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I967 VOTUME 2 NUMBER 1 KOREA I

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Page 1: Vol-2-No-1

I967VOTUME 2 NUMBER 1

KOREA

I

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161

WON BUDDHISM

Published by:

WON KWANG COLLEGBIri Citv Cltolla Pukdo, Korea

CONTENTS

Editorial

Golden Rules

The Way of Cultivation of Mind

from the Supreme Scripture of Won Buddhism

The Meanings of Channa' by Dr. Kil Chin Park

Realization and Bliss

by Won ll Kwang (Ralph L. Goggin) .....

Why is Buddhist Reformation Considered Inevitable?

by Prof . Chun Eun Song

The Modernization of Buddhismhy Dr. Richard A. Gard

As the material civilization makes rapid progdess, cultivatethe spiritual civilization accordingly.

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;*t*T Ir$il

Everytime Channa

Everywhere Channa

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Vol. I No. I0 WON BUDDHIIM 1957

EDITORIAL

"At the Thread of Pacific Ages"

We recognize that a new age is beginning before our ey€s. Whenwe look upon our past, history tells us that the ancient civilization.inIndia bloomed along the Ganges river, Chinese civilization along Yellowriver and Greece boasted of-its civilization at the Aegean Se,a. And,in the middle ages, these ancient civilizations which once formed a Romancivilization has been flourishing as the European civilization of todaysince it reached the Atlantic Ocean at the beginning of the Modern Age.However, now we see that the new history which is to overspread thenew future is beginning at the Pacific Ocean.

The characterestics of the atlantic civilization from the ModernAges have been regarded as natural science, materialism and industri-alfum, and finally this Atlantic civilization, prosperous for five or sixhundred years, has come to a point ulhere it is to be forced to yieldits place to some other civilization. It is passing away, leaving us un-desirable influences. I dare not say it has entirely disregarded internallife, soul and spirit, but too much inclined toward materiality and theflesh, and also it has over stressed the importance upon motion, peoplerunning about, chattering, strolling, for nothing. In this period beingquiet peacefully is fully forgotten.

We, who are to meet the Pacific Ages are responsible for leadingthis new age . The motto, "As the material civilization makes rapidprogress, cultivate the spiritual civilization accordingly," which the Ven,Sote,san, the founder of Won Buddhism announced fifty two years agoat the Ryong Kwang county, is a pr'ecept suggesting that, the age ofPacific civilization, in which a compl,ete society cultivating both mindand materiality is realized, will follow the Atlantic civilization. Thematerial civilization which does not keep pace with the ' spiri-tual civilization and vice versa, should be called a crippled civilization.

Even though the development of scientific techniques, which is theproduction of the Atlantic civilization, has reached its highest degree,the A-Bomb does not give a solution for the quarrels caused by jealousybetuieen husband and wife. We foresee the end of this diseased worldapproaching at hand in which people are hopelessly fascinated by ma-teriality and the flesh, regarding religions as have noting to do withour real lives.

Now we religious people should take the initiative at the approachof the Pacific ages. What is the spiritual attitude needed to be a leaderin the Pacific ages? First: We should be conscious of religion. Weshould say religion can be distinguished as having two parts: one is theritualistic religion in which strong stress is put on its doctrine and rites.The other is practical religion, that is, living religion. Buddhism or

WON BUDDHISM

Christianity up to date may be called a ritualistic religions. Anyway,the religion qualified for taking a leadership at the new Pacific age,say it is to be Buddhism, Christianity or Confucianism, or any otherreligion, should not be separated from our real lives.

It is told that Goethe, a German poet, said; "You need not neces-sarily pray to god, but should keep the pious and cautious mind ofprayer through your life." The Bodhisattava cherishes the Four greatVows. The spirit of these four vows also should directly penetrate ourreal lives. When a religion has come to be connected closely and prac-tically with our real lives, it will cease to be an empty shell of doctrinesand rituals.

Second: We shoud be conscious of production. To be consciousof production means to have the spirit of construction and labor. It isa symbol of this consciousness that our Ven. Sotesan abolished thesystem of alms and offerings which have been a method of living forold Buddhist monks, teaching his desciples self-support. In the olddays, Confucianism, Buddhism, Christianity, and almost every r,eligion,were the religions of consumption. I do not mean the production neces-sarily to produce something at work shops. When we clean our rooms,wash clothes, plant a tree in the ground, save money, these mean produc-tion. It would be more worth while and exciting to compose music one-self than to appreciate it when it is composed by others.

With these spirits cherished and practicing them through our lives,we should be a great pioneer of the approaching Pacific Ages.

