earth, wherein pride does not abide in the offering of benefit, one should cultivate the way of non-abidingness in Moving or Being Quiet, and one should abandon any idea or notion in offering benefit to others, either spiritually, or materially. One should not hate or be. come a foe even to those who are ungrateful for the benefits that one has bestowed on them." ft follows that one should try to attain the freedom from all ideas and notions, modeling oneself on the noL abiding way of Heaven and Earth which have no ideas in offering great bmefit to all living things. In helping others a little, we usually eannot give up its idea and when those whom we have helped betray us, we bear all the more grudge against them. Thus, the Venerable Sotaesan taught us that one should be trained to transcend all ideas and notions of offering benefit to others, adapting oneself to the way of Heaven and Earth which offer benefit to all living things without any notion. According to the Venerable Sotaesan's teaching, the above arguments may be summ arized as follows ; If one practices every item of the Requital of Grace from Ifeaven and Earth, one will become one and the same with Heaven and Earth, that is to say, one's p,ersonality will be in accord with Heaven and Earth, and vice versa, such that, though the void of Heaven and the silence of Earth do not bestow any direct blessedness and happiness upon one, one will naturally attain the might and the longevifi of Heaven and Earth and the brightness of the sun and the moon, for which both heavenly
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men and worldly people Earth.
will
respect one as
The Grqce
if
he were Heaven and
of Pqrents by Prof, Chun Eun
Song
The Great Master, sotaesan, when he was enlightened to the Great Way of the Universe at the age of 26, pronounced the Truth of Il Won (the Circle), thus revealing the principle of Graces which is indispensable for the existence and growth of huuman beings. There are Four Graces, the Grace of Heaven and Earth, the Grace of parents, the Grace of Brethren, and the Grace of Law. Those Four Graces function as the basic ground for establishing a righteous human life. We are greatly indebted to nature, parents, brethren, and to the righteous Law. It is hardly necessary to say that we ean hardly exist in the world by ourselves. Without the help of other powers, human beings become completely impotent. Even dur supposed own power is not completely our own. We acquire our knowledge, accumulate properties, and cultivate capabilities with the help of others. We depend upon farmers for our food. We acquire our clothes or other n+. cessities by the help of technicians or laborers. We broaden our scope of knowledges aided by intellectuals. Merchants enable us to easily attain material goods. Such is the grace and debt of society. Our long history, its broad and accumulative knowledge and culture, is also a great help to our lives. If we begin our lives as individuals systematically excluding outside help, we will never be out of a primitive life. Air, earth, water, and all the physical elements are indispensable and beneficial elements of human life. Human beings have often failed to acknowledge nature's benefits, believing excessibly in the capability of human beings. They seemed to be proud of enslaving nature. Human beings, however, are a part of nature and are not able to exist outside its grace. When they act out of harmony with nature, it is very probable resulting destruction will ensue. Therefore, for our survival, the law of nature can not and must not be ignored.
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When the law which establishes justice and order and eneourages virtuous deeds and punishes evil is ignored, it is clear that our society will suffer from disorder and confusion. Orving to this law, society is able to retain its ideal and all individuals are protected from being victems of injustiee. Everyone wants freedom. However, if each of us tries to realize freedom in the way we want without any rules or restraints, society will fall into a shambles full of conflict and fishting. An important grace encornpassed in the Four is the grace of parents. Without parents, our existence as a human being is unthinkable. We grow into a good member of society with the help of parmts. The love of parents poured upon their children is entirely natural and spontaneous. It is to some degree similar to that of Buddha and saints. Any child, when he is grown and mamied and has his own children, will be astonished to discover some new facts. A new born baby keeps his parents terribly busy. Even the small but necessary chore of cleaning diaper,s requires a l6t of work. There is also inexpressible parental anxleties caused by siclcness in the small body. Then the parents, particularly the mother, aecepts her servitude to the baby devoting all her time to looking after it. I happened to see a young mother who was recording a diary of the growth of her little baby. I asked what she planned to use it for. She replied that the diary would be given to her child as a wedding present when he grew up. She recorded how many times her child was fed, his diapers were changed, was fretful at midnight, got sick, what kind of medicine was administered and how many times the baby took it, etc. It is needless to say that the mother did this with no expectation of a