Saturday, May 14, 2011

Korean Catholics and Buddhists on Vesak stress shared commitment to reconciliation and dialogue

by Theresa Hwa-young Kim
Korean Catholic religious leaders offer gifts and best wishes to Buddhist leaders. A monk from Seunwun Temple calls for “new paths to save the world and humanity”. Seoul archbishop says sharing and mercy are essential values for a life of virtue.

Seoul (AsiaNews) – At a time of trials and difficulties, the great religions must promote “true reconciliation and dialogue.” For this reason, it is important “to reconfirm the common mission of Christians and Buddhists who share a deep sense of respect for human life and dignity as well as respect for and responsibility towards nature,” said Mgr Huginus Kim, archbishop of Gwangju and president of the Committee for Promoting Christian Unity and Interreligious Dialogue, in a message he delivered to Rev Beopman, a great Buddhist monk from Seunwun Temple. The Buddhist religious leader thanked the catholic representative, renewing his commitment to work together.
Mgr Kim visited Rev Beopman at Seunwun Temple, in Gochang, Jeulla Province, to celebrate Vesak marking 2,600 years since the Buddha’s enlightenment.
The prelate also brought a letter from the Vatican addressed to Korea’s Buddhist believers, and donated a copy of the Bible with a picture of Our Lord’s Last Supper.
Stressing the value of respect for nature and human life, Mgr Kim reiterated the importance of the journey of “reconciliation and dialogue” promoted by the great religions.
The Buddhist leader thanked his guest for the gift, stressing the importance of working together with Catholics to seek “new paths to save the world and humanity” through the “dialogue and practice.”
Rev Beopman offered the archbishop green tea and utensils for its preparation, as well as Jakbeupgwigam, a work published by Seunwun Temple.
On Tuesday, the Buddha’s birthday, Card Nicholas Cheong, archbishop of Seoul, sent a message of best wishes to the Korean Jogye Order, stressing the value of the teachings offered by Buddhism as well as the contribution it has made to the progress of the Korean nation. In modern life, the spirit of “sharing and mercy” is essential for a life of virtue, the prelate said.
Mgr Lazarus You, from the Diocese of Daejun, also brought a message of congratulations during a visit to the head of a Buddhist temple in Gwangsu.
During the friendly exchange, the Catholic representative delivered a letter of best wishes from the Vatican and shared in the joyful spirit of the occasion.


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Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Korean Buddhists concern decreasing candidate monks


I am quoting an article from the Korea Herald which appeared on May 10, 2011. After the article I am inserting my commentary.

Korea’s biggest Buddhism sect “Jogye” is reportedly anxious about a  decreasing number of people seeking to be monks.
 
The religion prospered in Korea until the end of the Koryo dynasty and, although it has declined since, remains one of the major religions in Korea.

But according to statistics the number of new monks is on the wane.

There were 466 new Jogye monks in 2005, but just 274 in 2011. The number of preparatory monks has also showed a gradual decrease of 5 percent every year since 2004.

Of the 10,744 Jogye monks in Korea today, about 3,688 are in their 40s, and 3,368 in their 50s. Just 62 monks are in their 20s.

The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism is seeking for solutions to the problem including extending the current age limit of between 15 and 50. An official from the Order said, “the number of people seeking ‘chulga’ is falling due to multiple reasons, including the decrease in population. We will prepare a countermove by end of the year.”

Others claimed that materialism in Korea has caused the decrease. “The young generation no longer wishes to do hard things,” one elder monk said.

Those wishing to be a Jogye monk must live in a temple and complete several study courses. After that, they become preparatory monks -- “sami” for male, “samini” for female. They continue studying for four years for a Buddhism degree to become an official monk -- “bigu” or “biguni.”

The process of preparing to become a monk is called “chulga,” which literally means “leaving home.”

By Kang Yoon-seung (koreacolin@gmail.com)
Intern reporter

I am going to first briefly talk about a religion that took hold in America before the United States was a country. The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, known as the Shakers, is a religious sect originally thought to be a development of the Religious Society of Friends. Founded upon the teachings of Ann Lee, Shakers today are mostly known for their cultural contributions (especially style of music and furniture). However, the Shakers' enduring legacy includes their model of equality of the sexes (or gender equality), which they institutionalized in their society in the 1780s.


