1974VOLUME II NUMBER 8

KOREA

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Publkhed by:Rescarch Institute for0verseas Missions\_Von Kuang Unhsersity,Iri city, cholla Pukti, Korca

CONTENTS

EditorialWords of the prime Master Taesan

I2

The Great Master sotaesan, Founder of won Buddhismby prof. Han Ki_Tu . .. .,1..The Open Address to The First

Convention of IVon BuadhismThe Prime Master,s Address

AII Religions Rootedfrom the Carwnical

World Peaceby Prof.

in One SourceTextbook of Won Buddhisnt

International5

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l4

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A Brief Historical Sketch of Won BuddhismWhat Religions Can

by Reo. Chang-sikdo for World peace

and The Mission of Won BuddhismPal-khn Chon

Won Buddhism Differ from the OId BuddhismK. C.2l

Park

How Doesby P.

Buddhist Stories22

25News Corner

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BDMORIAL

All religions aim to plant peace in the mind of human beings andto establish world peace. However, the tension of the internationalsituation and the increasing uneasiness of the social situation seemto be going in the opposite direction against the wish of religions.Moreover, nuclear arms threaten to annihilate the human race. Hu-man beings have other fears besides that of war; they are, starvation,poverty, ignorance, disease, etc. They exist all over the world.

and while scientific technique makes great progress, spiritualIife is disregarded. Human beings seem to be left behind sciencemore and more, which indicates the tragic future of human beings.In the face of sueh external and internal crises, the task of religionbecomes more impor,tant.

fhis is the time for religious people to break the bounds ofreligious prejudice and clear the way for human beings by co-operation. Religion is the only way to cement people of differentraces, people who have different customs and languages.

We are expected to do our best to establish a peaceful world inwhich there exists no fear of war, a pleasant and comfortahle worldwithout starvation, poverty, ignorance and disease, and a moralworld in which people help each other by maintaining social orders.

The motive for the establishment of won Buddhism was alsoto build a peaceful paradise on this earth, and Won Buddhism hasbeen ceaselessly working in the three fields of missionary work, educa-tion and charity for the establishment of peace

As one of its positive activities for world peace, Won Buddhismfor the first time had an International Convention of Won Buddhistsat Los Angeles from the 26th to the 28th of April. Thirty representa-tives from Korea, botJr devotees and lay members, participated inthe Convention. one of the main programs of the Conven{ion wasthe speech program delivered by four people; Rev. Park Chang-Sik,Dn Major Johnson, Rev. Pal-Khn Chon, and Dr. Kim Ha-Tae, wtrictiwas held at Ifancock Hall at USC. The theme of the speeches was"Ttle Task of Religion for World Peace."

Through this convention, won Buddhism wanted to share a

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part of its ideal with people in other countries, that the Truth isone, The World is one, All human beings are of one Family, TheWorld is a place to work for one purpose. We are confident thatReligious men must take responsibility for the improvement of worldpeace, understanding people, co-operation, etc. before ordinary peo-ple will do so.

W'on Buddhism has to realize that it should make double effortto realize its ideal, because the world has begun to pay attention towhat Won Buddhism is thinking and doing.

We have no doubt that Won Buddhism will have the second, thethird, the fourth . . . International Convention in the future. l{e hope,however, that Won Buddhism in its religious activities transcendsany denoqinational prejudice, which has been degradins the truespirits of our sages and saints who taught us only to save sentientbeings by establishing peace on this planet.

'Won Buddhim should be able to hear the voice of the peoplebehind the cheerful applause in praise of its eminent religious activi-ties.

Words of thc Prime ilIaeter, Taeson

The rhree urgent Things for Religious Men to practice

1. Concentrate your mind, then you can make the mind of otherpeople to concentrate.

I

ll

Keep your mind bright, then you can make the mind of otherpeople bright.

K9.p yourself doing good, then you are strong enough to persuadeother people to do good.

Yen. Sotaesan,

the Founder of Won Buddhisrn

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AI Religions Rooted in One Sourcrc

from. the Canonical Textbook of Won Buddhiwt

A man asked, "fn the east and the west there have been aconsiderable numb'er of old religions disputing each other forthousands of years. In addition, various new religions have recentlybeen established which assert only themselves, and which reject otherreligions. This causes more noisy dispute. What will become of thesereligions in the future," The Great Master said, "suppose that aman with children living in Seoul took a world tour, and in severalcountries had children by other women before returning to Seoul.Afterwards, when these children grew up in their own country andcame to see their father, would it be possible for them, with differentcomplexions, speaking different languages, and with different habits,to become harmonious and intimate in a short time ? However, inspite of different languages and habits, the children will be able tolrnow and. understand everything better in time. If they come torealize how they were born as brothers, they may live in harmony.Likewise, all sects and schools of religion come from one source.Accordingly, someday when people become more intelligent and worldis brightened by the light of morality, all religions will become onehome and will be closely related with each other in harmony."

(Continued frotn Page 25)

The Development Committee of Won Buddhist Hoty Land Selected

_ Ryung-san Holy Land is going to be beautified and developed inthe near future. This Iand has a deep relationship with the ofeningof the Won Buddhist gate. It was here that the Venerable Solaesan-,the founder of Won Buddhism, was born and attained Enlightenment.The Development Committee was selected by agreement of both de-votees and lay followers at the Joint Session of Devotees and LayFollowers on the 30th of March.