reward, but simply because she wanted to share her new experiences with her child when he grew up. In fact, if we fail to reward this kind of human Iove and grace in our life, we are terribly ungrateful. Once I happened to read a newspaper column in whieh the writer suggested that a love which goes downward is more beneficial to the development to human life than an upward love. The upward Iove was defined as the love for parents, ancestors, or seniors, and the downward love was the love for deseendants or juniors. UndoubL edly, the excessive love for ancient things sometimes may cast a dark shadow upon future development, but it is doubtful that a soeiety in which downward love is practiced exclusively may always develop. It is, of course, not always desirable to be reverent obedient, or attaehed blindly to old things. Ifowever, as far as the old things
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preserve the righteous value in them, they should be given respect and love as much as they are deserved. Parents are h[e traditions. To pursue traditions blindly raises many problems, but to reject traditions unreasonably causes more serious problems. Likewise, there is nothing wrong with an attitude of constant gratitude towards our parents. Only in such cases where excessive love for and gratitude towards our parents prevents us from performing our social duties and impedes public welfare, this love and gratitude is not perfectly good. The love for parents should. not be conflned to a narrow meaning. If one's great Social achievements make his parents widely known in the world and people come to respect them as parents of a great man, this may be' an excellent requital of gratitude. Therefore tt requital of the grace of parents is not always performed to parents" themselves directly in their physical lives. As society experiences a commercial developmmt that transforms its nucleus, our relationship to our parents often becomes very remote. However, the gratitude for the grace of parents should always be cherished in our minds and hearts. What we are at present is entirely due to our parents. When we were entirely powerless, we grew up by the help and direction of our parents. It is also our parents who genuinely desire our happiness -and success. A famous Korean surgeon who succeeded in replacing a dismembered Ieg once confessed that there have been mothers who seriously wanted to know if he could amputate their own legs and transplant them on their child suffering from infantile paralysis. The surgeon was shocked, and he answered that it would be impossible to transplant legs to another body, and that, even if it were possible, he would never commit a vice in order to accorrplish some good deed. There are inflnite examples which show the devoted and sublime love of parents for their children. Some years &go, I read a top news story which described the scene of an operation. A mother and her son had a joint operation in Seoul, Korea which transplanted the mother's kidney into her beloved son. The newspaper said the mother was very happy to hear that one of her kidneys was safely transplanted in her son and that the son was so overwhelmingly moved by the bottomless love of his mother that tears flowed from his eyes. Such dedicated love will be hardly found in any other place but in parents. According to circumstances, the Iove of parents may not always be quite the same, but there is not much difference. It must be admitted in part that, as the social system changes, the character
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and tendency of parents also changes. However, when we strongly ourselves towards diseovering every grace that parents give to us and to requite them, it will also greatly eontributd to the restoration of original human nature. The Great Master Ven. Sotaesan expressed the principle of the grace of parents with the phrase, "the Way of Protecting the Independent." He professed, when our own parents became powerless and dependent, we ought to protect them spiritually and physically. But when they are either still independent or have already passed away, we can practice "the Way of Protecting the Indepeirdent" by protecting other parents powerless and childless. It may be as a preparation for our own old age that we make an effort to establish social circumstanees filled with gratitude and requital of graces which give a light to every parent and old person in their lonely later life.
try to push
rom The canonical Textbook of won Buddhistn The Great Master said, "occasionally, it has been useful to worship the Buddha image as a method of teaching Buddhism, but it will not be so in the future. Worshippers of the Buddha image
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have gradually come to think about the influence of the Buddha image through the experiences of worshipping Buddha images over thousands of years. Yet, when they realize the meaning of worshipping the Buddha image, they can hardly believe in the Buddha image, for such worship is useless and is not part of knowing about the great Truth. How could Buddhism be prosperous in this way? Moreover, there may be many people who will take advantage of the majestic Buddha image in order to seek a mearu of livelihood. What is more regrettable than this ? It is with this in mind that we have made the decision to worship Dharmakaya Buddha Il-Won-Sang."