At its height with some eighteen active societies, over 100,000 acres of land, and thousands of members, the Shakers constituted a multistate corporation. Central authority rested with the two elders and two elderesses at the New Lebanon society, east of Albany in New York, with the head elder or elderess the official head. Elders appointed their successors. Each Shaker society was governed by two elders and two elderesses assisted by deacons, who managed the day-to-day operation of the society, and trustees, who dealt with the outside world and were essentially the financial managers. Within the communities, the Shakers were divided into Families of about one hundred persons each, who lived and worked separately from other families and with strict sexual segregation within the families. Despite the fairly rigid social structure, authoritarian rule was the exception; social cohesion was mostly the result of a shared commitment to Shaker values and beliefs. All property was owned communally, and new members were required to turn over all personal property to the society upon signing the covenant. This was a major source of the large acreage owned by the Shakers, but also the cause of a number of lawsuits by former members and heirs of deceased members. These suits were nearly always decided in favor of the Shakers.


An issue of this lay religious order has been that they demand celibacy from their members, and along with the strict rules of engagement, there are now only three living Shakers left in their religion, and the three remaining members are steadfast in not changing the rules. The two women are in their eighties and the last male is in his late fifties.


Let us shift now to the Catholic Church. At the end of 2007, Vatican records showed 408,024 Catholic priests in the world, 762 more than at the beginning of the year. This continued a trend of moderate growth, which began in 2000 following more than two decades of decrease. The main growth areas have been Asia and Africa, with 21.1 percent and 27.6 percent growth respectively. In North and South America, numbers have remained approximately the same, while there was a 6.8 percent decline in Europe and a 5.5 percent decrease in Oceania from 2000 to 2007. Priest from Asia and Africa are now being assigned to Churches in staunchly Catholic countries like France and Ireland, due to a shortage of local priests. 

Jainism used to be a dominant religion in India, in fact, Śakyamuni Buddha studied with Mahavir who was the 24th and the last Tirthankara (perfect arhat) of Jainism. Today, because of its very strict rules, only slightly more that four million Jains practice the religion today. As India has experienced a growth as a world power many of these Jain practitioners have relocated to Europe and to the US; however, they have no teachers in these countries. Because their monastic codes prevent the Monks and Nuns (Teachers) from wearing shoes, staying in one place more than a day and even traveling on an Ox Cart, much less a car or boat or plane, they have to try and make due with their own faith and draw together as communities. Several monastics have tried to break with tradition, but they failed as they have been rejected by their communities, much as Buddha was initially rejected by his followers when he broke his long fast and ate some nourishing food.

So, we can read the story of Buddha going against some idea (form) he was following to 'attain enllighentment' and yet so many are attached to the form that was created following his death, which we call Buddhism today. Also, the supposition from the lead article "“The young generation no longer wishes to do hard things,” one elder monk said" is part of the reason why these organizations are experiencing declines. Is is more difficult to live the life of a monk than live the life of a Lay Person? My Zen training tells me that this is entering into the realm of opposites, one is not better or superior to the other; and yet many of those on the path have this attitude, that somehow what they are doing is much more significant that what the guy on the street working two jobs, going to night school and trying to maintain relations with his wife and kids. I won't comment on this as there is nothing to say about it. 


I was recently talking to a friend of mine, who had recent conversations with someone who gave up his lay life and entered into the Chogye Order. He was saying how important it was to learn how to do what he was told and to not question anything his teacher told him to do. I went through that kind of training at Lackland AFB in 1974, and only learned that it was easier to give up to the 'system' if you didn't want to inherit a pile of shit in retribution. I will stop now before I embarrass myself further for having an opinion about all of this.


It has probably gone under the radar, but there are no longer any Monks/Nuns in Kwan Um North America, please see Jihyang Sunim’s post Looking Back. Although the Kwan Um monastic order seems to be thriving in Kwan Um Asia and Europe respectively.


Now, it is unfair of me to judge a path that I have never engaged in, as I am an Ordained Lay Practitioner and Teacher in a Lay Order. I think that many people feel displaced and confused in our modern world and these people are honestly seeking a spiritual practice, in fact I believe there is a huge demand for it; however, I do not think that the old model of 'home leaving' and celibacy will persevere. This, of course, will not happen in my lifetime, yet I believe that it will come to pass at some point.

We need to begin to wake up to people's needs and model our spiritual practices around engaged and sectarian lives, there will always be a handful of those who wish to sequester themselves from society; however, the people to carry all religions forward in the future will be living in this world and of this world and will know the two worlds and call them as one.