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The Great Master Sotaesan, Founder of Won Buddhism

by Prof. Han Ki'Tu

The greatest hero of new history creation carried on his Iifeon the earth so commonly and naturally that his traces are all butIost to the general public. In 1891, the Great Master was born at thesouthern extremity of Korea; Kilyong-ni, Baksu-mYotr, Yongwang-kun. As the third of four brothers in the house of common people,

the master was brought up involved in the vortex of difficult nationalerises. His father was Park Sung-Sam, and his mother was Yoo Jung-Chun.

He was imposing in spirit, generous in personal character, butthere was nothing ,rrtual about him beyond an ordinary hunqa-n

b.i"S. The only dlfference from the public, we might say, lay in hisfundamental iriquisition into the wonders of nature. To the ordinaryIaymen, the accidents of nature were insigniflcant while to himnature itself was mysterious.

At the age of seven, he went to a private school with his strietfather for thl study of Chinese Characters and Chinese Classies,

Tongam. Howev.", by chance, he was concerned not so much withlear{ing itself ,.'*ith the wonders of nature. They were hardquestiols beyond his understanding: why the sky was eldless, whlthe wind moved. why the clouds were created and then disappeared,

and why there were the sun, the moon, and the stars in the sky'

Sometimes, he thought that smoke from the hundreds of thousandsof houses gathered to form clouds. Sometimes, he ascended to the topof a mountain to try to catch the stars in the sky. In these ways,- hemade every effort 1o solve the problems of natural wonders, butin vain.

Besides natural wonders, he had doubts about human beinEs.

"Where did my parents come from? Where did I come from?" Likethe mysteries of the universe, these were difficult problems to solve.One day, at the age of eleven, he happened to hear about the mountaingod at the religious service of the Sihyang Festival. In order to meetIhe *orntain god he ascended "Ground Rock" and prayed ferventlyfor four years. All his efforts were, nevertheless, in vain.

He never gave up, but determinded to meet some hermits and

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diseover the Truth. For five years, he wandered in vain in searchof an enlightened hermit. It was common in the past for saints tomeet God

-and directly hear his revelation. But such a miracle didnot happen to the Great Master.

Consequently,.he felt he should seek the Truth within himself,not in any other things. He also had to seek the Truth in an ordinaryway without the slightest hint as to where to find it.

For the solution of such serious problems, he could also enterthe priesthood or entrust some school arganization. But he renouncedhimself to seek the Truth in his own w&V, knowing that thoseplaces could never help him to do so.

His mind was profoundly deepened by the spiritual ag:ony, "'Whatcan I do,with this problem in the future?"

At the age of 25, he entirely devoted himself to profound thoughtin a blissful state of self forgetfulness without even the question it-self in mind.

In the early dawn on the 26th of March at the age of 26 (1916),he was sitting in meditation. At that very moment there appearedto him a strange phenomenon so that his thoughts became brightened;and his mind and body were full of spirit. It was much the sameas the legend describing Buddha attaining the Great Enlightenmentat the sight of the morning star on the 8th of December.

without any hint similar to Buddha, the Great Master sankinto a blissful state of self forgetfulness, and at last, attained theGreat trnlightenment after unconceivable hardships endured whileseeking the Truth.

However, he did not believe that the Great Enlightenment alonecould solve all the difficult problems by itself. After seeking theTruth, he decided to save all human beings. The Great Enlighten-ment was to gain new life, and it meant by no means the perfectionof Iife itself.

Hence, won Buddhism fixed the date of the z6th of March forour common birthday and commemorated it as a day of new historycreation. The Year 1916 has been fixed for the first year of WonBuddhism.

After his Enlightenment in the house of common people, hebegan his missionary work, at first with his near relatives.

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Some elder relatives including Pal San Dang, his sworn brotherltwelve years older than he, and Chil San Dang, his maternal uncle,sixteen years older than he, were his own disciples and were underhis spiritual influence.

In several months, he had some forty disciples, and the nlnemost ardent disciples of these became his principal ones. This'lrasthe first step toward the enlightenment of the public. After securingthe nine principal disciples, he overcame difficult existing situatioasand Iaunched a project to reclaim a beach with them, rather th'anengaglng in non'manual cultural activity among the public. Thisproject provided the basic resources for the foundation of the WonIluddhist-order, and the fundamental power to produce enthusiasticdevotees of Won Buddhism. This work was completed in the 4th yearof Won Buddhism. In the course of this project, he performed theceremony of offering a fervent prayer for the preparation for thefoundation of the religious order at the tops of various mguntains.The nine disciples pledge to sacrifice themselves and dedicate them-selves to the law, was clearly testified by the miracle of "the BloodFinger Print" which appeared on the pledge papgr.*

In the universal deliverance of the world, he did not use thereligious hero method, but a democratic system composed.of ten mem-bers. It was a system adapted by the Great Master to serve the re-Iigious order.

In order to save our country and our society, it was imperative,he thought, to abolish empty formalities and superstition as well asextravagance and luxury, which r,vere chronic diseases of our societyand a crucial element of our national crises.

