Wake Up and Laugh!

Well, we made it back from Frankfurt with no major problems, and even met some great people and publishers at the book fair. It’ll be a few months of back and forth before anything’s finalized, but things look promising.

A professor of mine once said, “You can have a great teacher, but you still need to work your a## off.” ^-^ 
Boy, was he right! And that’s about how hard we worked as well to make things happen.

The difference between potential and realized is basically blood and sweat.
Once you know what to do, it’s a matter of throwing yourself into the task and doing the best you can. And all the while remembering is isn’t “me” that’s truly doing things, but this true nature. So that’s where questions need to be asked, and praise and blame returned to. (Although it helps to remember what’s being criticized isn’t me as true nature, but this collection of habits called “I.”) That’s what taking care of things, even when they go directions contrary to my intention. “This Buddha essence is taking care of things, so even this may be for the best.” And things really do work out for the best when I can get past “I,” and trust this inner essence.

Here are some more photos from Frankfurt. On a personal note,I’m leaving next week for the land of rain and coffee (Seattle) but I’ll be back in a couple of weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

The German publisher, Diederichs, had just published a German/Korean translation of Daehaeng Kun Sunim’s version of the Thousand Hands Sutra, called Umarmt von Mitgefühl, and everyone thought this was a good time to tell people more about the history of the Thousand Hands Sutra, and the significance of Kun Sunim’s edition.

The forum was held in Hall 6, and was in four parts; first I discussed the history of the sutra, together with how the recitation version formed. Next Dr. Sunhee Suh discussed the characteristics of the recitation version and the significance of Kun Sunim’s edition. Dr. phil. Ralf Päsler discussed the cultural aspects of the translation and the problems associated with transferring concepts and ideas across cultures. Finally, Hyo Rim(임효), the artist whose work illustrated Umarmt von Mitgefühl and A Thousand Hands of Compassion, discussed the significance of the details in the paintings, and what had inspired them. As Hyo Rim talked about each painting, his descriptions felt like Dharma talks.

When we first decided to undertake the forum, I was somewhat concerned that it would be too detailed for the stressed and busy audiences at the book fair. But this is what our team members here in Korea and in Germany wanted to do, so I just threw my whole heart into it while relying on Juingong, and went forward. Actually, this is what we all were doing. And because we were all doing our best to practice like this, the forum touched many people.

It opened when Hye Jin Sunim, Hye Bek Sunim, Hye Jong Sunim, and Hye Bo Sunim began chanting the opening section of The Thousand Hands Sutra from the back of the forum center. Wearing their formal robes while hitting a moktak, they were very impressive and the entire area fell silent while people looked to see what was going on.

For the next 40 minutes we discussed the sutra and tried to give people a sense of this fundamental mind, or Juingong, that we all possess. A few people wandered off, but remarkably most stayed for the entire time. I say “remarkably” because during the first three days of the book fair, publishers are very busy, with different appointments every 15 or even 10 minutes. So they don’t have time to do other things. And yet here they were, ignoring their schedule, to hear more about practice and the Thousand Hands Sutra. The head of one German publisher even expressed his gratitude to us for presenting teachings of such depth at the book fair.

The rest of our time was spent talking with different publishers about Kun Sunim’s books and important aspects of publishing them in other countries. Several publishers from France and Germany were interested in Kun Sunim’s books, particularly translations of her Dharma talks. There was also much interest from other countries that will hopefully lead to Kun Sunim’s teachings be published in still other languages.

In addition, we had several reading sessions at our booth where Hye Jin Sunim and Dr. Ralf read from The Thousand Hands Sutra as well as a collection of Kun Sunim’s stories, called My Heart is a Golden Buddha. Hyo Rim was there talking with visitors, and visitors from years past came to the booth, often carrying well-read editions of Kun Sunim’s books.

If you are going to be in Frankfurt for the book fair, be sure to stop by and have a cup of tea. Our booth is in hall 6.0 C942.

The start of the book fair began when our flight landed in Germany on Monday evening. We made our way to the House Busan, a bed and breakfast on the edge of Frankfurt. Aside from the friendly owner, perhaps its best aspect is the Korean breakfasts. I’m happy with bread and yogurt for breakfast, but the traditional Korean breakfast was a relief to the other members of our jet-lagged team!

On Tuesday we went to the grounds of the book fair, the “Messe.” The Messe, is huge, with eleven halls, some the size of football fields. There, in Hall 6.0, we began to prepare our booth for the opening of the book fair on Wednesday. Hye Jin Sunim brought buckets of cut flowers and began preparing beautiful floral arrangements, while the team from Korea began to organize the booth and arrange the books. Meanwhile, Holger and Young Ralf worked to install a foot-wide (30cm) sign around the top of our booth, which said “Hanmaum Seonwon” and “Hanmaum Publications,” which is the name the International Culture Institute uses to publish books.

