Culture of Seon(zen) / Korean Buddhism has no future without their renovation -5

Interview with Great Monk Jajae Manhyon

"The Great Monk Jajae Manhyon was born in Hampyong, Jeonnam Province
in 1937. He became a monk in Busan in 1960 (His Dharma name was Bubsung
at that time.), and served as Director of the Propagation Department and later 
as Executive Propagator of the Administrative Headquarters of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. He also served as the Chief Monk of Yonhwasa in Seoul and as Dean of Haedong Buddhism College, He visited various great enlightened masters extensively like Priestling Sudhana appearing in the Avatamsaka Sutra, but later met with the Buddha personally by means of meditation of reciting the Buddha's sacred name......"

This is part of the personal history of Great Monk Jajae Manhyon appearing
on the cover sheet of his book "The 21st Century Buddha's Message."
The present writer had the honour of having an interview with him at Hyonjisa
 in Chuncheon in mid-May who is newly drawing great public attention through
the media Dharma talks such as "the Hyondae Buddhism Newspaper",
"The Daehan Buddhism Newspaper", "The Buddhist Television", etc. over
the past several years. This interview contains his voice: he has carried on
his practice by dwelling in retirement disappearing after having led the
Administrative Headquarters of the Jogye Order, attending to Great Monk
Chongdam. His answers to my question, "Your view is so fresh and new.
Isn't it more preferable to establish a new Buddhist sect?"

 
 Your Dharma talk is unprecedented indeed from the beginning, but it is particularly impressive to hear that breaking through Hwadu and seeing the original nature is no more than the beginning of practice.
 
 
 I am a member of the orthodox Jogye Order.  I became a Monk with Great Monk
Sug-am who was a great master of the precepts, even though his name has not been
well-known. He forbade us to eat even a dry minnow in the back yard of the temple. 
I attended on my teacher for about ten years until he passed away.  I became a
disciple under Great Monk Gyongbong of Geug-rak-am of Tongdosa, and kept
investigating Hwadu 'what is this?' deeply in a practicing cave in Jeolla Province.
 
 
Well, this is an important question.  Since when have you had skepticism about Seon of phrase investigation?
 
 
 I will make it clear.  I have felt so since a little time after breaking through Hwadu. 
What is called, awakening to one's original nature was weak; I was not so satisfied. 
The reason that I  switched to meditation of reciting the sacred name of a Buddha,
came from that background.
 
 
 Your original Dharma name was Bubsung, and your Dharma name has been changed to a new one now when you are preaching the Buddha's Dharma.
 
 
 I have had a great aspiration to become a better disciple of the Buddha.  Esoteric
Buddhism, Vypashyana, and Southern Buddhism are taking root here, but practice
was difficult under the circumstances of the temple where the practice method that
the Buddha himself had taught, was regarded as non-Buddhism, and the Sutras
were thought unimportant.  With the thought that breaking through Hwadu was no
more than a beginning, I alone have committed myself to meditation of chanting the
sacred name of the Buddha.
 
 
You had contributed your Dharma talks to 'the Daehan Buddhism Newspaper'
several years before your book was published.  I wonder if there is any refutation from the existing Buddhist circles.
 
 
 Regrettably, there has been no answer.  There is no one who has as wholeheartedly
practiced as I have done.  It would not be so easy for anyone to make an opposite
opinion against mine because of the depth of my book.
 
 
I would like to ask you a question.  As the viewpoint of Buddhism that Great Monk Jajae Manhyon has is so different from existing Buddhism, isn't it a better idea to establish a new Buddhist sect (juridical foundation)?
 
 
 There is no reason that I should not establish a new Buddhist juridical foundation. 
I am now considering.  However, I make it clear at the same time that, in my opinion,
the Buddhist foundation, which is closer to true Buddhism of the Buddha and
emphasizes observation of precepts, is the Jogye Order.
 