His important mission was to foster the power of creating newnationality in our national history, the March Independence Move-ment in 1919. At that time Do-San, An Chang Ho, who was a leaderin the independence movement, praised the Great Master's eduea-tional work highly.

In the course of saving the human raee, however, he didn'tconfine his mission to any one nation. He began to perform his duty,first of all, by breaking the visually apparent present difficulties. Inspite of all the violent oppressions of the Japanese his great per-sistence allowed him to practise his original purpose.

The principle of his doctrine was to believe in the Truth ofIl-Won-Sang and to set the Truth of II-Won-Sang as the obiect ofour faith and as the standard for moral training. Il-Won-,Sang was

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the origin of all beings in the universe, and the mind-seal of allBuddhas and saints.

Furthermore, he established the adaptable principles of faithand moral training with the Four Graces and the Four Essentials.And hp suggested the way to practise satisfaetory moral trainingwith the Threefold Trainings and the Eight Articles.

Although he entered Nirvana on the first of June in 1943 at theage of 51, his spirit has been handed down unchanged until the pre-sent. We should engrave deeply this holy history on our mindsforever.

The important points that should be remembered about his lifeare as follows:( 1) The Great Master was born, brought up, sought the way and

attained the Great Enlightenment in an entirely eommon wayof life. The method he used in his missionary works was veryordinary, but he had great ability; He founded the religiousorder as one would create a mountain upon level land.

(2) The Great Master never clung upon one side of the Truth buttaught a perfect Truth, the oneness of the Truth, that can bepracticed by all people.

(3) The Great Master had the ability to practice the Truth in actuallife and work in the praetice of the Truth.

* It is an almost universal practice among Koreans to stamp doctr,ments witha toiang, or nam€ stamp. This serves the same pu{pose as does a signature topeople of Western cultural background. The narne stamp, which is carved withthe individual's name either in the Korean alphabet or in Chinese characters, isfirst inked on a pad of red ink then pressed against the document.

When the pledge paper was to be approved by the nine disciples, the GreatMaster asked them to press their thumbs against the document without ffrst inkingthem. When each disciple removed his thumb it was seen that the prints had

re$stered on the document in blood.

The Truth is One,

The Woild is One,

The People ore of One FamilY,

The World is a workshop wi,th one p1ffpose.

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The Opening Address

toThe First International Convention of Won Buddhists

- To the Construction of One V[orld -Honorable guests who have kindly accepted our invitation to

this convention, all those Won Buddhist friends who have renderedcontinuous self-saerifice for this conventiori, and our special friendswho have crossed the Paciflc Oeean to take part in this conventionas representatives of the various branches in Korea, I have the honorof expressing my sincere gratitude to all of you for marking thisconvention possible.

If we glanee at the ideological trends of the world, it seemsmanifest that the various brands of dogmatism are losing their vitali-ty and influenee, and that a way of co&istence and prosperity for allhuman beings must be searched for. Material civilization has madehuman life more comfortable than ever before; and present daytechnology has made it possible for us to watch fellcrv humans walk-ing on the moon.

However, there are still many nations which care only abouttheir own interests. Highly developed technology has been usedmore for eompetition in nuclear arms, which may completely ex-terminate the human race, than for a proper utilization toward realpeace in the world. It seems quite obvious that mankind is proneto an expediency in which material civilization has conquered thehuman spirit so much that the "master" has surrendered his reignto the "subject." This is a loss to humanity.

While a special class receives most of the benefits of materialcivilization, thus enjoying the prosperity, there are other classes ofpeople which are alienated from this special class, to the extent thatthese alienated classes feel unable to free themselves from poverty,illiteracy and disease. Accordingly, religion, which is supposed to bethe fulcrum of the human spirit, has lost its vitality, and eventuallybecome a useless institution, in which laymen can expect only super-stition, mysticism and fatalism. Thus some religions have becomeisolated from the reality of human life.

About half a century ago, the Iate Ven. Sotaesan, the Great

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Master upon his great enlightenment, and thus reaching the Buddhastage, opened a religious order where with to deliver all sentientbeings from the suffering seas of life, by showing the way to believe ina truthful religion and by training the human spirit in practicalmorality. He set out this project with the motto: "Since materialcivilization develops itself, Iet us cultivate our spiritual power."Eventually he has built a new religion, for all human beings, inwhich one finds, to say the least, the following characteristics. First-Iy, everywhere one can find Buddhas, so whatever one does is noneother than offerings to Buddha. By this we realize the religious truthin daily life, a new and great way for religious faith. Secondly, onecan always practice transcendental meditation, so one findsmeditation-halls wherever one happens to be. This is a new and idealway of self-discipline. Thirdly, each one must carry out self-dis-eipline in one's own occupation; thus mind and body will be keptproperly in balance. By this it is meant that one can achieve thegreat moral way by means of keeping mind and body, science andmorality, in a well-balanced harmony

Through the vicissitudes of world history, Won Buddhism, eversince its foundation, has been carrying out its duty to realize thethreefold major projects of spiritual cultivation, education andcharitable works. The Iaymen of Won Buddhism are increasing innumber, now amounting to 700,000 in Korea, with over 300 branchtemples and 50 organizations. Won Buddhism has been eorrespond-ing with various organizations in thirty eountries through overseasnetworks, thus trying to find & way to fulfill the ultimate goal ofbuilding one world.

