Seon MasLer uaehaeng(1927-2012) lefL a greaL mark on korean 8uddhlsm.

She had 130

dlsclples and esLabllshed 23 domesLlc and overseas branches of Panmaum Seonwon, and
had Lens of Lhousands of lay dlsclples as well.
She founded Lhe flrsL Panmaum Seonwon ln 1972 ln Anyang ClLy, Cyeonggl, SouLh korea,
and achleved ouLsLandlng resulLs ln spreadlng 8uddhlsm and guldlng people Lo
enllghLenmenL. She founded her flrsL branch Lemple, Cwang Myeomg Seonwon, ln 1982,
and ln 1987 founded a branch ln Morgan Plll, Callfornla. now Lhere are 13 domesLlc
branches lncludlng Anyang PeadquarLers and 10 overseas branches.

She was born ln !anuary 2, 1927 under !apanese colonlal rule, ln lLaewon, Seoul. She was
Lhe Lhlrd chlld of no, 8aek Chen and 8aek, gan nan wlLh 3 broLhers and 1 slsLer.

When she was young, she usually wandered ln Lhe mounLalns, avoldlng her faLher's anger
afLer her famlly collapsed because of Lhe !apanese lnvaslon. Per faLher LreaLed her harshly
and she had no place Lo Lurn Lo. LvenLually, she connecLed Lo her Lrue self by Lalklng wlLh lL.
1he Lrue self was Lhe only place Lo Lurn Lo and Lhe only one LhaL glves her [oy.

1hanks Lo Panam Sunlm, she became a 8uddhlsL nun when she was 19, and was laLer
offlclally ordalned as a novlce nun. She became a 8uddhlsL nun, buL lL dldn'L lasL long.
uaehaeng conLlnued Lo search for Lhe ulLlmaLe LruLh.

She dldn'L pracLlce under Seon MasLers who were consldered Lo be enllghLened, and nor
dld she look for renowned Lemples or mounLalns Lo pracLlce ln. She [usL wandered ln Lhe
mounLaln and communlcaLed wlLh Lhe grass, Lree, snake, rabblL and even wlLh Lhe flowlng
sLream. All Lhe whlle, she enLrusLed everyLhlng Lo Lhe Lrue self she felL wlLhln. Whlle
wanderlng, she reallzed LhaL she was noL separaLe from any slngle llvlng creaLure or
lnanlmaLe ob[ecL. 8y communlcaLlng wlLh Lhem, she felL Lhe preclousness of all creaLures,
and reallzed LhaL every llvlng creaLure and lnanlmaLe ob[ecL were all her Leachers.

1he quesLlons LhaL arose from her Lrue self were Lhe sLuff of her pracLlce. naLure became
her Leacher whlle searchlng for Lhe answer. She wandered around Lhe mounLalns, flnally
experlenclng full splrlLual awakenlng. Per [ourney searchlng for her Lrue naLure sLarLed aL
Lhe age of nlne, and she came Lo clearly know lL aL Lhe age of LhlrLy-Lhree.

AfLerwards, she worked Lo spread whaL she reallzed, ln order Lo lead senLlenL belngs Lo a
hlgher splrlLual level. We call Lhe way of pracLlce LhaL she LaughL !ulngong pracLlce" 1rue
self and !ulngong mean Lhe same Lhlng.
When we refer Lo !ulngong", usually we add Lhe phrase, Cne mlnd" Lo lL. !ulngong
encompasses Lhe funcLlon of slx sensory faculLles, dlscrlmlnaLlng consclousness, and Lrue
self. lurLhermore, lL ls dlrecLly connecLed Lo and communlcaLes wlLh Lhe whole unlverse.

lL doesn'L have any flxed form, and changes conLlnuously. 1hus, !ulngong Lranscends Llme
and space, and ls consLanLly changlng and manlfesLlng. LveryLhlng came from !ulngong, buL
Lhere ls no physlcal shape of Lrue self, even Lhough Lrue self encompasses every llvlng
creaLure and lnanlmaLe ob[ecLs.

Cne mlnd has a slmllar concepL wlLh !ulngong. Cne mlnd ls separaLed as well as connecLed
Lo Lhe unlverse. lL ls llkely Lo be compared Lo Lhe lndra neL of Lhe klng of Lhe heaven. Cne
mlnd ls compared Lo empLy space or a greaL clrcle of energy. Pere, "empLy" doesn'L mean
"vold" or "noLhlngness," buL raLher a consLanL changlng and flowlng ln whlch Lhere can be
no asslgnlng of labels or concepLs. Cne mlnd Lranscends Llme and space, spreads endlessly,
ls connecLed by dharma neL, and ls wondrous belng of Lrue empLlness.

Seon MasLer uaehaeng, ln her dharma Leachlngs, used Lhe expresslons of empLy space and
Lhe clrcle of energy whlch mean LhaL, ln Lhe whole world, Lhere ls no place wlLhouL exlsLence
of 8uddha. 1he maln characLer of AvaLamska SuLra, valrocana leads creaLures ln Lhe
unlverse. Cne mlnd means Lhe mlnd of Lhe maln characLer of AvaLamska SuLra, valrocana.
1hls one mlnd encompasses every cell ln Lhe body and Lhe whole unlverse, and funcLlons as
one. All creaLlon shares llfe, mlnd, body, and funcLlons and eaLs LogeLher wlLh me. Cne mlnd
ls noL someLhlng wlLh a flxed shape or essence, nor ls lL a belng LhaL exlsLs separaLe from us.

Accordlng Lo her Leachlngs, we musL do our besL Lo wholehearLedly LrusL Lrue self. We
should enLrusL and leL go of everyLhlng we encounLer Lo Lhls Lrue self, havlng falLh LhaL lL ls
Laklng care of Lhlngs. Whenever l face a dlfflculLy, l should also recognlze LhaL lL ls Lhe resulL
of my acLlvlLles ln Lhe pasL, and leL lL go Lo Lrue self. Cnly ln LhaL case wlll boLh bad and good
karma wlll melL down. ln oLher words, we should leL go of everyLhlng Lo Lrue self and
experlence Lhe role of Lrue self ourselves.

Seon MasLer uaehaeng's way of pracLlce allows us Lo pracLlce ln our dally llves. 1haL ls Lhe
mosL ouLsLandlng characLerlsLlcs of !ulngong Leachlngs." My own problems are Lhe sLuff of
my pracLlce. ln Lhls way, we can solve Lhe sufferlng we experlence, and we can pracLlce ln
our dally llves wlLhouL Lhe llmlLaLlons of Llme and space.
lor Lhe busy people of Loday, her way of pracLlce ls perhaps Lhe mosL sulLable. Whlle
leLLlng go of dlscrlmlnaLlons beLween self and oLhers, Lhls way of pracLlce beneflLs everyone
lnvolved. 1hls ls qulLe dlfferenL from duallsLlc Lhlnklng of Lhe modern socleLy, and ls posslble
because !ulngong ls connecLed wlLh everyLhlng.
Chlldren and parenLs are connecLed wlLh each oLher, and Lhey are connecLed Lo Lhe
unlverse Lhrough Lhe unseen energy of Lrue self and one mlnd. We [usL need Lo fllp a swlLch.
1o fllp a swlLch means Lo LrusL Lrue self, enLrusL everyLhlng Lo lL, and observe Lhe role of Lrue
self. Seon MasLer uaehaeng's way of pracLlce seems Lo be a llLLle dlfferenL from a LradlLlonal
way because her way was made based on her own experlence.

Accordlng Lo her Leachlng, Lhere are Lhree sLages ln Lhe pracLlce Lo reach enllghLenmenL.
We can accompllsh 8uddhahood Lhrough dylng Lhree Llmes. uylng, ln Lhls sense, doesn'L
mean physlcal deaLh, buL aLLaln Lhe ulLlmaLe LruLh.

ln Lhe flrsL sLage, we dle ln order Lo meeL Lhe Lrue self. Pere, Lhe flrsL deaLh means Lhe false
self's deaLh. ln Lhe second sLage, we dle Lo know Lhe LruLh LhaL we are noL Lwo. 1hls second
deaLh means LhaL we dle LogeLher wlLh Lhe whole unlverse. ln Lhe Lhlrd sLage, we dle and
reallze Lhe level of manlfesLaLlon, where we can manlfesL as anyLhlng, anywhere.

We have Lo pracLlce unLll we reallze Lhe level of manlfesLaLlon. Cur belng lLself ls Lhe sLuff
LhaL we have Lo solve, so Lhere ls no need Lo geL a hwadu from renowned Seon masLers Lo
pracLlce wlLh. racLlclng wlLh Lhe problems ln our dally llfe ls a way of pracLlce LhaL ls also
avalllble Lo everyone.

unLll now, 8uddhlsL pracLlces have been crlLlclzed for belng aparL from Lhe llves of ordlnary
people, lacklng pracLlcallLy. 1radlLlonal 8uddhlsm has focused on maklng Lhe mlnd calm. 8uL,
people ln Lhls world are only lnLeresLed ln Lhlngs whlch are relaLed Lo and help Lhelr real llfe.
ln Lhls sense, Seon MasLer uaehaeng's way flLs whaL Lhe conLemporary people wanL.

When we LrusL Lrue self, enLrusL everyLhlng Lo lL, and observe Lhe role of Lrue self, we can
obLaln Lhe peace of our mlnd and lead a magnlflcenL llfe, even ln a socleLy around us LhaL ls
fllled wlLh duallsLlc Lhlnklng. unforLunaLely, Seon MasLer uaehaeng's way of pracLlce hasn'L
been wldely known.

Seon MasLer uaehaeng also emphaslzed LhaL when we pracLlce whlle leLLlng go of ldeas of
l," Lhen our pracLlce produces Lrue merlL. Accordlng Seon MasLer uaehaeng, Lhere ls a blg
dlfference beLween merlL and vlrLue. When you leL go of every dlfflculLy and paln Lo your
Lrue self, and conslder oLher's dlfflculLles as your own, lL becomes merlL and vlrLue. When
you pray for your own sake, and provlde offerlngs, lL ls called good karma. ?our karma wlll
help you for a shorL perlod, buL your merlL and vlrLue wlll free you from Lhe cycle of llfe and
deaLh, and shlne on forever.

When you LrusL Lrue self uncondlLlonally, enLrusL everyLhlng Lo lL, and leL Lhe Lrue self
work, you wlll have Lhe greaLesL merlL" Seon MasLer uaehaeng sald. She emphaslzed LhaL
each one of us had Lo conslder ourselves Lo be Lhe ones who were responslble for
everyLhlng happened Lo us. When l observe LhaL l am responslble for everyLhlng ln fronL me,
lL doesn'L mean Lo degrade or blame myself buL Lo enLrusL Lhose Lhlngs Lo Lrue self. ln Lhe
real llfe, all sufferlngs happen because l exlsL. Powever, ln my body, Lhere are hundreds of
Lhousands of llves and consclousness who share Lhe same llfe, mlnd, and body, whlle eaLlng
and funcLlonlng as one. Whlch parL of Lhls could you call "l"?

Seon MasLer uaehaeng focused on pracLlclng Lhrough Lhe mlnd pracLlce more Lhan Lhe
body. 8ecause, Lhere are Lhe llmlLaLlons ln whaL can be done Lhrough Lhe body, buL Lhere
are no llmlLaLlons Lo mlnd. !ulngong pracLlce" refers Lo Lhe pracLlce wlLh Lhe mlnd, whlch ls
fasLer Lhan Lhe speed of llghL. 1hls ls a beLLer soluLlon Lhan Lhe pracLlclng Lhrough Lhe body
because, Lhrough mlnd, we can become one wlLh Lhe whole unlverse, and Lhe unlverse can
funcLlon wlLh us and help us wholehearLedly.


Larly Llfe
8orn ln 1927 on Lhe flrsL day of Lhe lunar new ?ear, uaehaeng kun Sunlm's famlly was
orlglnally qulLe well-off. Per faLher had been an army offlcer under Lhe lasL klng of korea,
and had conLlnued Lo reslsL Lhe !apanese mlllLary occupaLlon of korea. lor years he had
evaded arresL, buL when Sunlm was slx years old, ln abouL 1933, Lhe !apanese came afLer
hlm. 1hey conflscaLed all of hls remalnlng lands and properLy, and he fled hls house wlLh hls
wlfe and chlldren mlnuLes ahead of Lhe !apanese secreL pollce. 1he famlly escaped across
Lhe Pan 8lver wlLh only Lhe cloLhes Lhey were wearlng.

1here ln Lhe mounLalns souLh of Seoul Lhey bullL a dugouL huL. 1helr llfe of wealLh and
prlvllege was gone, as lf lL had never exlsLed. lor a long Llme all Lhey had Lo eaL was whaL
Lhey could beg or whaL was lefL ln Lhe flelds afLer Lhe harvesL. Seelng Lhe plLlful slLuaLlon of
hls famlly and counLry, Sunlm's faLher was fllled wlLh despalr. AlLhough he was klnd and
generous wlLh oLher people, for some reason he poured ouL all of hls anger and frusLraLlon
onLo Sunlm, hls eldesL daughLer.

Confused and unable Lo undersLand why Lhls was happenlng, she sLayed away from Lhe
famlly's huL as much as posslble ln order Lo avold her faLher. She ofLen slepL alone ln Lhe
foresL, coverlng herself wlLh leaves Lo sLay warm. AfLer abouL Lwo years of such hunger and
cold, she noLlced LhaL Lhe fear she had felL aL belng ouL ln Lhe mounLalns aL nlghL had faded,
and Lhe dark nlghL had gradually become comforLable and beauLlful. Powever, Lhe world
ouLslde of Lhe foresL seemed Lo be fllled wlLh sufferlng.

Whlle spendlng her nlghLs ln Lhe foresL, Sunlm ofLen wondered who had formed her and
why people had Lo suffer from hunger and dlsease. Why dld people suffer? Who am l? WhaL
am l? WhaL made me? She concenLraLed on Lhese quesLlons more and more, and lnLensely
wanLed Lo know Lhe answers Lo Lhese.

Cne day, wlLh a flood of warmLh, she suddenly knew LhaL her Lrue self had always been
wlLhln her. lL felL so wonderful and klnd, unllke Lhe faLher who awalLed her aL home, LhaL
she called lL uaddy." 1hls wasn'L Lhe faLher whom she dldn'L dare leL see her, buL was her
Lrue owner, Lhe lnherenL naLure LhaL had made her. Sunlm crled and crled wlLh [oy aL
knowlng LhaL her Lrue parenL, her Lrue naLure had always been wlLh her.

?ears laLer Sunlm laughed abouL Lhls saylng, lf l hadn'L been so young and uneducaLed, l
mlghL have called lL 8uddha-naLure or Lrue self, buL aL LhaL all l knew was LhaL lL was so full
of love and warmLh LhaL l Look Lhe 'uaddy' LhaL l felL wlLhln me as my faLher." lrom LhaL
Llme on, Sunlm Look whaL she called uaddy" as her place of comforL and poured all her love
lnLo Lhere. As a poor and abused glrl, she had noLhlng buL uaddy" Lo rely on. She knew
LhaL her uaddy" was noL separaLe from her and had always been wlLhln her. lurLhermore,
feellng LhaL everyLhlng was Lhe same as her uaddy," she couldn'L LreaL anyLhlng carelessly,
noL even a blade of grass, a rooL, or a sLone.

AfLerwards Sunlm [usL compleLely relled upon uaddy" and knew LhaL lL could answer all of
her quesLlons. She dld so naLurally because she knew LhaL lL was Lhe source of all Lhlngs. She
spenL years llke Lhls, always Laklng uaddy" as her gulde and companlon.



1he aLh LhaL ls noL a aLh
ln Lhe sprlng of 1930, Sunlm was ordalned as
a Samlnl.ShorLly afLer Lhls, Lhe korean War broke
ouL. As uaehaeng kun Sunlm wlLnessed Lhe sufferlng
and mlsery of Lhe war, she wanLed Lo know more
Lhoroughly Lhe meanlng of llfe and conLlnued Lo
pracLlce. ?ou wlll see your Lrue self afLer you dle"
was Lhe message LhaL always arose wlLhln from her.
Sunlm gradually became more and more deLermlned
Lo compleLely solve Lhls quesLlon. WlLh a yearnlng Lo
know Lhe answer Lo Lhls mysLery, she aLLempLed Lo
klll herself ln many ways.

Cne day she reached Lhe edge of a cllff. 1he momenL she looked down aL Lhe waLer, she
forgoL all abouL dylng. She may have spenL half a day sLandlng Lhere, looklng aL Lhe waLer.
Cradually her awareness of her surroundlngs reLurned and she sLarLed walklng agaln. 1ears
flowed down her face. now she undersLood LhaL desLroylng Lhe body was noL Lhe paLh. She
had reallzed LhaL she would be able Lo see her Lrue self when she enLrusLed everyLhlng,
lncludlng all LhaL she had LhoughL of as "me," Lo her foundaLlon.

Sunlm was never conLenL Lo seLLle for whaL she had reallzed. lnsLead, she [usL kepL golng
forward whlle Lrylng Lo slncerely apply and experlmenL wlLh whaL she had reallzed, wlLhouL
cllnglng Lo any experlence or undersLandlng. AL nlghL she would sLop walklng and [usL sleep
wherever she was, usually ln a fleld or ln Lhe mounLalns. WeL from Lhe mornlng dew, she
would welcome Lhe dawn when lL arrlved aL Lhe openlng of each day. As Lhe llghL spread
across Lhe land, she wandered wherever her feeL Look her. lf she was lucky, she would flnd
some wlld frulL, buL usually she [usL wenL hungry. All she had Lo wear was one Lhln seL of
summer cloLhes. When wlnLer came, she would spend Lhe cold nlghLs ln empLy mounLaln
shrlnes, lf posslble. lf she was forLunaLe, she would come across a haysLack, whlch she
LhoughL was Lhe mosL wonderful bed posslble. Per feeL were frozen from frosLblLe and her
skln would swell and spllL, buL even Lhls paln dld noL hlnder her. She sald LhaL she never
aLLempLed Lo flnd a parLlcular Leacher. All belngs and Lhlngs were my Leachers. Wlld
anlmals, blrds, a clump of grass, and even a sLone klcked underfooL were all my Leachers,
and Lhey gave me lmmeasurable Leachlngs. l galned an undersLandlng of LruLh from Llny
Lhlngs, raLher Lhan from sLudylng 8uddhlsL LexLs or slLLlng ln medlLaLlon. Above all, Lhe
supreme Leacher who led me was my lnner self, !ulngong. And senLlenL belngs, bllnd whlle

Lhelr eyes were open, laughlng when Lhey are happy and crylng when Lhey are sad, were
also my Leachers. Pad lL noL been for Lhem, how could l have reallzed Lhe prlnclple LhaL Lhe
8uddha and all senLlenL belngs are noL separaLe?"

AlLhough Lo oLhers, Sunlm seemed Lo experlence much sufferlng, she never LhoughL of her
pracLlce as such. She wasn'L lnLenLlonally Lrylng Lo engage ln some sorL of physlcal hardshlp,
lL's [usL LhaL all of her aLLenLlon was dlrecLed Lowards only her Lrue naLure. lor example,
when quesLlons such as WhaL prlnclple ls Lhls?" and Who ls dolng Lhls?" arose wlLhln her,
she observed Lhem very deeply, wlLhouL noLlclng LhaL lL was geLLlng dark, or how cold lL was.
Sunlm wasn'L even aware of her body. Cnly her mlnd was clear and brlghL. Lven when her
eyes were closed, lnslde lL was Lhe same as lf she was awake. Cne Llme, lL happened LhaL she
spenL a few days llke Lhls wlLhouL movlng aL all, and afLerwards her whole body was so sLlff
LhaL she couldn'L even move her hands or feeL.

LaLer, whlle Sunlm was ln Lhe mounLalns, she experlenced a huge llghL. She had been slLLlng
ln medlLaLlon and suddenly was surrounded by a huge brlghLness. 1he llghL exLended ln all
dlrecLlons for abouL four kllomeLers and fllled her wlLh lndescrlbable fulflllmenL and
comforL. Lvery dlrecLlon was fllled wlLh llghL, and lL seemed llke Lhe llghL was fllllng even Lhe
LlnlesL of spaces. AfLer Lhls experlence, she felL llke she was always surrounded by Lhls llghL
and LhaL all Lhlngs and llves were helplng her.

lrom LhaL momenL, Sunlm kepL golng forward from Lhe sLage where all Lhlngs are noL Lwo,
where self and Lhe foundaLlon of Lhe unlverse are noL dlfferenL. 8y LesLlng whaL she had
experlenced so far, Sunlm was conflrmlng Lhe power of mlnd. She began Lo explore Lhe
planeLs, Lhe solar sysLem, Lhe galaxy, and beyond our galaxy. She also pald speclal aLLenLlon
Lo dlseases, havlng seen so much sufferlng caused by Lhem. She would experlmenL wlLh
uslng Lhe power of mlnd Lo cure dlseases and laLer would check Lo see how Lhe dlsease had
been affecLed.

* Samlnl (, sramanerl) 1hls ls Lhe flrsL level of ordlnaLlon for a sunlm. Women are
called Samlnl(, sramanerl)sunlms, and men are called Saml(, sramanera) sunlms.
lull ordlnaLlon usually Lakes place afLer aL leasL four more years.





All belngs and Lhlngs were my Leachers
ln Lhe laLe 1930's, uaehaeng kun Sunlm ended her
Len-year [ourney ln Lhe mounLalns and seLLled ln a
small huL near Sangwon 1emple on ML. Chlak. A
greaL many people called on her. Whenever any of
Lhem spoke of Lhelr sufferlng, she Look on LhaL
sufferlng as her own. She llsLened and responded by
slmply saylng, l undersLand. lL wlll be alrlghL." 1he
people would leave knowlng LhaL Lhelr problems
would soon be resolved.