 
I am sorry to ask you this question.  In your book, it says that Great Monk Jajae Manhyon is the final body of the Noble Disciple Ananda.  Furthermore, according to your practice diary, you mention that you have personally met with the Buddha.  May I trust that all these descriptions are true as they appear in your book?
 
 
 When I personally met with the Buddha, that was what the Buddha has spoken to me.  I cannot prove or show it to you because it is one of the secrets.
 
 
Actually, Great Monk Cheong-hwa who passed away some time ago had also spoken of meditation of chanting the sacred name of a Buddha.
 
 
 You are right.  You have raised a very good question.  However, his practice method was the recitation contemplating the true nature of suchness which is a little different from reciting the sacred name of the Buddha that I  have mentioned.  The recitation contemplating the true nature of suchness is the way of chanting the pronoun of suchness, regarding the original nature of all things, namely, suchness as Amitabha Buddha or Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva.  The method of my practice is to recite the sacred name of  the Buddha who abides in the Absolute Realm in Selflessness.
 

-Thank you very much for all the invaluable answers until now. 
 
 
 
Jajae Manhyon  自 在 滿 顯
Born in Hampyong in Jeonnam Province in 1937.
Name in the family register : Lee Hyong-bum  李 炯 範
Became a monk in Busan in 1960.
Served as a Director and Executive Propagator of the Administrative Headquarters
of   the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism.  His monk name then was Bubsung.
Served as Head Monk of Yonhwa Temple and Munsu Temple in Seoul.
Served as Dean of Haedong Buddhism College.
Received Honorary Doctorate in Philosophy from the Buddhist University of
Mongolia  renowned for his Holiness Zanavajra.
Visited various great enlightened masters extensively like Priestling Sudhana
appearing in the Avatamsaka Sutra, and was enlightened.
Afterwards, entered samadhi by chanting the sacred name of the Buddha and
personally  met with the Buddha.
The Buddha name 'San Hae Hye Jajae Tong Wang Buddha'
 and the Bodhisattva name 'Manhyon' were conferred on him by the Buddha.
Confirmed a Buddha by Buddha the World-Honoured in 2000.
 
His book, "The 21st century Buddha's Message" published in May 2005
became the best seller among the Buddhist books in Korea unprecedentedly
for six consecutive months.
 
 
 
 
source /Culture of Seon(zen)
publication/Hyonjisa, Yongsan Buddhism

Culture of Seon(zen) / Korean Buddhism has no future without their renovation -4

Meditation of chanting the sacred name of the Buddha is the best way of practice.

 This courage may have arisen because he had a strong confidence that as the
Avatamsaka Sutra, and the Lotus Sutra teach, the practice by obeying the precepts,
reading the Sutras, and reciting a Buddha's name, among other things, is the best
way of becoming a Buddha.
There is another reason why the decision he made in 1970s is surprising to us. 
It is that he drew a limit to a certain extent on practice by one's own efforts,
which is to practice for oneself without relying on Buddhas or Bodhisattvas. 
He started to rely on the other power called empowerment of the Buddha.   
Please examine his following confession carefully.


 "When I think of the past days when I  wielded a stick thirty times like Te-shan,
chanted emptiness with the words that have no attachment to appearances, and
was proud of myselfwith illusion as if  I  had almost become the king of the universe,
I just feel ashamed of myself.  I began to be skeptical of my practice (meditation
practice, preserving the state of one's enlightenment) at the time when it has been
less than two or three years since  I came to Seoul at the age of mid thirties and sat
on the lotus throne to disseminate the Dharma of the Buddha as an executive
propagator."(pages 26~27)


 At this juncture, the unique view of the world of Buddhism unfolds in detail. 
According to his Dharma talk, the highest stage that one who has renounced the
worldly life can reach by means of practice by one's own efforts, is the level of an
arhat.  It is like the difference between the sky and the earth, when compared with
becoming a Buddha immediately.


