A Dharma talk for the new year

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The Gwangmyeong Seon Center

I hope the new year has found everyone healthy and happy! That might seem like a lot to ask these days, but one thing I’ve noticed is that we need to choose what we give our attention to. There are always disasters and outrages of every kind, but in a way, those are like leaves swirling around our feet. Deal with them when necessary, but don’t let them steal too much attention or energy from what’s really important – our existence as part of the whole, and learning to recognize this, and to apply it to what’s going on with us and the people in our lives.

Here at the Anyang Hanmaum Seon Center, we’re getting ready for the Lunar New Year, and I should have some extra good news around then, but, in the meanwhile, here is an older Dharma talk Daehaeng Kun Sunim gave years ago at the candlelight service for the Lunar New Year.

Lunar New Year’s Dharma Talk

Having been born with a human body,
you have to be born once more spiritually to become a true person.
If you take all of the stuff that you go through in your life,
and used it as the materials for spiritual practice,
taking it and returning it to your foundation bit by bit,
then your children’s outlook and mentality will transform and change,
and the consciousnesses of the lives that make up your body
will all become more gentle.

In brightening yourself like this,
the spirits of your ancestors will all become brighter with you.
Your practice will naturally become a Cheondo ceremony,
helping them to move forward and grow.
Being able to live and practice like this is so incredible!

Through returning everything to your fundamental mind,
you can take care of your ancestors,
helping them grow and transform through this ever present ability to use and rely upon the functioning of our fundamental mind.
You can take care of the unseen lives that make up your body
by taking the feelings and experiences that come out,
and one by one as they arise,
returning them back to this foundation they are part of.
In doing so, those beings and your daily life will all improve,
and all the people in the land
while still upholding harmony and trust in the greater social setting,
will be able live freely, unbound by circumstances,
able to respond as needed to whatever arises.

Although these candles we hold are just small things,
if we light them with deep sincerity,
such that they touch upon this great circle of energy that connects us all,
then these candles will become one with this,
and able to melt down anything.

We can’t see or hold this vast candle of mind,
yet each of you absolutely has it.
When you can return everything inwardly like this,
when you can return everything harmoniously and generously,
without blaming others for what you experience,
and in so doing, help your parents, your children,
and all the lives within your body,
then you will truly be a treasure of this world,
a great being who is a blessing to all.

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

새해맞이 촛불재에 받드는 대행선사 법어

자기 육신이 태어났으면 정신이 다시 태어나야 진짜 사람입니다.
생활을 재료로 삼아서
내 마음의 공부를 하신다면,
자손들은 마음이 화해서 바꿔지고
몸 안에 들어있는 모든 의식들이 착해지고
스스로 밝아짐으로써, 돌아가신 영령들도
자기와 더불어 밝아져서 스스로 천도가 되는 것입니다. 그렇게 되는 그 마음이 얼마나
크고 광대합니까.

사람은 이 마음의 공부를 함으로써
위로는 조상을 받들어서
평등공법으로 이끌어 놓을 수 있는 것이며,
아래로는 자기 몸뚱이 속의 자생중생들이
인과성과 업보성에 의해 차례차례로
나오는 것들을 되입력을 함으로써
모든 생활과 모든 마음을 발전시켜서
사회의 질서나 국민의 화목을
가져오고 자유스럽게 살 수 있습니다.

그래서 이 조그마한 촛불이지만 진심으로 켜든 그 촛불 하나가 삼천대천세계의 모든 것이 거기에 닿기만 하면 녹아 버린다는 것을 아셔야 합니다, 한 덩어리가 돼 버리기 때문입니다. 그 촛불 자체를 볼 수도 쥘 수도 없지만 역력하게 여러분들이 다 가지고 있지 않습니까?

여러분들의 마음이 그렇게 둥글고 자비하고
착한 마음으로써 부모를 위해서 자식을 위해서, 자기 몸뚱이 속의 모든 생명들을 위해서
그렇게 하실 수 있다면
그것은 진짜 이 세상의 보배로서 정말 광대한 물건 아닌 물건이 될 수 있을 것입니다.

나무 서가모니불
나무 자성본래불
나무 시아본사 서가모니불

The importance of the thoughts we give rise to

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In one sense, we have to be careful about the thoughts we give rise to, because those can end up having a huge effect on which direction things take. On the other, this means that we also have incredible power to change and to affect the direction our lives take. While not ignoring the “be careful” aspect of this text, I hope you will reflect upon the “this can change everything” implications that are also in this text.