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Monday, May 9, 2011

A Buddha’s Birthday celebration


In the above photo, Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, right, Roman Catholic archbishop of Seoul, smiles at a young Buddhist monk playing at Myeongdong Catholic Cathedral in downtown Seoul, May 9.
A group of Children monks visited the cathedral to view a documentary entitled, “A Chair of Venerable Beopjeong,” on the late Buddhist leader Venerable Beopjeong. The Catholic Church held a preview of the film one day before Buddha’s Birthday to express religious love and harmony.
In the photo below, young boys with shaved heads wear 3D glasses as they watch 3D TV monitors at the SK Telecom Ubiquitous Museum in Seoul.
The children entered the Jogye Temple, the main temple of Korean Buddhism’s Jogye Order, to experience a monk’s life in the short term to celebrate Buddha’s Birthday, which falls on May 10, the eighth day of April by the lunar calendar.
(Photo by Kim Jung-hyo and Lee Jung-a)



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Friday, May 6, 2011

Ten Buddhist monks allowed in North Korea


by Joseph Yun Li-sun

The ten men belong to the Jogye Order, the oldest and most respected tradition of Korean Buddhism. With the agreement of South Korean authorities, they delivered medical drugs for people in the North. They also visited a northern temple that does not have any pictures of the Kims. “It seems there are real worshippers,” one source told AsiaNews.

Seoul (AsiaNews) – Only religion can save the North Korean people from total destruction. After decades of humanitarian aid, ran mostly by Caritas South Korea, South Korean religious groups, both Catholic and Buddhist, are able to get around the ban on international aid to North Korea imposed by Seoul and Washington. “Ten Buddhist monks arrived in North Korea with government approval to bring essential drugs for the population,” a source told AsiaNews.

The venerable monks from the Jogye Order spent a day in North Korea, entering the border region near Mount Kumgang. The ten men visited one of the oldest Buddhist temples in all of Korea, located in the north, at the foot of the mountain. Inside the place of worship, they did not see any pictures of Kim Jong-il, or his father, Kim Il-sung, an exceptional circumstance since every place of worship in North Korea is usually used to venerate the two dictators.

Monks gave a village chief more than 100,000 anthelmintic tablets to kill parasitic worms. Many North Koreans suffer from them because of poor nutrition and lack of hygiene.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Health Organisation, North Koreans have the worst diet and healthcare in the world.

“What struck me the most was the temple visit. We did not see any of the regime’s symbols but saw those of our faith,” the source told AsiaNews. “Although there were no worshippers, it is clear that someone is keeping the place clean and in order. This filled by heart with hope because it means that there are still some Buddhists in North Korea, even if they are hiding.”


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Thursday, May 5, 2011

S.Korean Buddhist Sect Seeks Joint Rites for Buddha’s Birthday


The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism is pushing for joint Buddhist rites for Buddha’s birthday on May tenth.

The Jogye order said it had requested the Unification Ministry permission to visit the North, where it plans to hold a joint ceremony with the North Korean Buddhist Federation at Singye Temple in Mount Geumgang.

Upon government approval, the Jogye order will send ten delegates headed by the Venerable Hyegyeong. It will also deliver relief supplies to the impoverished nation.

A Jogye order official said the request was submitted on April 22nd.

The Jogye order had held joint rites with its North Korean counterparts on Buddha’s Birthday each year since 2000. However, the joint rites were halted since 2009, after a South Korean tourist was shot and killed at the Mount Geumgang resort in July 2008 and also due to the sinking of the South Korean navy vessel the “Cheonan” in March 2010.
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Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Vesak 2011


[Raise Zen stick overhead and hit table]

Buddha’s mother, whose name was Maya had a strange dream of a Bodhisattva descending from heaven and riding on a white elephant that touched her side with its trunk, and she became pregnant with the Buddha.

[Raise Zen stick overhead and hit table]

When Buddha was born, he sprang from his mother's side, walked seven paces in the four cardinal directions, then he said, “Heaven above, earth below, only I am holy.”

[Raise Zen stick overhead and hit table]

Soon after his birth, a sage named Asita predicted that the child would grow up to be a holy man,
rather than following his father as ruler.

Are a mothers dream, a baby who walks and talks from birth and a sage who prophesizes a saint, the same or different?

KATZ!