 After seeing the original nature, the complete and thorough empowerment of the
Buddha is required; when one builds up merit and virtues as an arhat in one's next
lifetime again, then he will reach the level of a Bodhisattva.


 The empowerment that is often experienced by the one whose pores of the body
absorb Light of the Buddhas that Manjushri, Samantabhadra and Avalokiteshvara
Bodhisattvas send out, is no other than the state of a Bodhisattva.


 When one becomes a Bodhisattva of the high stage, not all Bodhisattvas of different
stages, he can see the mass of light called Immeasurable Light that the Buddhas emit. 
The next stage is to meet personally with the Buddha.  One enters the stage of a great
saint who has attained Buddhahood, no other than, at this time.  In other words, he
leaves his Buddha Body in the Absolute Realm of the Buddhas and completely
possesses the Three Bodies, namely, the Dharma Body, the Reward Body and the
Transformation Bodies.  As there lie extremely difficult gateways toward attaining
Buddhahood, our customary remark that is 'Seeing original nature is namely
accomplishing Buddhahood' is far from the truth.


 In his book, he mentioned that 'saying that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas exist or
not exist before one sees Immeasurable Light, is only thoughtless words that an
ordinary person talks.  Great Monk Jajae Manhyon makes it clear that the theory
of the Three Bodies and the stages of attaining Buddhahood that he has discovered,
are more constructive than the legendary saint Milarepa of Tibet in the 11th century,
and than the explanation of the Buddha in the Wisdom Sutra, describing the Dharma
Body as the central theory, but this manuscript does not aim at proving these facts.


 Nagarjuna of India said that he had gone to Dragon Palace and had brought the
Avatamsaka Sutra.  Great Monk Jajae Manhyon states that he has personally
met the Buddha in many places of his book, but this is not a matter for a third person
to meddle in, either.


 When the foregoing is seen from the perspectives of a reader and a person who is
imterested in Buddhism, an attractive part in the theory of new Buddhism of Great
Monk Jajae Manhyon is that Buddhism becomes even closer to real Buddhism. 
Along with establishment of the magnificent theoretical and practice system, the
three elements of a practitioner, that is, recitation of a Buddha's name, precepts
and filial piety that he emphasizes, suddenly come up as the virtue for those who
have renounced the worldly life, and lay Buddhists.


 The magnificent system is an essential part not only in the stages and gateways of
practice, but also for the proper view of life and death.  For instance, Great Monk
Jajae Manhyon has expressed clearly that not only the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,
but also Hell, the Western Pure Land or transmigration certainly exist.  He has
further said that, although a practitioner, who has reached the level of seeing the
original nature of mind, cannot see Hell, the Western Pure Land, transmigration,
the horrible unremitting hell appearing in the Sutra on the Fundamental Vows of
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva really exist. Hence, he pointed out that even though a
practicing monk, who renounced the secular world, has seen one's original nature,
if the practitioner does not observe precepts, that person will fall down into the
unremitting hell.


 Speaking figuratively, the act that a practitioner is infatuated with a woman, is like
releasing a drop of excremental  water into a cup of clean water, so that no one can
drink it. So he recommends people to pursue no possession and purity.  This remark
will give a significant allusion to the Buddhist circle that is currently showing a
shaking aspect, and the oriental philosopher Do-ol  Yong-ok Kim, who said
thoughtlessly that Hell, the  Western Pure Land(paradise), and transmigration do not
exist, will be greatly surprised.


 In his book, Great Monk Jajae Manhyon has warned, quoting the Buddha's words,
"Absurd remarks slandering the true Dharma are far heavier than any other sinful
karma."


 On the other hand, there is another important point in his Dharma talks.  He
emphasized the awesome spiritual powers of the Buddha who possesses the Three
Bodies.  The Buddha, who completely possesses the majestic figure, wisdom,
compassion and supernatural powers, stands out as the being that is ommipresent
all over the universe.  It is also quite natural that Great Monk Jajae Manhyon
recommends chanting the sacred name of a Buddha as the most excellent practice
method.


