2023년 6월 3일 토요일

The Table of Contents

 The Table of Contents

 

 

Declaration of the doctrine of the transmigration of the substance of soul

 

Upon the occasion of publishing the book

 

I. Lamentation over the true aspect of the mislead and diminished Buddhism of the world

II. Opening of a new chapter of the world history of Buddhism

 

1. Lamentation over the misleading concept of 'non-self': the principal cause of the decline of Buddhism

2. Opening of a new chapter of the world history of Buddhism

 

III. An overview of 'non-self' and the Buddhist history on the problems of the substance of transmigration

 

1. An overview of the doctrine of 'non-self' in the early Buddhism

2. Understanding of the doctrines of 'non-self' and the substance of transmigration at the time of Manifold Schools of Buddhism

3. Understanding of 'non-self' and the substance of transmigration in the age of Mahayana Buddhism

4. Controversy of Hinduism and Christianity on the doctrine of Buddhism and our defence against their challenge: chiefly on 'non-self', the substance of transmigration, and the substance of soul

 

IV. Right understanding of 'non-self' and the world of 'true-self'

 

1. Right meaning of the doctrine of 'non-self': 'non-self' is the concept bound to the phenomenal world

2. Buddha's raising a lotus flower at the Vulture Peak congregation was Lord's teaching of 'non-self' and the realm of noumenon

3. The realm of noumenon of the Four Virtues of Nirvana: Buddha's exposition of the realm of 'self'

4. True-self is the substance of soul itself: the hero of the sentient being in hell who advances from the hell to attaining the Buddhahood

 

V. The nucleus of transmigration is the substance of soul of 'no-self'

 

1. Doctrine of 'non-self', the transmigration of 'non-self', and the transmigration of 'subsistent-self'

2. The substance of soul of 'no-self' is the nucleus of transmigration: transmigration of 'subsistent-self'

3. A critical study of the theory of transmigration in the Buddhist circle

VI. The interpretation of misleading doctrines of 'non-self': the transmigration of 'non-self' disturbs the foundation of Buddhism

 

1. Transmigration of 'non-self' is the violation of the law of causality

2. The loss of the basis of the doctrines of transmigration in the six realms of karmic existence and enlightenment

3. Negation of the subsistence of Buddha and Bodhisattvas

4. The loss of the basis of the Buddhist ceremony for the spirits of the deceased

5. If there is no substance of soul, there is no way to be reborn with the physical body

6. If there is no world of self in the realm of ultimate reality, there is no way to claim the greatness of Buddhism

7. The great sage has a clear insight to see the substance of soul

 

 VII. Conclusion on the arguments of 'non-self' and the nucleus of transmigration

2023년 6월 2일 금요일

Upon the Occasion of Publishing the Book



 Upon the Occasion of Publishing the Book

 

It really has been a long period of dark tunnel. It took not only tens and hundreds of years but 2,000 years to reveal the right interpretation of 'non-self' and have it illuminate in the bright sunshine. It has been truly a shame that no eminent scholars and great enlightened masters during the long period could remove the veil covering the misinterpretation of the important term--'non-self'. Perhaps their wisdom of light must have been too weak to illuminate the darkness, or have they kindly left the sacred job for Jajae Manhyeon, Manjusri, the Prince of the Dharma King or Buddha to accomplish?

I prostrate with all the five parts of my body and pay grace to our Lord the World-honored Buddha, the founder of our religion, who has sent His two beloved disciples, the Great Master Gwangmyeong Mandeok, Venerable Kasyapa, and the Great Master Jajae Manhyeon, Venerable Ananda, at the time when we are living in the land of Republic of Korea to open the new age of orthodox dharma.

The greatness of Buddhism is the clear-cut system of truth about the salvation of humanity, its practice and attaining enlightenment that leads to karma, transmigration, and enlightenment, based on the law of causation; the Tri-dharma mudra, or the seal of three universal laws: all compounded things are impermanent, all dharma lack self-nature, nirvana is quiescence free from birth and death; and the Four Noble Truths: the holy truth of duhkha or suffering, the holy truth of the cause of suffering, the holy truth of the cessation of suffering, and the holy truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering, which enfolds the Noble Eightfold Path.