With this short history of slightly over half a century, with azeal to share the sublime history of the foundation of Won Buddhism,with the intention of carrying out a calm revolution, as an exampleto glitter throughout eternity, and with a promise for a brighterfuture for One World, a paradise on earth, which ought to be thecommon goal of all human beings, we have decided to have this con-vention.

Your understanding of our motives, any advice or suggestionyou may render to us, and your willingness to cooperate with us inthe common goal of building a paradise on earth, will be deeply ap-preeiated. May I request all Won Buddhist friends to continue thesame efforts to realize the teaching of the Great Master, making thisconvention a monument for progress ?

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Ihe Prime Mastet's Address

Tassing the mark of the Half Centennial Commemoration ofthe Foundation of Won Buddhism, a new Buddhist order, the reali-zation of our Great Master,s unceasing ,-irh t; 6;;-i- ,.* orderfor a new world, r would like to .*pr.."-t my sincerl .orrgratulationsfor those who have worked for this First International Conventionin Los Angeles.

This convention is onry a beginning in the history of won Bud-dhism; and the time period of tt'is .orr"rr.rrtio" i, ".ri. ,rro"t indeed.Nevertheless, this convention will be " *o*.rt of lively- and aetivernternational cultivation of the human rnira. when *o"" people

eomprehend and, in the near future, accept trre iruth of Il-wontaught by the Great Master, the signifi.rrr.. of this convention willbeco'me manifest. Hence, those friends of won Buddhism who areparticipating in this First International Convention with historicalsignificance must, I_ believe, understand thoroughly the importanceof this occasion and participate with a sense of aity, to make thiseonvention a turning point in our effort to rende, tf,. Grace of Il-Won to the hearts of all human beings.

If we view the present trends of international politics, there!eq1! to be, in__various parts of the world, some propitiou, ,igm oibuilding one world; and yet in some other parts, the Iumps of iceremain so hard and unthawed that the sufferirrg of

"rrnr.rless sen-

!i."! beings is unending. All we Won B,uddhistJ cannol but feel ob-liged to deliver the suffering beings.In order to have the teaching of the Great Master realizedthroughout the world and to have tfr" tislit of Il-Won brighten theworld for endless generations, the roots of th. Order must be deepen-

9d an{ strengthened. No tree with shallow roots can thriu. t ,o build-ing with poor foundations can long stand. rnus ttre g"r"rtr, of allliving beings depends on healthy roots, aod the statesrianship oi ;iihuman affairs depends on firm foundations. our order oi wo, Bud-dhism is not an exception to this law; we have to find the roots ofwon Buddhism and then foster them deepry and strongly. In orderto commemorate this significant convention, and to exprers-my sincerewish for a bright future for the world, I would like io make it clearwhat the three roots of W'on Buddhism are.

'our first task is to attain, everyone of us, the great power of

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Moderation, by means of the Threefold Training. The Won BuddhistOrder will be based on a firm foundation only when all of us WonBuddhists attain the great power of Moderation by means of theThreefold Training: namely, the cultivation of spiritual stability, thestudy of facts and principles, and the selection of right conduct.

our seeond task is to realize the.great power of Influence byIeading a ]ife of gratitude toward the Four Graces : namely, of Heavenand Earth, of Parents, of Brethren and of Law. If all we W'on Bud-dhists, understanding our indebtedness to the Four Graces, Iead ]ivesof gratitude, following the way of requiting the graces, the world willnaturally be influenced to the extent of accepting the prestige of thisOrder, as the Iife of gratitude is practiced throughout the world.Therefore, all of us must realize the great power of Influence byrequiting the Four Graces.

our thir{ tqlk is to practice the great power of Equality bycarrying out the Four Essentials. The world is of one household andall human beings are of one family, in which any unrighteous diseri-mination or inequality tecomes a source of misery fo* all humanbeings. {ence, we must practiee the great power of E-quality by carry-ing out the spirit of the Four Essentials.

rf then the Light of Il-IVon, which the Great Master has lit,werg to enlighten the world for generations to come, rile must firsiof all foster these three great powers: namely, the power of Modera-tion by the Threefold studies, the power of-Influence by the Iife ofgratitude toward the Four Graces, and the power of Equality bycarrying out the Four Essentials. Only if we take these three greatpowers as the roots of the order, then a thousand of Buddhal andten thousands of saints will be brought into being, and the future ofthis Order will have done its duty for the felieity of all sentientbeings.

Accordingly, I would like to request you, the participants ofthis convention, all friends of devoteeJ as well as Iaymen, ali nationsand all human beings, to _cooperate with one heart for this great taskand to let the wheel of the Law continue rolling.

Tae+onThe Prime Master of Won Brd,ittti,sm

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A Briet Historical Sketch of V[on Buddhism

Won Buddhism is a new religious order, founded in Korea in1916 at a turning point in world history, when material civilizationwas about to undergo such rapid progress that it would overpowerthe human spirit. The goal of Won Buddhism is to deliver all humanbeings from the suffering seas of life into a limitless paradise, byopening the gate of faith in a truthful religion of practical moraltraining.