Golden Roles

The one who pretends to be higher than anyone else falls lower andthe one who tries to win over the other will necessarily be defeated.It is easy and probable for a brave one to meet a formidable enemy;and a clever one is apt to make a failure of important matters.If you r,eproach another's ignorance of your good deed, the very gooddeed you have done ulill put forth buds of evil and if you are penitentof any evil you have done, the bud of good will be put forth from thevery evil.You, therefore, should neither let the doing of a good deed obstructthe-improvement of your mind nor let the despair of evil drag you do,wn.A foolish man is only pleased to get a gift and is ignorani of the factthat he will get multiple damages from the gift, while a wise man doesnot love to get any gift; and even though he gets any, he does not takethe whole but divides it for the public so that he prevents misfortune.The one from whose mind evil spirits and poisonous spirits are gonecan dissolve them from others.The mind that fights against others is; the cause of bringing disaster;

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and the mind concordant with others, the cause of blessing.A virtuous man teaches the'world with good, and u rogri,"*ith evil;so the merits of both in teaching tt. world' are equal, the"foirner, boingblessed; the latter, being punished.we, therefore, should nit hate the rogue but take pity on him.

The Way of Cultivation of Mindf rom

the Suprem,e Scripture ol Won Buddhism

The Ven. Sotesan said:"To view the -way of cultivation of mind in the oriental religious

orders in fhe past, the monks attached too much importance to the prac-tice.of b,eing-quiet so that some renounced their fainily, entering moun-tains; and others.did nothing but read sutras and scriptures ur6n whenthe sacks of. grain were cleared away by rain from iheir yard. Thiscame from the belie'f that the discipline and daily life inteifered eachother. How can such a way be called a proper one?

we do not, ther'efore, discriminate wort<^ from cultivation of mindand show the way to get the -great power of Thrse Degrees of Study atP.ing quiet and_ moving simultaneoirsly. so now, keef on practicin! atbeirtg qui,et and moving alike."

"As far as getting the power of cultivated mind is concerned, oneshould bear in mind that there are two ways: one is the cultivation oftemperament -and the other that of mentality. A soldier's immobilityof heart on the battle field, for example, reiults from the training oftemperament and a monk's tranquility of mind in the trying circums-tance,s of the five evil desires comes from the cultivation"of "mentality.With his cultivated temperament. a soldier can not be called to havea perfe-ct mind without the cultivation of mentality; while a monk'stranquility of mind can not be perfect if he has not ihe temperamentaltraining-in actual trying circumitagcgs." "If you want to get a perfectpersonality and get the supreme wisdom, do not lean on o[ly oni thingyou do. ]h9re is, nowadays a tendency that mpst people'are apt tocling to ob_stinacJ so that they do not aitain to a peifec^t morality: forexamptre, the followers of Confucius stick to their customs Buddhiststo theirs and other m_en cf r'eligion and social works to their knowledgeand the works they do. Their obstinacy is so much so that they neithErknow jiglrt frory ylong,. and_ advantage from disadvantage, ,o. utilizethe, other's profitable principles. They can not in such i way becomewell rounded persons."

And one layman asked: , ,"won't one- lose one's own opinion ind subjectivity if one gets out<lf onc's own tradition and asseftion?"

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To this question replied The Ven. Sotesan as follows:"This means not that you must adopt all principles of other's at

randorn without your own assertion but that you must adapt and utilizethem upon your own right opinion."

"A monk's attitude to train his mind only at being quiet avodingtryinq circumstances is compared to a fisherman who avoids water withintention of catching fish. What effect can be expected? You, therefore,to get to the truth(way), should train mind in the disturbing environment.Only the mind trained in such trying circumstances will not be tangledwith unfavorable conditions in actual daily life. A man whose mindis not trained in trying circumstances will be perturbed once he is con-fronted with a disturbance. Such a mind is compared to a mushroomgrown in shade, which will fade away as soon as it iq exposed tothe sun. That's why you can see Yimae said that Boddhisattvas keeptranquility of mind in a noisy disturbance while a wicked man disturbshis mind even in a tranquil state. This means that seraching for truthdepends on the sujective control of mind and not on the outer conditions.

The Meanings of Channaby Dr. Kil Clin Park

1. Channa is the way to be all attention, to keep our spirit awaken-ing. The ceaseless operation of our Six Organs or Six Roots(eyes, ears,nose, tongue, body, *ill) causes the dark cloud of desires and avaricein our mind, producing so many people who lead soulless lives. Channais the way to enlighten the original nature and to recover our lost soulor spirit by calming down various kinds of evil thoughts. Once a Ch'anMaster, Bul Chi, said that evil words are cut short by putting cobblesin the speakers mouth, and cruelties and violences of an evil man arechecked by the criminal code. So, the source which can give us strengthto prevent our consciousness from being degraded by desires. is enligh-tenment. Avarice. delusion and attachment are to be rooted out onlyby the strength of our enlightened mind. This enlightenment meansthe spiritual awakening.2. To practice Channa is to liquidate what one is. As we sometimeslose the way on our journey, so we are groping in the dark way, fullof avarice, delusion, arrogance etc. To remedy this evil situation, com-plete liquidation of self is needed. That is, once we give up ourselvescompletely, then, only then, we can obtain true spiritual freedom, theoriginal Nature.3. Channa is to purify our will. Originally our mind has a track tofollow when it operates. Occasionally, however, tempted by delusions,our mind goes to and fro finally running off the track. We should tryto keep on the track through mind training, and all the obstacles on the