 "The way of practice, which has been taught by Sakyamuni Buddha who is the
Buddha of th Buddhas, is no other than the recitation of a Buddha's name.  As the
contemplating meditation of Vipashyana was a way of practice that the Buddha taught
some 2,500 year ago, it is also an excellent practicing method.  The recitation of a
Buddha's name is to chant  Namu  Amitabha, Namu Amitabha!   It  is  also good  to  
call  out  Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Ksitigabha Bodhisattva.  It is even better to chant
Sakyamuni Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha.  This is what we call the recitation of the
sacred name of a Buddha."(page 241)



With the expectation of new Buddhism


 From the very beginning, it is too extreme that a writer like me who is short of
knowledge in Buddhism conveys the message of Great Monk Jajae Manhyon who
may open a new chapter in the history of Buddhism.  I am saying with the feeling of
a person living in the same era as he does; the Dharma talk of Great Monk Jajae
Manhyon has definitaly been worth listening to it.

 I have also had a feeling of drinking nectar in the midst of having repeatedly heard
of the same words of Korean Buddhism that do not have any contents.  Professor
Nakajawa Shinichi of Juo University, who was a prominent figure in humanities
 in Japan, commented that 'Buddhism in Japan came to a stop in its creative power
when it entered Edo Period', but from my point of view, Korean Buddhism has
undergone problems in its own renewal capability since the middle years of the
Chosun Dynasty.

 When I visited Hyonjisa last May, he said like this. "When one reaches the peak of a
high mountain, he can see the views of both front and rear.  When one sees the views,
standing on the mid-slope of a mountain, only part of the views will be seen."
I am well aware of the danger about the subjective side that his remarks may have.

 However, the important part exists elsewhere.  It is because we consider "The 21st
Century Buddha's Message" as an excellent alternative and explanation, on both the
practice method customized over a thousand years in the past, and the view of life and
death that has remained, not only unclear, but also inconsistent with important Sutras.

 The remarks of Great Monk Jajae Manhyon seem to be closer to the Pure Land
sect than the form of the present Jogye Order, otherwise the main principle of his
teachings should rather be called as 'New Buddhism' without distinguishing between
this and that. Whatever name it may have, it is the fact that Buddhism is being asked
for the change in itself in the era of the post-modernism.  The Dharma talks of Great
Monk Jajae Manhyon may be a new anf fresh attempt for 'the Renaissance of
Buddhism', being freed from 'the worn-out name' the Jogye Order, that is to say, the
name plate of  Korean Buddhism.


source /Culture of Seon(zen) 
publication/Hyonjisa, Yongsan Buddhism

Culture of Seon(zen) / Korean Buddhism has no future without their renovation -3

Great conversion to the concept of the Reward Body from the Dharma Body.

 Then what is the key word of the Dharma teachings of Great Monk Jajae Manhyon? 
It will be the great conversion from 'Buddhism that has given the first importance to
the concept of the Dharma Body' to 'that which gives the first importance to the
Reward Body.


 It is to reorganize the whole Buddhist world with the concept of the Reward Body. 
As Great Monk Jajae Manhyon said, the present writer stands on the side of seeing
such a view of Buddhism as an introduction and efforts to build a new paradigm in
the world of  Buddhism.  It is because the core information and contents appearing
in Mahayana Sutras are newly understood.


Let us read.


 In Chapter 16 in the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha repeats his admonishment three times,
"My words are the truth and believe in my words", and then speaks clearly that he
was not Sakyamuni at the historical level who had expounded on this land over the
past forty years, but he had already been the Buddha for hundreds, thousands and
tens of thousands of nayuta kalpas.  He made it clear that he is the Buddha as 'the
ultimate being' existing separately namely in the Absolute Realm.  Consequently
Sakyamuni Buddha who came to the world 2500 year ago was no more than a
method of manifestation that he showed for the sake of sentient beings.