AlLhough Sunlm spenL many years ln 1960's helplng
oLher people, sooner or laLer Lhey always had
anoLher problem Lhey needed her help Lo solve. So
Lhey would come and ask Sunlm Lo Lake care of Lhe
problem. 1hey dldn'L know anyLhlng abouL Lhe
8uddha-naLure wlLhln Lhemselves, and Lhey dldn'L
undersLand LhaL Lhelr 8uddha-naLure was Lhe one
LhaL could lead Lhem and Lake care of all Lhelr
problems.

Seelng Lhe sufferlng of so many people, Sunlm
became deLermlned Lo Leach oLhers how Lo solve
Lhelr problems for Lhemselves, so Lhey could leave
Lhe bonds of samsara and karma behlnd and llve
freely. So, ln 1972, uaehaeng kun Sunlm moved Lo
Anyang ClLy, [usL souLh of Seoul, and esLabllshed Lhe
flrsL Panmaum Seon CenLer. 1here she began Lo Leach people abouL Lhelr own Lrue naLure
and how Lo rely on LhaL naLure. Many people felL aLLracLed Lo uaehaeng kun Sunlm's
Leachlngs because she showed Lhem how Lhey could pracLlce ln everyday llfe, regardless of
how busy Lhey were, whaL klnd of [ob Lhey had, or whaL Lhelr famlly slLuaLlon was llke.

As Llme wenL by, people from more dlsLanL areas began asklng uaehaeng kun Sunlm Lo sLarL
a Panmaum Seon CenLer ln Lhelr area. ln Lhls way, as of 2004, 13 branches have been
esLabllshed wlLhln korea, and nlne Panmaum Seon cenLers have been esLabllshed overseas.



uaehaeng kun Sunlm ls also Lhe Leacher of more Lhan 130 sunlms, many of whom help
malnLaln Lhe cenLers and asslsL people who come Lo Lhe cenLers. She has spenL over four
decades glvlng uharma Lalks Lo small and large gaLherlngs.

lnLroducLlon
1he flrsL Lhlng LhaL uaehaeng kun Sunlm Leaches people ls LhaL when we were born lnLo Lhls
world, each one of us was already endowed wlLh everyLhlng we need, lncludlng all ablllLles
and all undersLandlng. We all have Lhls fundamenLal naLure, someLlmes called 8uddha-
naLure, lnherenL mlnd, or !ulngong, buL Lhe problem ls LhaL people don'L rely upon lL.
lnsLead Lhey search ouLslde of Lhemselves for someLhlng LhaL wlll make Lhem feel happy,
compleLe, and saLlsfled. 8uL lgnorlng Lhe splendor of our lnherenL naLure and looklng for
someLhlng separaLe from ourselves only makes people feel worse.

ln order Lo reallze and awaken Lo our lnherenL naLure,
uaehaeng kun Sunlm Leaches people Lo 8elleve ln your foundaLlon, !ulngong, and enLrusL lL
wlLh everyLhlng LhaL confronLs you. 1hen go forward whlle observlng and
experlmenLlng wlLh whaL you experlence. All Lhlngs consLanLly change every lnsLanL, so
Lhere ls noLhlng Lo cllng Lo. 8y enLrusLlng everyLhlng Lo your foundaLlon, every aspecL of
your dally llfe can become parL of your pracLlce. uon'L blame oLhers for Lhe Lhlngs LhaL
happen ln your llfe, know LhaL everyLhlng ls your Leacher, and lnLerpreL Lhlngs poslLlvely.
Also know LhaL all belngs share Lhe same mlnd, Lhe same llfe, Lhe same body, work LogeLher,
and share all Lhlngs LogeLher."

Accordlng Lo Lhe clrcumsLances and Lhe llsLeners, uaehaeng Sunlm has spoken ln depLh
abouL Lhese and oLher aspecLs of splrlLual pracLlce. 1he followlng ls a summary of uaehaeng
kun Sunlm's Leachlngs relaLed Lo several of Lhese Loplcs.

WhaL ls Lrue self ?
lf you had noL been born, you wouldn'L be aware of Lhe unlverse nor would Lhe phenomenal
world have any meanlng for you. lf you weren'L here, nelLher 8uddha nor Lhe 8uddha-
dharma would exlsL. 1herefore Lhe mosL urgenL Lhlng ls Lo Lruly know yourself. Whlle
lnqulrlng, do noL assume LhaL your body ls who you are.

1hlnk abouL whaL makes you see, hear, Lhlnk and acL. WhaL ls lL LhaL has gulded your
evoluLlon from Lhe Llme you were a mlcrobe all Lhe way up Lo becomlng a human belng. lL ls
your Lrue self, your fundamenLal mlnd. LeL's Lake Lhe example of a Lree. 1rees llve by relylng
upon lLs rooL, even Lhough Lhey can'L see lL. Llke Lhls, your Lrue self lsn'L someLhlng LhaL you
can show Lo oLhers, buL lL always exlsLs wlLhln you. lurLhermore, everyLhlng ln Lhe unlverse
ls also llvlng by relylng on lLs Lrue self, l.e. upon lLs rooL.

?our fundamenLal mlnd, your Lrue self ls lnvlslbly connecLed Lo all Lhlngs ln Lhe world and
Lhrough lL all Lhlngs communlcaLe wlLh each oLher and work LogeLher as one. ln Lhls way, Lhe
whole unlverse ls funcLlonlng LogeLher as one Lhrough fundamenLal mlnd, so Lhls worklng
LogeLher ls called Cne Mlnd (Panmaum).

lundamenLal mlnd, or !ulngong, ls noL Lhe mlnd LhaL arlses and dlsappears. Cn Lhe conLrary,
lL ls Lranqull and unshakable, and has lnflnlLe ablllLy Lo encompass Lhe enLlre unlverse. lL ls
Lhe source of unllmlLed energy, whlch you can freely use whenever you wanL.

lundamenLal mlnd ls wlLhln you, ls Lhe source of your exlsLence, and has led you over Lhe
eons. 1hus, LhaL ls whaL you have Lo belleve ln and rely upon. Money, fame, relaLlonshlps,
eLc. may glve you some saLlsfacLlon, buL lL wlll be shorL-llved. Cnly by knowlng your Lrue
naLure wlll you be able Lo know Lrue saLlsfacLlon.
8ellef
lL's unforLunaLe LhaL people forgeL all abouL Lhelr pasL llves once Lhey're reborn, buL lL ls noL
necessary Lo remember your pasL llves ln order Lo know your Lrue self. Anybody, even
chlldren, can see Lhe worklng of Lrue self ln Lhe world around Lhem. lor example, even
Lhough a Lree looks dead and llfeless ln Lhe wlnLer, you know from experlences LhaL fresh
leaves wlll appear ln Lhe sprlng.

Lvery klnd of planL llves by relylng upon lLs rooL. Would you Lry Lo lgnore Lhe rooL LhaL has
gulded your evoluLlon all Lhe way up Lo becomlng a human belng? ?our rooL, Lrue self,
!ulngong, ls Lhe source of energy lnflnlLely greaLer Lhan LhaL of Lhe sun, and ls always
funcLlonlng as one wlLh Lhe enLlre unlverse. So belleve ln and rely upon Lhls boundless
energy LhaL has gulded your evoluLlon and whlch deeply loves you. uon'L doubL Lhe facL LhaL
!ulngong has always been wlLh you and wlll always be wlLh you. know LhaL you and Lhe
8uddha are fundamenLally connecLed as one. ?our mlnd and Lhe 8uddha's mlnd are noL
separaLe.

Cnce a flrm bellef ln your foundaLlon develops, noLhlng can dlsLurb you. Moreover, every
klnd of LruLh wlll naLurally become clear Lo you. 1herefore, lf you have a flrm bellef ln your
foundaLlon and always rely upon lL, Lhere ls noLhlng else you have Lo Lry Lo pracLlce. 1he
suLras conLaln so many dlfferenL Leachlngs because Lhere are so many dlfferenL klnds of
people wlLh dlfferenL levels of developmenL. 1hus, varlous Lypes of sklllful means were
necessary. neverLheless, all of Lhose Leachlngs and meLhods were based upon Lhe
reallzaLlon LhaL Lhere ls an lnherenL foundaLlon wlLhln each one of us LhaL connecLs as one
and Lhrough whlch we all funcLlon as one.
Lntrust and Cbserve
?ou have Lo keep leLLlng go of your sLubbornness, and always be deeply respecLful of all llfe
and Lhlngs.1hls ls reLurnlng Lo and relylng upon Lhe 8uddha-uharma. 1hls ls also how Lo
become a free person. Always be humble. 8e humble. 1he fragrance of your broad and
generous mlnd wlll warm oLher's hearLs.
1he ath to Awaken|ng
LnllghLenmenL does noL mean geLLlng rld of an unenllghLened self, and Lhen flndlng a self
LhaL ls a 8uddha somewhere else. 8ecause you are a 8uddha, Lhere ls no self Lo Lhrow away,
and no self Lo flnd. !usL geL rld of lgnorance and deluslons, and you wlll know LhaL you are a
8uddha and LhaL you are already compleLe as you are. lf you awaken Lo Lhls, you wlll bursL
ouL laughlng aL how much efforL you spenL ln order for you Lo become yourself. 1hls ls Lhe
laughLer of peace and [oy.
When Lrue naLure appears, you wlll feel lndescrlbable happlness. 8uL Lhls ls noL Lhe end.
lrom Lhls polnL, you musL go forward from Lhe perspecLlve of your foundaLlon, Lhe Lrue
doer. 1hls ls when Lrue pracLlce beglns.
1he Lssence of 8uddh|sm L|es |n App|y|ng and Lxper|enc|ng
lf you wanL Lo reallze LruLh, Lhe 8uddha-uharma, you have Lo experlence lL Lhrough your
dally llfe, your body, and your mlnd. WhaL could you posslbly flnd by lgnorlng Lhese and
looklng for Lhe LruLh somewhere else? 1he 8uddha LaughL people Lo experlence Lhe LruLh for
Lhemselves, because Lhls ls Lhe only way Lo become Lruly free.
uon'L geL caughL up ln Lheorles or argumenLs-[usL LasLe Lhe LruLh for yourself. lnsLead of
dlscusslng wheLher Lhe waLermelon ls rlpe or noL, [usL cuL lL open and Lake a blLe. 1hls ls Lrue
medlLaLlon, and lL ls medlLaLlon ln acLlon.
All vlslble and lnvlslble phenomena are medlLaLlon ln acLlon. 1hus as long as you Lhlnk LhaL
enllghLenmenL ls someLhlng aparL from your dally llfe, you wlll never reallze enllghLenmenL.
L|fe Itse|f |s Dharma
1he 8uddha-uharma encompasses all of Lhe Lhlngs you do ln your llfe- walklng, speaklng,
and movlng. 1hus Lhe LruLh LhaL has been LaughL by every 8uddha exlsLs noL only ln Lhe
uharma Pall, buL also ln your bedroom, klLchen, and workplace. 1he llfe of laypeople and
Leachers are noL dlfferenL ln Lerms of pracLlce.

I||ness
As wlLh mosL problems, Lhere ls a porLlon LhaL oLhers can help you wlLh, buL only you can
Lake care of Lhe mosL fundamenLal parLs. ?ou do Lhls by enLrusLlng everyLhlng, even dlsease
and paln, Lo your foundaLlon. 1hls ls because everyLhlng, lncludlng dlsease, arlses from your
foundaLlon, so LhaL ls where Lhe soluLlons also need Lo sLarL from
lurLher, everyLhlng ln Lhls world happens Lhrough Lhe comblned funcLlonlng of Lhe flfLy
percenL LhaL ls Lhe maLerlal realm and Lhe flfLy percenL LhaL ls Lhe non-maLerlal realm, so Lo
properly solve anyLhlng, you need Lo lnclude boLh halves, l.e. boLh Lhe maLerlal world and
your fundamenLal mlnd.
Money and rosper|ty
SplrlLual pracLlce ls wlsely Laklng care of Lhe Lhlngs LhaL confronL you ln your dally llfe,
lncludlng even money and properLy. So no maLLer wheLher you have a llLLle money or a loL,
undersLand LhaL you only manage lL, you don'L own lL. ln facL, LhaL money has no owner, lL ls
noL your money, lL ls noL oLher's money-lL ls someLhlng LhaL ls endlessly clrculaLlng. lL
comes and lL goes. So conLlnuously leL go of your aLLachmenLs Lo lL.
Iam||y
1he paLh of becomlng a 8uddha lles ln Lhe mldsL of Laklng care of your famlly and looklng
afLer Lhe people ln your llfe. 1ake Lhe Lhlngs LhaL confronL you rlghL now, and melL Lhem
down. lf you Lalk and worry abouL Lhlngs LhaL are far away, whlle lgnorlng Lhe Lasks LhaL are
rlghL ln fronL of you, Lhls can be called Lhe mlnd of greed. lf you cannoL overcome Lhe
problems LhaL face you ln your dally llfe and home, Lhen you are noL aL Lhe sLage where you
can Lalk abouL Lhe 8uddha-uharma. ?ou musL Lhrow away everyLhlng wlLhouL Lhrowlng
away anyLhlng. 1hls means LhaL you Lhrow away aLLachmenLs, buL you do noL Lhrow away
Lhe people and slLuaLlons LhaL confronL you ln your llfe. 1aklng care of Lhe Lhlngs LhaL arlse
ln your llfe ls Lhe acLlon of a 8odhlsaLLva.
8efore blamlng your parenLs or chlldren, your wlfe or husband, you need Lo know LhaL all
belngs gaLher LogeLher accordlng Lo Lhelr slmllar karma. 1hey gaLher LogeLher because Lhey
have slmllar afflnlLles and ln Lhe pasL creaLed slmllar karma. ?ou should also know LhaL
blamlng oLhers ls one of Lhe mosL splrlLually harmful Lhlngs you can do.
1rue Love
Lven Lhough oLhers may seem beLLer Lhan you, don'L look down upon yourself. Lven Lhough
you may seem beLLer Lhan oLhers, don'L become full of yourself. Always Lry Lo be
compasslonaLe and broad-mlnded. Love each oLher, share each oLher's burdens, and share
whaL you have wlLh oLhers. 1hls klnd of love ls more Lhan enough Lo Lake care of everyLhlng
ln Lhe world.
napp|ness and narmony
!oy and sufferlng arlse aL Lhe polnL where you begln Lo dlscrlmlnaLe beLween good and bad,
beLween whaL you llke and whaL you don'L llke. Powever, Lrue happlness ls more Lhan Lhe
good feellng you geL when Lhlngs go your way. 1rue happlness arlses from leLLlng go of your
dlscrlmlnaLlons, from Lhe mlddle way, whlch Lranscends all duallLles.
1eachers and Learn|ng the ath
1here ls no place ln Lhe 8uddha realm and unlverse LhaL ls noL your place. no maLLer
wheLher you are ln Lhe uharma Pall or slLLlng on Lhe LolleL, because you exlsL aL LhaL place,
Lrue self exlsLs LogeLher wlLh you, and 8uddha also exlsLs LogeLher wlLh you. neverLheless,
Lhere are many people who lgnore !ulngong(Lhelr fundamenLal, enllghLened naLure)and
wander around ouLslde, Lrylng Lo flnd a beLLer Leacher or a beLLer place for praylng. 1hey
don'L know LhaL wlLhln Lhemselves Lhey have Lhelr own uharma Pall, whlch ls always fllled
wlLh llghL and where 8uddha ls always presenL.
1rue G|v|ng
8e able Lo forglve everyLhlng. When such a beauLlful mlnd works LogeLher as one wlLh all llfe
and
Lhlngs ln Lhe unlverse, Lrue glvlng-uncondlLlonal glvlng wlLhouL you" or me"-wlll be
posslble.
Iate and Dest|ny
1here ls no such Lhlng as faLe or desLlny. LveryLhlng depends upon how you use your mlnd.
When you are noL free from aLLachmenLs, Lhose wlll end up becomlng Lhe causes of whaL
you experlence. 1hus, ulLlmaLely, happlness and unhapplness depend upon how you use
your mlnd.


1o D|scover our 1rue Se|f, "I" Must D|e

1hls ls an excerpL from Lhe uharma Lalk publlshed wlLh Lhls LlLle as parL of Lhe serles,racLlce ln ually Llfe.
1he compleLe uharma Lalk ls also lncluded ln Lhe book Wake up and Laugh.

l'm graLeful LhaL we can all gaLher LogeLher agaln Loday. AlLhough we always funcLlon LogeLher as one,
Lhere ls clearly you" and l." All of us are fellow pracLlLloners who explore LogeLher Lhe paLh of LruLh.
When we gaLher here llke Lhls, you, l, and all oLher belngs are frlends who walk LogeLher on Lhe way of
LruLh. 1oday leL's begln by Lhlnklng deeply abouL Lhe meanlng of whaL Shakyamunl 8uddha sald and dld
when he was born lnLo Lhls world. Pe sald, Above and below Lhe heavens, Lhere ls noLhlng LhaL ls noL
me." 1hen he looked ln every dlrecLlon and Look seven sLeps. 8uddhlsm appeared aL LhaL momenL, and
Lhe pracLlce of culLlvaLlng mlnd, whlch ls Lhe paLh of dlscoverlng our Lrue self, also began. AlLhough l
have never been Lo school, nor have l read many books, here ls whaL l Lhlnk Lhe 8uddha's acLlons mean.

llrsL of all, whaL ls Lhe meanlng of Above and below Lhe heavens, Lhere ls noLhlng LhaL ls noL me"? l
have always Lold you LhaL Lhe foundaLlon of Lhe unlverse ls dlrecLly connecLed Lo our foundaLlon, our
fundamenLal mlnd, whlch ls dlrecLly connecLed Lo every slngle parL of our llves. Lven before Lhe 8uddha
was born lnLo Lhls world, all belngs were dlrecLly connecLed Lo each oLher Lhrough Lhe foundaLlon. 1hus,
lf you awaken Lo Lhe foundaLlon, you wlll save all of Lhe llves wlLhln you, and you wlll also save all of Lhe
llves ouLslde of your body, because Lhey are all dlrecLly connecLed Lo your foundaLlon. lf you have a
quesLlon abouL Lhls, leL's dlscuss lL aL Lhe end of Lhe Lalk.

Second, whaL ls Lhe meanlng of Lhe 8uddha looklng ln every dlrecLlon? 1he foundaLlon of everyLhlng ls
nelLher empLlness nor form. 1hus everyLhlng operaLes and funcLlons LogeLher lnseparably. ln order Lo
demonsLraLe Lhls, Lhe 8uddha looked ln every dlrecLlon.

llnally, hls Laklng seven sLeps shows LhaL our ever-changlng dally llfe, where you" and l" dlsLlncLly exlsL,
ls lLself Lhe paLh of LruLh. 1hls ls whaL Lhe 8uddha LaughL us wlLhouL uslng words. AcLually, Lhls lsn'L
someLhlng LhaL you can learn Lhrough words. 1he LruLh can never be learned Lhrough scholarshlp,
lnLellecLual knowledge, worldly power, fame, or Lheorles. lrom Lhe very beglnnlng, pracLlLloners have
learned LruLh only Lhrough wlsely lnvesLlgaLlng Lhe fundamenLal quesLlons of where we came from,
where we are golng, and how we should llve.

1o explaln lL anoLher way, we conslsL of Lhe four elemenLs: earLh, waLer, flre, and alr. We llve ln Lhe
mldsL of Lhese elemenLs and susLaln ourselves by eaLlng Lhem. ?ou shouldn'L lgnore Lhls. ?ou should be
Lhankful for Lhose elemenLs, because all llvlng belngs orlglnaLed from Lhem and have evolved from Lhem
lnLo Lhe llfe forms of Loday. LveryLhlng comes from Lhem and reLurns Lo Lhem. LveryLhlng dlsappears
lnLo Lhem and Lhen arlses from Lhem. 1hls ls Lhe LruLh. When Lhe wlnd blows, a peLal hanglng from a Lree
ls soon gone. lf Lhe peLal ls proLecLed from Lhe wlnd, lL may hang Lhere a llLLle longer, buL ln Lhe end lL
Loo wlll fall.
LveryLhlng ls llke drlfLlng clouds. 8ecause we all should overcome Lhls llluslonary realm, we have
gaLhered LogeLher here Lo culLlvaLe our mlnds. Cur mlnds embrace everyLhlng wlLhouL excludlng even a
blade of grass. ?ou should know LhaL ln Panmaum (Cne Mlnd) everyLhlng - planLs, bugs, anlmals, and
even belngs wlLhouL llfe - ceaselessly funcLlons LogeLher. AlLhough everyLhlng funcLlons LogeLher llke
Lhls, as l sald earller, Lhere ls clearly you" and l." 8uL Lhe very exlsLence of you" and l" ls empLy, and
ln Lhe mldsL of such empLlness, Lhere cerLalnly exlsLs one exLraordlnary Lhlng. ln order Lo dlscover lL, we
are culLlvaLlng mlnd LogeLher.

Some of you may wonder why l am explalnlng Lhls agaln. 1here are always people who are here for Lhe
flrsL Llme, so l should say someLhlng abouL lL for Lhem. l always Lell Lhem, llrsL, you musL dle! LeL go of
everyLhlng and enLrusL everyLhlng!" 8uL where should you leL go Lo? ?ou should leL go Lo your
fundamenLal mlnd. 8ecause you exlsL, oLhers exlsL. 8ecause you exlsL, all oLher Lhlngs exlsL. lurLher, your
fundamenLal mlnd ls dlrecLly connecLed Lo Lhe foundaLlon of everyLhlng ln Lhe unlverse. lL ls as lf Lhere ls
a power planL wlLhln you. 1hls brlghL power planL! lf we need some energy, we can Lake ouL as much as
we need. 1he energy of Lhe power planL ls lnflnlLe. no maLLer how much energy ls Laken ouL, lL never
decreases, and no maLLer how much energy ls puL ln, lL never overflows. 1he energy flows freely - we
[usL can'L see lL.