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track should be swept away. .Otherwise constant accidents will becaused. This sweeping means to purify one's will. In other words,channa is the way to wash the diit off our mind so that we may beon Righteous way.4. Channa is tho method to ,extinguish all thoughts and knowledge.With the consciousness of thoughts and rnowledgJ in our mind we fiitto perceive our original nature. This means thougn'ts, knowledge, rea-soning, etc., prevent us from seeing into our originll nature. We can nomore see into our real nature through these mEdia than an old mousec-al gn-aw an iron horn of an iron cow, _or a mosquito can pierce theskin of an iron cow. It would rather be better to r,etreat. 'iherefore,the quickest way to approach our original nature is to calm down theoperation of knowledge and thoughts.- This is the same in case we areengaged in some busine'ss. Doing something with superfluous thoughtswe can not meet with success. For an example we may take a manplaying che1s. If his mind is occupied with superfluous thoughts whileplaying, such as to overcome the -othgr side, to earn some money bydefeating him, etc., needless to say, he should fail. Thoughts, t<nowliidge,reasonlng, etc., are great obstacles for o,r.r directly ehtering into theOriginal nature.5. Channa means the continuance of a concentrated state of mind.Buddha reached Enlightenment becaus,e he kept his mind undisturbedthrough constant temptations attacked by Mira and his beauties inthe course of his Self.-training on the stone under a tree after six ye,arsascetic life through which he-realized that the merely overstr,essed physi-cal torturing means nothing for the attainment Buddhahood. Channi isthe continual practicing to achieving the concentrated mind state.6. channa is the study seeking for the rnastery of the mind. In anarmy the general in command does not fight with a rifle or a swordp8liygt the enemy._ If the-commander, whols to give orders to his men,left his post. to fight against the enemy himself,-the troops wlould faliinto great disorder and would be defeated. The Maste. oi mind shouldr,emain in a calm state controling its men, the Six organs or Six Roots,yI., they fight against the enemy. When the Mastel of mind neglectshis responsjbility everything

-goes- wrong. By practicing Channal Wecan m''.ke the Master of mind perform its rol-e is a Mas-ter of mino.7. channa is th-e way to harmonize our Body, Breath, Mind, the world.To Harmonize the Body means the harmonization between the "Fire"and the "Water" elements in our body, that is, to let the fire downwardand the water lpward. This harmonization gives us good health. Toharmonize the Breath means to ke,ep the brealh even, ihrough which allparts of our p-hysical operation goei smoothly. To harmonii,e the mindmeans to eradicate the diseases of mind, such as delusion, attachment.We can recover our healthy mind by stamping out the diieases in ourmind and, naturally, as a result, our life wiil bi kept in good order and

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will be harmonized, and, further, this harmonization extends it's scopeto homes, nations, and to the world. This is the harmonization ofthe world.8. Chanrra should be experienced, not understood through words.ln the book of "Chuang tzu" we read: Once Huan Kung was r,eadingon the floor in his housc when a man named Lun Pien who was a makerof wagon wheels went up close to him and asked, "What are you read-ing?" Huan Kung answered, "Teachings of the ancient sages." Againhe was asked, "Are the sages still living?" "No, they have alrtady pass-ed away." "Then it is nothing but a draft that you are reading." "Whatmakes you say that?" Herewith Lun Pien stated; "I am a wheel maker,with a gimlet and chisel to make holes and cut through. However, theexquisite principle in my mind is unable to express in words to mysons until my age of seventy and I am still engaged in the v,ork and mysons are not still initiated the principle. Much more in the case of theexquisite principle of sages' teachings. The book you are reading maybe f,-rll of good words. However, reading is another thing from theexperience, the essential spirit, of the sages." That is way we see somany readers of the teaching of sages but see few sages even amongthe readers. As we know, letters and words are not the intermediarythings we should depend upon to understand Truth. Channa teaches usthe way to initiate the exquisite principle from mind to mind. Channais to be experienced.