Our lives become like an unknown package, where the contents have yet to be decided. We may not see results immediately, but things do begin to move in the direction that we raise, and entrust, thoughts. As we do this, we step out of the trajectory that blind cause and effect would have sent us along, and step onto a whole new path. One that we have the power to set before us.

This text is from No River to Cross, pages 17-19

Mind can be compared to a supercomputer. Any thought, once raised, is perfectly recorded. You might believe that a thought is finished because you are no longer aware of it, but that thought did not disappear. Rather, it is perfectly recorded inside of your mind. The thought is stored in the subconscious and causes a similar thought to arise next time. Further, the second thought is stronger than the first thought. For example, if the first thought was bad, then the second thought is often a little worse. In this way, the thought keeps repeating time after time and grows stronger and stronger. Mind is tilted toward the thoughts that arise often. So, if you do not manage your thoughts well, they will grow and eventually become actions.

If mind moves and raises a thought once, that thought is perfectly recorded; the functioning of mind is not limited to just our conscious awareness.

Good karma is also karma. Once something is recorded, that record tends to push me around and control me. Bad karma gives birth to bad results, and good karma gives birth to good results. Karma is what leads beings through the cycle of birth and death, so there is no difference between good karma and bad karma. In one case, a slave suffers because he or she meets a bad master. In another case, a slave lives relatively comfortably because he or she meets a good master. However, both are the same, both are slaves.

If you record over a tape recording, the previous recording is erased and the new material is recorded. So it’s better to record good karma rather than bad karma. However, instead of just recording good karma, it’s even better to completely erase all of the recordings. The way to do this is by entrusting everything that confronts you, both good and bad, to your fundamental nature. It’s like cleaning a mirror. Even though the mirror has been covered by dust for a long time, once you wipe it, it immediately becomes clean.

The law of causality is like a seed that never rots: once planted, it always sprouts. If you plant a good seed, good results will follow. If you plant a bad seed, bad results will occur. Cause and effect are like seeds that always sprout. Further, once planted they will sprout, go to seed, and then sprout again and again.

There are lots of people who live without any concern for others. They’re satisfied as long as they are happy and can do or get what they want. But you cannot obtain true peace by making yourself alone comfortable. Temporary enjoyment cannot solve the fundamental problem. You must know that our life does not end with this present life. Furthermore, you must know that everything, even the things that you have done secretly, comes back to you as karma.

Karma is a tangle of uncountable causes and effects. Some people try to use their intellect to unravel their karma, but this is like trying to melt a frozen lake in winter by pouring one bucket of hot water onto the ice. It seems to melt a little, but before long the water you poured freezes, and you have only added more ice. So don’t get caught up in worldly things, release them all to your fundamental mind, and let them melt down automatically. When spring comes, the frozen lake will melt naturally and completely. Returning to your fundamental mind is like a warm spring coming after a cold winter.

There is no such thing as fate or destiny. Everything depends upon your mind. Because you are not free from attachments, those attachments become karma and even affect your genes. Because everything is done by mind, the key to happiness or unhappiness is how you use your mind.

Three Things

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Here’s a short Dharma talk given by Daehaeng Kun Sunim. This was given many years ago, but it’s exactly as true today.

Three Things

Although we were each born as male or female,
these are not fundamentally separate.
Nor are Buddhas and unenlightened beings separate.
You must absolutely learn this.
Work hard and thoroughly experience this truth by
remembering:

“Only my foundation, my true nature, can guide me.”
“Only my foundation, my true nature, can take care of my body.”
“Only my foundation, my true nature, can take care of the problems of my family.”
And completely entrust every single thing to one place, to your foundation.
If you are diligent and unconditional about this, it will help you in three ways.
First, everything that’s caused by karma and cause and effect will dissolve.
Second, habits will melt away.
Third, you will discover yourself.

Happy Buddha’s birthday!

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Happy Buddha’s Birthday! This year, it also overlapped with Teacher’s Day, which is probably as it should be! So after the morning service, at 5am, the sunims here all went to the hermitage just down the road where Daehaeng Kun Sunim’s pagoda is and did three bows, sung both the standard Korean “Teacher’s Song,” as well as a Dharma song (Live Magnificently) and then recited the Heart Sutra. (Some of these photos are from past years, because it was apparently decided that we needed more rain today! The weather was fine for the noon ceremony, but afterwards, it really started raining down.)