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459 158 WON BUDDHBM WON BUDDHISM
The Grqce
of Brelhren by Prof. Shu Chang-Nyul
The Grace of Brethren means the grace which we, each as brothers, are indebted to. This grace is one of the Four Graces which belong to the Gate of Faith that is based on the theory ,of the Interrelation of Cause and Effect in Won Buddhist doctrine. Originally, the word brethren indicated brothers who were born from the same mother or people who belonged to the same oountry or nation. Won Buddhism teaches us that not only the people belonging to one nation, but all human races, even animais and plants, are interrelated with such morals as brothers or sisters who were born from a commmon mother. AII races, all Iiving things, all sentient or insentient beings, all beings in the truth of Il-Won are interrelated by the same morals. Thus, the grace of mutual dependence and existence of brethren is called the Grace of Brethren. The Canonical Textbook of Won Buddhism offers the following explanation: "If one attempts easily to know how one is indebted to the Grace of Brethren, one should consider whether it is possible to live at a place where there are no human beings, no birds and beasts, no trees nor grass; then one will realize that life without them impossible. If one cannot live without the help of these brethren, without relying upon them, and without their supplies, what could be a greater Grace?" Nevertheless, there are many people who regard others as objects of their domination and victems of their advantages. This causes conflicting circles of hurting each other, creating a world full of grudges, hatred, despair, and disunion. The Venerable Sotaesan, by Iooking into the suffering world, called it the tormenting sea of life and established the new Buddhism in whieh he clearly explained the moral ways of Graces. He taught that all brethren are in a relationship of mutual assistance and mutual interests. However, today, people tend to concentrate and focus upon their own interests and conveniences. They are living under the illusion of thinking that human beings are priviliged to take advantages of all things, and the very value of the Iife of living things comes to be judged by the standard of their own interests. Scientiflc civilization and modernization developed through such a view point and are finally bringing forth serious public harm, violent human relationship, and feelings of being an outsider among people. -14-
The Great Master Sotaesan, to overcome such realities and to build up a new world, adopted the motto, "As material civilization develops, cultivate spiritual civilization accordingly." In this motto he pointed out that technical civilization or material civilization can not be the essmtiality of human life. Spiritual eivilization should be the essentiality of human life. He announced ethics as a deliverance for human beings who are in an unbalanced spiritual civilization caused by a rapidly developing material civilization and who are losing their harmony with nature. Human beings who have been blindly pursrring material civilization which has developed under the spirit of selfishness, finally have found themselves- to be outsiders. They are now trying to rectify this situation by various means. The Great Master, Ven. Sotaesan, presented an ethics of grace as a means of restoring human nature. The ethics of g'race is the principle not only for restoring human nature, but also for enlivening all our lives through mutual harmony. In the Canonieal Textbook of Won Buddhism, Grace is divided into four parts. They are the Grace of Heaven and Earth, the Grace of Parents, the Grace of .Brethren, and the Grace of Law. What, thm, is the concrete spirit which is contained in the Grace of Brethren? It may be catagorized into four points. First all existences in the universe are brothers which have originated in the placenta of the Il-Won-Sang Truth, the ultimate Truth. Second, all people having the occupation of scholar, official, farmer, artisan, and merchant are related to each by the grace of mutual interests and common prosperity. Third, all beings in the universe should love each other, for they are brothers and sisters. Fourth, we must extend the scope of our neighborers and lead them towards a higher standard of spiritual life through the three points of the spirit which I have mentioned. We will now think more concretely about the four points of spirit which were previously stated. In the first place, all existences in the universe aie brothers and sisters which originated in the Truth of Il-Won-Sang, the source of all Truths. The Canonical Textbook says that the tiuth of Il-Won is the source of the Grace of Heavm and Earth, the Grace of Parents, the Grace of Brethren, and the Graee of Law. The late Prime Master Jungsan announced the Three Ethical Practices, explaining that all beings in the universe are one family in one home, working in one workshop for one purpose. Those who bLlieve and have experienced such truth regard all beings and things of Six Ways and Four Livings as their own bodies,
