Spiritual Practice at the Frankfurt Bookfair

Spiritual Practice and the Book Fair

It’s actually difficult for me to write about my experiences there, because they were so wonderful and so many. In Korean we speak of jeong jin, or intensive practice. And that is truly what the book fair was for all of us.

Every evening we would all gather at Mr. Koh’s house for dinner and a group discussion. There were those of us from Korea, as well as many of the German members. After a meal of food that was as much heart as it was physical matter, we would talk about what had happened that day and our experiences with practicing. People’s experiences were so touching and inspiring that it was as if we were sharing a beautiful Dharma talk every evening.

You could truly feel the energy of mind. So many people had gathered together, and raised mind while letting go of “I,” that the energy was contagious. Having returned to Korea I feel a bit like a character from a story. It’s one of those stories where someone is allowed to visit a heavenly realm, but eventually has to return home and apply what he learned to his life. In fact, the energy was at such a high level, beyond my usual level, that it’s almost hard to remember it now.

This energy is what arises when everyone is completely relying upon their foundation, Juingong, and throwing themselves into the task at hand. Growing up, I had the attitude that I should be able to do everything, and do it very well. But what happened in Frankfurt is more like a stew: everyone contributed what they had to offer, in terms of mind and ability. Between us and Kun Sunim, we filled in any gaps, and were able to support each other, while giving our visitors a taste of this profound mind that we all share. For seven days, everyone completely threw themselves into the tasks before them. The food tasted better, problems melted away, and miracles happened.

All the words of gratitude that I can think of seem so inadequate. Everyone from Korea and Germany was so wonderful, with such beautiful and sincere minds. What can be said of such a thing, except to wish that every reader will soon experience this for herself or himself.

-With palms together and a deep bow
Chong Go