The Great Master, Sotaesan, the founder of Won Buddhism, wasborn in Yung-kwang county, Korea, on the 26th of March, 1891.Since his childhood he had inquired into the hidden meaning of thephenomena of the universe and of the varieties of human affairs. Hetried to solve these questions with the help of mountain gods, forwhom he did all he could, only to meet with no success, or by thehetp of spiritually enlightened persons whom he could never find. Hecontinued his search for the truth until the age of twenty four,whereupon he would fall into unconsciousness, forgetting even thequestions themselves. It was in March, 1916, when he was twenty-six,that he finally attained the Great Enlightenment.

By his transcendental intuition into the Great Enlightenment,Sotaesan recognized the urgency of launching a task to deliver man-kind from the spiritual crisis caused by the ever increasing dominanceof material civilization. Accordingly, with the slogan, "As materialcivilization develops, cultivate spiritual civilization accordingly." So-taesan delivered the flrst sermons to his selected nine disciples. Toprovide funds for expenses, inevitably needed to reclaim a dry beach,he saved by cutting down on expenses for empty, useless and super-stitious ritual, which he taught his disciple to abolish. While he wasreclaiming the dry beach with his diseiples, a new religious life wasset out by, at the same time, expounding the Truth and discussing factsand principles, thus harmonizing moral training and daily life.

Upon completion of the reclamation project in August, 1919,the Great Master with a few disciples entered Mt. Pong-rae in Chun-puk Province, in order to lay out an outline of the Order's doctrineand system based on the Truth of II-Won. When the first draft ofthe doctrine was made, the Great Master opened the gate of the re-ligious order with a tentative designation, "The Research Society ofBuddha Dharma," at the suburb of Iri City, in March, L924, wherethe Headquarters of Won Buddhism is now located. For twenty years

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thereafter, the Great Master poured out his never-c€asing compassionin training disciples in the doctrine and in consolidation of ihe Or-der, under the notorious, relentless suppression by the Japanese, ur-til his entrance into Nirvana in 1g48.

The Iate ven. cheongsan, one of the nine disciples, who wasinaugurated as the Prime Master of the Order in the same year, hasdirected and led the Order with such great wisdom and compassionthat the Order has proceeded towdrd a great 'success in spiritual cul-tivation, education and charitable works. As Korea was liberatedfrom the Japanese in August, 1g45, he ordered and helped carry outa project to relieve war-sufferers, besides pushing for the three goalsof the Order. In 1946 he proclaimed this Order, "W'on-Bul-Kyo,,'whose English rendering is "Won Buddhism," which we now use.After eighteen years of his leadership, with such influence and ac-complishment for the growth of Won Buddhism, he passed away inJanuary, 1962.

In the same yeat, the present Prime Master, ven. Tae-san, suc-ceeded him as Prime Master, ever since his first inauguration inL962, Prime Master Taesan has led the Order with such influence,in and beyond the Order, that Won Buddhism has spread into everynook of South Korea, until today. In 1971 there was the Half-Cen-tennial Commemoration Ceremony of the Foundation of Won Bud-dhism at the Headquarters, with over thirty thousand friends, Iay-men and guests participating. Now, the number of lay Won Bud-dhists in Korea is claimed at 700,000. The Order of Won Buddhismbomprises over 300 branch temples, several monasteries, one univer-sity, several high schools, middle schools, kindergartens, orphanages,workhouses, etc. The Prime Master Taesan has recently indicatedquite often that the time is approaching for Won Buddhism to sowthe seeds of the Truth of ll-Won overseas.

For the overseas mission, Won Buddhisffi, I magazine publishedin English, is sent to around 400 organizations in 30 eountries, withliterature being exchanged since 1961. As the Canoni,cal Tentbook of.Won Buddhism, translated into English in L97L, has been distributedto various places overseas, the number of friends who understand'W'on Buddhism is inereasing. In Los Angeles, a branch of Won Bud-dhism was established in 1971, and a Chicago branch in 1973. WonBuddhism as a religious organization was authorized by the ,Califor-nia State Government, and then by the Federal Government, in 1973.Thus we now have this convention on the process of Won Buddhistevangelization in America.

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The following two articles are speeches selected frotrr among those uhichusere delioered at Hancock Hall, USC. The printed speeches were gioen b!Reo. Chang-sik Pa.rk, Director of the Seoul Office of Won Bud.d,hl$n. and Reo.

Pal-Khn Chon, Dean of the Teacher's College of Won Kwang Unioersity and

Dire'ctor o! Ooerseas Missions of Won Buddhisrtt.

What Religions Can do for World Peace

bg Reo. Chang-sik Park

It is a great honor for me to have this opportunity to say afew words under the title "World peace and the duty of religiousmen" at this convention which has been sponsored by W'on Buddhismof America.

Although there have been efforts to find a way to bring aboutpeaee by the leaders of the big nations, there are still threats offull-scale war and in some parts of the globe, human beings arebeing killed at this very moment. There are various kinds of miserieshuman beings confront these days, in relation to regional conflictsamong nations.

It cannot but be the concern of religious men that a world fullof truth must be produced on this earth. An everlasting peaee, how-ever, cannot be proceeded by mere peace treaties. Nor can a realpeace be kept by military forces.

We have to find a way to bring about and keep an everlastingpeace, and it is an urgent problem to be solved. Our problem is notlimited only to the threat of war; it includes the problems of po-Iution, food, racial conflicts, and so on. However, without the solu-tion of the threat of war, the efforts to solve other problems will bein vain.