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the whole world as their own possession, and protect and cooperate with them. As a result, they naturally come to relate with morals as brothers and sisters ; sorrow of other people is my o\ilrn sorrow; becomes my pleasure. The life ft""rrr" of other people immediately and pleasure when they beeome eontentmmt *itf, filled Lf *"n will be brotherhood. of aware We will all stand above raeial discrimination, discrimination of nationality, discrimination of Faith and even the discrimination of and we will all be united with a sexse of equality the rich uod poo*, -Furthermore, all of us may be able to perform a role and identity. world peace. of and supporter as designer In the seeond pir.", we are all indebted to eaeh other under the principle of mutual interests. Many people-, however,-have not comot"tet, cast off their short-sightedness and selfish self-centeredness. hmort all human beings are anxious to pursue their own advantages everywhere, as individuals, family members, citizens of a country, and'as social creatures. Tire life of selfish and self-centered people *horu only coneern is expanding their own advantages will ultimately result in self-destruction. Venerable Sotaesan, the Great Master, insisted that people should be enlightened to the relaionship of the so that they misht prags;." of brethr", to the existence of people upox the principle based weie which deeds lice the Boddhisattva's of mutual interest and mutual goodness. He explained -that to undersiand the graee of breth"en and to requite it, a leader-should practice the deed. of troadhisattva for mutual interests, in his position as a leader, as a merehant in his commercial pursuits, as a farmer on his tarm, and as a producer in tlte course of his prod-Yction'-In this way, life, whieh is the root of all eonflict, disorder, the sllfishness i, "r" and a world of mutual help and harmony eease will antagonism and
of harming it, led the snake in the other direction with a
stick any ant or even an killed never holding. He to be which he happened other insect.- Frogs and dragon-flys have never become his victems. He was neither frightened nor harmed by any of the beasts which he ofrc'n came across in the mountains while he was enduring his ascetic life. Those beasts were rather kind to him and he often found that they were very helpful to him. He taught people no! to kill any living thing without _a proper reason. He put this teaching in the doctrine of-W,on Buddhism as one of its thirty precepts. This teaching, along with the Shakyamuni Buddha's precept of restraining from kiuing living things, is maintaining the tradition that loves and valuss the nre of all living things. The only difference _between the Great Master's teaching and that of Shakrramuni Buddha is that Shakyamuni Buddha entirely prohibited killing living things whereas ttre Great Master added the words "in the absence of sufficient reason" in a line of his teaching. In the fourth nlace, it is to expand the scope of our neighbor. Many people hmit the conc_ept of neighbor to simple spaee and time. HowLver, io know about the grace of brethren and to requite it is to expand our neighbors, both in quality and quantity. When we rg|. alize tt at we are ill neighbors and are ready to love and respect all things, regarding even plants and animals as our neighbors, when.r." o, w["teu"i we happen to be, we will become true human beings possessing fully harmonized minds.
ean be realized.
In the tfrira place, the principle of loving and v-aluing all li-ves is the graee oi f""tf,ren and is to iequite it. All lives have the will to live. Life it aig"inea. Except for special cases, we must love and
value all life. Our doctrine insists that even a tree, grass, or an animal destroyed. Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) should not be ".cf.f"sfy is to protect, develop and promote life, and that said that the good
personality of the ir to reieil, -we rrrr*, and trouble life. In the age of four, wlqite the At "rr1 life. of love the find *ifi Great Master, ptuyirr, he and his friends, were suddmly intruded ,rP9n by a bis i"ur."."rrightened, hir friends fled, and some were immediately soing to kill the r"u[". But the Great Master, without any thought
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Atl communications should be Miss ral Krrn Chon Director, Overseas Missions of Won Buddhism Won Kwang University Iri City, Cholla Pukdo, Korea
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The Grqce
of Low
Iike two wheels of a cart. by kof. Ktm Hong-Chul
The Great Master ven. sotaesan explicated Il-\[on-s zrr1r the Dharmakaya, for us as the object of belief and the standard of moral practice. It is the origin, and the raison d.'etre, of all beings. He said there is a force which operates the Universe in accordan& with the truth of Il-lVon-Sang, which he ealled ,,Grace.', Grace may be said to be a "Vital relationship without which we cannot live." The Great Master divided Grace into four parts the Graee of Heaven and Earth, that of Parents, that of Brethren, and that of Law. Law is the rule and ruling prineiple which all of us should duly follow as human beings. It is the law which makes it possible for us to live comfortably in peace and order, at home, in society, in a country, and in the world. Along with the grace of Heaven and Earth, that of Parents, and that of Brethren, the Grace of Law is vital to the existence of human beings. The Canonieal Textbook of Won Buddhism says: "The easiest way to know how much we are indebted to law is fo think whether it is possible to live in peaee and order without the law of moral training for individuals, the law with which ro IeaC a family life, and the law with which to govern a society, a state, and the world. It will become crystal clear that no one can live without the grace of these laws. If law is indispensable, isn't it a great grace?" Peace and order can be maintained only because there is Law. Without it, the world would become one of ehaos. There are two kinds of Law: The Law of the Nature which operates the Universe, and Moral and Juristical Law which governs our daily lives. Day and night and the seasons' cycle are evdiences of Law of Nature or Principle of the Universe. The constitution, and other laws of community and state fall under Moral and Juristieal Law. Generally, when we speak of law, we are referring to Moral and Juristical Law. Moral law encourages human beings to take the right Faft, whereas Juristical Law issues restraints to maintain peace, order, and the promotion of soeial welfare. The Great Master likened Moral Law to the southeast wind and the Juristical Law to the northwest wind. The two are equally necessary and complement each other. Without either of the two, peace and order eannot be maintained. They are like a stern father and benevolent mother in a family, and