Realization and Blisshy Won Il Kwang (Ralph L. Goggin)

All is of one Suchness.Suchness is the primordial Substance.Aspects of Suchness are: Intelligence (Mind), Law and Manifesta-

tion. (The thing ltself, the Way It works and What It does.)This is the Trinity of the ONE, of which there is none other. All

proceeds from the ONE, and all is in the ONE. All is of one Suchness.There is unity in all things.We are of the same Nature as the ONE, and we are one with the

ONE.This nature is our Original Nature, our Real Self, our Buddha-

nature.All things, both formed and unformed, both manifest and unmani-

fest, have the same Buddha-nature.All are sons of the same Father and all are brothers of each other.Every thing-every human, every other creatrrre, every tree, every

stone, every star, every drop of water, every cloud, every thing that is

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scen and unseen, is of one Suchness. All are my brothers.Through our ignorance we believe ourselves to_be separate from the

C)NE ancl fiom oui brothers. W,e cognize only what is perceptible to

our imperfect ordinary senses, and use our limited intellect to from con-

..ptr df what we so ,l;-ty and incompletely perceive. There are othervibrations outside the range of the vibiations of light, sound, taste, smelland feeling that we do n-ot have the sensory app-aratus to -tune in on.What *. ihink we know is not even one small fraction of an iota ofwhat we do not know. Yet, we think there can be no existence outsidethe realm of our ordinary senses-that unless something can be seen,

heard, tasted, smelled or felt, it is not real.However, the things we sense are the unreal-they are but the

shadow effects of causes that come fi'om the Real.Down through the ages, in all areas of this planet,. men have hacl

an instinctive awireness dt ttre Real. They have mistakenly supposed

themselves to be apart from lt, while, in truth, they have always. beett

a part of It. They have longed to find It, to become unit'ed With It.tliis is what religion and philosophy have been all about. Maty. have

been the methodi of search and the practioes involved in the seeking.

Some, who have attained, who have been call9{. Masters, havepassed on their findings. _Hgwerer, -many of their followers have so

larbled and misinterpreted the Teachings that they bear slight resem-

blance to what was taught.One such Master ivas Sakyamuni Buddha. ("Buddha" means One

Who Has Awakened.) He said- that Nirvana is $3p5313-that is, the

condition of bliss is to be found in ordinary living in this world. An-other, the Christ, centuries afterward, expressed the same thought in

different words. He said that the kingdom of heaven is within you-notsomewhere outside of You.

We have the Buddha-nature within us already. The place to seek

for it is within. When we have become awakened. we have realized ourBuddhanature, we have realizcd Nirvana or the kingdom of heaven, we

have entered into the void of our ordinary sense perception and have

realized Nirvana in Samsara ( that is, the kingdom of bliss in our or-dinary life.)

to do this, we neecl to void the sense perceptions and quiet the

intellect. The kingdom is not reached through intellectual processes,

but through intuition (direct knowinq) bv -means

of Dhyana' Ch'an ormeditation, which is a process of going within.

One can engage ih this practice anytime, anywhere-. This is way

Won Buddhism slys: "Ch'an anytime. Ch'an anywhere.l'Org does notneed to give up th"e world and retire to a monastery _or hermitage, and

spend a[ of hii time sitting quietly in meditation.. The needs o^f every-day living and responsibilities must be met lly mos.t 9f .Ut. One can

.ngug. in- Ch'an no matter where he is or what he is doine. It means

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koeping the mind quiet white the body is active. It means closing-thernind to all other ihoughts, and concentrating upon-being absorbedin-what one is doing at the time, to the exclusion of all else.

Once a master oJ Ch'an was asked, "What is Ch'an?" He r'eplied,"When I work I work. When I eat I eat." Another was raking a yardand received his awakening when the rake struck a titre.

Regular periods of si[ting in meditation at a set time each day,especialiy early in the morning, or else wheneve,r convenient, can andshbuld also be engaged in. With the body comfortable and still, thesense organs inactive-, the mind quiet and without thoughts, listen withthe mind,for the voice of the silence from within, and with it oomesawakening. I.ong continued self-discipline and practice may gq requiredbefore theie is sulcess. In time, though, awakening will be achieved andone will know the bliss that is Nirvana.

Who, or what, is it that says: my body, my intellect, my thoughts,my self?

My body is something I inhabit.My intellect is the element of consciousness I use.My thoughts are the mental activities I engage in.My self 1s the illusion of individuality that the unenlightened I

think it is.I am not my body, I am not my intellect. I am not my thoughts-

I am not what I Suppose to be my self. I have, and I use, a body, trnintellect, thoughts, and what appears to be self.

What, then, is this I?The I is the true Self, as distinguished from the illusory self.I am an individual (undivided) manifestation of the One Reality.I am one with Universal Buddha-n2tll1s-Bhutatathata, THAT

that is.

Why is Buddhist Reformation Considered Inevitable?

by Prof. Chun Eun Song

What is the ultimate goal of Won Buddhism as a new religion? And,what is Won Buddhism? As far as the ultimate goal is concerned, WonBuddhism is, in my own view, the same as traditional Buddhism, and

not so different from every other religion. It is to rescue or deliver allsentient beings from the pains of life to eternal paradise.. Mor.e preciselyspeaking, cla-ssifying this ultimate goal of deliverance into three.parts,trlitt t.ti, I believe,-precipitate understanding the. necessities'of retigion.