1herefore, llvlng dally llfe can be pracLlclng Seon. !usL physlcally slLLlng down ls noL slLLlng ln medlLaLlon.
When your mlnd ls aL ease and you have leL go of everyLhlng, Lhls ls slLLlng medlLaLlon and pracLlclng
Seon. Powever, Lhls doesn'L mean surrenderlng your flrm, uprlghL cenLer of mlnd and [usL falllng lnLo
empLlness. lL ls because you have Lhls cenLer LhaL you are able Lo pracLlce Seon and feel comforLable or
uncomforLable. WlLhouL all of Lhese feellngs you could noL aLLaln wlsdom or awaken Lo your Lrue self,
nor could you become a 8uddha.

?ou should enLrusL everyLhlng LhaL comes up ln your llfe - sollLude, poverLy, lonellness, anxleLy, and
lllness - Lo your foundaLlon and llve freely. LnLrusLlng everyLhlng ls leLLlng go of everyLhlng. 1hls ls Lhe
way Lo dle. 1he phrase llrsL, you musL dle!" means uncondlLlonally releaslng everyLhlng, wlLhouL any
excuses or reasons, lncludlng boLh whaL you undersLand and whaL you don'L undersLand. When Lhlngs go
well, you should release Lhem wlLh graLlLude. When Lhlngs don'L go well, you should also release Lhem
wlLh Lhe falLh LhaL Cnly Lhe foundaLlon can solve Lhls and lead me ln Lhe rlghL dlrecLlon. 8ecause
noLhlng ls flxed, Lhls also can change." ?ou should keep leLLlng go llke Lhls. lor lL ls only by dylng
uncondlLlonally LhaL you can dlscover your Lrue self, your eLernal rooL.

Second, you musL dle agaln. Whlle sLudylng here, some of you have dlscovered yourself. ?eL you sLlll
have noL dlscarded your hablLs and your LhoughLs of l," me," and mlne." So you're happy lf you see a
8uddha ln your dreams, buL you're scared lf you see a ghosL. When you feel or experlence someLhlng
exLraordlnary, you carelessly Lalk Lo oLhers abouL whaL you experlenced. WhaL you see and hear ls [usL
an llluslon, buL neverLheless you sLlll Lend Lo cllng Lo lL. 1hls ls why you musL dle agaln.

now do you undersLand why flrsL you musL dle and keep whaL you experlence Lo yourself, and why you
musL dle yeL agaln, keeplng whaL you experlence secreL? Lven Lhough you are able Lo see or hear cerLaln
Lhlngs afLer you dlscover your Lrue self, Lhose powers are noL Lhe Way. Lven Lhough you have obLalned
Lhe flve subLle powers - Lhe ablllLles Lo know oLhers' LhoughLs and feellngs, Lo know pasL llves, Lo hear
anyLhlng, Lo see anyLhlng aL any place, and Lo appear anywhere wlLhouL movlng your body - Lhls ls sLlll
noL Lhe Way. ?ou can Lruly masLer Lhe flve subLle powers only when you are free from Lhem. lf you
reveal whaL you hear, see, or know, lL wlll only brlng Lrouble. llrsL, lL wlll cause Lrouble for Lhe 8uddha-
dharma, second, for sunlms and Lhe Seon cenLer, and Lhlrd, lL wlll cause Lrouble for you.

Cnce you dlscover yourself, you enLer Lhe sLage of experlmenLlng. uon'L regard whaL you learn ln your
dreams as dlfferenL from whaL you learn whlle awake. And keep everyLhlng you learn secreL. AlLhough
you are able Lo see, hear, and know Lhlngs LhaL oLhers are unaware of, do lL wlLhouL cllnglng Lo any
LhoughL of l see," l hear," l know," and do noL reveal Lo oLhers whaL you experlence. 1hls ls a very
powerful sLage of pracLlce ln whlch you experlmenL wlLh whaL you have learned. ?our experlmenLs resulL
ln experlences, and Lhen you puL Lhose experlences lnLo acLlon. 1hls ls Lhe meanlng of dylng a second
Llme and keeplng whaL you experlence Lo yourself.

Whlle keeplng everyLhlng secreL, lf you are compleLely free from Lhe flve subLle powers, you wlll be able
Lo conLrol all of Lhem. lor example, lf you are a slave Lo your body, how can you Lake care of lL and keep
lL healLhy? Llkewlse, you musL be able Lo free yourself from Lhe flve subLle powers. AlLhough you see
whaL oLhers can'L see, release lL. AlLhough you hear whaL oLhers can'L hear, release lL. AlLhough you
know oLhers' mlnds and pasL llves, release all of LhaL. AlLhough you are able Lo come and go Lo any place
or any Llme wlLhouL a Lrace of comlng and golng, you should also release LhaL. 1hls ls keeplng lL secreL.
1hls ls Lhe very way Lo reallze Lhe LruLh of mlnd and Lo aLLaln wlsdom. lL ls llke a secreL paLh by whlch you
can experlmenL wlLh and experlence Lhe prlnclple of mlnd, and make lL your own. 1he secreL door ls
lnslde of you. lL sends ouL and Lakes ln everyLhlng Lhrough Lhe flve sensory organs. uo noL search for Lhe
door somewhere else. ulscover LruLh Lhrough Lhe door LhaL ls wlLhln you.

1hlrd, you sLlll musL dle agaln. keeplng whaL you experlence secreL and belng free from Lhe flve subLle
powers, even Lhough Lhere ls clearly you" and l," Lhere wlll be no dlscrlmlnaLlon beLween you" and
l." AL Lhls sLage, you wlll be able Lo manlfesL such LhaL you" become me," and l" become you." ?our
ablllLy Lo manlfesL and Lransform yourself as a response-body wlll become so powerful. WhaL ls
Lransformlng? 8ecause mlnd has no form, Lens of Lhousands of dlfferenL shapes can come ouL from lL.
1hls ls called Lhe Len bllllon LransformaLlon bodles of 8uddha. Why ls lL called Lhe Len bllllon
LransformaLlon bodles? lL's because 8uddha responds Lo you as you requesL: lf you wanL Lhe mounLaln
god, 8uddha manlfesLs as Lhe mounLaln god. lf you wanL AvaloklLeshvara, 8uddha manlfesLs as
AvaloklLeshvara. Llke Lhls, 8uddha manlfesLs ln varlous forms. lurLhermore, 8uddha responds noL only
wlLh cerLaln shapes, buL also wlLh compasslon and warmLh.

8uddha manlfesLs, Lransforms, and responds Lo every slngle llfe. Such manlfesLaLlon ls 8uddha's sLepplng
down from Lhe realm of 8uddhas for Lhe sake of unenllghLened belngs. 1hls ls Lhe compasslonaLe acLlon
of a 8uddha. 1hls ls Lhe same compasslonaLe behavlor LhaL ls performed by Lhe LoLus-llower 8uddha,
SamanLabhadra, and Lhe 1aLhagaLha. 8uddha responds Lo everyone. 8egardless of who Lhey are - Lhe
splrlL of a Lree or Lhe splrlL of Lhe earLh, man or woman, rlch or poor, old or young, someone wlLh power
or wlLhouL power, lnLelllgenL or unlnLelllgenL - 8uddha responds equally Lo all of Lhem. 8uddha ls 8uddha
because lL ls able Lo do all of Lhese Lhlngs.

lf Lhese Lhree sLages are Lhe process of becomlng compleLely human, Lhen Lhls ls noL Lhe compleLlon of
an lndlvldual, buL Lhe compleLlon of Lhe whole, where everyLhlng becomes one and works LogeLher. ?ou
flow as yourself, and l flow as myself, buL whlle we are flowlng llke Lhls, 8uddha responds Lo all of us. All
belngs can become you - Lhelr clrcumsLances can become your own clrcumsLances, Lhelr hands can
become your hands, and Lhelr sufferlng can become your own sufferlng. 1hls ls Lhe compasslon of
8uddha, who responds Lhrough Lens of bllllons of LransformaLlon bodles. Whlch shape ls Lruly 8uddha? ls
lL when 8uddha ls ln Lhe form of a worm? ls lL when 8uddha responds Lo you by manlfesLlng as
AvaloklLeshvara or ln Lhe form of an anlmal? ls lL when 8uddha enLers Lhe body of a dog? Whlch of Lhese
shapes can you Lruly call 8uddha? Always changlng and flowlng every slngle momenL ls Lhe naLure of Lhe
Way, and ls LruLh lLself. 1he only Lhlng LhaL can be aLLalned ls Lhe Way, Lhe LruLh called supreme bodhl,
whlch ls Lhe paLh LhaL Lranscends all names. 1hls ls Lhe meanlng of Lhe word 8uddha."












Panmaum [han-ma-um]: Pan" means one, greaL, and comblned, whlle maum" means mlnd, as well as hearL,
and also means Lhe unlversal consclousness LhaL ls Lhe same ln every Lhlng and every place. 1hus Panmaum"
means boLh Lhe sLaLe where everyLhlng ls lnLerconnecLed as one, and also Lhe funcLlonlng where everyLhlng
llves and works LogeLher as a whole.
8uddha : ln Lhls LexL, all references Lo 8uddhas and 8odhlsaLLvas are caplLallzed ouL of respecL, because
8uddhas and 8odhlsaLLvas represenL Lhe essence and funcLlon of Lhe enllghLened mlnd. 1he 8uddha" always
refers Lo Shakyamunl 8uddha.
AvaloklLeshvara ls Lhe 8odhlsaLLva of compasslon who hears and responds Lo Lhe crles of Lhe world, and
dellvers unenllghLened belngs from sufferlng.

















8y Chol, kyung-a
1he auLhor was a 3rd grade sLudenL ln uaegu when she wroLe Lhls. Per leLLer and Lhe
response by !unsok ark were orlglnally posLed on Lhe uaegu Panmaum Seon CenLer's onllne
bulleLln board. 1he korean verslon of Lhls arLlcle appeared ln Lhe 2002 March/Aprll lssue of
Panmaum !ournal. 1hls LranslaLlon was done by Lhe Panmaum lnLernaLlonal CulLure lnsLlLuLe.
Pave you heard Lhe korean saylng LhaL lf you are ouL ln Lhe flrsL falllng snow of Lhe year, and
wlLh someone you llke, Lhen Lrue love wlll blossom beLween you? Well, noL Loo long ago Lhe
flrsL snow of Lhe year fell. As soon as school leL ouL, l sLarLed looklng for a boy ln Lhe 3Lh grade
LhaL l really llked. l spenL all afLernoon playlng wlLh my frlends whlle keeplng an eye ouL for
hlm. l sLayed ouL unLll well afLer dark, buL some reason on LhaL day l couldn'L flnd hlm
anywhere.

1haL nlghL l had a fever. l had a LemperaLure Lhe nexL day Loo, and my LhroaL began Lo hurL. l
dldn'L Lhlnk much of lL, and flgured LhaL l would be flne ln a few days. 8uL my LhroaL kepL
geLLlng worse. My moLher gave me some medlclne, buL Lhe swelllng and paln dldn'L go away.
Cver Lhe nexL few days lL kepL geLLlng worse, unLll flnally my moLher had me admlLLed Lo Lhe
hosplLal. 8elng LreaLed Lhere, Lhe swelllng ln my LhroaL began Lo go down, buL even afLer
Lhree days lL sLlll hadn'L reLurned Lo normal. Cradually my LhroaL began swelllng agaln unLll lL
hurL Loo much Lo even ralse my head or eaL solld food.

1he docLors performed a loL of LesLs on me and flnally Lold us LhaL l had acuLe lymph node
Luberculosls. 1hey sald Lhere was a 2cm by 2cm area of swelllng LhaL would have Lo be
surglcally removed. WhaL's worse, Lhey sald LhaL lL could sLlll reoccur and Lhen Lhey would
have Lo operaLe agaln, lf lL sLlll reoccurred, Lhen Lhey would have Lo operaLe yeL agaln, and so
on. lurLher, Lhere was no way Lo be cerLaln LhaL Lhe surgery would prevenL lL from spreadlng
Lo oLher areas of my body.

l Lold my moLher LhaL l dldn'L wanL Lo have surgery. She dldn'L know whaL Lo do, because she
Loo dldn'L wanL me Lo undergo surgery, buL Lhere had also been no lmprovemenL ln my
LhroaL. 1he operaLlon sounded dangerous, buL Lhe LhoughL of my LhroaL geLLlng worse was
also qulLe scary.
We declded Lo geL a second oplnlon, and lf LhaL docLor also LhoughL surgery was necessary,
Lhen we would go ahead wlLh lL. My faLher wenL Lo uaegu Lo arrange for me Lo be admlLLed Lo
Cyeongdae PosplLal, and my moLher and l sllpped ouL of Lhe hosplLal and wenL Lo Lhe Seon
CenLer. 1he laywomen Lhere were happy Lo see me agaln, and as we Lalked, Lhey remembered
Lhe sLory of a young man who had had a braln Lumor.

Pe had always been easlly frusLraLed and shorL-Lempered. Pe had been dlagnosed wlLh a
braln Lumor and almosL underwenL a very dangerous operaLlon. Powever, he reallzed LhaL he
needed Lo conLrol hls anger and learned Lo send feellngs of love Lo Lhe cells ln Lhe Lumor. 1he
ladles sald LhaL he's been healLhy for a long Llme now, and slnce Lhls experlence hls llfe has
become much more pleasanL because he learned Lo leL go of hls anger, and lnsLead vlew llfe
wlLh compasslon and [oy.

lL seemed llke l was senL Lo flnd Lhls young man lnsLead of Lhe boy l llked ln Lhe 3Lh grade! My
problems seemed so Lrlvlal when l heard how bravely he had faced a braln Lumor and how,
lnsLead of haLlng lL, he had senL lL love. l wanLed Lo Lry Lo follow hls example and so afLer
Lhlnklng abouL lL carefully, l Lold my moLher LhaL l wasn'L golng Lo have Lhe operaLlon.
l Lhlnk l can undersLand whaL my moLher was feellng. AlLhough LhaL young man mlghL have
Lurned ouL well, l wasn'L hlm, and she was sLlll unsure abouL noL havlng Lhe operaLlon. AdulLs
seem Lo have a harder Llme wlLh falLh because Lhey can feel Lhe danger more sLrongly,
whereas young people don'L feel Lhe LhreaL Lo Lhelr llfe as dlsLlncLly. 8uL Lhls makes lL easler
for chlldren Lo have falLh.

So l Lold my moLher agaln, very sLrongly Lhls Llme, LhaL l wasn'L golng Lo have Lhe operaLlon.
lnsLead l was golng Lo Lry Lo Lake care of my lllness llke Lhe young man dld. AlLhough my
moLher wasn'L happy abouL lL, she agreed Lo Lry lL my way and see whaL happened. l aLe an
enLlre plaLeful of rlce cake, and Lhen my moLher and l lefL Lhe Seon CenLer and wenL home.
AfLer we came home, l LhoughL Lhlngs over carefully and reallzed LhaL l Loo was ofLen shorL-
Lempered, and when playlng wlLh my frlends l would ofLen geL angry or pouL. lL felL llke,
somehow, my anger over every llLLle Lhlng had Lurned lnLo Lhe lymph node Luberculosls. l
began Lo feel sorry for all of Lhe angry LhoughLs l had been dlrecLlng Lowards Lhe Luberculosls,
and resolved LhaL from now on l would glve lL love and warmLh.
AfLer l sLarLed behavlng beLLer and belng lovlng and compasslonaLe Lowards Lhe Luberculosls,
Lhe swelllng began Lo go down and compleLely dlsappeared wlLhln Lhree days.

l Lhlnk LhaL lf people are angry and sLressed abouL everyLhlng, as l was, Lhen Lhe cells ln Lhe
body become angry and confused. And ln Llme, Lhelr confuslon and anger wlll Lurn lnLo a
dlsease. l would llke Lo Lell everyone LhaL even lf Lhere ls someLhlng Lo be angry abouL, Lo Lry
Lo reflecL upon yourself and glve love Lo !ulngong. lor lL ls love LhaL makes !ulngong grow.
!unsok ark's 8esponse
Pl kyung-a, do you sLlll have your Lemper under conLrol?! AlLhough we have never meL, Lhe
lnsLanL you say !ulngong," we become one. lL warmed my hearL as l read your sLory, and l
could feel how serlously you are worklng Lo learn abouL !ulngong. Llke me, l Lhlnk you've seen
LhaL Lhe worry and hardshlps you wenL Lhrough are whaL has enabled you Lo now have a
[oyous llfe. kyung-a, l hope LhaL as you learn abouL !ulngong you'll be able Lo gulde Lhose
people around you who are angry and ln paln, and help Lhem Lo become Lrue human belngs.
(1he followlng LexL ls Lhe sLory of !unsok ark's experlence, whlch he read Lo uaehaeng kun
Sunlm durlng Lhe ?ouLh Croup uharma 1alk on uecember 3, 2000.)
l used Lo feel very frusLraLed because Lhere were so many dlfflculL Lhlngs ln my llfe. l
Lrled Lo do my besL, buL Lhey seemed so lmporLanL and few of Lhem Lurned ouL well, or aL
leasL as l wanLed Lhem Lo Lurn ouL. l would ofLen blame oLher people for Lhe way Lhlngs
developed, and aL Lhe same Llme began Lo Lry Lo avold Lhose dlfflculL Lhlngs. l crlLlclzed myself
consLanLly, and my llfe seemed Lo be wlLhouL llghL. Powever, as l learned abouL Lhls pracLlce
and abouL relylng on my foundaLlon, !ulngong, Lhen l began Lo be able Lo accepL Lhe
dlfflculLles and worrles l encounLered. Whereas mosL people conLlnuously Lry Lo escape from
Lhose Lhlngs and Lo avold loslng pleasanL Lhlngs. Powever, l learned LhaL Lhe more l Lrled Lo
avold Lhose Lhlngs, Lhe worse my slLuaLlon became. now when some dlfflculLy or hardshlp
confronLs me, l Lry Lo recelve lL nondually, LhaL ls, Lo leL go of my feellngs of llke or dlsllke, and
Lo [usL enLrusL LhaL paln or slLuaLlon Lo !ulngong. lor l can see now LhaL even Lhose Lhlngs are
manlfesLaLlons of my foundaLlon, and have appeared Lo help me be humble and Lo help me
grow up. 1hose experlences have become a greaL source of sLrengLh for me and l know LhaL
Lhrough handllng Lhem llke Lhls, l am becomlng wlser.

lor abouL Lhe lasL Len years, l've suffered from severe headaches. l had gone Lo Lhe hosplLal
lasL summer for more LesLs, and Lhe resulLs showed LhaL l had a Lumor on my plLulLary gland.
1he docLors sald LhaL l needed Lo have lmmedlaLe surgery because of Lhe slze of Lhe Lumor. l
was sLunned. l felL llke l had been hlL by a bolL of llghLnlng. Pow does someone absorb news
llke Lhls? lL felL llke everyLhlng had gone black before my eyes.

Poplng LhaL Lhe docLors had made a mlsLake, l wenL Lo a dlfferenL speclallsL for a second
oplnlon. 8uL Lhe resulLs were Lhe same: l needed lmmedlaLe surgery. lf Lhe Lumor's slze
lncreased, lL would sLarL presslng on Lhe opLlc nerve and l would go bllnd. lurLher, Lhe
headaches would geL worse, and Lhe operaLlon would become more dangerous as Lhe Lumor
grew closer Lo Lhe arLery. Cn Lop of Lhls, Lhe docLor Lold me LhaL l would have Lo go Lo one of
Lhe blg hosplLals ln Seoul Lo have Lhe operaLlon.
lf l had heard Lhls news before l had begun Lo learn abouL enLrusLlng, l would have [usL done
whaLever Lhe docLors suggesLed, and had Lhe operaLlon.

8uL now l wanLed Lo serlously conslder whaL opLlons Lhere were, and so whlle aL Lhe Seon
CenLer, l Lold Lhe sunlm my sLory. She llsLened carefully Lo Lhe whole sLory before speaklng:
?our body and your mlnd are noL Lwo, your body ls an expresslon of your mlnd." She
conLlnued, 1he dlsease Lhey Lold you ls [usL a label, [usL an aLLempL aL a descrlpLlon. ?our
unhapplness and menLal sufferlng dldn'L [usL go away once you forgoL lL, lL accumulaLed and
Lhls may be lLs manlfesLaLlon." l also remember Lhe sunlm saylng, uon'L leL yourself be
scared by Lhe label LhaL someone else puLs on Lhe slLuaLlon. lf you can undersLand Lhe mosL
fundamenLal cause, Lhen whaL needs Lo be done wlll become clear. So Lhlnk carefully abouL
whaL happened."

Pow was l golng Lo lnLeracL wlLh Lhe evenLs and feellngs LhaL confronLed me? l reLurned home
deLermlned Lo Lhlnk carefully abouL whaL mlghL have caused my lllness. As l looked over my
relaLlonshlps wlLh my famlly and Lhe oLher people ln my llfe l saw LhaL my behavlor wasn'L
very harmonlous, and l usually Lrled Lo force my vlews on oLhers. And soluLlons we Lrled were
based upon my own ldeas abouL how Lhlngs should be. As a resulL, Lhere were many Llmes
when Lhlngs Lurned ouL badly. l felL frusLraLed and worLhless, and would ofLen crlLlclze
myself. l suspecL LhaL some of Lhe cells wlLhln my body couldn'L wlLhsLand Lhls assaulL: lL
confused and dlsLorLed Lhem, and Lhls was whaL Lhe docLors had called cancer.

lLulLary gland Lumor" ls [usL a name. Lven lf l had surgery and all of Lhe physlcal
manlfesLaLlons were removed, Lhe underlylng causes would sLlll remaln unLouched. So l
declded Lo Lake Lhls slLuaLlon as my hwadu (!. koan). lnsLead of Lhlnklng of lL as sufferlng, l
learned LhaL Lhe creaLlve power of my mlnd ls capable of manlfesLlng ln any form. ManlfesLlng
as Lhe 8odhlsaLLva of Medlclne ls also no problem.