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The Great Master said leaders of religion and state should work together to pro,mote the welfare o{ all beings. He said, in order to govern a society or a state well, the leaders of religion and state should prevent corruption and malpracti-es at all times, properly and fairly enforcing the Moral and Juristical Law. Our original nature is perfect, just, and fair. It lacks nothing. However, the world diversely unfolds before us in accordance with how we act and use our mind. We who live in this diverse world have different desires and different habits which, if left unchecked, will deprave our charaeter and destroy peace and harmony in this world. That is why it is necessary for us to have just and impartial laws eapable of harmonizing and controlling peoples' different desires and habits to maintain peace and order for the individual and the world. Whenever they deemed it necessary to lead us to the right path with religion and moral law, and the society and state have not ceased to reward what is right and good and to punish what is wrong and bad. The Great Master taught us we should be grateful to the sages who explicated moral law and to those who made and enforced juristical Iaw for the sake of peace and order. Without them, he said, thiB world might have become one of chaos. To abide o-y Iaw is the prQper way of requiting the Grace of Law. By that w&y, can we obtain freedom and shake ourselves from restraints and, simultaneously, improve ourselves. Only then will the world become a paradise in which peace and order dominate society. Today everyhody speaks of freedom. But very few of us are following the path to freedom in its true sense. Freedom means abolishing restraints. But more positively, it means following not our impulsive nature, but our original nature, the Buddha nafure which ordinary people, patriarchs as well as the Buddha, are known
to
possess.
Acts for whieh we can answer and which are done for the public as directed by reason are protected by 'aw. Genuine freedom results from such acts. What is, then, the standards of our actions that are protected by law? The Great Master Ven. Sotaesan taught: "W'e should abide by the moral precepts and law as cautiously as if we were treading on thin ice. Only by that way can we be kept on the right path for human beings." He said that the standard of our actions should be, "to get rid of injust,ice and establish justice." He taught us to do what is right even at the cost of our lives and to refrain from doing wrongs by all means. He stated this is the
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standard for cultivating our character, our actions, and for realizing social justice. Yet, Iile sometimes fail to discern Sood and right from bad and wrong. Habit and fear of failure prevent us from consistently doing whatls right. Unfortunately, we often ignore our call to eonscience. We must realize that if we do not abide by law, we shall not be protected by it and shall be subject to its restraints and punishment: If we do not abide by law, our personality will inevitably be depraved and the world will naturally fall into chaos. It is quite iormidable to imagine a world devoid of law and order in whieh the stronger prey upon the weaker. W" .u, obserrr" that Law is adhered to even in the world of bees and ants. How can we, as human beings, not abide by law? The surest way to r,equite the Grace of Law is to abide by Law. It is the only way for all- of us to obtain genuine freedom and to improve oui character. Furthermore, Law is the only way to maintain peace and order in this society and to make this world a better place in which to live. In conelusion, as Iaw protects us in a just and impartial way, we should also model ourselves after it, and abide by it itt order to requite its grace. Through the way of Law, we may establish a world of greater freedom.
The Relqtionship between Religion qnd Polirics by Prof. Pal Khn
Chon
A nation is outwardly under the domination of politics and law and inwardll, based upon religion and morals. The relationship, however, is not so peaceful. Sometimes religion is oppressed by politics and at other times politics is oppressed. When both are well harmonized the nati,on and society are wholesomely opperated. The Great Master compared the role of religion and politics to the two wheels of a cart, to the south wind and north wind, and to a compassionate mother and strict father. Sotaesan, the Great Master viewed a nati,on as in its most idealized form when religion and morals, politics and law (righteousness) are best realized. The Great Master, at that time, read the causes of the disorder in a society groping in darkness by losing its direction. Ven. Sotaesan seemed to believe the causes lay in the nonexistence of a politics that would speak for people, and also in the nonexistence of a faith which would satisfy the desire for being saved.
