Wake Up and Laugh!

I found this short Dharma talk from Daehaeng Kun Sunim on my computer, in a random folder. I must have inadvertently saved it to the wrong place, but it was just sitting there like buried treasure. It’s kind of a tough talk, but it’s also the straight truth.

Whatever kind of problem arises, whether it’s in your family or something in the larger society, whether it’s crime, or some issue that keeps persisting, then, so that the problem won’t arise, you have to firmly entrust it inside, with the thought, “Hey! You’re the one that can solve this! You’re the one that can cause this to not arise!”

          When you do this, you’re setting up a shield. It’s as if you’ve set up a radar or a defense network. All the lives within your body are part the Dharma Realm, and all function together in your body like the Dharma Net. Their consciousnesses continuously leave your body and return, working like a radar net, detecting whatever might be coming your way, and now you’ve told them how to respond to it. They respond as the Dharma Realm, and take negative or harmful things, and turn them into good things.

With a bit of wisdom, you can set things up ahead of time to take care of all this stuff. Then later, even though you aren’t fussing over every little thing, this network responds to it all, and keeps things from becoming problems. Each of you are capable of experiencing how this works and protects you. Though, it doesn’t just happen by accident.

          Nothing in our world just happens. Not even little, tiny things. Not even things that flash into existence, and are gone in that moment. None of it is random. None of it happens by chance. Something had to go forth in order for something to come back. So don’t let yourself think that things just happen. It all starts from you, yourself. That said, the fact that something has begun with you also means that you have the capacity to solve it. You’re the one who can make it into something clear and bright.

          What do I mean about clear and bright? The whole. I’m talking about the whole. Regardless of whatever you face, of whatever you need, return it to the whole. Entrust it all to your foundation, your one mind.

Pain, loneliness, desire, genetics, ghosts, and so on, cause so many difficulties in people’s lives. They cause problems to arise from the outside, as well as from the inside. They arise within and lead people astray. They distort people’s perspective, and cause them to do things that lead them towards hellish states of existence. They cause people to stumble, and they cause them to be easy marks for con artists.

In order to avoid being hurt by these things, entrust them all to your Juingong, your foundation. Do this and make your mind bright again. Then your eyes will become clear, and you won’t be led down dark paths.

You have to give rise to an intention in order for that to manifest. If you don’t raise a thought like this and entrust it, then there’s nothing for your foundation to respond to. It just remains calm and quiet. To put it another way, when no thoughts arise, it’s the “father, ” when thoughts arise, it becomes the “son.” When no intentions are raised, the son, your present consciousness, joins with and becomes one with the calm, quiet father, the foundation. But when an intention is raised, the foundation joins with your present consciousness. That is to say, your intention is energized by the foundation, which works as one with that intention. As one.

This unseen realm, this unseen foundation, is the source of all life, and because it exists, we can give rise to intentions, and because we can give rise to intentions, we can move our bodies, and so create things, and explore and affect the world around us. This is how we’ve existed, and why nothing’s random, why what we experience is the result of our own actions. Some kind of input went into this unseen essence, where it functioned with the whole, and then produced a result.

Thus if you sense a problem coming, you can take that feeling and entrust it, thinking, “Okay, true self, foundation, work to keep these things from happening” and trust it to work that way. If you input the intention that those problems shouldn’t arise, then this whole will work towards that end. But this has to be accompanied by real, unconditional trust. Trust where you turn this over to your foundation and walk away without looking back, without constantly worrying about whether it will really work or turn out well.

If your faith is indecisive, then even though you entrust something, it’s like you submitted the paperwork for something, but then pulled it back at the last moment. And then pushed it forward, but pulled it back again. If you’re doing this, it’ll never get processed and there will be no result.

Thus, everything depends upon how much you trust your foundation. However, instead of decisively entrusting this, sometimes people only mess around on the edges, and so they don’t see any results. Then they come to me and beg me to solve the problem, saying “Letting go and entrusting never seems to work for me.”

But, how you use your own mind is what everything depends upon. Truly. The kinds of results you eventually experience depend upon your faith in your own foundation. There’s no one else to blame or depend upon. It’s all up to you and the unseen source of all life you’re endowed with.

–Daehaeng Kun Sunim, October 31, 1993

I hope everyone’s been doing okay this hot summer! The next series of the discussion group for the Thousand Hands Sutra will start on October 7th. It was a lot of fun last time, and I’m looking forward to our next meeting!