8y Lhe way, when we were aL Lhe hosplLal, we asked Lhe docLor ln charge lf he knew whaL had
caused my Lumor, and he sald he dldn'L know. We asked lf Lhe cancer would be cured once
Lhe Lumor was removed, and agaln he sald he had no ldea. AlLhough docLors Lry hard, mosL of
Lhem know abouL only Lhe physlcal manlfesLaLlon.

lL was clear Lo me LhaL l was Lhe one who had Lo Lake charge of my llfe. no one else could
manage lL for me, so lL was up Lo me Lo flnd Lhe cause and work wlLh lL aL a fundamenLal level.
l explalned Lhls Lo my famlly and persuaded Lhem Lo supporL my declslon. lf l hurL, Lhen l
would [usL be one wlLh LhaL paln and would know LhaL even LhaL was !ulngong's
manlfesLaLlon. l was deLermlned LhaL Lhe days l had lefL would be rlch and meanlngful, and l
would conLlnuously experlence for myself Lhe LruLh LhaL Lhe dlsease and myself were noL Lwo.

lL happened one day LhaL my head had been achlng Lerrlbly all day long. l Lrled noL Lo re[ecL
Lhe paln, saylng Lo Lhose cells, Well, you're hurLlng Loo," and Lo [usL accepL lL. 8uL LhaL day l
dld requesL Lhose llves Lo make lL posslble for me Lo geL some sleep. l was able Lo fall asleep,
buL durlng Lhe nlghL my head hurL so much LhaL l woke up and LhoughL l would cry. l'm noL
sure lf lL was a dream or noL, buL aL LhaL momenL l could see Lhose cells LhaL were hurLlng.
1hey looked so plLlful. l felL sorry for havlng haLed Lhem and havlng Lrled Lo hurL Lhem wlLh all
klnds of polsonous medlclnes. 8uL now l undersLood Lhem and wanLed Lo become one wlLh
Lhem. l really wanLed Lo go up and glve Lhem a hug. l fell asleep agaln, and my sleep was so
peaceful LhaL l can'L remember ever havlng slepL so well ln my llfe.
now, lf a headache occurs l recognlze Lhe sufferlng of Lhose llves, and l Lurn Lhe whole Lhlng
over Lo !ulngong. And Lhen l peacefully go abouL my dally llfe.











LducaLlng unborn Chlldren: A Sn MasLer's 1eachlngs on 1'aegyo*
1he ldea LhaL parenL's behavlor, LhoughL, and vlrLue can lnfluence Lhe developmenL of Lhelr
unborn chlld ls an old one ln korea. Called L'aegyo, or prenaLal educaLlon, lL ls as old as korea's
recorded hlsLory. 1hrough L'aegyo one could help lnsure LhaL one's chlld would be healLhy and
wlse, and perhaps even be a greaL belng LhaL would brlng honor and forLune upon Lhe famlly.
Well undersLood by Lhe common people, L'aegyo was also pracLlced by Lhe royal famlly, wlLh
lLs need Lo produce wlse and lnLelllgenL rulers. Lven ln 8uddhlsL clrcles, monks and nuns
occaslonally emphaslzed Lhe lmporLance of L'aegyo when glvlng uharma Lalks Lo laypeople.

1'aegyo: A 1radlLlonal vlew
lor cenLurles lL has been undersLood ln korea LhaL a moLher and faLher's LhoughLs and acLlons
affecL Lhe developmenL of Lhelr unborn chlld. 1hls lnfluence could be elLher poslLlve or
negaLlve, Lhus Lhe focus of L'aegyo was upon creaLlng a good and nurLurlng envlronmenL for
Lhe unborn chlld.

lnsLrucLlons abouL L'aegyo Lended Lo vary greaLly. 1hey could be very slmple, such as slmply
urglng a daughLer-ln-law Lo malnLaln a genLle aLLlLude, Lo much more complex llsLs of does
and don'Ls. lor example, expecLanL moLhers were encouraged Lo surround Lhemselves wlLh
beauLlful slghLs and smells, whlle refralnlng from harsh or frlvolous speech. lmpure behavlor
was Lo be avolded aL all cosLs. Slmllarly, lL was sald LhaL pregnanL women should eaL only frulL
LhaL was free from blemlsh or dlsflguremenL. nor should a woman klll any anlmals whlle
pregnanL, because LhaL vlolenL lnLenLlon would have a negaLlve lmpacL upon her unborn chlld.
Llkewlse, lL was unlversally undersLood ln korea LhaL a pregnanL woman would never aLLend
any sorL of funeral.
lor faLhers, Lhe lnsLrucLlons Lended Lo be slmpler. 8ecause half of Lhe chlld comes from Lhe
faLher, Lhe faLher was Lold Lo malnLaln a pure and uprlghL aLLlLude prlor Lo pregnancy, and
even afLerwards. Pe was also remlnded of hls responslblllLles Lo help ensure LhaL Lhe moLher
was surrounded wlLh a carlng and nurLurlng envlronmenL.

1hese are Lyplcal examples of lnsLrucLlons for L'aegyo, and were usually Lhe resulL of boLh
observaLlons and bellef sLrucLures. WlLh famllles llvlng ln Lhe same vlllages for generaLlon
afLer generaLlon, Lhere was plenLy of opporLunlLy for people Lo observe a moLher's behavlor
and envlronmenL whlle pregnanL, and how LhaL chlld Lurned ouL. ln Lhls way, people derlved
cause-and-effecL lnformaLlon abouL how L'aegyo worked.

lor example, ln one modern sLory a woman was raped on her way Lo school and lL was several
monLhs before she reallzed she was pregnanL. She Lrled all klnds of meLhods Lo cause a
mlscarrlage buL was unsuccessful. AlLhough she greaLly resenLed Lhe chlld, afLer he was born
she grew Lo love hlm. 1hey had a close and lovlng relaLlonshlp for many years, buL when her
son was ln hls early LwenLles he suddenly became very verbally abuslve Lowards hls moLher.
Screamlng and curslng her, he was so unllke hlmself LhaL he seemed Lo have gone lnsane. 1hls
conLlnued for a long Llme and flnally Lhe moLher Lold a 8uddhlsL monk abouL Lhls. Pe sald LhaL
her son's behavlor was Lhe resulL of Lhe vlolenL LhoughLs she had dlrecLed Lowards her son
whlle she was pregnanL. ln Lhe monk's answer we can see Lhe 8uddhlsL vlews of cause and
effecL: 1he woman had planLed a cerLaln seed, and evenLually lL sprouLed. 1he endlng of Lhls
sLory ls as lnLeresLlng as Lhe beglnnlng: Cn Lhe monk's advlce, when her son would yell aL her,
Lhe moLher would bow very slncerely Lo hlm and apologlze for her pasL LhoughLs and
behavlor. Cradually hls abuse lessened and evenLually he reLurned Lo normal. 1hls ls a good
example of a L'aegyo sLory ln LhaL lLs lmpllcaLlons are clear Lo everyone.
Confuclan wrlLers, on Lhe oLher hand, ofLen chose Lo place speclal emphasls on Lhe role
played by Lhe moLher's demeanor and vlrLue, reflecLlng Lhe bellef LhaL vlrLue ls Lhe source of
all success and happlness. AnoLher Confuclan perspecLlve vlewed Lhe chlld as belng essenLlally
pure and uncorrupLed aL Lhe momenL of concepLlon, and whlch dlrecLlon lL Lakes from Lhere
depends upon Lhe lnfluences lL recelves from Lhe moLher and faLher. CLher Lhemes, such as
Lhe necesslLy of Lhe moLher havlng greaL vlrLue ln order Lo become pregnanL wlLh a chlld of
greaL vlrLue, also Louched upon 8uddhlsL ldeas of karmlc afflnlLy. A common aspecL of
Leachlngs abouL L'aegyo ls Lhe vlew of Lhe unborn chlld as dlsLlncL belng, whlch, llke any oLher
belng, ls lnfluenced by Lhe behavlor of Lhe people around lL.
lnformaLlon abouL L'aegyo was generally LransmlLLed Lhrough Lwo rouLes: word of mouLh and
LexLs. MosL expecLanL moLhers learned abouL L'aegyo ln large parL from Lhe women ln Lhelr
famlly and Lhelr moLher-ln-law, wlLh famlly LradlLlons of L'aegyo belng handed down from one
generaLlon Lo Lhe nexL. 1hese ofLen lncluded famlly sLorles lllusLraLlng Lhe effecLs of a
pregnanL woman's acLlons upon Lhe developmenL of her unborn chlld. 1he second way
lnformaLlon abouL L'aegyo was LransmlLLed was Lhrough LexLs.
lrom anclenL Llmes ln korea, LexLs LhaL focused on medlcal care, farmlng meLhods, and anlmal
husbandry have played a ma[or role ln Lhe prosperlLy of Lhe korean people. CfLen, Lhese Lypes
of books were developed and publlshed by order of Lhe klng, as parL of an efforL Lo lmprove
Lhe llves of Lhe people. lor example, ln 1393, Lhe flrsL klng of Lhe Chosn uynasLy senL
lnsLrucLors Lo every provlnce Lo Lraln medlcal pracLlLloners. AL abouL Lhe same Llme, he
ordered Lhe compllaLlon and publlcaLlon of Pyangyak chesaeng chlpsng pang (CollecLlon of
naLlve rescrlpLlons Lo Save Llfe), whlch was flnlshed ln 1397. CLher LexLs were Lhe work of
lndlvlduals, such as Lhe exLremely lnfluenLlal 1ongl pogam (Lxemplars of korean Medlclne)
whlch was wrlLLen by Lhe famous medlcal pracLlLloner P Chun, and publlshed ln 1610. 1hese
Lypes of books all conLalned baslc lnformaLlon abouL L'aegyo, buL Lhelr readers were generally
hlghly educaLed medlcal pracLlLloners.
AnoLher caLegory of LexLs were Lhose wrlLLen for ordlnary people. 1hese were wrlLLen ln
Pangul, Lhe korean phoneLlc alphabeL, whlch made Lhem accesslble Lo vlrLually everyone.
1hese also lncluded books abouL farmlng meLhods, baslc medlcal LreaLmenL, and even novels.
A ma[or Lype of Lhese Pangul LexLs was known as kyupang chlp(1exLs for Lhe Woman's
CuarLers). 1hey were wrlLLen for women and addressed Loplcs of lmporLance Lo Lhem. 1hey
covered Loplcs such as how a good wlfe should behave, how Lo ralse chlldren, how Lo run a
household, how a woman should culLlvaLe vlrLue, eLc. Some kyupang chlp were publlshed
Lhrough book makers, whlle oLhers were wrlLLen by famlly members. 1hese famlly kyupang
chlp were handwrlLLen and conveyed Lhe famlly's LradlLlons, experlences, and phllosophy
from one generaLlon Lo Lhe nexL. 1hese books generally remalned wlLhln Lhe famlly, and were
even, ln some sense, famlly secreLs.
Cne of Lhe mosL famous of Lhe kyupang chlp-Lype books was 1'aegyo Slngl (new 1heory of
renaLal LducaLlon), by a Mrs. Lee, who was also called Sa !u uang. WrlLLen by a woman, for
women, lL was publlshed around Lhe year 1800. lL seLs forLh many of Lhe prlnclples of L'aegyo
LhaL are observed even Loday by pregnanL women ln korea. lor example, lL ls Lhe earllesL
recorded example of Lhe korean saylng, 1en monLhs ln Lhe womb have more lnfluence upon
a chlld Lhan 10 years wlLh a good Leacher." ubllshed ln Pangul, Lhls book appears Lo have
been very lnfluenLlal when lL flrsL appeared. Lven Loday ln korean booksLores, modern
LranslaLlons of 1'aegyo Slngl are sLlll among Lhe besL selllng books abouL L'aegyo.
An lnLeresLlng fooLnoLe Lo L'aegyo ls Lhe role played by blrLh dreams. 1radlLlonally ln Asla, a
woman's dream abouL her fuLure chlld was consldered Lo be very Lelllng abouL LhaL chlld's
characLer. As such, Lhey were very prlzed, and good dreams were even sold! lL seems LhaL
parenLs and famlly members always flnd a way Lo lnLerpreL Lhem poslLlvely, alLhough Lhe
dream ls sald Lo lose lLs power lf Lold Loo many Llmes or Lold Lo Lhe chlld.
1hese klnds of dreams can also be seen as a form of L'aegyo: lf parenLs have a cerLaln lmage of
Lhelr unborn chlld, Lhelr chlld wlll be more llkely Lo develop accordlng Lo LhaL expecLaLlon.
8esearch ln Lhe soclal sclences has shown slmllar effecLs, where sLudenLs wlll Lend Lo perform
up Lo a Leacher's expecLaLlons, regardless of wheLher Lhose expecLaLlons are based upon facL
or noL. 1he LradlLlonal vlew of L'aegyo would expecL LhaL Lhls effecL would be [usL as Lrue for
unborn chlldren.

Modern 1rends ln korea
8eglnnlng ln Lhe 1980's, L'aegyo became much more vlslble ouLslde Lhe famlly. 1hls was Lhe
resulL of several lnfluences, ln parLlcular korea's rapld economlc growLh and Lhe developmenL
of Lhe commerclal prlnL and medla lndusLry. AlLhough Lhere had always been books abouL
L'aegyo, Lhe numbers and Lypes began Lo dramaLlcally lncrease. lurLher, many of Lhe ldeas
LhaL were popular began Lo be feaLured on varlous mornlng Lelevlslon programs, and wlLh Lhe
growLh of Lhe lnLerneL, Lhere are now even web slLes and chaL rooms dedlcaLed Lo L'aegyo.
ln Lhe laLe 1980's, some of Lhe mosL popular books abouL L'aegyo were LranslaLlons of
Luropean and u.S. books, many of whlch belonged Lo Lhe Pow Lo make your baby a genlus"
varleLy. Powever, Lhese gradually became less popular. As one moLher complalned, 1hey
dldn'L Lell me anyLhlng abouL how Lo help my chlld be well-ad[usLed and happy." erhaps ln
response Lo feellngs llke Lhls, L'aegyo books wrlLLen from an orlenLal medlclne perspecLlve,
and Lhose LranslaLed from !apanese, became more popular. Cne of aspecL of boLh Lhese Lypes
of books ls LhaL Lhey are more llkely Lo lnclude concepLs and approaches LhaL reflecL 8uddhlsL
or Confuclan perspecLlves.
8ooks wrlLLen abouL L'aegyo ln korea generally fall lnLo Lhree caLegorles: 8ooks wrlLLen by
medlcal docLors, by soclal sclenLlsLs, and Lhose books based upon LradlLlonal perspecLlves,
lncludlng orlenLal medlclne. When medlcal docLors ln korea wrlLe abouL L'aegyo, Lhey Lend Lo
presenL a blologlcal, mechanlsLlc vlew of L'aegyo, emphaslzlng Lhlngs such as Lhe role Lhe
moLher's mood plays upon hormones and Lhelr effecLs upon Lhe chlld's developmenL. Cne
lnLeresLlng Lhlng abouL modern korea ls LhaL alLhough only abouL 23 percenL of Lhe
populaLlon ls ChrlsLlan, Lhe vasL ma[orlLy of docLors and pharmaclsLs are ChrlsLlans. (8ellable
survey numbers are hard Lo flnd, buL lnLervlews wlLh people holdlng medlcal degrees usually
clLe flgures of beLween 70 and 80 percenL.) So even when korean docLors wrlLe books abouL
Lhe more splrlLual aspecLs of L'aegyo, Lhey Lend Lo avold Louchlng upon ldeas LhaL mlghL seem
8uddhlsL or Confuclan, such as karmlc afflnlLy, non-duallLy, and vlrLue.
1he second Lype of book abouL L'aegyo LhaL ls common ln korea are Lhose wrlLLen by soclal
sclenLlsLs. MosL of Lhe ldeas conLalned ln Lhese books have been derlved from sLudles on Lhe
effecLs of early chlldhood experlences. lor example, research found LhaL llsLenlng Lo classlcal
muslc as a chlld poslLlvely affecLs one's lnLellecLual developmenL. 1hls has been exLrapolaLed
Lo mean LhaL lf classlcal muslc can ald a chlld's developmenL beLween Lhe age of one and flve,
lL musL be even beLLer Lo be exposed Lo classlcal muslc as a feLus. 1hls hlghllghLs a key
dlfference beLween Lhls Lype of prenaLal lnsLrucLlon and convenLlonal L'aegyo: Lhe LradlLlonal
vlew ls LhaL Lhe unborn chlld ls affecLed by whaL Lhe moLher experlences. Whereas people
who are Lrylng Lo play muslc Lo Lhelr unborn chlld are Lrylng Lo convey Lhe muslc dlrecLly Lo
Lhe chlld.
1he Lhlrd caLegory of books abouL L'aegyo are Lhose based upon LradlLlonal LexLs and whlch
ofLen lnclude prlnclples of orlenLal medlclne. 1hese puL Lhe focus back on Lhe moLher's
lnfluence upon Lhe chlld. 1hese are ofLen modern verslons of LradlLlonal ldeas. 1hey Lend Lo
emphaslze Lhe role LhaL Lhe moLher's experlences and LhoughL play ln Lhe developmenL of Lhe
chlld's LemperamenL, healLh, lnLelllgence, and splrlLuallLy. CfLen books of Lhls Lype lnclude
explanaLlons and worldvlews LhaL reflecL Lhemes some mlghL caLegorlze as 8uddhlsL or
Confuclan.
1hese are some of Lhe general Lrends ln books abouL L'aegyo, buL ln reallLy Lhere are many
dlfferenL klnds of books, whlch can lnclude anyLhlng from sLrlcLly LradlLlonal meLhods Lo
meLhods based upon personal experlences. 1here are medlcal descrlpLlons of L'aegyo, as well
books and webslLes LhaL emphaslze ChrlsLlan or 8uddhlsL perspecLlves, and any comblnaLlon
of Lhese. 1he appearance ln recenL decades of so much lnformaLlon abouL L'aegyo, Lhrough
books, Lelevlslon, and Lhe lnLerneL, has creaLed Lhe lmage of a L'aegyo boom" ln korea.
Powever, only Lhe medla has changed, lLs lmporLance Lo korean parenLs remalns unchanged
slnce anclenL Llmes.
uaehaeng Sunlm
As an lnnovaLlve, female Sn MasLer, uaehaeng Sunlm occuples a unlque place ln
conLemporary korean 8uddhlsm. (Sunlm" ls Lhe pollLe address for a 8uddhlsL nun or monk ln
korea.) 8orn ln 1927, she awakened aL an early age and llved ln Lhe mounLalns for years,
experlmenLlng wlLh whaL she reallzed. lL was Lhere LhaL she deLermlned Lo Leach splrlLual
pracLlce ln such a way LhaL anyone, regardless of Lhelr gender or occupaLlon, could pracLlce
and awaken. 1he sn cenLer she founded, Panmaum Seonwon, has 23 korean and
lnLernaLlonal branches, wlLh more Lhan 30,000 famllles reglsLered as members.