One realizes the blessings of health only after suffering fromsome illness. However, in order to appreciate the blessings of health,one does not have to get sick, since the disease may terminate hisIife before he can eradicate the disease.

We must not let the world get involved in an overall war inorder to appreciate the blessings of world peace. Then it will betoo late.

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The leaders of the world are trying to stop wars whenever theybreak out; however, this effort can never be a condition for worldpeace. We have to find the necessary condition for world peace whichwill last. And the necessary condition is to eradicate the three poisonsof the human mind, namely avarice, anger and foolishness. Unlessthese three poisons are cleaned up in the mind of all human beings,there cannot be an everlasting peace in the world, for these threepoisons, of greed, anger and stupidity are the sources of all kindsof miseries in the world.

That's why the Great Master, Sotaesan, taught us to bring anend to the wars in our mind, for unless we bring an end to thewars in our mind, there can be no peace in the world. Hence, wehave to train ourselves to be free from the altack of those threeenemies in our mind if we want peace in the world. It follows thatthe path that brings an end to the wars in our mind is the one whichwe must most urgently follow.

The attainment of the spiritual power necessary to be free fromthe attack of the three poisons-which we can take as three enemiesis only a necessary but not a sufficient condition for world peace.In order to build a world of peace, w€ need a foundation, and thisfoundation lies in spiritual cultivation. And this spiritual cultivationis carried out within religious orders. And, we need a religion inwhich all human beings cu, be unified for the common goal of Uuita-ing one peaceful world. Furthermore, no religion should claim sucha name unless it shows its followers the way to eradicate the threepoisons of the human mind.

Altho' there can be differences in the doctrines and methodsof faith, all religions must have one aim, narnely, to bring: out inthe human conscience, the sense of gratitude. The torch of religiousmen ought to be bright enough to .enlighten the conscience of po-Iiticians, of businessmen, and of men of science.

rt is believed that an everlasting peace can be secured onlywhen the walls are destroyed between individuals, and between na-tions by mutual trust, Iove and co-operation which will spring forthwhen the three poisons are exterminated. L&t us co-operate to bepioneers of the movement to build a peaceful world with the ideathat the truth is one, the world is one, all mankind is of one family,and the world is our common place to work together.

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IVorId Peace and The Mission of vlon Buddhisur

bY Prof . Pol-khn Chon

Since human history began, one of the most important tasks

has been to construct a worti-in which all mankind can live together

peacefully. Nevertheless, *u", are still continuing ceaselessly and

there are man;-;[;ilies which prevent world peace' How can we

remove these barriers, bring wuit to a close' and establish vuorld

peace?

I'd like to answer this question from the standpoint of won

Buddhism. won Buddhism is u o.* Buddhism which started in Ko'

rea B8 years ;;". i;iri.t.a by time, I can't discuss Won Buddhism

in detail. Basiig'*y trtt rath-er on one or two basic creeds of Won

Buddhis*, r'*'E"i;; io t*L aLout the mission of Won Buddhism for

world peace.

In Won Buddhism we worship Il-won-s&Il8, symbolized as acircte,-tfre Dharma-kaya nuaana, ut-ttt. obiect of our faith and the

standard of our moral trainins. ln the ereed expressing t-he truth of

Il-Won-S&DB, it " Of,urma-kay"a, "lJ-Vgol--it the origin of all beings

in the ,rirerse, ihe mind-seai ol afl Buddhas and. saints, the original

Nature of all living beings . ' ." is taught to us'

First, according to the teaching that Il-Won is the mind-seal of

all Buddhas and saint, we can see that the mind forms of all Bu{-dh.qs

.4n-d saints are just the same, n-aqelr, the.mind form of Jesus Christwho tried to pru.tice and t.L.f, Coi;. will, lhqt gt !4vuPu.,,i *I'tit is saicl, attained divine enlightenment, and that of Confueius who

il.i.d t" pruti." urd teach Heaven's decree are all iust the same. Thus,

though trre expre;.iil of religious_doctr.ines were different, owing to

temporal or tical conditiont, Tt. ultimate aims and intentions of all

saints are said to have been'the same. That is to say, the aims of all

religions .or*irl in helping us realize and follow the origin of all

beings in the u"i**.. In Christianity it is called "God", in Buddhism,,Dharma-taya Buddha" and in confucianism "Tai-chi"' It is cer-

tainly unfortunate that *u"r -t.riti;n

built tall barriers between

themselves and other retigions, u"a Ju.n barriers sometimes developed

into episodes of bloodshed'

we should break down the barriers between religions, an{ thgn

all religions tf,orfa be binded together and advance to build the

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WON BUDDHISM

peaceful world which all saints wanted and of which they taught. Itis the flrst task of Won Buddhism for r,vorld peace to try to breakdown these barriers between religions and help all religions to bebound together.

And then, according to the teaching that Il-Won is the originalNature of all Iiving beings, we can see that the original Nature of allhuman beings is the same one. Therefore, all human beings arebrothers based on the same origin. There should not be barriers be-tween human races or between peoples and there should not be pas-

sionate barriers between ideologies. It is doubtless that the UnitedStates of America is a country which is able to be proud of her wealthand one which takes the Iead in fighting for freedom and peace, butI believe the Americans' true happiness and peace will consist in allAmericans' realizing that the black brothers came from the originthat the white brothers did, and breaking down the barriers betweenthe two races.