Tomorrow is a special day in Buddhism, called Ullambana, (Baekjong in Korean, and Obon in Japanese). The principle it follows is that we and our loved ones are not separate. Even after death, we share a fundamental connection, and through this we can help the spiritual level of the dead. Because we share this connection, we can assist them in moving forward on their own path, and at a spiritual level that more closely reflects where they were while alive.

For, it often happens that at the end of our body, our mental state isn’t what it once was. Either through long suffering or sudden shock, fear, or hatred, our spiritual level after death can be lower than what it could be. But because we no longer have a body to provide us with new input, our consciousness will persist at its current level for quite a while.

But, when we the living entrust them to our shared foundation and become one with them, they instantly become one with us and experience our spiritual awareness. In so doing, they are pulled up from where they may have been stuck, and after the ceremony is over, are able to continue forward at something closer to the potential they earned while alive.

Here’s an older video with Daehaeng Kun Sunim speaking about this. There are a few things I’d like to touch up on the translation, but it’s pretty good. Take a look and maybe see if it inspires you!

I hope summer has been treating everyone well! Here in Anyang, it’s “only” 34C (93F) which is down from 39C (102F) yesterday!

We’re working on translating two new talks, but they’re taking a bit more time than I expected. In the meanwhile, here’s an excerpt from one of them. I doubt Daehaeng Kun Sunim was thinking about social media at the time, but her warning still kind of applies!

Questioner: My question concerns the story of the Chinese Fifth Patriarch of Chan (Seon), Hongren, and his disciple, the Sixth Patriarch, Huineng. After Hongren passed the robe and bowl to Huineng, he warned him to leave. Huineng asked, “Where should I go?” The teacher replied, “Remain in a place where you find Huai (懷), [to cherish or embrace,] and hide yourself in a place like Hui (會), [to gather or assemble.]” I would like to ask about the deeper meaning of these words.

Kun Sunim: Huineng asked, “Where should I go?” but in reality, it doesn’t matter where the physical body goes. It is simply a matter of the mind.

The instruction to remain in a place where the character “Embrace” is found means you should help and work together with those people who sense this reality of one mind. These people are like sturdy trees, with fruit fragrant and ripening. Help them to grow and fully mature.

On the other hand, the teaching to hide yourself in places where many gather means that you shouldn’t open your mouth around those who have no interest in understanding the workings of nonduality, and who instead gather to gossip or criticize others.

So, no matter where you go, decide for yourself which place is best, and that will become the right place for you.

(From a Dharma talk on August 16, 1992)

Here’s another Dharma song by Daehaeng Kun Sunim. (The lyrics are by her, the music is by Byeon Gyu Baek)

The One that is Truly Doing (누가 하는가요?)

Who is the one that enables us to see?
Who is the one that enables us to hear?
Who is the one that enables us to speak?
Who is the one that enables us to live?
Observe, observe, and observe again.
You who are observing
is true self.

People think that we see because we have two eyes,
but is this true?
People think that we hear because we have two ears,
but is this true?
People think that we speak because we have a mouth,
but is this true?
People think that we live because we have a body,
but is this true?

Observe, observe, and observe again.
You who are observing
is true self.

(A Dharma song by Daehaeng Kun Sunim. Here is it sung in Korean: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_Y4ojC2j_Q )

Deep in the dark last night
snow was falling.
Now with the dawn,
white flowers bloom on every branch,
and deep roots go far and wide.
In the high mountains, white flowers of the arrowroot vines
fill the valleys, their deep roots spreading forth.

A traveler going far and wide plays a bamboo flute,
calling out news
of our true self.
Oh, you many flowers,
you beautiful flowers,
have you yet heard,
the message from your true self?

임의 소식

어제 밤에 눈 오더니
날이 밝아 동이 트고
가지마다 흰 백송이 꽃이 피고
뿌리마다 이어가니
천상 저 높은 산위에는
골짜기마다 칡뿌리 이어가고
칡꽃이 만발했으니

길을 걷던 나그네의 대피리 소리는
온누리에 임의 소식 전달하니
만 꽃이며 만 꽃이여
님의 소식 들었는가 하노라

If you want to step out of your habitual way of thinking and viewing the world, give something.

As selflessly as you can, give something. It doesn’t have to be big or small, just give.

It can be a wish that someone’s life goes a bit better, it can be a cup of coffee or something more. Just give.