1'aegyo, as uaehaeng Sunlm Leaches lL, ls really educaLlon for boLh parenLs and chlldren.
AlLhough parenLs may sLarL ouL pracLlclng L'aegyo wlLh Lhe welfare of Lhelr unborn chlld ln
mlnd, lL helps Lhem Lo splrlLually evolve as well. lurLher, because Lhe unborn chlld reacLs so
qulckly Lo Lhe parenLs' pracLlce of L'aegyo, Lhe parenLs can learn a loL abouL splrlLual pracLlce
ln a relaLlvely shorL Llme. As for Lhe chlld, uaehaeng Sunlm emphaslzes LhaL L'aegyo ls
lmporLanL because Lhe chlld's developmenL ln Lhe womb wlll have a ma[or lnfluence on lLs
llfe. She Leaches LhaL Lhrough L'aegyo lL ls posslble Lo help your chlld develop splrlLually and
also Lo dlssolve Lhe seeds of bad karma and harmful afflnlLles.
1he fundamenLals of uaehaeng Sunlm's Leachlngs abouL L'aegyo mlrror Lhose of her
Leachlngs abouL splrlLual pracLlce. She beglns by Leachlng people Lo have falLh ln Lhelr
lnherenL naLure, whlch she descrlbes as 8uddha-naLure or !ulngong (llL. Lhe Lrue doer, whlch
ls empLy). nexL she Leaches people Lo enLrusL whaLever confronLs Lhem, boLh good and bad,
Lo LhaL fundamenLal naLure. As she says, lL has been guldlng you over bllllons of years of
evoluLlon, so why can'L you LrusL lL now?" 1hus, parenLs should leL go of all Lhelr hopes and
fears, and LrusL LhaL Lhelr lnherenL naLure ls Laklng care of Lhlngs. lurLher, uaehaeng Sunlm
Leaches LhaL when parenLs wanL Lo Lell Lhelr unborn chlld someLhlng, lf Lhey enLrusL LhaL Lo
Lhelr lnherenL naLure, all of Lhose Lhlngs wlll be lnsLanLly communlcaLed Lo Lhelr chlld. 1hls ls
posslble because of boLh Lhe non-dual naLure of all exlsLence, and, ln Lhe case of L'aegyo, Lhe
dlrecL physlcal connecLlon beLween moLher and chlld. 1he nexL Lhlng people need Lo do ls
conLlnue Lo observe whlle experlmenLlng wlLh whaL Lhey know, and applylng whaL Lhey've
experlenced. ln Lhls way people can awaken and develop a self-susLalnlng pracLlce LhaL wlll
Lake Lhem beyond Lhe lnlLlal sLages of awakenlng.
Accordlng Lo uaehaeng Sunlm, L'aegyo ls posslble because every Lhlng and llfe ln Lhe
world reacLs Lo Lhe LhoughLs we lnpuL lnLo our foundaLlon, whlch can be called 8uddha,
8uddha-naLure, !ulngong, Panmaum, lnherenL naLure, or Cod. 1hls foundaLlon has been
guldlng our developmenL over counLless bllllons of years. lL ls Lhe fundamenLal nondual
connecLlon of all llfe. All belngs, boLh llvlng and dead, are connecLed Lhrough Lhe lnherenL
foundaLlon Lhey all share, whaL happens aL one polnL ls lnsLanLly communlcaLed Lo all
oLhers. 1hus, uaehaeng Sunlm Leaches LhaL when we enLrusL Lhe Lhlngs LhaL confronL us Lo
our foundaLlon, lL responds Lo Lhem ln a compleLe way LhaL lncludes boLh Lhe maLerlal realm
and Lhe unseen realms.
1'aegyo ls also posslble because Lhe unlverse and every slngle Lhlng ln lL are always ln a
consLanL sLaLe of change. noLhlng ls flxed and lmmoblle, so everyLhlng ls free Lo grow and
develop, lncludlng your unborn chlld. 8egardless of whaL karma and geneLlcs your chlld may
have, Lhose do noL have Lo be lLs desLlny.
ln uaehaeng Sunlm's Leachlngs abouL L'aegyo, Lhe effecLs of Lhe moLher's splrlLual
pracLlce upon her unborn chlld parallel Lhose of LradlLlonal Leachlngs abouL L'aegyo. 1he
maln dlfference ls ln Lhe greaLer depLh uaehaeng Sunlm presenLs and Lhe underlylng
framework of ldeas such as lnLerconnecLedness and lmpermanence. Many LradlLlonal
Leachlngs abouL L'aegyo rely greaLly upon observaLlons wlLhouL necessarlly undersLandlng
Lhe reasons for Lhe observed resulLs. 1hls Lends Lo llmlL Lhe ablllLy Lo exLrapolaLe Lhose
Leachlngs of L'aegyo Lo wlder clrcumsLances.
An lnLeresLlng aspecL abouL uaehaeng Sunlm's Leachlngs on L'aegyo ls Lhelr
pracLlcallLy. 1here ls no need for expenslve equlpmenL or speclal foods. !usL you, as you are.
AnoLher lmporLanL aspecL ls LhaL ln order Lo be able Lo help your chlld, you have Lo flrsL
change yourself. AlLhough parenLs may have sLarLed pracLlclng L'aegyo ouL of concern for
Lhelr chlld, ln Lhe end, Lhey beneflL as much as Lhelr chlld. lurLher, boLh chlldren and parenLs
Lake wlLh Lhem whaL Lhey have learned and experlenced, and ln so dolng Lhey become a
force for poslLlve change ln socleLy.
1'aegyo: SplrlLual racLlce and renaLal LducaLlon ls a compllaLlon of uaehaeng Sunlm's oral
Leachlngs abouL L'aegyo, and ls drawn from boLh uaehaeng Sunlm's publlc uharma Lalks and
lnLervlews wlLh laywomen who recelved personal lnsLrucLlon on L'aegyo dlrecLly from
uaehaeng Sunlm.
lurLher 8eadlng
Lngllsh LranslaLlons of uaehaeng Sunlm's Leachlngs have been publlshed ln several books,
Lwo of whlch are no 8lver Lo Cross, no 8afL Lo llnd, (Anyang, SouLh korea: Panmaum
Seonwon, 2003) and Wake up and Laugh(Anyang, SouLh korea: Panmaum Seonwon,
2003). no 8lver Lo Cross, no 8afL Lo llnd, ls a collecLlon of her uharma Lalks LhaL have been
LranslaLed ln Lhelr enLlreLy. 1'aegyo and ralslng chlldren are addressed occaslonally wlLhln
Lhe conLexL of splrlLual pracLlce and dally llfe. Wake up and Laugh ls organlzed by Loplc and
conLalns uaehaeng Sunlm's Leachlngs across a wlde varleLy of lssues and has a shorL secLlon
on L'aegyo.
lred !eremy Sellgson's Cueen !ln's Pandbook of regnancy(8erkeley, Callfornla: norLh
ALlanLlc 8ooks, 2002) ls Lhe besL presenLaLlon of Lhe LradlLlonal korean vlew of L'aegyo
avallable ln Lngllsh. Sellgson's CrlenLal 8lrLh ureams(Seoul: Pollym, 1989) ls also an
ouLsLandlng collecLlon of mosLly korean blrLh dreams, and lndlcaLes Lhelr lmporLance ln
Aslan culLures. ln korea Loday, one of Lhe mosL popular works on L'aegyo conLlnues Lo be a
modern edlLlon of 1'aegyo Slngl (new 1heory of renaLal LducaLlon) by Ch'oe, Sam Sop, and
ak, Ch'an kuk, (Lrans.) (Seoul: Seonbosa, 2002). 1he LranslaLors are uocLors of CrlenLal
medlclne, who provlde a modern commenLary for Lhe maln LexL.
1'aegyo: SplrlLual racLlce and renaLal LducaLlon
lf you have LhoughL abouL your role as a parenL or fuLure parenL, you wlll reallze LhaL
one of Lhe mosL lmporLanL Lhlngs you can ever do ls Lo ralse a wlse and good chlld.
unforLunaLely, mosL people don'L Lry Lo do Lhls unLll afLer Lhelr chlld ls born. 1'aegyo, or
prenaLal educaLlon, ls posslble before, durlng, and afLer pregnancy, and should be done by
boLh Lhe moLher and Lhe faLher. 1hls Llme ls a unlque opporLunlLy Lo help ralse Lhe
consclousness of your chlld, whlle dlssolvlng Lhe karmlc, geneLlc, and splrlLual hlndrances
LhaL lL has accumulaLed over counLless llves. 1he Llme before blrLh, and even Lhe monLhs
afLer, ls when whaL you Leach your chlld and whaL you expose lL Lo wlll have deep and llfe-
long effecLs.
1'aegyo ls posslble because everyLhlng and every belng are dlrecLly connecLed Lo each oLher,
and L'aegyo's effecLs are posslble because noLhlng ln Lhe unlverse ls flxed and unchanglng.
Lvery slngle Lhlng ls consLanLly changlng and manlfesLlng anew. lurLher, Lhe essenLlals of
splrlLual pracLlce are baslcally Lhe same for prenaLal educaLlon. ldeally, every parenL would
have a well-developed splrlLual pracLlce before Lrylng Lo geL pregnanL, so perhaps lL would
be besL Lo begln by Lalklng abouL Lhe essenLlals of splrlLual pracLlce.
1he LssenLlals of SplrlLual racLlce
All belngs, boLh llvlng and dead, and every Lhlng ln Lhe unlverse share an lnherenL
foundaLlon LhaL has gulded us over eons of evoluLlon. 1hrough lL everyLhlng ls connecLed.
1hrough lL everyLhlng, lncludlng Lhe splrlLual and maLerlal realms, works LogeLher as one.
1hls lnherenL foundaLlon glves rlse Lo all Lhlngs and all Lhlngs reLurn Lo lL, and lL has Lhe
ablllLy Lo Lake care of everyLhlng we encounLer ln our dally llfe. SomeLlmes Lhls foundaLlon ls
called 8uddha-naLure, someLlmes lL's called !ulngong(llL. Lhe Lrue doer, whlch ls empLy)
lnherenL naLure, or Lrue self. Many names have been used Lo descrlbe lL, buL Lhese words
are [usL aLLempLs aL polnLlng people ln Lhe rlghL dlrecLlon, you have Lo undersLand for
yourself whaL Lhese names are Lrylng Lo express. SomeLlmes people ask, lf l could [usL see
my foundaLlon for myself, lL would be so much easler Lo have falLh," buL our foundaLlon ls
noL a flxed, maLerlal Lhlng LhaL can be grasped wlLh Lhe senses.
1he very flrsL sLep of splrlLual pracLlce ls Lo LrusL Lhe ablllLy of your lnherenL foundaLlon. lL
has gulded you Lhrough all your llves, lL ls endowed wlLh ablllLles beyond your lmaglnaLlon,
and ls Lhe source and desLlnaLlon of everyLhlng, so have falLh ln lL and LrusL LhaL lL can Lake
care of whaLever lL ls LhaL confronLs you. ?ou musL belleve ln Lhe ablllLy of your lnherenL
foundaLlon. lL surrounds us and ls presenL LhroughouL our llves, lL ls so close and ever-
presenL LhaL many people overlook lL.
1he second sLep ls leLLlng go: leL go of all of Lhe Lhlngs LhaL confronL you and enLrusL Lhem Lo
your foundaLlon. LeL go of everyLhlng LhaL arlses from ouLslde or lnslde, and LrusL LhaL your
foundaLlon wlll Lake care of all of LhaL. Lven lf Lhlngs seem Lo be golng well or golng badly,
leL go of LhaL and enLrusL lL Lo your foundaLlon. 1ry Lo learn Lo rely upon your lnherenL
naLure raLher Lhan your flxed ldeas abouL whaL consLlLuLes someLhlng golng well or noL.
1he Lhlrd sLep ls Lo observe. Cbserve whaL happens when you leL go. LeL go and bravely go
forward ln your llfe whlle observlng. See whaL happens afLer you leL go, and pay aLLenLlon Lo
how Lhlngs develop and Lurn ouL. And be sure Lo leL go agaln of Lhe resulLs of whaL you
experlence. lf Lhlngs go well, leL go wlLh graLlLude, and when Lhey don'L, leL go and Lhlnk of
LhaL as your homework. LeL go of all LhoughLs such as l dld," l experlenced," so and so dld
____ Lo me," eLc. LeLLlng go doesn'L mean pushlng away LhoughLs or feellngs, lL means LhaL
once you become aware of Lhem you Lurn Lhem over Lo your foundaLlon. 8y experlmenLlng
and applylng llke Lhls you wlll awaken Lo your foundaLlon. lalLh ln your lnherenL foundaLlon,
leLLlng go and enLrusLlng, observlng, and applylng whaL you undersLand form Lhe essenLlals
of splrlLual pracLlce.
LveryLhlng ls Always Changlng
lnherenLly everyone and everyLhlng ls changlng and manlfesLlng every lnsLanL. 1here ls
noLhlng LhaL ls sLaLlonary and unchanglng. 1hls ls also Lhe Lrue meanlng of Lhe words
noLhlngness" and empLlness." lL ls noL LhaL Lhere ls a vold or vacuum, raLher Lhere ls no
unchanglng essence or subsLance LhaL remalns Lhe same from momenL Lo momenL. 1here ls
noLhlng LhaL carrles over from one lnsLanL Lo Lhe nexL. 8uL lnsLead of some greaL vacuum,
everyLhlng everywhere ls fllled wlLh change and poLenLlal and ablllLy. LveryLhlng ls always
changlng from one Lhlng Lo Lhe nexL, even Llme ls noL absoluLe. 1here ls no flxed fuLure or
presenL, noL even Lhe pasL ls flxed and unchanglng. 1hls ls why lL ls sald LhaL every Lhlng ls
empLy.
1he facL LhaL everyLhlng ls empLy also means LhaL even our karma ls noL flxed and
unchanglng. WhaL has already manlfesLed ls already gone, whaL ls here ls passlng away
every lnsLanL, and whaL has yeL Lo manlfesL ls noL lnevlLable. Lven lf a cave has been dark for
a Lhousand years, Lhe darkness sLlll dlsappears Lhe lnsLanL you shlne a llghL ln lL. no maLLer
how benL and LwlsLed a plece of meLal may be, once you Lhrow lL lnLo a blasL furnace lL ls
melLed down and pure, clean meLal ls reborn. Llke Lhls, when we enLrusL Lhe Lhlngs LhaL
confronL us Lo our foundaLlon, Lhey melL down and Lransform lnLo bodhlsaLLvas. 1he llghL
and ablllLy of your lnherenL naLure ls beyond anyLhlng you can lmaglne - please don'L
lgnore lL. 1oo many people LreaL Lhls facL casually, wlLhouL Lhlnklng abouL whaL Lhls Lruly
means and lmplles.
LveryLhlng ls ConnecLed
1hrough Lhe lnherenL foundaLlon, 8uddha-naLure, all consclousnesses and maLLer are
connecLed Lo each oLher. lnherenLly all belngs are sharlng Lhe same llfe, Lhe same mlnd, Lhe
same body, worklng LogeLher as one, and sharlng all Lhlngs LogeLher, everyLhlng and
everybody, boLh llvlng and dead, are connecLed, noLhlng ls separaLe. ?our lnherenL
foundaLlon encompasses all of Lhe llves ln your body, lL encompasses boLh Lhe realm of Lhe
llvlng and Lhe dead, lL encompasses Lhe pasL, presenL, and fuLure, and lL encompasses Lhls
unlverse and every oLher unlverse.
ln addlLlon Lo Lhe splrlLual connecLlon Lhey share wlLh all oLher belngs, a moLher and
her unborn chlld also share a dlrecL physlcal and emoLlonal connecLlon. lf a moLher drlnks
alcohol, Lhe alcohol clrculaLes ln baby's body. lf Lhe moLher ls under a loL of sLress whlle
pregnanL, Lhere ls a greaLer chance LhaL her baby wlll have a low blrLh-welghL. WhaL a
moLher does and Lhlnks whlle pregnanL lnfluences her chlld. 1he LradlLlonal bellef LhaL
expecLanL moLhers should avold belng exposed Lo Lhlngs llke vlolence, harsh speech, or even
kllllng a flsh or chlcken lsn'L some old supersLlLlon.

Pow 1'aegyo Works: 8elylng upon Lhe loundaLlon and ulssolvlng CbsLacles
1'aegyo, educaLlng your unborn chlld, ls posslble because of Lhls lnherenL connecLlon
beLween all belngs. When you leL go of Lhe Lhlngs LhaL confronL you and LrusL your
foundaLlon, your 8uddha-naLure, you and all belngs become one Lhrough Lhe foundaLlon.
When Lhls happens, your LhoughLs and feellngs are communlcaLed Lo all belngs, boLh llvlng
and dead. 1hus Lhe LhoughLs and ouLlook LhaL you glve rlse Lo are percelved by Lhe chlld's
consclousness and Lhe llves LhaL make up lLs body.

lurLher, when you rely upon Lhe foundaLlon and enLrusL lL wlLh whaL confronLs you, energy
and llghL clrculaLe and your level of consclousness ls ralsed, LogeLher wlLh LhaL of your chlld.
When you connecL wlLh Lhe foundaLlon llke Lhls, your splrlLual level ralses, and you become
llke a brlghL llghL LhaL ralses Lhe level of Lhe people around you. 8ecause your unborn chlld ls
sLlll a parL of your body and ls also changlng so much, lL ls very suscepLlble Lo Lhe lnfluences
lL ls exposed Lo wlLhln Lhe womb. 1hus, lL ls much easler Lo help your chlld aL Lhls sLage Lhan
afLer lLs growLh and developmenL have slowed.

Lven lf you recelve a chlld wlLh a loL of bad karma, you can dlssolve LhaL Lhrough
prenaLal educaLlon. LveryLhlng ls consLanLly changlng, noLhlng ls flxed. 1hls ls Lhe meanlng
of everyLhlng ls empLy." 1hrough leLLlng go and enLrusLlng whlle havlng falLh ln our
foundaLlon we can dlssolve Lhe seeds of accumulaLed karma. We change our fuLure when
we sLop relnpuLLlng LhaL karma. Suppose l am shorL-Lempered and always flghLlng: lf l learn
abouL my foundaLlon and pracLlce enLrusLlng lL wlLh whaLever arlses from boLh lnslde and
ouL, Lhen gradually l'll become a more paLlenL and flexlble person. 1hese acLlons and
LhoughLs also greaLly affecL your chlld. A feLus geLs lLs oxygen and food from Lhe moLher,
how could her splrlLual sLaLe noL affecL Lhe feLus? lf Lhe moLher ls hablLually shorL-Lempered
and lrrlLable, LhaL ls whaL Lhe chlld ls golng Lo learn. ?ou can even see Lhls same Lhlng wlLh
young chlldren. Look aL how Lhey learn from Lhelr parenLs: lf dad swears a loL, Lhe chlld wlll
sLarL uslng Lhose words. Chlldren absorb Lhelr parenL's fears, values, and even Lhelr pollLlcal
vlews. lL's easy Lo lmaglne how much sLronger Lhls effecL ls wlLh Lhe moLher and unborn
chlld sharlng so many splrlLual and physlcal connecLlons.
8elylng on and reLurnlng Lo our foundaLlon acLually causes our karma Lo dlssolve. Why? 1he
source of all bad karma ls lgnorance of Lhe foundaLlon and lgnorance of Lhe non-dual naLure
of everyLhlng. When one becomes aware of Lhls foundaLlon, Lhe rooLs of all evll karma and
bad afflnlLles naLurally dlssolve. LveryLhlng arose from our foundaLlon, so LhaL ls Lhe place
we have Lo reLurn Lhlngs Lo. lL's llke Lhrowlng varlous Lypes and pleces of meLal lnLo a
furnace LhaL melLs Lhem all down and Lurns Lhem lnLo pure gold. 1he ablllLy of your
foundaLlon ls lnflnlLe and profound beyond anyLhlng you can lmaglne. 8ecause Lhe moLher
and feLus don'L exlsL separaLely, lf Lhe moLher has falLh ln her lnherenL naLure and pracLlces
enLrusLlng and observlng, Lhe karma of Lhe feLus wlll also melL away, and lLs level of
consclousness wlll be upllfLed. 1hls ls a wonderful chance for Lhe chlld, a chance Lo move ln a
new dlrecLlon, free from Lhe lmpulses of karma. lL's llke belng ln a classroom for nlne
monLhs. lf mom undersLands and pracLlces prenaLal educaLlon, Lhen her feLus ls spendlng
nlne monLhs llsLenlng Lo a good Leacher. lmaglne spendlng nlne monLhs baLhed ln Lhe llghL
of your lnherenL naLure, belng remlnded LhaL noLhlng ls separaLe from you, LhaL Lhere ls
noLhlng Lo fear, and LhaL you are compleLe as you are, lacklng noLhlng. ln Lhls way, your
chlld's karmlc hlndrances are naLurally dlssolved and your chlld becomes more aware of lLs
fundamenLal naLure. 1hus, your chlld naLurally llves a wlse and good llfe.

ln many ways, pregnancy ls a good Llme for moLhers Lo Lake up splrlLual pracLlce.
8ecause of Lhelr connecLlon wlLh Lhelr chlld, Lhey can see Lhe effecLs of Lhelr LhoughLs
almosL lmmedlaLely. And lf Lhe moLher has had more Lhan one chlld, she can see how
prenaLal educaLlon has affecLed each of her chlldren as her ablllLy and undersLandlng of
L'aegyo has lncreased
1aegyo
LveryLhlng uepends upon Mlnd
lf Lhe moLher Lhlnks someLhlng ls subllme and beauLlful, Lhen LhaL ls Lhe envlronmenL Lhe
chlld ls baLhed ln. 8uL lf she [usL llsLens Lo muslc, feellng lmpaLlenL or Lhlnklng abouL how Llred
she ls, Lhen Lhose LhoughLs and feellngs, noL Lhe muslc, are whaL ls communlcaLed Lo Lhe
chlld. lL ls Lhe same for whaL she sees, LasLes, and feels. 1hls ls Lhe key Lo L'aegyo, for lL ls Lhe
moLher's LhoughL and lnLenLlon LhaL are communlcaLed Lo Lhe chlld. lor example, Lhere was a
woman who really couldn'L sLand cockroaches, and when her flrsL chlld was born, LhaL chlld
also was afrald of Lhem. Powever, when she was pregnanL wlLh her second chlld she
undersLood L'aegyo beLLer, so every Llme she saw a cockroach she remembered Lo say Lo
herself, Ch, you are sharlng Lhls world wlLh all of us, as parL of one blg famlly." 1hls chlld was
born compleLely unafrald of bugs llke cockroaches, splders, anLs, eLc. lmaglne a chlld LhaL,
Lhrough mlnd, has heard Ch, you are sharlng Lhls world wlLh all of us, as parL of one blg
famlly," ever slnce lL was concelved. lmaglne how welcome and connecLed Lo all oLher llfe
LhaL chlld would feel.
8ecause Lhe unborn chlld responds Lo Lhe moLher's mlnd, anyone, regardless of her
clrcumsLances, can pracLlce L'aegyo. Lven lf a woman ls Loo poor Lo afford good food or Lhe
medlcal care LhaL ls ofLen assoclaLed wlLh pregnancy, Lhls doesn'L have Lo be a problem,
because Lhrough L'aegyo, she can help compensaLe for Lhose Lhlngs. Wlse and klnd LhoughLs
from Lhe moLher wlll have a Lremendous, poslLlve effecL upon her unborn chlld. AlLhough Lhe
moLher may llve ln a run-down, ugly area, lf her LhoughLs are beauLlful, LhaL's whaL Lhe baby
feels.