 Confined in the level of their usual life, the disciples at that time were just
bewildered at the words of the Buddha.  The Buddha performs miracles right in
front of his bewildered disciples.  We remember that in Chapter 11 "The
appearance of a jeweled stupa", the Tower of  Prabhutaratna Tathagath rose out
of the earth at the very place of the Spirit Mountain that was the ground of reality. 
More surprisingly, Prabhutaratna Tathagata was sitting there in the Tower
of Prabhutaratna Tathagata who made a vow that he would praise the Buddha,
appearing wherever the Buddha expounded his teachings.  Sakyamuni Buddha
showed all the more puzzled disciples another miracle in the state of samadhi.


 He clearly showed the scene of the magnificent land of the Buddha, namely, the
detailed aspect of the Absolute Realm once again.  What was more, Sakyamuni
Buddha showed himself sitting on the lion seat by Prabhutaratna Tathagata, while
his disciples were looking.


 This was a sudden manifestation of the ultimate existence, namely, the Absolute
Realm that the Buddha showed by acting in the space and time of the historical level. 
It was an enormous miracle that the Buddha showed that the ultimate existence and
historical Sakyamuni were one.


 The problem is that we have read this kind of story with a poetic imagination. 
We have taken this as a skillful explanation to teach and convert sentient beings,
and have also understood it with an abstract thought or an ideal thought.  From this
very point, Great Monk Jajae Manhyon starts to speak of.  He has stressed that
it is a concrete description of the Buddha Realm that is transcendental with human
character.  Here appears the thorough principle of putting the Reward Body in the
center which characterizes the viewpoint of Great Monk Jajae Manhyon on the
Buddha Realm.  It is to completely reorganiz the  Buddhist world by taking the
Reward Body made of Immeasurable Light, namely, the Reward Body existing
definitely in the Absolute Realm as the central axis.  The Dharma Body is light
itself symbolized as Vairocana Buddha, the truth itself, or the universal body
meaning the universe itself.  Hence, the Dharma Body is in non-dualism
relationship with the Reward Body.  The Reward Body originates from the Dharma
Body as its basis.  In other words, the Reward Body is the concrete aspect of the
Buddha Body existing in the ultimate Absolute Realm.


 What we should take note of is that this has not come from the desk of a Buddhist
scholar, but is connected with the theory of independent practice, and with
establishment of the  viewpoint of birth and death of Buddhism.  In addition,
the practice process of Great Monk Jajae Manhyon is also closely related.  The
report on this issue is no other than "The 21st Century Buddha's Message."


Therefore, Great Monk Jajae Manhyon has raised a question publicly from the
perspectives of the new interpretation on breaking through Hwadu (a head phrase)
that Korean Buddhism mentions, that is to say, awakening to one's original nature. 
It is commonly said that 'Seeing one's original nature is namely accomplishing
Buddhahood', but he denies it completely.  In a word, he has indicated that it is more
than "a dangerous expression." On the other hand, he said that seeing original nature
is no more than the starting point toward a long practice.


 Great Monk Jajae Manhyon says like this based on the experience of his practice. 
"At the  moment when I came to see the original nature of mind by breaking through
Hwadu (a head phrase), the phenomena of the sky and the earth were suddenly
overturned, I saw the light of my self nature, and at this very moment, "I realized
that everything before me was empty, and there disappeared not only my body,
but also the notions of I." It was the original nature of mind before thinking.  I can
realize at this time that one's physical body is like 'false clothes', and the notion of
I is 'a salse I' and an impermanent existence.  The problem starts from this passage.


 'The stage of seeing the original nature is not the perfect enlightenment; it is far from
being freed from the transmigration of life and death, and from leaping over the Three
Realms (the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm) completely.'
It is noticeable that in this passage, Great Monk Jajae Manhyon speaks of his
experience of having entered the state of samadhi, after having broken through
Hwadu (head phrase) without attaching himself to logic and letters.