The Great Master said, "It is always regrettable to see the strong who do not know how to aet like the strong. The strong wiil not have lasting power, nor be respected as seniors and leaders, until they have [rila to encourage and help the weak so that they may grow op to be equal to the strong themselves. Nowadays, it seems that too often the strong are apt tJ oppress or deceive the weak. Under such tt" ttroos retain lasting power? The weak circumstanees, io* "", weak. some day the weak will gain enough will not always remain po*., to equal the strong. \ilhm the weak equal the strong' the strong who once oppressed ana deceived the weak will be overthrownmust help and ft erefor., tt e truly enlightened person knows he power." lasting his retain to order in need [heir in protect the weak
The Great Master's view of a nation was to recover his native country, Korea from Japan and to develop it until it would become one of the pattern countries of the world. His view of a nation was the presentation and practice of this idealism. In otlter words, it can be said that he presented even the political point of view which is under the charge of religion in order to make his religion indigernous wherever his religion happen to take root. The Great Master not only warned not to have such an attitude and approach towards religion and politics as "the Union of religious service and politics" or "the Union of religion and politics" but also disapproved both the theory of religious superiority to politics and the theory of political superiority to religion. The late prime Master, Rev. Jung-san, expressed the view of Sotaesan in the words, "politics and religion with one mind." When religion and politics do their roles perfectly, strictly keeping their own positions, the nation will be harmonized ideally and will remain prosperous. The Great Master presented a perfect truth which explain that the universe is one home, and Four Lives are one body. He called the perfect one Truth Il-Won-SBDB, or the Great Way of Il-Won. Ife regarded the great power of creation which the Great Way of Il-Won
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f rom T trc c anonieal T extbook
of w on Buddhism
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operates, as the Four Graces. Aecordingly, the view of a nation by the Great Master indicates that all nations in the world should try to break all their boundries and must regard the world as one home trying to understand each other. He also expressed his view of a nation in the words "politics and religion with one mind." The Great Master made it clear that religion and politics are inseparable from the standpoint of a nation. However, the subtlety exists in the fact that religion has to be related wih politics and its own original obligation. A religion can neither beoome indigenous anyplace nor become a world religion if it ignores or is indifferent to any group in a common fate, such as a country or a race. Sotaesan did not mean to demean religion by making it equal to politics. He always put religion in a different dimension from politics. He thought that law could be produced by religion; if a law whieh was polished by religionism was quite proper and adaptable to politics, politicians might adopt it for their policy. The Great Master thought that, if a religion offers such adaptable laws, it will prevail all over the world through both religi,on and policy. The Great Master, as a religious leader, indicated that the laws which were practiced by religionists should be studied and polished so that politicians might adapt them to their poliey. As his participation in politics in such a high dimension v/as purely motivated by a sense of duty, he had to perform some works which had some analogy to politics. After the liberation of Korea, the analogical activities of the Great Master were succeeded and observed by the successors of his Law, Song Jung-san, t}e later Prime Master and Kiin Tae-san, the present Prime Master. Song Jung-san, upon the liberation of I(orea, warned the people of his order who were still not quite sensible to the real pleasure of Iiberation, that the order should not agitate a low political dimension, but must seize the situation correctly; He insisted they must understand the most urgent task of reconstructing a new nation. Upon the liberation, Song Jung-san, wrote An Essay on the Foc"i,nding of a Natinn, sitting up late until midnight. He added appendixes The Twenty-one of Maoimrums and The Second Term of Fcunding the Nation. Jung-san, while announcing his thought, came to think that the most urgent work his order must do in the participation of founding a nation are these; First, partieipation in relief works for sufferers. Second, to prompt the spread of education, and third, to develop a campaign to spread Hangul (Korean Language). ato
He called these works, "The Three Great Works for Founding thp Nation," and encouraged his people to devote themselves to the works: In conclusion, we may forward several questions in order to seize the Sotaesan's view of politics from the religious dimension which Sotaesan aimed at, and especially to establish the ftrnctional relationship between his religion and politics; First the attitude of transcendental accommodation, seeond, the deter,minative attitude in harmoryr third, honest criticism, and resistenee of ndnviolence. These may be worth while questions to pursue as a me&ns for participating in polidics in the world's present situation.
EDITOR'S NOTE Won Buddlti,sm, is published twice a year, in summer and winter. However, wâ‚Ź missed the summer issue this year due to the editor's trip to the United States, Europe, and East Asia from August 4 to September 10. In the News Corner, therefore, the editor had to include some events from the January of this year. It is regrettable that this magazine will take to much time to reach you by boat. We shall be very grateful if you let us know your new address whenever you move so that we may have your correct address. Your contribution of articles on religion to this magazine are always welcome. We are ready to put your artiele in this magazine. Please do not hesitate to ask for more copies if you need them, and also to back issues. If our readers have a chance to visit Korea please find time to visit the Research Institute for Overseas Missions at Won Kwang University in Iri. We will be happy to take eare of you. From Seoul you can dial 5-6053 and ask for Ms. Pal Khn Chon. She has been in eharge of almost all religious affairs eoncerning foreign eountries.
Thank you.