Nowadays the most dreadful barriers are those between the FreeWorld and the Communist World. The aims of all ideologies shouldconsist in helping all human beings to live more happily, and bothcapitalism and Communism insist that each is the ideology to promotethe happiness of mankind. But the ideologies which insist on helpinghuman beings live better have built tall barriers between themselves,and, ,s a ,ezult, they have driven human beings into wars and fetters,and we have ..e, ih. d..udful results with our own eyes here and

there all over the world.

We Koreans remember vividly the Korean War during which theIoss of human life and property was tremendous, all owing to thepassionate opposition of ideologies. The barriers between ideologiesshould not biing about such a dreadful war again. Let's re-establishthe fact that all human beings are brothers of the same origin. Thegreatest task of Won Buddhism in establishing world peace is to tryto break down the barriers between human races, between peoples

and between ideologies.

It is clear that today's world is advancing toward one connectedworld. The physical space-time of the world was connected into one

world sometime ago. The happenings in the remotest areas on theearth are known to us without delay and, besides, they have director indirect influence upon us. The restriction of oil export by Arabcountries drove all the world into confusion about a source of energy.

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WON BUDDHISM

The Vietnam War in an area far distant from the United States re-sulted in this country sending thousands of soldiers and abundant warmaterial into the area. At the present time, areas of the world cannotstand alone, isolating themselves from other areas. Although this istrue, despite connections which Iink the physical world, the spiritualworld is not yet connected together. This is a tragedy and misfortuneof makind today. Now is the time when we must connect the mindsof all human beings. The ultimate task of Won Buddhism for WorldPeaee is trying to trina together the minds of all human beings. Inorder to carry out this ultimate task, we must break down the barriersUetween religions and then we must advance t,o get rid of the barriersbetween human races, between p_eoples, and between ideologies. Butit is not easy to break down the barriers which have been built over

a long perioh of time. In order to break them down, above all, eaeh

of us must attain the spiritual ability to change a 4ind--of resentment

to one of gratiiude. Thi most important way Won Buddhism suggests

for binding tog;irrl, the mindt of ho*an beings is that- of attainingihe abilitv of ipiriturr self-control by whi-ch we can find satisfaction

even in the *or't difficult situations. In order to attain such ability tocontrol our own minds, we must learn many kinds of moral trainings'and there are ;r;t kinas of training systems in Won Buddhism' I'm

,orrv that I have no time to explain these systems.

Finally, I'm going to suggest that, to begin with, yoYr mind and

mine should be bound toeethei, and to do so, you and I should try toachieve the ability of self-control which changes our mind of resent-ment to one of gratitude.

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WON BUDDHISM

How Does Vlon Buddhism Differ from the OId Buddhism

by P. K. C.

There are various kinds of Buddhism in the world, and therewill be some people who take the birth of Won Buddhism as merelyan increase of religions in number, and others who will wonder if WonBuddhism is a mixed religion combining old Buddhism and Con-fucianism.

I would like to point out one or two ways that Won Buddhismdiffers from Old Buddhism. First, Won Buddhism worships Il-Won-Sang (One Circle) as the object of Faith and the standard of Bud-dhistic practice. Human beings, civilized or uncivilized, in the face ofan unexpected calamity, disease, death, etc. are instinctively fain torely upon some greater power.

In primitive society people sought the great power in the heavensor on the earth or in some natural phenomena. However, when humanbeings entered the period of culture, they came to rely upon themoral teachings of saints and sages. After the death of these saintsand sages, people fashioned their images as tokens of their yearningtoward the sages.

If, however, a religion is used for accomplishing any desires orpurposes by prayer or godsend, then the religion is degrading. Ifthree billion five hundred million people of the world pray sincerelyto any absolute existence, should the three billion five hundred millionkinds of desires be accomplished by him? And also, does he have theability to do it? Also, we find it very ironical that some object of faithof a small nation or of some restricted community is worshipped bypeople of different nations.

From this point of view, there is some difference between WonBuddhism, which worships Il-Won-Sang as a symbol of The Truth,and other religious orders which have faith in such Beings as Allahor Jehovah. In other words, Il-Won-Sang is the symbolie expressionof thb Truth. It is not the Truth itself, but the mere chart whichexplains the Truth correctly.

An energy exists in this universe and all things are created bythis energy. This means that everything is rooted in the same onething. This one thing is named in various Ways, such as God, Law,Reason, Heaven, etc. The synthetic name is Il-Won-Sang.

The Truth never eeases going round and round and has neitherbeginning nor ending. It is expressed in a circle.

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WON BUDDHISM

second, I want to explain The Life of Faith in won Buddhism'

The Truth is in all things in the universe' Therefore' everY -irt-dividual or thing is the very lnanifestation of the Truth. Everything

must be trezrted with a pious mind as if it were a Bucldha (the Truth) 'we do not have to go^before an image of Buddha to pray for our

desires. AIso, when the Truth in my own self is manifested outside'

we will have the tife of the Truth'Religious life and social life should not mean an unproductive

Iife. In our religious life, *u ur. our six roots (eygs, ears, nose, mouth,

body, will) coirectly as the Law teaches us and carry out our pro-

ductive life of faith.We keep our religious mind not only in a church, but also in

everyday life. Religioris life and everyday life must coincide' Here-

,por, oL, spiritual and physical livLs can keep peace with each

otn.", and we can continue our life of faith and our productive lifewith a ceaseless religious mind.