 He said that, one day when he entered samadhi completely, he had slept together
with a seriously afflicted leper under the same blanket.  Even in this situation of
samadhi, the Great Monk repeatedly became conscious of the existence of the leper.


 Also, when a large snake was approaching him, while he was maintaining practice
after enlightenment in his practicing cave, he found himself sweating hard in extreme
tension. Even when he happened to see a beautiful woman, he felt uneasy.  As he
described, "he disliked himself, feeling disgusting."  The Great Monk came to an
interim conclusion that the state of his breaking through Hwadu and his meditative
concentration had not reached the stage of the real samadhi that the Buddha spoke of.


 At that moment, I myself started to become suspicious of my Dharma talks of the
past, in which I asserted, "The afflictions of ignorance, karma, or so on are
completely melted down in the melting furnace called the true nature of suchness,
and do not leave and trace behind.  Through these experiences, I have realized that
I cannot become a Buddha right away, though I  see the self nature of suchness. 
I wished to see the Buddha and Bodhisattvas, but I could neither have a personal
meeting, nor see Hell or the deva realm. After all, I  was unable to see the Tushita
Pure Land, nor the Western Pure Land." (summary of pages 26~30)


 For these reasons, having been a Seon practicing monk, he switched his direction to
meditation of chanting the sacred name of the Buddha in a decisive manner.  It is
clear that this change of direction was an astonishing event in two points.  It is
because meditation of chanting the Buddha's name was taken as a non-Buddhist in
Korean Buddhism which had been based on patriarchal Seon for a long time.


 However, taking note that meditation of chanting a Buddha's name had been the
practice method of Nagarjuna and Asvaghosha of India, Hui-yuan, Shan-dao, and
Jue-xian of China, and Eui-sang, Wonhyo, and Seo-san of Korea, Great Monk
Jajae Manhyon continued chanting the sacred name of the Buddha, keeping silent. 
It is indeed surprising.





source /Culture of Seon(zen)

publication/Hyonjisa, Yongsan Buddhism

Culture of Seon(zen) / Korean Buddhism has no future without their renovation - 2

Korean Buddhism is like a frog in the well?


 The collections of the Dharma teachings of "The 21st Century Buddha's Message"
written by Great Monk Jajae Manhyon, published by Hyonjisa, Hyonjigung that
I have met amid these doubts on Korean Buddhsim, was extraordinary.  I confess
that it approached me as a great shock.  It is because as I mentioned earlier, this
book has substantially given me a clue to my long lingering doubts.

 Indeed, these collections of the Dharma teachings are stirring up the old customary
heritage of the Korean Buddhist circle now.  It is truly unprecedented.  Dispassionately
speaking, this has been a challenge to the identity of Korean Buddhism, and no other
than a lion's roar demanding self-renovation. (Refer to the interview with Great Monk
Jajae Manhyon.)

 I am well aware that since Korean Buddhism has been affected by Seon (chan)
Buddhism over a thousand years, many Buddhists perception has been fixed to it.

 The Seon Sect and most of Mahayana Buddhist scholars translate the expression
of 'Mind is namely the Buddha.' as'If one enlightens one's mind, he becomes a
Buddha.' But I declare that enlightenment is only the beginning of practice and only
the starting point of a long journey to become a Buddha.  The teachings of Buddhism
in this country have been much distorted.  It is because there are problems in
studying Buddhist scriptures that form the basis of the teachings and practice."
(page 11~12)

 Great Monk Jajae Manhyon definitely said 'No' on the practice method of the
present Korean Buddhism that has one-sidedly been pursuing for investigation
of the Hwadu (head phrase), but in my point of view, these problems raised by
the Great Monk can be contrasted with the controversy of sudden enlightenment
and gradual enlightenment raised by Great Monk Seong-cheol, the then Master
Monk of the Jogye Order in 1981.  What is more, the power of Great Monk Jajae
Manhyon is far ahead of the latter.  The controversy over the sudden enlightenment
and gradual enlightenment twenty-seven years ago avoided the identity itself
of Korean Buddhism, but Great Monk Jajae Manhyon has raised far more
fundamental problems throughout his Dharma talks.