Let go as best you can of thoughts of “I” – “I gave,” “Is it enough?” “Is it…?” “I…,” whatever. You don’t have to worry about them, just give them a friendly wave and let go of them as you become aware of them.

Giving is a reflection of our nondual, interconnectedness, so when we truly give, we are pointing ourselves in that direction.

It may only be a beginning, but it points us in that direction. Back it up with viewing things positively and remembering that everything is arising from our one foundation, so that’s also the place that can dissolve everything we’re going through.

Starting this Wednesday, we’ll be continuing the English discussion series about Daehaeng Kun Sunim’s edition of the Diamond Sutra at the Hanmaum Seon Center in Anyang, South Korea.

We’ll meet at 7:30pm on Wednesdays, from March 18 to April 29. The format will be the same as last time, with me lecturing for 30 minutes, and then everyone breaking into small groups for another 20-30 minutes of discussion. Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun with this format, so stop by if you have time.

The lecture portion will be put up on Youtube a week or two afterwards, once we’ve had time to work with the video.

Here’s a Dharma talk for the lunar New Year by Daehaeng Kun Sunim. In a sense, there’s a lot going on in this talk, but focus on finding just one part, one aspect that you can put into practice, and do that diligently for a week or two. See what happens!

New Year’s Candle Light Ceremony Dharma Talk

We gather together today here in the Dharma Hall and light candles, but you need to know that lighting a thousand wax candles can’t even begin to compare with lighting the candle of mind.

The light of this candle of mind, this candle of our inherent nature, is seen throughout all realms of the universe, but the light from these wax candles can’t even be seen outside of this building.

In fact, this candle of mind is always burning brightly, so can be called our eternal source of life. Because of this source, we are able to speak and act wisely and kindly, and able to light this incense of our heart, which gives off a beautiful fragrance that spreads far and wide.

Fulfilled and at peace because of this source, we are able to give rise to a compassionate smile that rises like the moon in the deep of a quiet night, illuminating all the world. But, just like when clouds cover the sun, so, too, people can’t smile when their hearts are covered in clouds.

We’ve gathered together as families and then separated so many times. It’s like the clouds gathering together and splitting up again and again. We’ve lived like this for a billion eons, and now we’ve reached the level of human beings. At this point, there’s no one who hasn’t once been our mother, our father, or our child.

This is why I say, “Think of everyone as yourself. Don’t look down on anyone, and don’t put others above you. See them all equally, see their pain as your pain. And not just only human beings – there’s nothing that’s not you, no life that’s not your life. What others are going through is also what you are going through.”

So take every single thing, without exception, and entrust it inwardly, knowing, “All of this arose from one mind, so my one mind is also what can solve this.” When you do this, what was input in the past begins to dissolve, and that intention becomes new input, and functions accordingly. This is the method by which you can dissolve karma, the five hell-states, and all of the problems caused by genetics, ghosts, and the conditioned nature of existence.

You also need to be aware of the fact that all the lives within your body are living together as one whole, and continuously change  ̶  never stopping for an instant and never remaining in the same form.

So don’t blame others for anything, and don’t resent others. Instead, remember that your presence has contributed to causing some part of what you are going through, and work on brightening your mind.

If you participate in the Candle Light ceremony here, coming to the Seon Center even just once a year and practice like I just said, that will benefit your parents, children, and spouse. As you try to brighten your mind, that effort will cause the dark clouds of their minds to fade, and help them to be more gentle and positive. Further, the karmic states of consciousness of the lives that make up their bodies will become kinder and act like bodhisattvas. As this happens, they’ll be able to go forward brightening themselves.

If you do so, even the spirits of the dead will become brighter as well. Becoming one with your bright mind, they will naturally step out of states they may be trapped in, and go forward on their own path.

How can I describe the benefits and wondrousness of being able to contribute to all of this? Of this amazing mind? There are just no words that can describe the virtue and merit of lighting this one candle of mind that connects the seen and unseen.

So what I’d like to ask of you is to always try to see things from others perspective, to stand in their shoes and understand their heart. If you act and speak based on this, then you’ll be precious to everyone, and even the unseen Dharma realms will cherish you. For what you do, and the thoughts you give rise to, are also known throughout all the universe.

Your mind should be able to become one with others, where your mind is their mind and their mind is your mind. Keep working on being generous, behaving kindly, and speaking gently, so that you are able to fully become one with them.

Homage to Shakyamuni Buddha
Homage to our inherent Buddha
Homage to the foundation within us that is none other than Shakyamuni Buddha.