More beauLlful Lhan plcLures or muslc ls Lhe wlsdom LhaL sees everyLhlng as noL separaLe from
yourself. 8eauLy ls knowlng LhaL l also used Lo be llke LhaL" or Lhls ls someLhlng senL from
my foundaLlon ln order Lo Leach me" when someLhlng haLeful or frusLraLlng confronLs you.
LveryLhlng depends upon Lhe LhoughLs you ralse.
8y Lhe way, Loo much asplraLlon for your chlld ls noL good. 1oo much amblLlon regardlng your
chlld's fuLure can be llke glvlng Loo much ferLlllzer Lo a planL: lL can damage and deform boLh
your chlld and yourself. CfLen Lhese klnds of amblLlons represenL an aLLlLude LhaL places
excesslve value on soclal sLaLus or maLerlal Lhlngs. lL's okay Lo have greaL hopes for your chlld,
LhaL he or she wlll be happy, wlse, vlrLuous, successful, eLc. Powever, as your chlld grows up,
be aware of lLs own level and don'L force lL Loo much. lf you could choose only one Lhlng for
your chlld, leL lL be wlsdom. A chlld ln Louch wlLh lLs fundamenLal naLure wlll naLurally avold
bad Lhlngs or harmful acLs, and wlll lnsLead have afflnlLy wlLh good Lhlngs and grow up lnLo a
good person.
LxperlmenLlng
Merely knowlng someLhlng ls noL enough - you have Lo be able Lo puL lL lnLo pracLlce and use
lL whenever you need Lo. lL ls only by applylng whaL you know and experlmenLlng wlLh lL LhaL
you can Lruly make lL your own. 1ry Lo leL go and rely upon your foundaLlon, and observe how
a slngle LhoughL can affecL your chlld. lor example, lf your baby ls a bad poslLlon ln your
womb, Lhen by ralslng Lhe LhoughL, my baby needs Lo move so LhaL lL can be born head-
flrsL," and enLrusLlng lL Lo your lnherenL naLure, Lhe baby wlll move lnLo Lhe proper poslLlon
before belng born. 8eally! 1hls very example has happened Lo so many members here!
LveryLhlng depends upon mlnd. All maLLer follows mlnd. lew people belleve Lhls anymore.
MaLerlal Lhlngs have become so lmporLanL. eople Lhese days Lhlnk LhaL maLerlal Lhlngs came
flrsL, buL before LhaL Lhere was mlnd, whaL's someLlmes called Cne Mlnd, or lnherenL mlnd.
SomeLlmes lL's called our foundaLlon, or someLlmes !ulngong, buL everyLhlng, boLh maLerlal
and lmmaLerlal follows Lhls Cne Mlnd. lL ls Laklng care of everyLhlng, boLh splrlLual and
maLerlal, and when we enLrusL lL wlLh whaL confronLs us, lL Lakes care of Lhlngs so LhaL Lhey
Lurn ouL for Lhe besL. Lven lf Lhe docLor Lells you Lhere ls someLhlng wrong wlLh your baby, by
wholehearLedly enLrusLlng LhaL slLuaLlon Lo your lnherenL foundaLlon, Lhe slLuaLlon wlll
lmprove much easler. lf you keep Lhlnklng my baby ls slck," eLc., lL wlll make lL harder for
your baby Lo change.
lf you plan Lo have chlldren, you should learn how Lo pracLlce prenaLal educaLlon ahead of
Llme. LveryLhlng Lakes pracLlce. SLarL wlLh whaL bellef you possess and Lry Lo enLrusL whaL
arlses ln llfe Lo your foundaLlon. ay aLLenLlon and observe whaL happens. As you Lry Lo apply
Lhls, you wlll see Lhe resulLs of your pracLlce and your falLh wlll lncrease. never cllng Lo Lhe
resulLs: wheLher Lhey're good or bad, [usL keep leLLlng go and LrusLlng your lnherenL naLure. lf
you Lry Lo cllng Lo whaL you experlence, lL wlll become a problem and wlll prevenL you from
growlng. LveryLhlng ls flowlng, everyLhlng ls changlng. 1here ls noLhlng you can sLlck LhoughLs
of l" or mlne" Lo. l dld.," lL's mlne," She dld ____ Lo me," Lhese Lypes of LhoughLs are Lhe
source of so much sufferlng. 1hey are aLLempLs Lo cllng Lo and lmmoblllze whaL ls always
changlng. So [usL leL Lhem go wlLh a laugh and LrusL your foundaLlon. 1hese Leachlngs are
useless unless you Lry Lo apply Lhem Lo Lhe Lhlngs ln your llfe. As you experlmenL and
undersLand Lhe naLure and ablllLy of your fundamenLal mlnd, your own pracLlce wlll become
your gulde for pracLlclng L'aegyo, and by pracLlclng L'aegyo you wlll deepen your own pracLlce.
SLarL wlLh small sLeps, wlLh Lhe Lhlngs rlghL ln fronL of you.
Several years ago Lhere was a couple LhaL came here. 1hey were boLh qulLe good looklng, buL
lL was because Lhey had cosmeLlc surgery. When Lhelr flrsL chlld was born, lL was klnd of ugly,
Lo be frank, because lL resembled lLs parenLs' orlglnal appearance. 1hls led Lo several awkward
slLuaLlons. 8y Lhe way, once someLhlng manlfesLs lnLo Lhe maLerlal realm, lL's harder Lo
change. lL's easler Lo solve Lhese Lhlngs before Lhey have manlfesLed. Anyway, when Lhe wlfe
became pregnanL agaln, Lhls Llme she and her husband Lrled Lo vlsuallze Lhe lmage of Lhe
husband's grandfaLher, who had been very handsome, and enLrusLed LhaL lmage Lo Lhelr
foundaLlon. 1hls chlld Lurned ouL Lo be qulLe good-looklng and resembled Lhe grandfaLher. 8y
enLrusLlng and leLLlng go of everyLhlng Lo !ulngong, Lhelr foundaLlon, Lhey were able Lo
lnfluence Lhe appearance of Lhelr chlld. 1he ablllLy of our fundamenLal mlnd ls Lruly lnflnlLe
and profound. 8alse an lmage of a healLhy chlld, a wlse chlld, a klnd chlld, and lf you have noL
become pregnanL yeL, Lhls ls Lhe klnd of chlld who wlll be aLLracLed Lo you. lf you are already
pregnanL, Lhls ls Lhe dlrecLlon your chlld wlll develop. LeL go of greed and fear and LhoughLs of
l" or me," and Lry Lo experlmenL wlLh Lhls ln your dally llfe.
1he 8ole of Lhe laLher
Powever, prenaLal educaLlon lsn'L for [usL Lhe moLher, Lhe faLher also plays an lmporLanL role.
AlLhough Lhe moLher, obvlously, ls more connecLed Lo Lhe unborn chlld, Lhe faLher provldes
30 of Lhe chlld's geneLlc maLerlal, and also has a speclal karmlc afflnlLy wlLh Lhe chlld. 1hus,
lL's beLLer lf Lhe faLher ls splrlLually and physlcally prepared before Lhe moLher becomes
pregnanL. 1hls can have a deep lmpacL upon Lhe baby's developmenL. lf boLh parenLs are
worklng LogeLher Lo pracLlce prenaLal educaLlon, ln addlLlon Lo greaLly helplng Lhelr chlld, Lhe
energy of each's pracLlce wlll lncrease. lurLher, Lhe quallLy of Lhelr relaLlonshlp wlll naLurally
affecL Lhe moLher, and Lhereby Lhe chlld. So lL's lmporLanL Lo be klnd and generous wlLh each
oLher.
?ou should know LhaL one of Lhe prlnclples of Lhls unlverse ls LhaL llke Lends Lo gaLher wlLh
llke. So you wlll aLLracL, and be aLLracLed Lo, belngs wlLh a slmllar level of splrlLual
developmenL. lL ls lmporLanL Lo be aware of Lhls before you become pregnanL. 1hus, Lhe
healLh and level of developmenL of boLh Lhe faLher and moLher affecL whaL klnd of chlld ls
aLLracLed Lo Lhem. 1he parenLs' level of splrlLual developmenL even lnfluences whlch
parLlcular egg and sperm are aLLracLed Lo each oLher. ln Lhls way, Lhe splrlLual pracLlce of boLh
Lhe moLher and Lhe faLher affecLs even Lhe baby's geneLlc sLrucLure.
When Lo SLarL racLlclng 1'aegyo
ldeally, L'aegyo should sLarL before you become pregnanL. arenLs and chlldren gaLher
LogeLher accordlng Lo Lhelr karmlc afflnlLy, so Lhe Llme before you become pregnanL ls very
lmporLanL. Llke we clean and level Lhe ground before erecLlng a bulldlng, lL's lmporLanL Lo
prepare for Lhe embryo before geLLlng pregnanL. Slmllar Lhlngs gaLher LogeLher, so your level
of consclousness, of splrlLuallLy, along wlLh Lhe karma you have, wlll play a blg role ln whaL
klnd of chlld you recelve. 1hls ls why lL's lmporLanL for Lhe parenLs noL Lo drlnk or smoke Loo
much before becomlng pregnanL. lf your mlnd ls cloudy or lnfluenced by forelgn subsLances, a
chlld wlLh a slmllar level wlll be aLLracLed Lo you. LeL go of duallsLlc LhoughLs such as you" and
me," don'L blame oLhers, and Lry Lo pracLlce relylng upon your lnherenL foundaLlon. 1ry Lo be
harmonlous, klnd, and generous. 1ake care of your body and Lry noL Lo worry Loo much. lL's
much beLLer lf you can have a relaxed and generous mlnd. Also, lf you are very slncere, you
can even recelve a chlld whose level of developmenL ls hlgher Lhan your own.
?ou should conLlnue pracLlclng L'aegyo even afLer your chlld ls born. lor Lhe flrsL few monLhs
or so afLer blrLh, Lhe connecLlon beLween Lhe chlld and moLher ls almosL Lhe same as lL was ln
Lhe womb. 8ecause your baby ls changlng so much, L'aegyo whlle pregnanL and even afLer
blrLh ls very effecLlve. So don'L sLop [usL because your baby has been born. Lven afLer Lhls
perlod, Lhe same prlnclples LhaL you applled durlng pregnancy-relylng upon your foundaLlon,
enLrusLlng everyLhlng Lo lL, and observlng- can help you Lo ralse a good and healLhy chlld
whlle belng a wonderful moLher. When you lnLeracL wlLh someone, ln addlLlon Lo whaL you
say or your body language, LhaL person also feels your mlnd. eople can feel Lhe dlfference lf
you [usL say l love you," versus enLrusLlng LhaL l love you" Lo your foundaLlon. We are all
connecLed Lhrough our lnherenL foundaLlon, our 8uddha-naLure, so lf you lnpuL LhaL LhoughL
lnLo your foundaLlon, lL wlll be communlcaLed Lo your chlld or spouse aL Lhe deepesL level.
1hey wlll Lruly feel lL. lL's Lhe same for famlly argumenLs. 1hlngs ofLen reach a polnL where
noLhlng you say can help Lhe slLuaLlon. lnsLead of Lrylng Lo solve Lhe slLuaLlon Lhrough words,
Lry enLrusLlng lL Lo your foundaLlon wlLh Lhe LhoughL LhaL, lL's my foundaLlon LhaL can leL us
llve LogeLher harmonlously," or all belngs should llve LogeLher harmonlously." lf you enLrusL
Lhlngs Lo your foundaLlon llke Lhls, Lhen your foundaLlon wlll naLurally work Lowards flndlng
Lhe soluLlon or paLh LhaL's besL for everyone. ?our slncere and humble mlnd wlll help melL
oLhers' sLubbornness.
So many moLhers have come here crylng, saylng LhaL Lhelr chlldren are behavlng badly,
sklpplng school, sleeplng away from home, hanglng ouL wlLh bad frlends, eLc. 1hose problems
have arlsen from mlnd, and so musL be cured Lhrough mlnd. uon'L yell or LreaL your chlld
harshly, lf you do Lhey'll behave exacLly as you LreaL Lhem. lf you look upon Lhem as someone
who behaves badly, LhaL ls how Lhey wlll behave. ?our mlnd and your chlld's mlnd are
connecLed Lo each oLher-your mlnd and your chlld's mlnd are noL Lwo-so you should ralse
Lhe LhoughL LhaL !ulngong, only you can brlghLen my chlld's mlnd," and release LhaL LhoughL
Lo your foundaLlon. lf you keep dolng Lhls, Lhe llghL wlll be Lurned on lnsLanLly. Llke Lwo
elecLrlcal wlres connecLlng, peace, harmony, hope, and energy are LransmlLLed back and forLh.
Chooslng arenLs and Chlldren
LveryLhlng and everyone gaLhers LogeLher accordlng Lo Lhelr slmllar karma and level of
developmenL. We can see Lhls everywhere ln our dally llves. Co lnLo any sLore and Lhe apples
are kepL wlLh apples, pears are dlsplayed wlLh oLher pears, and Lln cans are shelved wlLh oLher
Lln cans. Llkewlse, pollLlclans gaLher LogeLher wlLh oLher pollLlclans, arLlsLs naLurally gaLher
LogeLher, and flshermen en[oy each oLher's company. ln Lhe very same way, parenLs gaLher
LogeLher wlLh Lhelr chlldren. Lven Lhough parenLs and chlldren may seem very dlfferenL ln Lhls
llfe, ln pasL llves Lhey creaLed slmllar karma. arenLs and chlldren choose each oLher. ?ou
chose your parenLs and your parenLs chose you, so Lhere's no one else Lo blame.
8e very careful abouL blamlng oLhers. Cne of Lhe mosL splrlLually damaglng Lhlngs you can do
Lo yourself ls Lo blame oLher people for Lhe Lhlngs LhaL occur Lo you. 8y blamlng oLhers you
are denylng Lhe law of cause and effecL, and Lhe prlnclple of nonduallLy. ln effecL, you are
saylng LhaL you had no role ln causlng whaL happened, LhaL you had no connecLlon wlLh lL
whaL so ever. When you blame someone else, you are relnforclng Lhe false sense LhaL
someone compleLely separaLe from you" caused you Lo suffer. lurLher, by carrylng around
LhaL flxed lmage of someone, you are ln confllcL wlLh Lhe law of lmpermanence, LhaL all Lhlngs
change. When you LreaL someone accordlng Lo your flxed lmage of Lhem, you also make lL
harder for Lhem Lo grow and change. 1hls also applles Lo Lhe sLaLemenLs and LhoughLs you
have abouL yourself.

eople recelve Lhlngs exacLly as Lhey have made Lhem, and how Lhey llved ln Lhe pasL glves
rlse Lo Lhe Lhlngs Lhey encounLer now. 1here's no need Lo beaL yourself up, buL you also have
Lo be honesL wlLh yourself abouL your role ln causlng whaL happened. Moreover, now ls Lhe
Llme Lo correcL Lhe mlsLakes we made when we lacked wlsdom. LnLrusL all of Lhose Lhlngs Lo
your foundaLlon and bravely go forward whlle observlng and leLLlng go. lnherenLly noLhlng ls
flxed, noLhlng ls unchanglng: Lhls ls also one of Lhe secreLs of L'aegyo. All of Lhese Lhlngs LhaL
confronL us are llke recordlngs: lf we [usL reacL Lo Lhem, cllnglng Lo Lhe Lhlngs we llke and
Lrylng Lo avold Lhe unpleasanL Lhlngs, Lhen we [usL perpeLuaLe Lhe recordlng. We relnpuL Lhe
exacL same Lhlng. Powever, when we enLrusL Lhe Lhlngs LhaL confronL us Lo our foundaLlon lL's
llke eraslng Lhe recordlng. 8y leLLlng go of Lhese Lhlngs and LrusLlng our lnherenL naLure, we
dlssolve Lhose causes and sLop recreaLlng Lhem. And by observlng and experlmenLlng wlLh Lhls
we learn how our fundamenLal mlnd works.

eople ofLen ask why Lhelr chlldren suffer, whaL dld she do Lo deserve Lhls?", buL even a chlld
ls a belng wlLh a pasL. lL has already llved counLless llves and has accumulaLed lLs own unlque
karma. Powever, each one of us ls endowed wlLh Lhe lnherenL naLure, Lhe foundaLlon, whlch
has Lhe ablllLy Lo dlssolve LhaL karma. LveryLhlng arlses from Lhls lnherenL naLure, and
everyLhlng reLurns Lo lL. lL ls Lhe source of all ablllLy and wlsdom, buL whaL wlll become of us lf
we llve our llves lgnorlng Lhls, always searchlng for someLhlng ouLslde of us? lf we [usL llve
accordlng Lo Lhe karma we've creaLed ln Lhe pasL, [usL reacLlng Lo lL as lL confronLs us, we wlll
be enslaved and bound by lL. lf you [usL reacL Lo lL, cllnglng Lo Lhe Lhlngs you llke, and Lrylng Lo
push away Lhlngs you don'L llke, when can you be free? ?ou [usL keep recreaLlng Lhe karma
over and over. ?ou should leL go of boLh Lhe Lhlngs you llke and whaL you dlsllke, and lnsLead
learn Lo rely upon your foundaLlon. 8y dolng Lhls, you wlll free yourself as well as your unborn
chlld, allowlng hlm or her Lo llve a wlse and beLLer llfe.
Concluslon
When a chlld ls born lnLo Lhls world, lL ls bound Lo experlence varlous dlfflculLles, buL Lhrough
pracLlclng L'aegyo you can glve Lhem Lhe wlsdom and awareness of Lhelr foundaLlon LhaL wlll
help Lhem Lo overcome Lhose Lhlngs wlsely.

noL only ls L'aegyo, prenaLal educaLlon, posslble, buL lLs effecLs are greaLer Lhan mosL people
lmaglne. 1hrough L'aegyo you can help dlssolve your chlld's bad karma, ralse lLs level of
splrlLual developmenL, and help lL Lo have afflnlLy wlLh good Lhlngs. 1'aegyo can be done
before you become pregnanL, whlle you are pregnanL, and even ln Lhe monLhs afLer your chlld
ls born. ulLlmaLely, Lhe essence of L'aegyo ls noL dlfferenL from Lhe essence of splrlLual
pracLlce.
Lvery parenL wanLs whaL ls besL for Lhelr chlld. Lvery parenL hopes LhaL Lhelr chlldren wlll
grow up Lo be healLhy, happy, and successful. And yeL, how many parenLs have shed blLLer
Lears over Lhelr chlldren? lf offered a chance, Lhey would lnsLanLly Lake Lhelr chlld's hardshlps
upon Lhemselves. 8uL LhaL ls noL posslble. So, lnsLead, Leach your chlld Lo rely upon and reLurn
Lo Lhe foundaLlon. 1each your chlld LhaL everyLhlng arlses from Lhere and reLurns Lhere. 1each
your chlld Lo reLurn all of Lhe Lhlngs LhaL confronL hlm or her LhaL place, Lhe foundaLlon.
LeL your chlldren know, lncludlng Lhose who have been born and Lhose who are noL yeL born,
LhaL everyLhlng ln Lhe unlverse ls connecLed Lhrough Lhe same lnherenL foundaLlon.
LveryLhlng works LogeLher as one. So never vlew Lhlngs duallsLlcally. CLher's mlnds are noL
separaLe from your mlnd. 1each Lhem Lo compleLely enLrusL whaLever confronLs Lhem Lo Lhelr
foundaLlon and go forward bravely, regardless of wheLher Lhlngs seem Lo be golng well or noL.
lf by pracLlclng L'aegyo, you can help your chlld become aware of Lhls, Lhen he or she wlll
naLurally sense wheLher someLhlng ls good or noL, and wlll make poslLlve and consLrucLlve
cholces.

1hus, even Lhough your chlldren experlence some hardshlps, Lhey wlll noL make lL worse
Lhrough bad cholces. Lven lf Lhey suffer, by enLrusLlng everyLhlng Lo Lhelr foundaLlon Lhey wlll
dlssolve Lhe seeds of harmful karma and wlll sLrengLhen good afflnlLles. 1hen, noL only wlll Lhe
level of consclousness of your chlldren lmprove, Lhe overall splrlLual level of socleLy wlll also
lmprove, Lhe world LhaL your chlldren wlll llve ln wlll become beLLer and wlser. lf you can
convey Lhls wlsdom Lo your chlldren, how could Lhey noL llve good and happy llves?!
*1hls LexL ls a summary of uaehaeng Sunlm's Leachlngs abouL 1'aegyo, and was prepared by
Lhe Panmaum lnLernaLlonal CulLure lnsLlLuLe. lL appears ln pages 144-160 of 8ellglons of
korea ln racLlce, edlLed by 8oberL 8uswell !r., publlshed by rlnceLon unlverslLy ress,
copyrlghL 2007 and reproduced wlLh permlsslon.