This is our main parade float for the Lantern Parade in Seoul. The Monkey God is about the size of a tall person, and every year the youth group comes up with a different float.

Video of the new lanterns for Buddha’s Birthday

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We had the unveiling of the lanterns for Buddha’s Birthday last Sunday, and they are magnificent!! It was a bit damp, but we figured that since it’s the year of the dragon, the dragon must have stopped by to check things out and brought some rain with it, lol. The Buddhist Television Network just ran a segment about it, and it’s up on YouTube, so check it out! The interviews and voice overs are in Korean, but you don’t really need to know Korean to appreciate the lanterns. The main lantern reflects the energy of the unseen interconnected whole working together as one with all the seen and unseen realms, manifesting into the work with an infinite variety of shapes.

Getting ready for the Buddha’s birthday

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Lotus lanterns at the Gwang Myeong branch of Hanmaum Seon Center

Here at the Anyang Hanmaum Seon Center, the next two weeks will be busy!

On Sunday the 5th, at 7pm (Seoul timezone), we’ll be having the big reveal for this year’s lanterns, parade floats, and the accompanying performances. You can see it in person at the Anyang Seon Center, or live on YouTube. I can’t guarantee they’ll be remain posted there afterwards, but they might be.

On Wednesday, the 8th, we’ll be having the 12-year memorial for Daehaeng Kun Sunim at 10:30 am, at Anyang. The overseas branches will be doing something as well, possibly on the weekend.

The 15th of this month (May) will be Buddha’s Birthday this year, with a 10:30am ceremony at Anyang, and a 7pm ceremony for lighting the lanterns on the 15th, 16th, and 17th. This may also be live on YouTube.

Here’s a short Dharma talk for the Buddha’s Birthday.

“If I want to be someone who grows and learns,
I need to realize that every single thing is my teacher,
and every single person is my benefactor.
In light of all of the kindnesses and support I’ve received,
I won’t take even a single step out of line.
If it wasn’t for all things and lives,
I wouldn’t be able to see, hear, and learn.
If others weren’t here,
I couldn’t learn,
I couldn’t eat,
I couldn’t live.
Every person, every life,
is someone who guides and supports me.”

If you keep all of this in mind,
you’ll be able to repay the blessings you’ve been given,
and you’ll be able to develop and progress in tune
with the underlying truth of this world.

— Daehaeng Kun Sunim

A Truly Free Person

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“A truly free person: In this context, a truly free person is someone who is one with their foundation, not controlled by karmic states of consciousness, and able to freely manifest as needed in order to help others.” – footnote from “The Diamond Sutra: The great unfolding”

We’re getting ready to send the Korean-English translation of Daehaeng Kun Sunim’s translation of the Diamond Sutra to the printers, (it should be out by Buddha’s Birthday, May 15), and this footnote really stood out.

One of the terms that Kun Sunim uses a lot is “free person,” or in Korean, 대자유인, literally “great free person.” But how to express that? In English, unless you are obviously imprisoned in some place or situation, it comes across as “free to do whatever you want.” But that’s obviously not it either, because you wouldn’t want people to think that karma, and cause and effect don’t apply to them.

My sense of what Daehaeng Kun Sunim means is this: In awakening to our foundation, and diligently working at relying upon this, we can become free, free from the chains of craving and the situations, and rebirths, they push us into. Free from the ruts and limitations of habitual patterns of thought. And the big one, free to take the energy around us and use it to respond to what’s in front of us.

One thing about Kun Sunim, she never spoke about what she hadn’t experienced and verified for herself, and if she said this kind of freedom is possible for all of us, then it is. Take everything you know, don’t know, are feeling, and especially those situations that seem hopeless or impossible, and entrust them to this connection, this Buddha-nature, that we all have. Let them quietly sink down within you and pay attention. Start with the little stuff and the stuff that’s right here, right now, and see what happens!

Practical Buddhism

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Here’s the beginning of a Dharma talk Daehaeng Kun Sunim gave to the Young Adults group on November 1, 1998. This is a very direct talk, with nothing complicated about it. Not necessarily easy to do, but nothing complicated, and within the ability of all of us.

If you’re sitting with your legs crossed, please straighten them and sit comfortably. This may seem like a trivial issue, but no one else will take care of your legs, and no one else can keep them from hurting.