 As he is well aware of these points, he said clearly, "The problems that I have
raised areto mark an epoch for the development of scriptural study of Buddhism."
(page 14)

 He also made a remark, "His Dharma teachings corresponding to the Copernican
conversion will be evaluated in the distant future." (page 125) Anyhow, the words
of Great Monk Jajae Manhyon are "a noteworthy great event in terms of the
history of Buddhism" (page 187), and are a hot message to the present Korean
Buddhsim.  Among other things, his indication, that the present Korean Buddhism
is not orthodox Buddhism that has the perfect logical and theoretical system, but
has turned to the level of the religion of mind, stands out conspicuously.

 Why is that? People know but little of the study of scriptures because they do not
try to thoroughly read important Sutras of Mahayana Buddhism such as the Lotus
Sutra, the Avatamsaka Sutra, etx.  This is because they consistently take ignorant
attitudes, disregarding the essential teachings including the view of birth and death
stated therein as a kind of skillful teachings.  Hence, these collections of his
teachings are a vital warning to 'Buddhism in a well.' He is also square in the
respect that he has concretely revealed the internal achievements that he has
experienced through his long time practice.

 "Today' Buddhism says that trying to find the Buddha outside of one's mind
is like boiling the sand to make boiled rice.

 They say that this mind is a Buddha; the

original nature of the mind is the Western

Pure Land.  As a result, people just search

for Hell and the Western Pure Land only

in their mind, and say, "Hell and the

Western Pure Land are not the real realms

that exist independently, but no more than

the product of our mind." Hence, they do

not recognize Hell, the Western Pure

Land, the Buddha, the Bodhisattva, etc.

that apparently exist outside of one's

mind."(page 45~46)

 They have taught only on the level that

Seon meditation is to break through true

nature of one's existence.  Thus, they see

Hell lightly as a product of our mind.

They also see the Western Pure Land as a

kind of original foundation of the

universal life.... This naive perception will

 

be connected to the logical leap that, when a justice society with freedom, equality
and peace comes true, that place is no other than the Western Paradise.  They say
that the word, Avalokiteshvara, Avalokiteshvara, is also what the universal life has
been humanized.  It is nothing more or nothing less." (summary of the pages 223~224)

 Great Monk Jajae Manhyon declares that the Dharma teachings like these are
the non-Buddhist's talks that profane the true Dharma.  For instance, Seon
Buddhism has interpreted fetters, venomous insects, ghosts, etc. appearing in the
Lotus Sutra as a metaphor and a symbol.  They understand these as a kind of device
of poetic imagination power for the public education.  As the situation is like this,
they inattentively read the great messages such as Chapter 11 "The vision of the
jeweled pagoda", Chapter 15 "Springing out of the earth", Chapter 16 "The
longevity of the Tathagata" and so on in the Lotus Sutra

Culture of Seon(zen) / Korean Buddhism has no future without their renovation - 1

In the photo, Great Monk Jajae Manhyon is smiling, pointing at something...



His book, □ The 21st century Buddha's Message □ published in May 2005 became the best seller among the Buddhist books in Korea unprecedentedly for six consecutive months.

Korean Buddhism
              has no future without their renovation

- The Dharma world of Great Monk Jajae Manhyon that has been revealed in the
collections of his Dharma teachings   ㅁThe 21st Century Buddha's Messageㅁ

The writer of this article, Woo-suk Jo, is currently working

as Director of the Culture Department

of the JoongAng Ilbo, one of the three major daily newspapers in Korea,

and Exclusive Reporter on religion

 The favorable evaluation on Korean Buddhism that we often make as part of well-wishing

remarks,  is  roughly  like  this.   "We  have  cherished  the  tradition  of  practice  of  Seon Buddhism in Northeast Asia over ten centuries from the remote past until the present; it has become a precious heritage of our basic culture beyond the level of a particular religion."