Fiisi, religion aims tb deliver all sentient being to eternal paradise,as sllggesied a-bove, from all pains such as anxiety, fear, sadness, etc.

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Everyone has sufferings, as the Buddha wisely pointed out, and religionteaches us how to solve the pains spiritually, by belief. The second aimis to lead us from the ignorant sensual life to the life of truth, by theenlightening invariable ultimate truth of the Universe. The third aim isto lead us to be good, rightly conducting ourselves and serving othersthrough social welfare. lt goes without saying that latter two can bereduced to the one great aim of the former.

The venerable Sotesan, the Founder of Won Buddhism, was earlydetermined to perceive the great principle of the universe and ourlife. After years of moral training and spiritual search, he attained thegreat Enlightenment in his native land, Ryung Kwang, at the Korean ageof 26, in 1916, without any leader's help. ln reality he was not onlya non-Buddhist till his Enlightenment, but also he did not even know atall about Buddhist doctrine, whereas his native land was mountainousand far away from any educational system. When the great Enlighten-ment was achieved, his bliss was unspeakable, and many followers as-sembled around him so that they might learn what he had attained, andfollow a new saint. Thereby a new religious order appeared.

One day the Founder wanted to know what the other great saintstaught, so the various scriptures containing Confucius' Four Scriptures,the Buddhist Sutras, the Christian old and new Testaments and theTaoist scriptures were assembled by his disciples for his reference. Afterrefernce to the Scriptures,, he was surprised to know the past saints hadalready found the truth which he perceived. Above all Buddha's Dia-mond Sutra was most supreme and its principal thought entirely coincid-ed with the Enlightenment by Ven. Sotesan. This event made him res-pect the Buddha, the great Enlightened one as the most to be respectedamong all other saints that had yet appeared in the world.

Thereafter Buddhism became the mother religion of the religiousorder and Won Buddhism has developed into a new kind of dynamicBuddhism. [n spite of the supremacy of Buddhist doctrine, yet reforma-tion of Buddhism was considered inevitable, according to the VenerableSotesan's opinion, in order to rescue the world for the future, becauseBuddhism was so supra-mundane and static as not to influence thereal life. Ven. Sotesan thought traditional Buddhism should be reform-ed and more popularized, made dynamic in everyday life, and moderniz-ed in order to be in accordance with reality. He thought that even greatsaints could not but depend upon the environment in which they livedin cultivating others, and that the new world, becoming smaller, morecivilized, and more complicated, was demanding Buddhist reformationso as to broadly realize Buddha's real ideal in the world. In addition tothis, Buddhism had often been specialized in, or entered into unim-portant details, through its long period of propagation, while many syn-thetic, radical essences were neglected.

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At the beginning, Won Buddhism appeared as a "savings-league",on tho foundation of the cultivation of dry beaches, the charcoal dealer,the wheat-gluten vendor, and agriculture and livestock breeding, sub-sequently i! ruas developed into building a dynamic religion inseparablefrom actual life, giving us a new pattern of ideal religion.

In general, the religious and spiritual thinkers of the past observedour world too negatively and evasively. Therefore, our practical lifehas been considered as sinful, worthless, filthy, suffering and vain. Be-cause of this, many religious thinkers and believers naturally put em-phasis upon the future life after death rather than our real world, con-sidering our secttlar world or affairs the symbol of evil. Such an inclina-tion, neglectful of our secular world, necessarily separated re,ligion fromthe reality in which we live, and weakened the power of salvation, orreligious rescue. In order to have the great power of salvation, religionmust be popularized, and also it must be directly connected with ourreal life, in order to bc popularized.

The primitive substantial spirit of the saints must be reconsideredand understood properly and perfectly, though it is true that evory reli-gion has an inclination comparatively negative to the real world. If weare, in reality, properly enlightened, our world is filled with most neces-sary things. For instance our physical body is also very precious andindispensable in order to do good for the world. This example can beapplied to everything in the world. Accordingly the negaticin and as-sertion of our real world must be paralleled properly, just like two sidesof a sheet of paper, for the true realization of the ideal of the right religion.

Ven. Sotesan taught us to r-egard all the world and the things in itwith gratitude, in place of hating it. He always emphasized, that ieligionand our practical life should be one and should coincide, under-thevarious platforms; that all things are Buddha's images, so we must servethem with sincerity, just as though in front of the Buddha's image; thatwe must alWays practice Everytime Ch'an, Everywhere Ch'an, so as tomake Ch'an lively, ceaseless and worthy throughout life; that Movingand being quiet the two are of one suchness and keep both the spiriiand body fully integrated; that Buddhism is life itseif. Life is noneother than Buddhism.

Thus, Veu. Sotesan made spirituality parallel with realism, and alsomade secular affairs, involving everyday tasks or professional activitiesparallel with Buddhist descipline. Such positive thoughts are applied,except abgve mentioned, to the descipline the Threefold Training.