:8 {. {. {. tl€

- Buddhist Stories F(f) Power of Meditation

Once there was a well-known scholar who was teachin-g- Tanyfollowers. He wore a pleasant and bright air all the time and his at'titude was lofty and transcendental.

One day when he and his students were boating on the river,enjoying the cool air, one of the followers asked him, "I heard thatyo, ptr.ticed meditation for many years, from the- time when you

*.r. yo,rng. Can we acquire some mysterious powel b{ w}ich we can

be free from life and death through praticing meditation?"

The teacher answered that the mind state which he had reached

can not be expressed in words, but must be witnessed. He suggested

that they throrn him into the river if they wanted to see the mysteriouspower.

The followers Iooked at eaeh other with disbelief because theyknew that their master could never swim. At that moment, however,a mischievous young man grabbed his master and threw him into thewater.

The teacher at once sank into the deep water, but after some

time he came up to the surf ace again floating along peaeefully stretch-ed out on his back.

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IryON BUDDHISM

His young'students, at that sight, were deeply moved and en-Iightened to the mysteriolls power of meditation.

People may establish a theory about the mind state which acquiresmysterious power, but it is hard to keep the mind unperturbed, practi-cally, on every oceasion. The mind of human beings becomes easilyconfused without the power of stability of the mind which is attainedby meditation.

(2) A Mind is a Creator

There was once an expert areher in China. One day he went to avery high mountain with his bow on his back. While strolling on themountain, he became thirsty and wanted some water to drink. For-tunately, he found a small spring under a bush and he immediatelybent over the water to drink it out of his hands until his thirst wasquenched. However, when he finished drinking, he thought he saw asnake crawling in the water. He felt sick immediately and wanted tovomit the water he had drunk, but the water did not come out. Hebecame seriously nervous about the water in his stomach, feelingsomething wriggling in it. When he got back home, he became seri-ously ill.

Numerous doctors gave him medical treatment in vain; finally,he beeame nothing but skin and bones, resigning himself to die.

One day a traveler dropped bv his home. Seeine the condition ofthe patient, he asked the reason. The patient told him that he saw asnake crawling in the water of the spring and that he had swallowedthe snake. The traveler said he could cure his illness if he would do ashe told him to do, taking him to the same spring where he had drunkthe water.

He told the patient, who was bearing the same bow on his back, totake the same pose as he had before. The patient reluctantly bent overthe water and was just going to scoop it up in his hands when hescreamed out that a snake was crawling in the water again. The mantold him to be quiet and to observe the snake more closely. The archergot control of himself and found that it was not a snake at all, butthe shadow of the bow he was carrying on his back.

The man realized that the snake he thought he had swallowedbefore was only the shadow of his bow. After this, he felt quite re-lieved, and soon he regained his health.

We must recognize that our mind is the creator of our fate.

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Dr. Kil Chin Park (right), President

of Won Kuang Unioersity, placing a

ndme plaque otser the doorwaq of the

Research Center for Won Buddhist

Thought.

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WON BUDDHISM

nl"*, @orn",rhe Research center of won Buddhist Thought is Established

The Research Center of Won Buddhist Thought was establishedin Won Kwang University. This Center is to contribute to the de-velopment of Won Buddhism, and human society, by studying WonBuddhist thoughts correctly, deeply and widety.'the operini cere-mony was held in a reception room which is loeated in the Home Eco-nomics Building. As a special part of the ceremony. two special add-resses were given. These lectures were delivered by Dr. Kil-Chin Park,president of Won Kwang University, and by the Dean of the GraduateSchool, Chun Won-Bae.

Dr. Kil-Chin Park was selected as the first Director of the Cen-ter.

The First fntemational Convention of IVon Buddhists held

Under the joint auspices of the Research Institute of OverseasMissions and Won Buddhism of America, the First InternationalConvention of Won Buddhism was held at Hancock Hall at USC inLos Angeles on the 27th and the 28th of April.

The theme of the Convention was "World Peace and the Task ofReligious Men". Three hundred people of various nationalities werein attendance, including representatives from Korea.

President and Professotls of Kyoto Buddhist College visited V[on Kwang Univ.

Won Kwang University and Kyoto Buddhist Coliege had a sig-nature ceremony in the president's office at Won Kwang Universityon the 6th of April. Many professors of Won Kwang University andthree professors from Kyoto University, including President HujiharaRyo-en discussed the exchange of professors and students and aprogram of seminars and symposiums in the future.

Professons attended seminar held at Kyoto College

Seven professors of the Won Buddhist Department in Won KwangUniversity attended the Second Korean-Japanese Buddhist Seminarheld at Kyoto Buddhist College from the 1st of June to the 3rd. Thetheme was "The Modernization of tsuddhism".

(Continued on Page 4)

A scene frorn the Student Leader-

shlp Course in the Commemaration

Hall at the Headquarters.

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