The gist of all such systems is Buddha's immeasurable cosmic power of salvation. In other words, there are sentient beings, the subjects of their own karma, transmigration, enlightenment, and the cosmic power of boundless compassion of Buddha who extinguishes the karmic obstructions of the sentient beings.

However, the theory of distorted misinterpretation of 'non-self' claims the logic that denies both the substance of sentient beings and the subsistence of Buddha. It means they left only the empty bag of Buddhism casting off the two nucleuses of Buddhism, namely, the almighty Buddha and sentient beings. This must has been the reason that Buddhism has declined in India, its birthplace, and could not spread it to the world far and wide, and maintained its feeble life only in some parts of Asia.

Buddhism covers more than half of the earth, yet when we think of its prestige and majestic power in the dharma realm, it is too shabby and less than satisfactory. However, considering its popularity in spite of such meager status in a shabby robe, it is a kind of miracle which reflects the greatness of Buddha's illustrious teaching. If so, we need no long explanations for spreading the Buddha's teaching all over the world if we could only show the people the true face of Buddhism.

 

This is the reason why the Great Masters Gwangmyeong Mandeok, Vernerable Kasyapa, the Dharma heir, and the Great Master Jajae Manhyeon, Venerable Ananda, the Prince of the Dharma, established the Yeongsan Buddhism to open the new age of orthodox Buddhism.

Originally, the doctrine of 'non-self' was for the Buddha to release the attachment of the sentient beings from their idea of 'self' in the mundane world of birth and death. Yet people misunderstood the true meaning of 'non-self' and magnified this misleading concept to deny even the substance of the realm of noumenon and followed it as the orthodox doctrine of Buddhism.

Yeongsan Buddhism is trying to uphold the true meaning of 'non-self' expounded by Buddha, and through teachings of two great masters of this age, Gwangmyeong Mandeok and Jajae Manhyeon, undertook the great work of vanishing forever the misleading doctrines of 'non-self' and 'transmigration of non-self' based on the doctrine of misleading interpretation of 'non-self', and then establish the doctrine of 'transmigration of the substance of soul through right interpretation of 'non-self' to start the age of new Buddhism to open the age of orthodox Buddhism to show the true face of the teachings of Buddha to the whole world.

It is my sincere wish for all the followers of Buddha's teaching to join our campaign of spreading the orthodox Buddhism to the world far and wide as soon as possible to save Buddhism by delivering the Buddhism of this age and all the followers of Buddha's teaching in the world from the deep swamp of misleading doctrine of 'non-self'.

Accordingly the publication of this book is, with the assistance of the dharma talks of the Great Master Jajae Manhyeon, for the Yeongsan Buddhism to help the Buddhism of today and the followers of Buddha's teaching to understand the right meaning of 'non-self' and accept the new doctrine of the transmigration of 'the substance of soul'

I prostrate with all the five parts of my body and pay courtesy to the Great Master who instructed and encouraged me to write this book. If there is any misunderstanding about the Master's teaching, that fault is entirely mine, and I pray to the readers to be generous towards my misunderstanding of the Master's teaching.

 

I have a special request for the scholars who are teaching or writing on Buddhism. Our Buddha is the great saint of the cosmos and the great teacher of humanity. When I read the writings on Buddhism, I sometimes encounter with the phrase 'Sakya', the name of Sakya clan, and feel uncomfortable. I wish that it is our duty to pay honor, whether one is a Buddhist or not, to the great saint.

 

It is also my sincere wish that this book will be of some help to the readers in understanding the right teachings of Buddha and spreading them to the world far and wide. I also pray that Buddha's grace will be always with you. Thank you.