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Buddhist Story PRECIOUS STONE OF IVII\D
Gne thousand and five hundred years &go, there was a small in Southern India. The King was a faithful follower of Shakyafnuni Buddha, and almost everyday he listened to Buddha's Law told to him by Ven. Panjotolo, a high virtuous monk. One day the king gave a beautiful precious stone to Ven. Panjotolo as an expression of his gratitude. Three princes were sitting beside the king. Panjotolo showed the stone to those three princes. Two of the princes made an opulent compliments about it. But the youngest prince kept silent. Panjotolo asked about his silence. The prince replied; "It seems to be very gorgeous stone, but it will be changed in fire and water. And also there is the possibility that it might be stolen by a thief. How, then, can we trust it, and what can we do with this changeable thing?" Panjotolo agreed with the prince, inquiring if there was any treasure which is unchangeable and is safe from thieves. The prince assented. When the high virtuous man asked again about its location, the prince pointed at the heart of himself, of the high virtuous man and his brothers. Our bodies and all things will be burnt in fire or will be stolen. by thieves, but our mind can not be earried away like all material things. This mind of human beings is the most precious treasure. The answer of the prince surprised the virtuous man. He explained that he agreed with the prince, our mind is the most precious treasure, but most people were hardly aware of that faet. It is regrettable that we ignore the treasure of the mind and leave it uncultivated. When we constantly purify and cultivate our minds, it is beyond doubt that we can Iead our lives very pleasantly and righteously. Panjotolo invited the prince to become his desciple and to polish precious stone of mind, to give light to other people as well as the to himself. The prince smiling paid a deep compliment to the high virtuous monk and attained permission from the king to be a desciple. The prince is the Great Master, Boddhidharma himself.
country
A CROW OF VAMTY
should come to him. A crow, although knowing his ugliness, came to cherish the ambition of becoming the king at any eost. He flew over mountains and fields, collecting feathers which were fallen from other birds. He put all the various feathers upon his body and was most gorgeously attired. On the appointed dry, all the birds came to the Creator. The crow also proudly showed up. The Creator, seeing the crow, said that he was going to appoint the crow a king beeause the crow was m'ost gorgeous. Hearing this, all the other birds were very angry and flew at the crow to take off their own feathers. The crow, which cherished an ambition of beeoming the king by an unrighteous means, again became the ugly crow. He never became a king of the birds.
-from
The Canonical Textbook of Won Buddhistn
Practice M editation
C ontinually,
Practice Meditation Eaeruwhere
One day the Creator pronounced he was going to choose the most beautiful bird of all birds for the king, and that all birds
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The Great Master said, "These days we have many people wh dream of being enlightened to the Way without studying; who wish to be successful in doing things-without effort; who just look forward to having a chance to achieve things without making any preBaration; who manipulate the Great Way with witchcraft and who ridicule justice in tricky ways. Each of them makes a fuss as if he were doing a great thing. They are ealled daytime ghosts. Such beings, however, will find no place to stand in the brighter period of the world. Only the righteous Law, indispensible for human life, will be accepted by the world. Such a world r.rill be regarded as a truly bright world."
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nl"*o
â‚Ź,or^",
1. Iri Branch Temple Opens School for the Aged A special school for the old was established by Iri
Branch Temple of lVon Buddhism. Twenty-seven people representing all aspects of the community held a eonference January 14 at the Iri Lions' Club to discuss the welfare of the aged. The result of the meeting wa.s a proposal to start a special school for the elderly at Iri Branch Temple of Won Buddhism.
The principal aim of the school is to help the aged adjust to being elderly. The old are often lonely. They feel rejected by their families and useless to their community. Iri speeial school is attempL ing eradicate those feelings. By conducting lectures in the humanities and natural sciences focusing on the problems of the aged in today's soeiety, the school hopes to instill a sense of usefullness, belonging, and pride into its students. Growing old presents special problems, but Iris' school emphasizes the point that those problems are not insolvable. Awareness and determination are two key eoncepts. The elderly must be aware of their capabilities and be determined to use them. The school constantly stresses the possibility of an enriching an enjoyable old age. Entrance to the school is limited to men and womm over sixty one. The period of instruction is divided into two cycles. The first cycle begins in March and ends in June and the seeond cycle starts in August and ends in November. Enrollment is limited to fifty people. 48 hours of humanity courses, 12 hours of natural science courses, and 36 hours of public health courses must be eompleted during: a
attended the ceremony. They enthusiastically welcomed the Soo-'Won Rranch Temple distributors. Many prisoners dissolved into tears during the hyrnns sung by Won Buddhist ministers. 290 Textbooks were also sent to the United States for the first time. All texts for Soo-Won Penitentiary and for distribution in the U.S. were collected during a series of organized book drives.