The booth was finally prepared at about 7pm, and everyone went to Mr. Koh’s house for dinner and a meeting. Many of the female Frankfurt members of Hanmaum Seon Center had gathered there and were working hard to prepare dinner for everyone. After eating a great meal, we discussed our plans for the next day and finally headed back to the bed and breakfast.

Wednesday opened the book fair, and was a bit of a slow day at first. Many publishers have appointments to meet other publishers, and so have no time to visit other booths. Meanwhile, we were also busy, preparing for a one-hour forum on Thursday about the Thousand Hands Sutra.

Some of you may have noticed a drop in my posts over the last couple of months. Things here in Korea have been very busy with finishing translations, proofing, and last minute errands as we get ready for the book fair in Frankfurt. I’m leaving today (Monday) for Germany, and won’t have time for regular posts for a while, but I thought I’d share something I wrote last year about the book fair. (This piece will be spread over about three posts.)

As I look at the title of this post, I can see where some of you might be expecting more detailed info about Buddhist books and publishers at the book fair, and as I think about it, that sounds like a great topic for a post. So I’ll take a camera and do some blogging about the book fair when I return. (It’ll be a couple of weeks, though.)

Daehaeng Kun Sunim’s Teachings at the Frankfurt Book Fair

For the last several years we (the Hanmaum International Culture Institute) have been going to Frankfurt Germany for the annul Book Fair. Each year, around 7,000 publishers from more than 100 countries gather in Frankfurt to exhibit their new books and to find books from other countries that might succeed in their country. Publishers try to find foreign publishers who can take the book back to their home country and best publicize the book and get it into stores where people can find it.

This may sound like a very commercial concern for a Buddhist organization, and in a sense it’s true. For “commercial” also means popular, something which many people are interested in. Our mission is to make Daehaeng Kun Sunim’s teachings widely available to people who don’t understand Korean. Thus, beyond just translating those teachings, we have come up with ways of reaching people. One way of doing this is through books that interest people, books they want to read. If we can produce books that have a lot of appeal, publishers in other countries will want to publish them, thereby making it easier for people in those countries to encounter Kun Sunim’s teachings.

I used to think that the translation was 90% of the work, but now I know that it’s barely 50% of what must be done. No matter how wonderful the content, if the look of the book doesn’t appeal to people, they won’t pick it up and won’t discover the content. The cover has to be interesting, the title must touch something within one, and the text layout and paper must draw the eye. Once those things are in place, then the contents can shine.

 The Road to Frankfurt 

Much of the year at the Hanmaum International Culture Institute is spent preparing for the Frankfurt Book Fair, but the last six weeks are the most difficult. It will take two weeks to print the books, so we actually only have four more weeks to work. The ladies doing the designs and layouts have to get the text and then adjust the format so that it feels comfortable to look at. Once they’ve done this, everything has to be proofread again.

The programs for publishing are very fussy, and often create “broken” characters. Somehow there was a computer code conflict and the program turns a word or character in to nonsense garbage. And sometimes it was a person, working at three or four in the morning whose eyes were too blurry. These new changes are made, and everything is proofread again. And then again. Once the file is sent to the printers, we can begin work on the publicity materials, such as brochures, posters, and handouts.

This year our new books of Kun Sunim’s teachings arrived on Saturday evening, and we left on Monday morning, and I think the books were still warm from the printing presses!

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In seeking word and action, rather than being, we suffer
Seeking what we have seen, and had…we suffer more, until…
Having, we learn, and fill ourselves
Then, empty, or full, we find contentment, or loss, again…
And the cycle continues…

. . .

Joe poured tea, today

He, Eunbong, Fina, and I enjoyed the company of one another

Joe and I spoke of words, as the clouds, sky, and sun…
Poured warm, bright light…into the seventh floor window
Onto us, the tea, and the wood
It was “good”

The balancing company of sangha heals us

Hues of sepia, deep and light, sent dreamy images and aromas,
Up to our senses,
From the cups

I asked about an aspect of love

Joe said, “I don’t think about it.”
Brief, and almost empty, yet apparently resonant…
Like the sound that the copper bowl made, when we invited it to ring, earlier…
Joe’s words stealthily disappeared in me,
For I let their momentary ’emptiness’ go,
Like the bell-sound of the bowl

Then we talked about practice, and talking about practice
We agreed that practice described in sentences
Does not convey the deeper experience that practice reveals

It was at this time that Joe’s answer about love
Appeared to me about practice, and more…

As in love, in practice

In seeking descriptions, definitions, and a record of what happened
We are found to be saying something different-from what the listener can understand…
Without experience

This is suffering,
As we seek the gratification that words often cannot produce
And only experience, and practice
Can truly reveal,
And teach