 

The 8th day of the fourth moon (Sakyamuni Buddha's birthday), 2554, BE (2010)

 

 

Hyeun with palms joined.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Substance of Soul and the Doctrine of Transmigration

 Termination of 2000 Years of Contention

Over the Transmigration of Non-self

 

The Substance of Soul and the Doctrine

of Transmigration

 

The Substance of Soul of No-self is the Nucleus

of Transmigration

 


Non-self has been misinterpreted.

Jajae Manhyeon is right.

As a Prince of the Dharma, Jajae Manhyeon

Should set it right.

It was the principal cause of the decline of Buddhism.

 

Ideological Research Institute of Yeongsan Buddhism

 


The Words of the World-honored Buddha

 

Non-self has been misinterpreted.

Jajae Manhyeon is right.

As a Prince of the Dharma, Jajae Manhyeon

Should set it right.

It was the primal cause of the decline of Buddhism.

 



Declaration of the Doctrine of Transmigration

of the Substance of Soul!

 

 

I, Jajae Manhyeon, declare that the substance of soul of 'no-self (非我)' is the nucleus or the chief constituent of transmigration. It is about the time to straighten the false doctrine of 'non-self (無我)' that has been prevailing for about 2,000 years.

I declare that the transmigration of 'non-self' is a heresy, and it must be stamped out forever. I officially declare in the name of the orthodox doctrine of Yeongsan (Vulture Peak 靈鷲山) Buddhism that the doctrine of the transmigration of 'subsistent-self (有我)', or the transmigration of the substance of soul as the doctrine of Buddhism.

The substance of our soul is also the substance of human, and originally it subsisted in the realm of noumenon or the ultimate reality of cosmos. The 'self' of the third of the Four Virtues of Nirvana, 'the unobstructed 'true-self' of Buddha, discoursed in the Nirvana Sutra, is the immaculate purity of the substance of soul without a particle of dust.

However, during the immeasurable eons of long passage of time, there arose all kinds of discrimination and greedy mind, defiling the purity of soul by committing the numerous evil karmas of non-fundamental things such as karmic obstructions. We call such defiled substance of soul 'no-self (非我)'. Thus the doctrine of the transmigration of 'the subsistent-self' reveals its characteristic nature as 'no-self' and the transmigration of the substance of soul as its true nature.

The fundamental reason that our Buddhism has disappeared from India, its birthplace, and could not spread throughout the world was due to this misleading theory of 'non-self'. Sakyamuni Buddha also spoke about the misleading doctrine of 'non-self' which was the cause of the decline of Buddhism.

Therefore, it is my firm resolution to uphold the Buddha's illustrious teachings to redress the wrong interpretation of 'non-self' and declare 'the transmigration of the substance of soul' to open a new era of the orthodox dharma. We must rectify the misleading doctrine of 'non-self' to verify the foundation of subsistence of Buddha, transmigration, and the realm of enlightenment. In fact, the right interpretation of 'non-self' is the starting point of the orthodox Buddhism.

The misleading interpretation of 'non-self' has been acknowledged for long by not only in the Buddhist sectors but also in the fields of scholarship and religion, and we can anticipate a great reaction to the new doctrine of 'non-self'. But we must accept the right meaning of 'non-self' as a painful labor of the birth of orthodox dharma. It could be compared with the great turning point of Copernican evolution and must be carried out without delay.

Publication of this book is to help all the Buddhists in the world to understand our efforts to straighten the misleading interpretation of 'non-self' and the "illogical doctrine of the transmigration of 'non-self'". Therefore, it is my sincere wish that all the followers of the illustrious teachings of Buddha to awaken and be released from the fetters of the misleading interpretation of 'non-self' and join the right path of the orthodox dharma.

Lastly, I wish to appreciate the painful efforts of the dharma instructor Hyewun in writing this book. I also pray that Buddha's immeasurable empowerment will always be with all the followers of Buddha's teaching.

 

 

The 8th day of the fourth moon, 2554, BE (2010)

 

Jajae Manhyeon

Hyeonjisa, Yeongsan Buddhism