They are all no good! We are all awake together; I am giving a Dharma Speech, and the room is full of smiling faces.

Happy Buddha's Birthday, everyone.

Following a life of pleasure and luxury, in the spring of his twenty-ninth year, Prince Gautama Siddhartha became troubled and didn’t know why, so he decided to leave the sheltered palace enclosure to view the flowers in full bloom; but instead, for the first time in his life he came face to face with the world's pain and misery. Departing through the eastern gate on the first day, Śakyamuni was troubled by the sight of an old, decrepit man who was barely able to walk. On the second day, passing out through the southern gate, he came upon a man suffering from a debilitating illness. On the third day, leaving by the western gate, he came in contact with a corpse surrounded by weeping mourners. Finally, travelling towards the north on the fourth day, he met a mendicant monk, and resolved to follow this holy man's example.
He was now fully aware of the sorrow that pervaded the world outside the sheltered life of the palace, Śakyamuni resolved to abandon his opulent life as a prince, vowing instead to seek through fasting and meditation a way to relieve the sufferings of humankind. Fearing that his father would try to prevent his departure, he decided to leave secretly at night. The king's guards fell into a deep sleep, and four nature spirits (yakshas) lifted the Prince's horse Kanthaka into the air, so that his hooves would make no noise on the cobblestoned pavement.
As an ascetic in the Himalayan Mountains, the former prince lived an austere life of self-denial – fasting, subjecting his body to strict discipline, meditating in the lotus position in all weather. Yet after six years, enlightenment still eluded him. He came down from the mountains, bathed, and sat beneath a fichus tree at Gaya, vowing not to move from that spot until he attained full enlightenment. Finally, at age 35, on the night of a full moon, Sakyamuni attained enlightenment. (From this time forward, the fichus tree under which he sat would be known as the Bodhi tree, or tree of enlightenment.) As he was alone with no one to witness this momentous event, he called the Earth itself to be his witness by touching the ground with his right hand in a gesture known as the Earth Witness mudra.
Sometime in the early 1990’s, a famous Italian Movie Director released a movie titled, ‘Little Buddha’, which was about a young boy in Seattle, Washington how was supposed to be a reincarnated Tibetan Lama. The story is about the adventure the young boy goes through traveling through India and Nepal. During the movie there is a counter story where the Director depicts the life of Buddha as the boy learns his story. I remember asking Zen Master Seung Sahn what he thought about the movie after he had seen it and he replied that it was a big mistake. He told me that this was the typical view of Buddha as the story ends when Buddha attains enlightenment. He said that in the West we are goal oriented and that the real meaning of Buddha’s life was the 45 years of teaching that followed his englightenment.
So, from humble beginnings, this selfless man eventually gave us the Tripitaka, which is the collection of his teachings. A full set of these teachings are housed in two very large buildings at Haein Sa in Korea, and it is said to be the last full collection of Sutras and Shastras carved into large wooden blocks. There are 84,000 volumes at Haein Sa. It would take many years to read all of these teachings and many more years trying to understand them. However, luckily for us Śakyamuni said something very important just before he entered into Nirvana. At the age of 80, he was surrounded by his discliples and Mahakasyapa asked him, “How will we continue once you have left us, who will guide the Sangha?” To this Buddha gently smiled and said, “Of the myriad tens of thousands of words attributed to me, of the myriad tens of thousands of words attributed to me, do not believe even one of them. Find your own true self and become a light unto yourself.”
This is why we celebrate such a great man’s birth for more than 2,600 years, for he taught us the meaning of the true path to enlightenment.

I'd like to end with a poem written by a very great Zen Master. The poem, called “Original Face,” is by Zen Master Seung Sahn:

So much suffering in Nirvana castles,
So joyous to sink into this world.

When in old clothes you call yourself
Buddha, what do you call yourself in silk?

Wooden man went out with shoes at night,
Stone woman came back with hat in morning.

You, for the first time, can perceive when you
Pick up the moon three times as it floats on the pond.

[Raise Zen stick overhead and hit table]
Very big Golden Buddha on the main altar.

[Raise Zen stick overhead and hit table]
Tiny baby Buddha on the side altar.

[Raise Zen stick overhead and hit table]
A room full of smiling Buddhas.

Are these the same or different?

Today is Sunday, May 1st and we are all at the Zen Center of Las Vegas. Thank you for your generous support today and for the rest of your lives.

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