-Thatis, samadhi must not be a discipline only by sitting ch'an, without anyreal obstacles, but we must practise it through everyday life as welt assitting Ch'an in the room. So it is not neoessary for ui to discard ourreal life to attain Samadhi. As to the Sila descipline, it. m.ust not berestricted only to the monastries, but it should be-realized in social lifein a somewhat reformed form, practising what is good and avoiding what

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is not good. In fact, our world, itself, is none other than a large monasteryif we think it is. Prajna discipline consists in the harmonious study ofsciences and world affairs together with the ultimate truth and doctrine.The above thoughts are for the coincident realization of our real lifeand Buddhism.

In conclusion, the principal aim of the Buddhist reformation by WonBuddhism may be summarized in this respect.

Tha fottov',r, u ,,,, irrrrn a"ur)rra b, ,,'*. Rictrard ). orro ttt the En-

liglttenntcnt Hall ol Won Buddltism.

The Modernization of Buddhism

Friends!It has been some time since I last visited you, but during that absenceI often thought about you, what vou think and how you live, a Buddhismin this part of the world. I am very happy to be here on your birthdayand I am sorry I could not arrive earlier today. This evening, for a fewminutes, I propose to outline for discussion, some points concerning therole of Buddhism in the modernization of Asia, and afterwards inviteyou to discuss the subiect and ask my interpreter friend to summarizefor you what we discussed together earlier this afternoon.

We all know that the world is changing, that life in Asia that lifein Korea is changing. Some people call this modernization. What doesmodernization mean? Does it mean progress or does it simply meansomething different from the older traditional ways of life and subject?However we may view modernization, one aspect of it is the scientificattitude, research, investigation into the nature of all things. It doesrequire an open mind, curiousity, investigation, scientific approach andcpenmindedness. This means that a person who does not have an ()penmind does not have a curiousity, a genuine interest in the nature of lifearound him, that such a person without a cultivated mind can notproperly understand modernization and he can not take part in it.

Now fortunately Buddhism emphasizes the cultivation of the mind.As I understand Won Bulkyo, you give great emphasis to the cultivationof the mind. Therefore, it seems to me that you should be able tounderstand this aspect of modernization, to evaluate it and contributetoward it in the changing of your society. Another aspect of*moderniza-tion is change: Something new something different from the traditionalway of life. This requires recognition of the changing conditions oInew problems, new requirements. It is a challenge to man's thought andaction.

Now, fortunately, Buddhism recognizes change. Change is a part

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of life, all that is changes. These flowers change, we change. Every-thing changes.and chanfe_in socieiy il b; irolrct*d by tho Buddhist.As I undersrand it, won Bulliyo also recognir., .t Jn;;;; pticeig-t:ut' importance up.on education. No* what i"s education? Ii is learn_rng, tearning new things, understanding the nature orttrings, td.i. prob-lems, and a-ttempjing io *ir. 1t.*; i"

-i:h.-;d;.arion process in wonBulkvo shoutd hatp ih peopre aaopting, -rrg.rr1."ai;g;"[;G;ln societyand to.be prepared to 6e able to iontiot that change, to direct it towardbetter human life.

What I have said so far about modernization, the Buddhist under-,rj3'dpq. it, the importance of culti;;ti.t ;h;-'miiro, a;d ;d;;tion inwon Bulkyo, is.only one side or tn. pup.il illi the principle, the theory,the plot, the idea; the other side ,ir.Ir.. i;p;; concerns the practice,JIr.e fulillment,

-the apprication, the cha;ir;til works trriat y"u iave inwo.r. Bulkyo. I have ierected 'four ;;;il;;l rt, charitabre works forproblems or tasks in the modernization bt Ariu. one concerns agri-cultural production, the second concerns publii healttr, ah. ihird ;;flcernsbusiness and economic life, and the fouitii-.on.L.n, education.The first concerning agriculturat proorc-tion, we must fird *uy,of .producirg qT_. foodl pirticurarit I;.-S;;iri^purt aii". p".pres inIndia, East Pakistan. and-tire other A.iun d;;; are starving. we need:g,-h.Jp them produce more food.and.-ii,;y;;j';";;.,lir' *. n ooratsed or grown from destruction by insecis, by rats aqd other plrrtand animat diseases. For exampt., a'gri.rri"iir i6;;#;;,i"orir,orug.and distribution in India,-unless tiret *.un, uie-modernized, changedp Breat deal in regard to food, many miliion p""i,f. *ifi ;i;;; t-o^ deattin the next few years.

The question is now asked, "Does rerigion, any'rerigion, help or|3Loicap tire proJucti;;'oirooii" -ii?ir""frJ'i.