LnLrusLl ng, and devoLl on
May 6, 2010 by Marcus
1oward Lhe greaL bodhlsaLLvas ln all dlrecLlons
Who pracLlce Lhe Way ouL of sympaLhy for all,
Cne should have reverence and respecL,
Saylng '1hese are my greaL Leachers'.
- 1he LoLus SuLra, ChapLer 14
LnLrusLlng and devoLlon. 1hank you Lo everyone who has broughL Lhls dlscusslon lnLo belng,
Lhese are quesLlons l've been sLruggllng wlLh for years, and whaL follows are my own
personal LhoughLs and LenLaLlve concluslons based on my own feellngs and pracLlce. l offer
Lhls noL as a replacemenL or supplemenL Lo Lhe wonderful arLlcles already submlLLed by
!oseph and Chong Co Sunlm, buL [usL as a personal accounL of whaL ls Lrue for me.
8uL l sLarL wlLh Zen MasLer uaehaeng, who gave me my uharma name and whose words l've
found Lo be lnvarlably wlse and relevanL. llrsL," she says (ln 'no 8lver Lo Cross'), slncerely
belleve ln your lnherenL naLure, !ulngong, and know LhaL lL ls Laklng care of everyLhlng.
Second, go forward wlLh courage. 1hlrd, experlmenL wlLh how !ulngong Lakes care of
everyLhlng, conLlnuously apply whaL you experlence, and never leL yourself be daunLed by
anyLhlng".
WhaL MasLer uaehaeng Sunlm does ls lnvlLe us Lo know, for ourselves, LhaL !ulngong,
8uddha-naLure, ls Laklng Lake of everyLhlng, LhaL everyLhlng arlses from lL and reLurns Lo lL.
So enLrusL everyLhlng, she wrlLes, enLrusL Lhe Lhlngs you undersLand and Lhe Lhlngs you
don'L undersLand, enLrusL happlness and enLrusL sufferlng, enLrusL poverLy and enLrusL
dlsease." 8uL leL go Lo whaL? LnLrusL Lo whaL? 1o empLlness, uaehaeng Sunlm says, Lo
empLlness.
LmpLlness, Cne Mlnd, 1rue Self, Lhe fundamenLal place. uaehaeng Sunlm calls lL '!ulngong'
buL she says you can call lL Amlda 8uddha, or Lhe maln 8uddha. ?ou can call lL Cod or my
love because lL ls Lhe fundamenLal place. Lhe Lrue self LhaL leads you, no maLLer whaL name
ls used." 1he experlence ls Lhe very same. 1he mosL pure and fundamenLal parL of you
respondlng Lo whaL ls mosL pure and fundamenLal. And Lhls call Lo Lhe fundamenLal place ls
unlversal.
lor me, Lhls ls Lhe empLlness LhaL manlfesLs as AvaloklLeshvara 8odhlsaLLva or Amlda
8uddha, or ln a church l may feel lL as Lhe ChrlsL. l am held ln Lhe warm arms of Lhe 8uddha,
wrapped ln Lhe lovlng cloak of Lhe 8odhlsLLva. 1hls ls noL poeLry, lL's Lrue. 1rue noL [usL
because lL's ln counLless SuLras, buL because l know lL. When l dle l wlll be meL by Amlda
8uddha and Lhe 8odhlsLLvas. ?eL Lhey are also here now, all l need do ls remember. And Lo
llve well, all l need do, and here's Lhe Lhlng, ls enLrusL.
erhaps LhaL whlch we enLrusL Lo may besL be descrlbed Lhrough rhyLhm, or arL, or sllence.
When asked for hlghesL wlsdom, Lhe anclenL masLers sald 'mu!' - 'noLhlng!'. 8uL empLlness
ls also form, so Lhen Lhey Lold Lhelr sLudenLs Lo chop wood, Lo carry waLer, Lo flnd LhaL
empLlness, LhaL eLernal ever changlng flow, LhaL fullness of love and awareness LhaL sunders
Lhe bonds of sufferlng, ln Lhelr every acLlvlLy, ln Lhelr work, ln Lhe very depLhs of Lhelr llves.
Where names are, for me aL leasL, lmporLanL. l'll happlly admlL Lo belng a beglnner. l've
Lrled, buL cannoL reach Lhe mosL dlfflculL phllosophlcal helghLs of Lhe uharma. l've been Lo
many 8uddhlsL dlscusslon groups where l've been losL aL Lhe complexlLy of lL all. And l'm
rubblsh aL medlLaLlon. 8uL l look around aL Lhe good people ln Lhe Lemples, ln 1halland and
korea, Lhe places l know besL, and see LhaL 8uddhlsL llfe ls Lhe precepLs, generoslLy,
chanLlng, and rellance upon Lhe 8uddha. 1haL ls enough. And dlfflculL enough.
So falLh ls vlLal Lo me. l remember many Llmes aL 8onguensa wlLh my uharma frlends
performlng prosLraLlons and chanLlng kwan Seum 8osal. 1he Lemple would be full of people,
Lhelr pracLlce clearly comlng from falLh. lL rubbed off on me and l flnd myself ofLen drawn Lo
Lhe 8oddhlsaLLva, wlLh devoLlon and graLlLude. Many Llmes a day l chanL Lhe 8odhlsaLLva's
name and feel her presence. l feel graLeful for Lhls and my pracLlce ls Lo enLrusL everyLhlng
Lo her. ?eL l also know LhaL she ls no dlfferenL Lo my fundamenLal 8uddha-naLure.
erhaps l'm ln Lhe wrong 8uddhlsL group for Lhls Lo flnd lLs full expresslon, buL l don'L Lhlnk
so. 8aLher, l Lhlnk Lhe Leachlngs of MasLer uaehaeng Sunlm glves a depLh Lo Lhls falLh LhaL
places lL where lL mosL belongs, rlghL ln my hearL. know LhaL you are connecLed Lo all,
belleve, enLrusL, observe. lor me, Lhere ls no conLradlcLlon beLween a devoLlonal pracLlce
Lowards Lhe 8uddhas and 8odhlsaLLvas (or whaLever flgure one ls drawn Lowards) and falLh
ln one's fundamenLal 8uddha-naLure. Pow could Lhere be?
8ecause mlnd has no form, Lens of Lhousands of dlfferenL shapes can come ouL from lL. 1hls
ls called Lhe Len bllllon LransformaLlon bodles of 8uddha. Why ls lL called Lhe Len bllllon
LransformaLlon bodles? lL's because 8uddha responds Lo you as you requesL: lf you wanL Lhe
mounLaln god, 8uddha manlfesLs as Lhe mounLaln god. lf you wanL AvaloklLesvara, 8uddha
manlfesLs as AvaloklLesvara. Llke Lhls, 8uddha manlfesLs ln varlous forms. lurLhermore,
8uddha responds noL only wlLh cerLaln shapes, buL also wlLh compasslon and warmLh."
- Seon MasLer uaehaeng Sunlm


LnLrusLl ng
May 3, 2010 by Chong Co Sunlm
Several people have asked me Lo Lalk more abouL enLrusLlng, and whaL uaehaeng
kun Sunlm means by lL. LeL me sLarL off by saylng LhaL enLrusLlng ls probably Lhe second-
mosL lmporLanL aspecL of all splrlLual pracLlce. 1here's so much LhaL revolves around Lhls
Loplc, so l'll [usL [ump ln, and lf you all have quesLlons unanswered, leL's conLlnue Lhe Loplc
ln Lhe commenLs secLlon.

WhaL ls enLrusLlng?
1he easy explanaLlon ls LhaL lL means LrusLlng your rooL.
lL's LrusLlng your lnherenL 8uddha-naLure, and Lurnlng over Lo lL everyLhlng LhaL arlses, along
wlLh Lhe Lhlngs you geL hung up on.

1o be even more accuraLe, you're reLurnlng Lhem back Lo Lhe place Lhey came from.
LveryLhlng arlses from Lhere, so LhaL's Lhe place Lhey need Lo be reLurned Lo. lf you wanL Lhe
answer Lo a problem, look for lL aL Lhe source of Lhe problem. lf a bee or fly comes lnLo your
room, Lhe only way for lL Lo geL back ouLslde ls Lhe way lL came ln. lf lL came ln Lhrough Lhe
doorway, and looks for Lhe soluLlon aL Lhe wlndow, lL wlll dle Lhere, hlLLlng Lhe wlndow agaln
and agaln. 1hls ls Lhe feellng l geL from looklng for soluLlons ln Lhe wrong places.

!usL off Lhe Lop of your head, how many examples can you Lhlnk of where Lhlngs are made
worse by searchlng for a soluLlon somewhere ouLslde Lhe problem? lf you have a
relaLlonshlp problem, ls looklng for Lhe answer ln Lhe arms of anoLher really golng Lo make
Lhlngs beLLer? lf you're sLressed or lonely or bored, ls Lhere really any long-Lerm rellef ln
repeaLedly looklng for comforL ln a boLLle, a plzza box, or Lhe lnLerneL? ulLlmaLely, lL arose
from Lhls foundaLlon, so LhaL's where we have Lo reLurn lL.

8ooL, loundaLlon, 8uddha-naLure, Cod, Lhe masLer wlLhln, Mlnd
Awakenlng ls Lo know your rooL.
lL's goL a loL of names, buL lL's LhaL whlch ls your source and desLlnaLlon, your susLenance
and supporL.
SomeLlmes l feel llke people (unconsclously) mlsundersLand awakenlng as a bllssed-ouL
feellng, or a clear(er) lnLellecLual undersLandlng of whaL's really golng on ln Lhe world. 1hls
ls probably Lhere, Lo be sure, buL Lhls lsn'L Lhe maln Lhlng.
?our rooL ls your source and your refuge. 1o paraphrase Lhe words of Lhe SlxLh aLrlarch,
Who would have guessed LhaL my foundaLlon was lnherenLly compleLe, endowed wlLh
every klnd of knowledge and ablllLy, and able Lo percelve everyLhlng and respond
approprlaLely Lhrough boLh Lhe splrlLual and maLerlal realms." 1hls rooL of ours ls Lhe
source of all energy, wlsdom, courage, compasslon, and ls conLlnuously Laklng care of
everyLhlng. lL seems LhaL only our cllnglng and lnslsLence on relylng upon me" and my"
LhoughLs and ldeas can hlnder lL.
uaehaeng kun Sunlm glves Lhe example of asslgnlng a Lask Lo someone: lf you glve
Lhem a [ob, and Lhen consLanLly bug Lhem abouL how lL's golng, Lhey'll Lhrow Lhe [ob back ln
your face. Pere, you do lL!" Cr, lf you keep calllng Lo Lhem and asklng how lL's golng, or
glve Lhem someLhlng new Lo do every few mlnuLes, how can Lhey seL abouL geLLlng Lhe Lask
done?

WhaL do we enLrusL?
We enLrusL everyLhlng, uncondlLlonally.
WhaL we know, along wlLh whaL we don'L know. WhaL we undersLand, and whaL we don'L
undersLand. 1hlngs LhaL go well, and Lhlngs LhaL are golng badly. We have Lo enLrusL boLh
sldes, oLherwlse we end up (Lrylng Lo) cllng Lo Lhose aspecLs LhaL represenL our flxed ldeas of
good and bad, pleasanL and unpleasanL.

8oy, aL 8eLurn Lo Lhe CenLer, asked how Lo dlscern enLrusLlng Lo my foundaLlon / 8uddha-
naLure from enLrusLlng Lo my ego-drlven sLoryllne? 1rusL me on Lhls - l have a very
convlnclng sLoryllne." 1hls ls a greaL quesLlon, and l Lhlnk Lhls uncondlLlonal enLrusLlng ls a
huge parL of Lhe answer. Somewhere ln leLLlng go of whaL l know and whaL l don'L know, l
Lranscend Lhls sLoryllne. lf (when!) l flnd myself caughL up ln Lhe sLoryllne, l leL go of LhaL
Loo.

8arry, from Cx Perdlng, Louched on Lhe problem of carelessly Lhlnklng Lhlngs wlll Lurn ouL
for Lhe besL." 1hlngs don'L always Lurn ouL as good as Lhey needed Lo be. A blg cause on Lhe
personal level, ls me noL enLrusLlng boLh sldes of Lhe slLuaLlon, or hoplng for one resulL over
anoLher. And someLlmes "besL" ls [usL a reflecLlon of my own flxed ldeas. 8uL our rooL can
sLlll flll ln Lhe gaps and help Lhlngs for Lhe besL ln our currenL clrcumsLances. Powever, Lhls ls
ofLen Lhe second-besL ouLcome. (Cr Lhlrd, or fourLh!^^)

Slmllarly, how do we know whaL we're feellng or senslng from wlLhln ls arlslng from our Lrue
naLure, versus our bad karma? 1hls one lsn'L easy. lor one Lhlng, we have Lo leL go of even
Lhe Lhlngs LhaL arlse from lnslde. 8oLh Lhe good and Lhe bllssful, and Lhe wlse. lf Lhey are
Lrue, Lhey'll reLurn when we need Lhem. AnoLher slgn ls Lhe Lone of Lhls lnner volce." ls lL
someLhlng LhaL vlolaLes Lhe precepLs? ls lL someLhlng harsh and cruel? SomeLhlng
argumenLaLlve or splLeful? 1hose are really sLrong lndlcaLlons LhaL whaL l'm senslng ls [usL a
karmlc echo. no need Lo feel bad abouL Lhem, [usL leL go of Lhem Loo, and don'L be decelved
by Lhem any longer.

WheLher we see lL or noL, wheLher we can feel lL or noL, our 8uddha-naLure ls Lhere Laklng
care of Lhlngs. ?ou don'L see Lhe rooL of a llvlng Lree, yeL lL's Lhere supporLlng and feedlng
Lhe Lree. So a loL of whaL enLrusLlng ls, ls slmply geLLlng ouL of Lhe way and leLLlng lL work.
Lven when l don'L know lL's Lhere, lL's sLlll Lhere, supporLlng me and susLalnlng me. Lvery
breaLh, every cycle of our blood, every exacLly produced hormone and enzyme ls a mlracle
of Lhe hlghesL order. A 100 bllllon llves are maglcally worklng LogeLher wlLhln [usL Lhls one
body.
LnLrusLlng ls a sLep off a hundred fooL bamboo pole. lL's sLepplng beyond my own flxed
ldeas. lL's dylng and Lravellng Lhrough LhaL gray land where Lhere's noLhlng Lo grasp onLo.
(erhaps LhaL's why l used Lo love skydlvlng!)
Powever, for eons we've mlsLaken l know," me," and mlne" for a supporL, for someLhlng
safe Lo sLand on.
?ou Lhlnk LhaL floor ls safer? lar more skydlvers dle ln plane crashes Lhan skydlvlng
accldenLs. ?ou're safer ouL of Lhe plane Lhan you are ln lL!

lL was Lruly sald LhaL when you leL go of everyLhlng you galn everyLhlng. When you've leL go
of all duallLles, you become a channel for all Lhe creaLlvlLy, love, and wlsdom ln Lhe
unlverse.
1here are so many aspecLs Lo enLrusLlng LhaL lL's hard for me Lo address Lhem all, and my
own pracLlce ls sLlll lncompleLe (by a loL!) so lf Lhere's someLhlng l haven'L addressed, leL's
go ahead and dlscuss lL ln Lhe commenLs secLlon.
wlLh palms LogeLher,
Chong Co

enLrusLl ng/Creen 1ara
May 3, 2010 by !oseph

l noLlced Lhls commenL by 8oy, from 8eLurn Lo Lhe CenLer,
lL would be very helpful Lo me Lo hear more abouL enLrusLlng. l reacL wlLh worry Lo Lhls
encouragemenL. l Lhlnk enLrusL myself Lo whaL? Pow do l know lf l am enLrusLlng myself Lo
my own deluslon?" and Lhlngs llke LhaL.
AcLually, l had a very slmllar feellng afLer readlng no 8lver Lo Cross. l asked Chong Co
Seunlm aL SaLurday Sangha one day how Lo know lf lL's Lruly lnLulLlon or your deslres LhaL
you are followlng. Pls answer was Lo ask deep wlLhln and llsLen Lo whaL your Lrue feellng
ls. usually we know lf we're dolng Lhe rlghL Lhlng or noL, we [usL don'L always llsLen Lo
ourselves.
My wlfe and l declded LhaL we would geL marrled only Lhree weeks afLer we flrsL meL. lL
sounds crazy even Lo us when we Lhlnk abouL lL now, buL aL Lhe Llme, we [usL knew. l'd never
had a relaLlonshlp LhaL l dldn'L drlve myself half crazy asklng lf lL was rlghL (because deep
down l knew LhaL lL wasn'L, l [usL dldn'L llsLen) buL when l meL my wlfe Lhere was never any
doubL. 1hree weeks lsn'L long, buL l looked as deep down as l could ln LhaL amounL of Llme
and dldn'L hear anyLhlng buL ?es!" lL's only been a couple of years, and l can'L preLend Lo
know whaL Lhe fuLure holds, buL [usL LrusLlng LhaL everyLhlng wlll be okay, even lf lL doesn'L
work ouL as planned, makes lL seem okay. lf Lhere's ever a Llme LhaL Lhlngs [usL can'L be
worked ouL, l LrusL LhaL l can flnd Lhe sLrengLh Lo pack up (wlLhln) and become a monk!! ^ ^
Also, l wonder wheLher or noL enLrusLlng yourself ls very separaLe from some devoLlonal
forms of 8uddhlsm. ersonally, l see Lhe AmlLas, Cwan Sae Lums, 1aras, or whlch ever you
prefer, as manlfesLaLlons or pro[ecLlons of expresslons LhaL are also wlLhln
yourself. PonesLly, lL's noL a Loplc LhaL l've glven a greaL deal of LhoughL Lo, my pracLlce ls
decldedly noL very devoLlonal, buL l'm sure Chong Co Seunlm or Marcus wlll be wllllng Lo
add someLhlng Lo LhaL (and lL doesn'L have Lo be ln accord!).
l am remlnded, Lhough, of Laklng a nlghL bus from kaLhmandu Lo Lumblnl. l usually Lravel
enLrusLlng LhaL noLhlng bad ls golng Lo happen Lo me, buL even Lhe locals kepL worrylng we
abouL Lhe rlsks of Lravellng on Lhe nlghL buses. Cne of Lhe shop keepers, from whom l'd
boughL a number of casLlngs, gave me a small Creen 1ara amuleL Lo hold on Lhe rlde. Pe
remlnded me of her manLra, sald Lo remove fear, and Lhen Lold me noL Lo worry, even Lhe
dayLlme buses Lend Lo geL hl[acked ln nepal.
A llLLle shorL of reassurlng, lL sLlll made me reallze Lhere was no polnL ln worrylng. Cn Lhe
bus, however, my nerves were shaky. l clenched Lhe Creen 1ara amuleL ln my lefL hand and
my mala ln my rlghL hand and repeaLed Lhe manLra unLll l losL counL of how many Llmes l'd
Lhumbed Lhrough Lhe 108 beads. l vlsuallzed 1ara above me, shlnnlng her llghL down. l
vlsuallzed Lhe green llghL hlLLlng my forehead, spreadlng ouL Lo Lhe oLhers slLLlng around me,
Lhe oLhers ln Lhe bus, and everyone else Lravellng on Lhe road LhaL nlghL.
AL one polnL, l opened my eyes Lo see Lhe enLlre bus baLhed ln green llghL. l noLlced a green
plasLlc cover over Lhe llghL aL Lhe fronL of Lhe bus. l had Lo glggle Lo myself as my mlnd Loyed
wlLh posslblllLles.
WhaL l reallzed laLer abouL Lhe manLra ls LhaL lL doesn'L necessarlly proLecL you from whaL
you fear buL more from Lhe feellng of fear lLself. lL mlghL be a sLreLch, buL maybe whaL lL's
dolng ls acLually glvlng you Lhe LrusL wlLhln yourself LhaL everyLhlng wlll be okay.

Lven a small, lgnored weed
ls also myself.
1here's noL a slngle Lhlng
LhaL lsn'L my shape,
LhaL's noL my llfe.
Lvolvlng over a bllllon llves,
l had no ldea
LhaL my shape was also Lhere wlLhln oLhers,
LhaL oLhers' shape was also my shape.
1haL shape ls also my shape,
LhaL shape ls my shape..
1rylng noL Lo see Lhem as separaLe,
Lrylng noL Lo see Lhem as separaLe,
flnally becomlng one,
flnally becomlng one,
Lhey all become 8odhlsaLLvas,
l Loo become a 8odhlsaLLva,
become a 8odhlsaLLva.

Always llowlng and Changlng
1hls world ls where Lhe 8uddha-dharma exlsLs,
and where enllghLenmenL ls found.
Searchlng for greaL wlsdom,
whlle lgnorlng whaL arlses ln Lhls world,
ls llke looklng for a rabblL wlLh horns.
1ake Lhe ldea
LhaL Lranscendlng Lhls world ls Lhe way,
or LhaL lnvolvemenL wlLh Lhe world ls a deluded paLh,
and sLomp boLh Lhese ldeas Lo pleces.
1hen Lhe greaL wlsdom of your lnherenL naLure
can freely flow forLh.
-uaehaeng kun Sunlm



an enLrusLl ng ml nd
LasL nlghL aL Lhe 1sukl[l Pongwangl !odo Shlnshu 1emple ln 1okyo, 8ev. ?oumyou kadono
spoke on Lhe Lheme of 1he mosL lmporLanL !odo Shlnshu Leachlng: an enLrusLlng mlnd".
And he Lold a sLory from hls own llfe many years ago, as a young parenL on a day Lrlp wlLh
hls daughLer Lo ulsneyland ln llorlda.
Pls chlld was really exclLed abouL seelng Mlckey and all hls pals, so much so LhaL as soon as
Mlckey appeared she ran off Lowards hlm and was soon losL ln Lhe crowd. 8ev. kadono ran
Lo caLch up, buL hls daughLer, aware LhaL she was now losL and separaLed from her parenLs,
had bursL lnLo Lears.
uon'L worry," 8ev. kadono sald, bendlng down Lo plck her up, l'm here, l've goL you. And lf
you geL losL agaln," he sald, [usL sLay where you are, sLay calm, l'll be rlghL Lhere, l'll flnd
you." Sure enough, laLer ln Lhe day she ran off agaln, and agaln goL losL. 1hls Llme Lhough,
when 8ev. kadono found hls chlld, she was perfecLly calm, slmply LrusLlng LhaL he'd soon be
Lhere.
1hls", 8ev.kandono sald, ls Lhe everyday beneflL of Lhe enLrusL mlnd, Lhe mlnd LhaL resLs ln
falLh" and lL remlnded me aL once of uaehaeng Sunlm's Leachlng on enLrusLlng. LnLrusL
everyLhlng Lo !ulngong: enLrusL Lhe Lhlngs you undersLand and Lhe Lhlngs you don'L
undersLand, enLrusL happlness and enLrusL sufferlng, enLrusL poverLy and enLrusL dlsease."
l know !apanese ure Land ls noL korean Zen, and some mlghL Lhlnk me mlsLaken for mlxlng
Lhe Lwo, buL Lhls ls how my paLh ls, and l can'L help buL be dellghLed by lL. AfLer all, as
uaehaeng Sunlm wrlLes [usL a few llnes laLer: uon'L Lry Lo Lake care of Lhlngs by relylng
upon Lheorles, suLras, clever words, or oLher people's ldeas. lnsLead, [usL leL go whlle
bellevlng LhaL only !ulngong can solve lL."
1he greaL savlng power of all 8uddhas
becomes Lhe savlng power of my one mlnd.
WlLh lL l can llve every day
free of enLanglemenLs.
So wonderful!
- A 1housand Pands of Compasslon