3.
Doctors Give Free Treatment
Four doctors from the Won Kwang Hospital of Oriental Medicine gave free diagnosis and treatment for three days last April. Over 200 patients from Sam Rye, Kun San and Iri consulted the doctors.
4.
Thirtieth Anniversary of IVon Kwang University
cycle.
Won Kwang University celebrated its Thirtieth Anniversary May 15 in 7976. More than 3,000 people including leading provincial figures of The Order of Won Buddhism, government officials, alumni, parents, and students attended at 10:00 A.M. Founders Day Ceremony. Dr. Kil Chin Park, president of Won Kwang University, gave the opening address. He told his audience that we should open our eyes on a world scale. He went on to state that only by studying with a world perspective can we advance and reform yet still retain our intelligence, courage, Iove, and respect for our fellow man. Dr. Park also advised that outside awareness is a necessity for attaining a proper view point of Korean national security. Awar'ds were presented to those who had served Won Kwang University for over flfteen years. The recipients of this offieial honor are as follows: Dr. Pal Khn Chon, Dean of Teachers' College. Dr. Chun Een Song, University Library Director, Prof. Jong Rim Seong, Director of Student Affairs.
2.
5.
Textbooks Distributed to Prisoners
Tlon Kwang Opens Public Health Junior CoIIege
On March 14th Soo-Won Branch Temple of Won Buddhism in Kyonggi-do province distributed, for the first time, three hundred volumes of canonical Textbooks and 2,800 volumes of an outline and history of Won Buddhism in Soo-Won Penitentiary. Twenty speakers were also made available. More than 2000 of men and women prisoners
Won Kang Public Health Junior College held its official opening in t976. The new junior college wa,s approved by the Ministry of Education in January 24. 320 students were selected frorri all those who took the entrance examination to begin study during the 1976 academic year.
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ceremony on March 11
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Departments included in the new two year school are clinical pathology, physical treatment, X-ray, and dento-surgical technology. The college aims to produce expert technicians of medium standing to serve in all the medieal fields. Upon graduation the prospective technicians must pass a state examination for qualification.
6. I)r. Kil Chin Park Attends
Korea-Japan Religtous Council
Dr Kil Chin Park, president of Won Kwang University, attended the Korea-Japan Religious Council, February L4 in 1976 in Tokyo, Japan. It was reported that this was a preliminary step towards establishing a Korea-Japan Religious Congregation in Korea. Venerable Park also toured Japanese educational and religious organizations after the Council.
ules were not much different from last year. After the convention in the U.S.A., the members visited Won Buddhist members in Canada and Europe.
$$[ Bll00ll'$r,f
\\ltttNtry
hfiilyfftrt0t
7. A Symposium on Won Buddhist Thoughts HeId The Besearch Institute for Won Buddhist Thoughts of Won
Kwang University held a symposium at, Chong-ro Braneh Temple on September 25 in L976. The subject was, "The View of Religion of Ven. Sotaesan." Approximately 500 people attended. During free talking they discussed, "The View of Peace of Won Buddhism", "The View of Human Nature of Won Buddhism," "The Creativity of Won Buddhism," "The Social View of Won Buddhism," and "The Participation in Social Activity of Won Buddhism," etc.
8. Ihe Ground Breaking Ceremony of the Main Buddhist Training House At two o'clock on September 20, L976, the Won Buddhist Headquarters had a ground breaking ceremony for the Main Buddhist Training House. Ven. Taesan, The Prime Master, Ven. Soong-san, the Chief of the construction committee, and other members attended the ceremony.
9.
The International Won Buddhist Convention
The 2nd International Won Buddhist Convention was held in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago from the 8th to the 14th of Oetober in 1976. The Korean representatives were twelve Won Buddhist members who were eseorted by Ms. Pal Khn Chon, the Direetor of Research Institute for the Overseas Missions. The Convention sched-
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iltt ruffiil.L USA
Pmtwnt of the Won Buddhist Second lnternational Conoention whlch uas held in l-os Angeles, Neus York, and Chicago Won Buddhist Branch Temples &tring August 8 through 18, 1976.
18, 7976. Won Buddhisnt's ven. Toesan, the Prime Master d.elioered the sennon.
The Great Dharma Hall under construction at the Won Buddhi* Headquarters in lri. The Hall u:ill be completud in March 1977 and will be used
for all ktnds of Won Buddhist
training.