-rrr ask Buddhism,"What does lluddhism have to say? Wh"i;;perience does Buddhismhave in the oroduction of food. uno pr.*r;il; the food 1-* beingdestroved bv'insects, disease, iutr, and other rieans before it reachesLuryun bein!s?" t, it ir ,rg"?o^r, i; *og.t"rito'i.no* that won K*uogUniversitv tras a Departm;lt of Agriciritd;

"rd';l;li;;'uiJioing toplan more studies qlh.er4.,i..1n uftigurt*; ih'i, rs rmportant becausemost of the other Buddhist Univeriities that I-uitit.a in Asia have notyet esrablished a department or courses of studv--i; &ri;;lt*J.' fni.must be done in otier countries u1$ n,..rrup;t6, will" show trr. *uythat Buddhist principles can be practice'd rlr_ ;;ilitri.f p;;;Jirr.The second problem in tasi<s of Budohis"m concerns public health.In the last few weeks in the calcutta area in India there has been _I believe still is - a smailpox urong rh; p;;;i., il,i, is problem. webelieve that modern medi.in. ,no vaccrnation against ;"i;llp;; would

l,.lp, that.hygienic semination measures would heTp, irr"i -riv mothersin the Calcutta area are reported in tlre ,il;ilers to oppose, object

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WON BU DDHISM

to having their children vaccinated, because the mothers believe thatsmallpoiis caused by the goddess of smallpox. Vaccination has no.thingto do-with the goddess of smallpox. This ii a religious or a superstitiousreason against measures to contiol and prevent the spread of the diseases.

So the question is "what does Buddhism have to say? Wh-at doesBuddhism do about disease, about medicine, modern medicine?" Hereit is important to know that Won Kwang University has a de_pa.rtmentof pharmacy, the study of materials for the proper use of medicine.^

The third task oi problem of modernizatioh is the development ofnew forms of economic life. New industries, new businesses, new me-thods of earning a living. Here again the question "What does Buddhismhave to say about work, about private property, about trading, com-merce, banking, and so forth?" What is [he Buddhist view and conductin business life which is a part of the modernization process?" Herergain it is important to know that Won Kwang University. l.ras coursesln commerce, economics, and that part of modern life, anC it would beinteresting to know how you express Buddhist principles in the study ofeconomlcs.

And the fourth problem and task in modernization is education.New methods of teaching, new methods of research, of learning, ofproviding more education for more people, for children and also foradults. Of this whole task of education we often say that Asia can notbe developed without more education for the people. This is true in theWestern w'orld, Africa, South America, everywhere in the world today.If we are to modernize, if man is to control modernization, we must beproperly and fully educated. Education is very important.

And so the question is, "What does Buddhism think about educa-tion? What does Buddhism do in education?" I think the answer isquite simple and direct. Buddhism is education. [t is learning the realway of life and the way to fulfill, to attain the ultimate goal of life. Tobecome enlightened, much of Buddhism in principle and practice iseducation in this fullest meaning. tt is the cultivation of humanity inman and respect towards all living things. And so it is important to knowthat Won Kwang University has a department of education.

And so we pick up both sides of the paper; one side is cultivationof the mind, education; the other side the charitable works. This isaccording to Won Bulkyo, as I understand it, and this applies to the roleof Buddhism in the modernization of Asia. Now I may have omittedsomething that we discussed earlier this afternoon. lf m! interpreterfriend thinks I left out of something important, or interesting. I invitehim now to tell you about it.

t79

News Corner

on the 26th of April, on the occasion of the 52nd BirtMay of"Won Buddhism", Dr. Richard A. Gard, an eminent BudrJhistScholar, w'idely known, made his third visit to won Buddhist Head-quarters and won Kwang universrty. On his arrival at won Bud-dhism, at the grounds of w.K.U., in which the program of athleticgames we_rg being held in commemoration of the Birthday, he waswelcomed by all -members, being presented with a lovely bouquet.In the evening from half past 8, at the Enlightenmeni Hall, hegave a speech on the subject "The Moderniza[ion of Buddhism".He had also a noteworthy discussion with professors of the Bud-dhist course. He has been an intimate Buddhist friend of Dr. Kil_Chi1 Park, President of Won Kwang University, for years.on the 8th of March-the grand entrance ceremony of won KwangUniv. took place at the campus. It commenced with attendance oT

th. President, professors, itudents and a great many guests ofhonour -and p-arents. A reception party prepared by