 There  is  a  remark  customarily  following   these  evaluations   which   reflect  average

perception of people.  We take pride in possessing all kinds of Buddhism.  We claim that

we have a department store of Buddhism which extensively covers the traditions of a sect focusing on Seon (chan meditation) practice as well as the school that advocates scriptural studies, and Tantrism.  Even though this commonly accepted idea has not definitely been verified, we are often absorbed into too exces sive mood without any ground.

 "Isn't  our  neighboring  country  China  sending  their  students  to Korea to learn Korean Buddhism,  and  to  restore  their  traditions  that  have  been  destroyed  after  the  cultural revolution?   Japanese Buddhism?   As  their  Buddhism  has  been  centering  on scriptural studies since Suzuki Daisets,  I consider  that  the  tradition  of their Seon practice has been weakened. It has already been one and a half centuries since the Western society started to have  interest  in  Buddhism  from  around  the  time  of  revolution  in  1868;  in  the  era  of globalization of Buddhism, we should consider  that  the  prospect of  Korean  Buddhism is bright."

 Will  it  be  true?   The truth that has not been doubted will certainly go rotten.  Is Korean

Buddhism  that  has  the tradition of 1000 years truly healthy?  In the Chosun Dynasty (the last  dynasty  of  Korea),  the school of Seon practice and the school of scripturalists were combined together.  Since then, Korean Buddhism has continuously been reduced.  Aren't we  vaguely  calling  our  Buddhist history  that  has  been  far  from  self-renovation,  even though  it  has  indeed  been  necessary  from the mid-Chosun Dynanty until the present, as having possessed all kinds of Buddhism?

 Questions continue.  Is Korean Buddhism that is proud of having ten million Buddhists

fully satisfying the heart of our present contemporaries, indeed?

 Seon (chan) Buddhism that started from the ancient Tang Dynanty of China in the ninth

century if the acculturation that has developed between original Buddhism of India and

Taoism of Chinese culture.  Is the Patriarchal Seon alone all the Buddhist paradigms that

we can rely on?  Has Patriarchal Seon become a lot dull and lost its vitality in the process

of long tautology?

 These doubts are unavoidable any more in the era when the level of Korean Buddhism has clearly been revealed across the whole world.

 It is because the present era at the beginning of the 21st century is the period when

Buddhism has gathered strength to the level of a global religion unlike the Ancient Times

and the Middle Ages.

 In fact, Tibetan Buddhism, Southern Buddhism, Vipashyana meditation, etc.  were

introduced to the west ahead of us, and they also exercise greater influence than Korean Buddhism.  It has been some ten years since Tibetan Buddhism were reimported into the feeble Korean Buddhism.

 The situation is that Buddhism-related books translated into English including those of

Great Monk the Dalai Lama, and Great Monk Thich Nhat Hanh, are pouring into book

stores.  People hurriedly speak highly of the achievements of Great Monk Sungsan who

fostered his disciples graduated from renowned universities in the United States, but

contrarily that only reflects more interior complex about the west.

 It has already been some two hundred years since the western world started to translate

oriental classics such as "Tao Te Ching" of  Lao-tzu or "the Analects" of Confucius, etc.

admirably into their languages.  It has already been a common sense that Buddhist Sutras including the Lotus Sutra were also translated far ahead of us.  The practice of probing deep into doubts of Hwadu key phrase is only orthodoxy, and other practicing methods are driven away narrow-mindedly as non-Buddhists, but it is right now that we should ask ourselves again whether the well-wishing remarks or pride, that we are the stronghold of Seon Buddhsim in Northeast Asia, may be thoughtless remarks.