This practice of relying upon our fundamental mind is the practice of transcending ourselves. It’s the practice of transcending the level we’re currently at by means of working through our fundamental mind to respond to what we’re facing and make a positive difference in our daily life. It’s easy to say that everything depends on how we use our minds, but in reality, not many people are able to actually use their minds to overcome what they’re facing.

My style of speaking isn’t particularly exciting or entertaining, but I can do is tell you about what’s deeply true, so please listen carefully and think about how you can apply it to your life.  

If you think about various different Buddhist teachings, you’ll realize that they’re saying that we have to always practice in daily life. They’re also saying that sitting meditation, meditation while laying down, and meditation while working don’t exist apart from your life. They teach that even sitting on the toilet and having a bowel movement can be spiritual practice.

Really. There’s not a single thing in your life that can’t be part of your spiritual practice. All of the things you’re doing, the thoughts you’re giving rise to, the actions you’re doing with your body, and all that you’re experiencing can all become spiritual practice when you entrust everything to this foundation that’s your source. But in the beginning, this is probably going to be a bit difficult.

So, whenever you have a few minutes, practice entrusting everything to your Juingong, your fundamental mind, with the thought that, “Juingong! You’re the one who has to show that you exist.” I’m not talking about doing this with words, you have to actually entrust everything to your fundamental mind, “Okay, now take care of this and prove you exist!” It’s like going straight to the door and knocking loudly.

Take whatever you face in your daily life, and as it comes up, entrust it to your fundamental mind, Juingong. “Only you can clear the path in front of me, only you can clear away the brush and logs blocking the way!” Take all the different things and situations you experience and return them like this.

Sometimes, according to the circumstances, you may need to stay focused on raising a particular intention and continuously returning that. If you keep returning things like this you will be able to experience the one ocean, and will be able to practice acting and experimenting through this one ocean.

This is Halli, she is an utter sweetheart!

One way of living wisely

Chong Go Sunim2 Comments

Happy new year, everyone! I hope you are all having a great start to the year! Here in Korea, we’ve had lots of rain, and even some very cold weather, but very little snow.

This Dharma talk by Daehaeng Kun Sunim is very short, but there’s a lot going on here to reflect upon. Start by returning what you’re feeling and thinking inwardly, and let them sink deep down inside you, and then pay attention and see what comes out. This is how to melt down our old gunk and turn it into something bright and shiny that can help us move forward and evolve.

Because humans are the pinnacle of evolution,
we have within us all the aspects of beings born through wombs,
through eggs, through moisture, and through transformation.
How they go about their lives
is the same as how we go about our lives.
You need to thoroughly understand this.

Going forward in the new year,
if we are even more kind and compassionate,
such that we can share everything,
put down every burden,
and set free every life we meet,
then none of what we encounter
will cause us harm.

인간은 만물의 영장이라고 했으니
알로 낳는 거나 태로 낳는 하下의 동물이나
또는 질척한 데서 낳는 거 화해서 낳는 거,
이러한 사생들의 그 모든 살림살이가
우리네 살림살이와 같다는 그 점을
우리는 상세히 알아야 합니다.

올해는 우리 마음가짐 하나하나를
더욱더 인의롭고 자비하게 가진다면,
전부 나누어 줄 수 있는 마음,
버리는 마음, 일체 방생하는 마음을 갖는다면
모두가 나한테 해害가 되어 들어오지는 않을 겁니다.

New Korean ebooks and audiobook

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How’s everyone been? I hope you’ve been having a good year!
We’ve been working on a couple of different things and hope to have a new Korean-English Dharma talk out by the end of the year.

In the meanwhile, the ebooks are out for the Korean editions of “My Heart is a Golden Buddha” (내 마음은 금부처) and “No River to Cross” (건널 강이 어디 있으랴). Likewise, the Korean audiobook for “My Heart is a Golden Buddha” is also now available as a streaming/downloadable audiobook. (Before it was only available as a CD that came with the Korean edition. But, it turns out that no one has CD players anymore!) Here are some links to the books: Kyobo Books, Yes24.

Those two are major booksellers in Korea, but if you don’t have an account there and want just a downloaded file, you can order them from our “store” at Gumroad:
내 마음은 금부처 (ebook),
내 마음은 금부처 (audiobook),
건널 강이 어디 있으랴 (ebook).
It should work okay, and is probably easier for people outside of Korea who have a bit of tech know-how.

“My Heart is a Golden Buddha”
“No River to Cross”