-serr:iors fol

the freshmen followed the cerlemony. At ihe-party, of the variousprogram numbers, the music contest was highly applauded.At ten, on the 26th of April, the 52nd Birthday ceremony of wonBuddhism was held solemnly at the Enlighteninent Hall-in Head-quarters_ and all branch temples. At Headquarters after the cere-Tony all attendants worshipped the sacred pagoda of the late ven.sotesan, the founder of won Buddhism. Tlie worshippers wereentertained with a good lunch, music and sports as usda^I.on the 16th of V,uy tt . birthday of the compassionate SakyamuniBuddha was celebrated by all the won Buddhist membeis. AtHeadquarl.f,_ at eight !.vt. I special lecture on the subject "Eightfeatures of Sakyamuni Buddha" was delivered.Asia Foundatioir contributed to Won r*""g university a lot ofvaluable Fnglish books which will help the study of the-staffs andstudents in various fields.on the 27th of April the Korean committee of the world BuddhistFellowship m:!at sjoul, the capital of Korea. They discussed bring-ing the next w.B.F. conferenie to Korea, but come to an agreE-ment to put off this subject.won Kwang university made it a rule to invite an distinguisherjperscn once a month and hear his lecture. On the 2lst of Juneprofessor .Ryr- Tal-Yung,_u,(ho .teaches at the Agricultural college,Seoul National univ. has been invited. His speeches on the subjdct"The basic Problem for the Rehabilitation of our country" mad.a deep impression on the audiences.on the l st of June the Grand Summer Memorial Service was heldwith an utmost solemnity at Headquarters not less than 700 follow-ers joined^ in this ceremony. Twenty-three years ago today ourFounder of won Buddhism passed into Nirvana to the utmosf griefof his followers.

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Miss Pal. Kh,n Chon, professor'of Won Kuang Uniu. and thechief editor of "Won Buddltisrn"journal' usill leaue Korea forU.S.A. on July 30 to studg Eng-lish at Teras Women's Uniuer-sity as a graduate student for aLJear from September 1967 toJuly 1968.During her staE in the countryof her studY, all letters andcommunications Jrom readersuill be most appreciatecl. Heraddress is:

Miss Pai Khn ChonTexas'Women's UniversityBox 2906, TWU Station,Denton, Texas 76204

GirL and bog students of Won Kusang '[JnitsersitE

Buddhist course after attending the strict train-ing course for a month during their usinter ua-cstion. The sitting are their instructors.

Dr. Richard A. Gcrdusas entertaLned tuitha bouquet on his ar-riuaL at the ground ofWon Kutanl Uniuer-sr.ty ne.ar Headquar-ters of Won Buddh-istn.

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We acknowledge with many thanks the receipt of the following.Canadian Theosophist, The: Vol. 48 No. I Toronto, Canada.

World Suddhism: Vol. XV, No. 8, Colombo, Ceylon.China Buddhist Monthly: Vol. 11, No. 10, Taipei, Taiwan, China.Bodhedrum: No. 175, Taiwan, China.Hai Ch'ao Ying Monthly: Vol. 48, No. 6, Taipei, Taiwan.Middle way: Vol. XIII, No. l, London, England.Voice Universal, The: No. 61, London, England.Occult Gazette: 80th Issue, Kensington, W.S., London, England.Der Keris: No. 68, Bnemen, Germany.Yana: Marz-April, 1967Maha Bodhi, The: Vol. 75, No. 4, Calcutta, Iiidia.Bulletin of the Ramarkrishna Mission Institute of Culture: Vol. XVIII,

No. 4, Ca1cutta, India.Bukkyo Times: No. 711, Tokyo, Japan.KBS Bulletin: No. 82, 1967, Tokyo, Japan.Buddhist Union Newsletter, The: Vol. 15, No. 2, Singapore.American Buddhist: Vol. 11, No. 5, San Francisco, California, U.S.A.Suchness: Vol. 7, No. 2" Cbigage, U.S.A.Bulletin of the Washington Friends of Buddhism: Vol. 10, No.7.

Washington, D.C., U.S.ALion's Roar Magazine, The: Vol. 6, Nb) 6, Taipei, Taiwan.Tenrigyo: New No. 64, Tenri-City, Japan.Zen Notes: Vol. XIV, No. 4, New York, U.S.A.PRS Journal: Vol: 26, No. 4, Michigan, U.S.A.Awaken the World: No. 365, Taipei Taiwan, China:Everlasting Light: Vol. 8, No. 36, Penang, Malaya.lnformation Bouddhistes: Vol. 13, No. 49, Brussels, Belgium.Buddhism in Taiwan: Vol. 21, No. 6, Taipei, Taiwan, China.The Source (Yuen Chunen): No. 39, Hong Kong.Daihorin (Maha Dharmachakra): Vol. 34, No. 7, Tokyo, Japan.World Federation: Vol: 40, No. 3, VRINDBAN, U.P. INDIA.Daijo: Vol. 18, No. 5, Kyoto, Japan.

Hongwanji Shinpo: No. 1574, Kyoto, Japan.Layman's Buddhism,: No. 159, Tokyo, Japan.Buddhism in Hong Kong: No. 85, Hong Kong.Wheel publication, The: No. 106, Kandy, Ceylon.Contemporary Religions in Japan: Vol. VII, No. 4, Tokyo, Japan.