1he followlng comes from a uharma Lalk by uaehaeng kun Sunlm. AlLhough lL may be
LempLlng Lo Lhlnk LhaL she's speaklng ln meLaphors, she lsn'L. l'm remlnded of Lhe Llme she
gave me a flerce look and sald, lalways keep my promlses!"
LeL me Lalk abouL one more Lhlng before we end Loday's Lalk: Some of you are worrled
abouL whaL happens afLer l pass away, LhaL l won'L be here Lo gulde you. 8lghL? Powever,
because you are pracLlclng and learnlng Lo rely upon your fundamenLal mlnd, l wlll always be
wlLh you, [usL as lf l was allve. no., noL as lf." l wlll be Lhere, allve. Lven now, l ofLen leave
Lhls body behlnd Lo go Lake care of Lhlngs. So lf l need Lhls" shape Lo help save people, l go
use Lhls shape. When l need LhaL" shape Lo help save people, l use LhaL shape. lf Lhe shape
of an old monk ls needed, LhaL's shape l Lake. lf a beggar ls needed, Lhen l go become a
beggar. lf a bug ls necessary, l become a bug. Could you call any of Lhese shapes me?
no. l" don'L exlsL. noL even a llLLle blL. noL even now. lf you all work hard and deepen
your pracLlce, whaL ls Lhere LhaL you couldn'L do?! So Lhere's noLhlng for you Lo worry
abouL!
- uaehaeng kun Sunlm, Aprll 2, 2000




















8efuge
CcLober 27, 2011 by Marcus
ln Seoul l used Lo aLLend SaLurday Sangha wlLh Chong Co Sunlm and some of Lhe good
people you can see on Lhe sldebar here. ln 8angkok my Sangha was Lhe Seon Club and Lhe
whole LlLLlebang group. Pere ln 1okyo, l'm worklng so hard l've hardly even had Lhe chance
Lo look for a splrlLual communlLy.
?eL aL Lhe same Llme Lhe whole communlLy ls already here wlLh me. My uharma broLhers all
blog, uharma frlends emall and say hl, even posLcards are exchanged (Lhank you agaln 8oy!).
l llve wlLh my wonderful wlfe, Lruly Lhe mosL paLlenL uharma Leacher you could lmaglne, and
l have Lhe whole of Lhe lnLerneL!
1onlghL on my walk home from work l was llsLenlng Lo a podcasL from Lhe wonderful 1ara
8rach, a Lalk called "1aklng 8efuge" from !anuary 2010. Cne blL, [usL as l was approachlng
my door, really caughL my aLLenLlon and l LhoughL l'd share lL here. WhaL l love ls Lhe way
she brlngs LogeLher boLh Lhe ouLer and lnner dlmenslons of refuge.
1he ouLer refuge, Lhe way we Lake refuge ln Lhe 8uddha ln an ouLer way, ls - we brlng Lo
mlnd any belng LhaL expresses Lo us Lhe enllghLened hearL-mlnd. lL could be Lhe 8uddha, or
!esus, or Lhe 8odhlsaLLva of Compasslon, kuan ?ln, or any belng, llvlng or myLhlc, any
splrlLual flgure LhaL ln some way represenLs LhaL Lo us. And Lhe way LhaL we Lhen Lake refuge
ls Lo lmaglne LhaL belng's love and LhaL belng's awareness. And Lhen leL ourselves sense how
LhaL llves Lhrough us.
1he reallLy ls LhaL ln many of our momenLs we llve ln Lhls Lrance of a small and llmlLed self.
Many of our momenLs Lhe ldea of an awakened belng ls ouLslde of us, down Lhe road,
someLhlng exoLlc, so when we Lalk abouL Laklng refuge ln 8uddha-naLure lL seems absLracL.
And yeL Lhls refuge ls so powerful, so llberaLlng. lf you lmaglne for a momenL how your llfe
would change every day, many Llmes a day, ln some way you gllmmer LhaL Lhls radlanL
awareness really ls your very essence. 1haL ln a way Lhls whole splLlLual paLh ls undolng
LhaL Lrance. lL's sLopplng pedalllng away. When we sLop pedalllng away we come home Lo an
amazlng amounL of space and allveness and awareness.
1he full Lalk and many more, as well as gulded medlLaLlons, can be found on her
webslLe hLLp://Larabrach.com/. So really, wlLh all Lhese resources, how can l ever forgeL LhaL
l'm always ln Lhe mldsL of Sangha? Pow can l forgeL, as uaehaeng Sunlm says, LhaL
wlLhln myself l always have a uharma hall, whlch ls always fllled wlLh llghL and where
8uddha ls always presenL."
All we need now ls for Chong Co Sunlm Lo grab a mlcrophone and masLer Lhe arL of
podcasLlng Loo!

Chl l dren's uharma 1al k
SepLember 22, 2011 by Chong Co Sunlm
l really have Lo geL wlLh posLlng agaln! Slgh. 1hlngs have been busy here wlLh geLLlng a
manuscrlpL ready for Wlsdom ubllcaLlons, and now Lhe Lhe lrankfurL 8ookfalr. lL also looks
llke Lhere wlll be a 8usslan edlLlon of no 8lver Lo Cross" comlng ouL before Lhe end of Lhe
year.

Pere's a uharma Lalk LhaL uaehaeng kun Sunlm gave Lo ouL cenLer's chlldrens group.
Chlldren's uharma 1alk
l can'L Lell you how moved l am Lo see so many of you gaLhered LogeLher here Loday. Seelng
you here Loday warms my hearL. l was [usL llke you when l was llLLle. eople may call you
chlldren, buL you're dolng someLhlng very deep and slgnlflcanL when you gaLher here ln
fronL of Lhe 8uddha and learn abouL splrlLual pracLlce.
?ou're pracLlclng, so you probably already heard LhaL Lhe mlnds of all llfe are connecLed as
one. SLars have an essence LhaL ls also wlLhln us, so all of you are sLars! ?ou, sLars, and Lhls
fundamenLal mlnd all respond Lo each oLher. 1hls all happens wlLhouL any wlres or slgnals
you can grab onLo. When you eaL someLhlng, and say 1hank you, !ulngong (8uddha-
naLure)" your moLher and faLher, 8uddha, and sunlms are all Lhere lnslde of !ulngong. When
you Lake Lhe Lhlngs LhaL come up ln your llfe, and gaLher Lhem all LogeLher aL LhaL one place,
(!ulngong), you can geL a sense of Lhls fundamenLal essence and can evolve your mlnd. uo
Lhls and brlng forLh Lhls greaL power LhaL's wlLhln you.
keep pracLlclng llke Lhls and become wonderful people. 8ecome greaL belngs who
are able Lo brlng peace Lo your famlly, who can gulde your counLry, Lhe world, and even Lhe
unlverse. 1hls ls all posslble for you, accordlng Lo how you pracLlce. Ckay?









1hls uharma Lalk was glven by uaehaeng kun Sunlm durlng a recepLs ceremony for
chlldren.

lor pracLlLloners, Lhere's no such Lhlng as a new year,
yeL from Llme Lo Llme,
lL's worLhwhlle Lo reflecL upon how
we can meeL Lhe demands of Lhe world Lhls body llves ln
and Lo Lhlnk abouL how we can go forward wlLh wlsdom and generoslLy.

1he blrLh of Lhls body ls noL our blrLh.
Cur blrLh sLarLs wlLh Lhls fundamenLal mlnd,
whlch has exlsLed before our flesh.
WheLher someLhlng arlses from oLhers,
or arlses from wlLhln,
knowlng LhaL lL ls all belng done by Lhls 8uddha-essence
ls Lhe foundaLlon of splrlLual pracLlce.

lf you use your body wlLh a llLLle care and concern
you won'L end up rulnlng Lhls Lemporary house of yours.
Llkewlse, lf we make [usL a small change ln how we use our mlnds,
we can cure even Lhe LarLh.
1hen, even when you Lhlnk you're dolng someLhlng for yourself,
lL acLually ends up beneflLlng oLhers.
Lveryone and every Lhlng are all worklng LogeLher,
so lf you can help people llve accordlngly,
you'll brlng harmony, laughLer, and love Lo your enLlre famlly.

8e slncere!
lf you're slncere, sLeadfasL, and genulne,
Lhere's no reason for our llfe Lo be overly dlfflculL.
8e wlse, peaceful, and poslLlve ln your Lhlnklng.
1hls llfe lasLs for only a season,
don'L be sLupld ln how you spend lL.


lf you would Lruly learn Lhe Leachlngs of Lhe 8uddha,
empLy yourself whlle remalnlng uprlghL,
remaln uprlghL whlle empLylng yourself,
and harmonlously gaLher everyLhlng LogeLher ln one place.
1hls ls our Lrue paLh.
- uaehaeng kun Sunlm








Pere's a very nlce uharma Lalk by uaehaeng kun Sunlm.
l had Lo smlle as l reread Lhls, because lL really reflecLs her dlrecL sLyle and emphasls on each
of us awakenlng Lo Lhls brlghL essence LhaL we each have.
8egardless of wheLher you are a layperson or a monasLlc,
everyone has Lo pracLlce
relylng upon Lhelr fundamenLal mlnd.
lor each person has Lhls one, Lrue Lhlng wlLhln Lhem.
lf you Lhlnk LhaL Lhe besL Lhlng ln Lhe world
would be Lo Lruly know
Lhls lnherenL foundaLlon of yours,
Lhls foundaLlon LhaL ls leadlng Lhe you of Lhe maLerlal realm,
Lhen you wlll succeed ln grasplng Lhe LruLh.
?ou have Lo pracLlce
such LhaL Lhe vlslble realm
and Lhe unseen realm
always funcLlon LogeLher.
lf you would have your body and mlnd
always funcLlon as one,
Lhen enLrusL everyLhlng Lo your Lrue self,
Lhe masLer wlLhln LhaL formed you.
lf you llve llke Lhls,
you'll be one wlLh everyLhlng
and know whaL peace ls,
so enLrusL everyLhlng Lhere.
1hls physlcal body ls a servanL of our unseen self.
lL [usL runs errands.
So lL doesn'L really maLLer
wheLher you're consldered someone lmporLanL or noL.
When you're frusLraLed or sufferlng,
remember,
Ckay Lrue self,
you're Lhe one LhaL can Lake care of Lhls,"
and keep enLrusLlng.
Cnly when you do Lhls wlLh everyLhlng ln your llfe,
can you make some progress ln your pracLlce
1he personallLy LralLs LhaL harm and hlnder you
are sLlll qulLe promlnenL,
so leL go of Lhose Lhlngs,
over and over agaln.
8emlnd yourself,
1hls lnner masLer ls leadlng me,
only Lhls can show me Lhe way,"
and enLrusL everyLhlng Lo lL.
lf you go forward llke Lhls
whlle vlewlng Lhlngs poslLlvely,
reflnlng vlrLue, and dolng good acLlons,
Lhen your wlsdom wlll become abundanL,
and your llfe wlll be well spenL.
So really glve Lhls a Lry.
pppppp -uaehaeng kun Sunlm

auLhorl Ly and Lransml ssl on
AugusL 23, 2010 by Chong Co Sunlm
eople famlllar wlLh 8uddhlsm ln Lhe WesL, parLlcularly Zen, have ofLen heard of uharma
Lransmlsslon.
ln some schools Lhls ls a cerLlflcaLe and a formal ceremony sLaLlng LhaL you're now Lhe
uharma helr of so-and-so. lL's descrlbed as a mlnd-Lo-mlnd Lransmlsslon LhaL has conLlnued
unlnLerrupLed from Sakyamunl 8uddha hlmself, and only someone who has recelved Lhls ls
an auLhenLlc lnherlLor of Lhe uharma.
Powever, korean 8uddhlsm has a raLher dlfferenL perspecLlve on Lhls.
ln LradlLlonal korean 8uddhlsm, Lhere are no cerLlflcaLes of Lransmlsslon. AfLer Len or LwenLy
years, a general consensus would arlse LhaL someone was Lhe uharma successor of Lhelr
Leacher. 1helr auLhorlLy was derlved from Lhelr ablllLy, noL a plece of paper.
Llkewlse, people dldn'L really buy lnLo Lhe ldea of an unbroken llneage. 1here could be
perlods where Lhere were a number of greaL Leachers, where Lhere was only one, and even
generaLlons where Lhere was no parLlcularly ouLsLandlng Leachers. 1he Supreme aLrlarch of
korean 8uddhlsm, Panam Sunlm (1876-1931), explalned why Lhls wasn'L a problem:
lL doesn'L maLLer wheLher or noL you knew Lhe prevlous klng. lf you slL on Lhe Lhrone, you're
now klng.
1haL ls, lf you awaken Lo Lhe lnherenL 8uddha-essence wlLhln you, you are Lhe successor of
Sakyamunl.
We each Lhls very same mlnd as Sakyamunl, lnherenL wlLhln us aL every momenL and every
place. Cur [ob Lhen, ls Lo learn Lo rely on Lhls, even Lhough lL's lndlsLlncL aL flrsL. lf we can
dlllgenLly do Lhls, we wlll have Lhe klnds of experlences LhaL wlll conflrm we are golng ln Lhe
rlghL dlrecLlon, and whlch wlll reveal our dlrecLlon.
ConLlnuously leLLlng go and enLrusLlng everyLhlng Lo Lhls 8uddha-mlnd ls Lhe paLh forward
as well as a greaL uharma proLecLlng warrlor, because ln reLurnlng everyLhlng we
experlence, lncludlng whaL we know and whaL we don'L know, we keep leLLlng go of l" and
me", and are noL caughL by Lhe experlences LhaL could serve as Loeholds for prlde, greed,
and fear.






1houghLs, acLl ons, and dl ssol vl ng karma
!uly 17, 2010 by Chong Co Sunlm
AL Lhe 8uddhlsL Lngllsh Llbrary of Seoul, we've been golng over no 8lver Lo Cross, by
Seon MasLer uaehaeng. ChapLer 2 has a nlce secLlon abouL cause and effecL, and how our
mlnd funcLlons.
Mlnd ls LllLed Lowards Lhe Lhlngs LhaL arlse ofLen. So, lf you do noL manage your LhoughLs
well, Lhey wlll grow and evenLually become acLlons.
Any LhoughL once ralsed, ls perfecLly recorded. ?ou mlghL Lhlnk LhaL a LhoughL ls flnlshed
because you're no longer aware of lL, buL LhaL LhoughL dld noL dlsappear: lL ls perfecLly
recorded lnslde your mlnd. 1haL LhoughL ls sLored ln your subconsclousness and causes a
slmllar LhoughL Lo arlse nexL Llme. lurLher, Lhe second LhoughL ls sLronger Lhan Lhe flrsL
LhoughL.
lor example, lf Lhe flrsL LhoughL was bad, Lhen Lhe second LhoughL ls ofLen a llLLle worse. ln
Lhls way, Lhe LhoughL keeps repeaLlng Llme afLer Llme, and grows sLronger and
sLronger. (page 17)
So, how do we manage LhoughLs? lor one Lhlng, we acLually have a huge amounL of cholce
ln whaL we do once LhoughLs have arlsen. lL's up Lo us lf we wanL Lo conLlnue Lo follow a
LhoughL, or Lo cease feedlng lL energy. 8uL on a more fundamenLal level Lhose can be
dlssolved, Lhus also dlssolvlng Lhe poLenLlal effecLs LhaL would have resulLed, had Lhose
LhoughLs conLlnued unchecked.
lf you record over a Lape recordlng, Lhe prevlous recordlng ls erased and Lhe new maLerlal ls
recorded. So lL's beLLer Lo record good karma raLher Lhan bad karma. Powever, lnsLead of
[usL recordlng good karma, lL's even beLLer Lo compleLely erase all of Lhe recordlngs. 1he
way Lo do Lhls ls by enLrusLlng everyLhlng LhaL confronLs you, boLh good and bad, Lo your
fundamenLal naLure. lL's llke cleanlng a mlrror. Lven Lhough Lhe mlrror has been covered by
dusL for a long Llme, once you wlpe lL off, lL lmmedlaLely becomes clean. (p 18)
We ofLen naLurally Lhlnk LhaL lf we can undersLand Lhe cause of someLhlng, we can conLrol
and cure lL. 8uL wlLh karma, uaehaeng kun Sunlm explalns LhaL Lhls ls a fuLlle exerclse.
karma ls a Langle of uncounLable causes and effecLs. Some people Lry Lo use Lhelr lnLellecL Lo
unravel Lhelr karma, buL Lhls ls llke Lrylng Lo melL a frozen lake by pourlng one buckeL of hoL
waLer onLo Lhe lce. lL seems Lo melL a llLLle, buL before long Lhe waLer freezes, and you have
only added more lce.
We're sLuck lnslde Lhls barrel of l," and because whaL we do ls conLamlnaLed wlLh Lhls smell
of l," our efforLs [usL makes Lhlngs worse. 1he only way ouL of Lhls mess ls Lo compleLely
[ump over l."
So don'L geL caughL up ln worldly Lhlngs, [usL release Lhem all Lo your fundamenLal mlnd,
your 8uddha-naLure, and leL Lhem melL down auLomaLlcally. When sprlng comes, Lhe frozen
lake wlll melL naLurally and compleLely. 8eLurnlng Lo your fundamenLal mlnd ls llke a warm
sprlng comlng afLer a cold wlnLer. (p 18-19)
































Medlclne from Mlnd
AlLernaLlve Medlclne presenLed here ls based on 8uddhlsL Leachlngs on mlnd, and, as
everybody have mlnd, lL can be used by anyone, regardless of rellglon. lL ls your body and
mlnd LhaL you have Lo deal wlLh. And Lhe medlclne and cure exlsLs wlLhln Lhe depLh of your
own mlnd.
Lven Lhough medlcal sclence has developed so much, baslcally, lL lsn'L able Lo solve much
more Lhan 30 of Lhe problems. Lven aL lLs besL lL cannoL solve more Lhan 30, because lL
deals only wlLh Lhe vlslble, maLerlal aspecL of Lhe world. 1herefore, ln order Lo flll ln Lhe
remalnlng half, we have Lo develop our ablllLy Lo use Lhe prlnclple of mlnd.
1he Lemporary soluLlon can be broughL by convenLlonal medlcaLlons, herbal medlclnes, buL
Lhe very cure lles wlLhln your own mlnd, ln lLs foundaLlon. lL ls lmporLanL Lo go Lo docLor ln
emergency, and seek medlcal aLLenLlon when you are slck, buL flrsL you need Lo LreaL
yourself by reLurnlng lnward Lo Lhe depLh of your mlnd.
Lven lf docLors sald LhaL someLhlng ls lncurable, Lhey sLaLed only Lhe knowledge of Lhe
maLerlal world. ?our own mlnd ls cabable of curlng you, you [usL have Lo know how Lo
access Lhe heallng power of mlnd, whlch ls already presenL wlLhln you, llke a seed, and when
you creaLe condlLlons for Lhe seed, lL wlll deflnleLly sprouL. Llke Lhls, Lhe lnner core of your
mlnd ls Lhe source of your belng, Lhe ablllLy Lo cure dlsease, lllness, problem ls already
presenL, buL Lo access Lhls ablllLy you have Lo open Lhe door lnward.
lrom my personal experlence medlclne from mlnd ls Lhe besL, and based on LhaL
l offer counselllng servlces, especlally for cancer paLlenLs as lL has been Lhe area of my
research. lnlLlal conLacL ls by e-mall. lnlLlal consulLaLlon ls free. 1he fee for furLher
consulLaLlons ls accepLed ln Lhe form of a donaLlon.
Counselllng focuses on Lhe sLeps how you can help youself, how you can geL yourself ouL of
desperaLe slLuaLlon uslng Lhe resoures of your own mlnd.
1he meLhods presenLed here are Lhe Leachlngs of korean Zen MasLer uaehaeng. lf you wlsh
Lo learn more abouL Lhe Leachlngs, you can vlslL Lhe webslLe of Lhe maln zen cenLre ln
korea: hLLp://www.hanmaum.org/ 1he llnk Lo Lngllsh pages ls aL Lhe Lop rlghL corner. 1here
are branches ln 1oronLo, new ?ork, WashlngLon, Los Angeles, Chlcago, SouLh Amerlca and
Cermany.
My councelllng ls noL assoclaLed wlLh Lhese zen cenLres, however lL ls based on Lhelr
Leachlngs. l have respecL Lo all falLhs and see common ground ln all of Lhem. 1he focus of my
councelllng ls noL rellglon, buL Lhe cure for a dlsease.

My councelllng ls noL assoclaLed wlLh Lhese zen cenLres, however lL ls based on Lhelr
Leachlngs. l have respecL Lo all falLhs and see common ground ln all of Lhem. 1he focus of my
councelllng ls noL rellglon, buL Lhe cure for a dlsease.
lllness and ulsease
Lven lf lL ls your body, lL ls noL yours. lL ls a communlLy. lL ls a communlLy of all Lhe
mlcroorganlsms and cells LhaL share Lhe llfe. lrom Lhe surface, lL appears as one enLlLy, buL
ln reallLy lL ls a land of lnnumerable belngs. 1herefore my body ls noL mlne buL a communlLy
of all Lhese llvlng organlsms.
When Lhe llvlng belngs ln your body are slck, Lhen you are slck, and when Lhey dle, you also
dle. 1he numerous llvlng belngs LhaL make up your body are llke your superlors - Lhey glve
orders and you depend upon Lhem. 1here ls a saylng LhaL you should look for wlsdom from
above and save Lhose belngs wlLhln.
lL ls lmporLanL Lo recelve medlcal aLLenLlon when you are slck, buL flrsL you need Lo LreaL
yourself by reLurnlng Lo your orlgln, LhaL ls, by bellevlng and leLLlng go of everyLhlng Lo your
foundaLlon, Lhe lnner core of your mlnd -!ulnCong*. !ulnCong knows Lhe cause of Lhe lllness
and Lhe cure for lL. When you have unwaverlng falLh and flrm bellef, Lhe energy from Lhe
source can connecL wlLh your enLlre body. 1hls ls Lhe acLlon of Lhe Medlclne 8uddha.
When you are slck and see Lhe lllness as separaLe from you, Lhen lL wlll harm you, buL lL
cannoL harm you lf you flrmly belleve LhaL Lhe foundaLlon of Lhe slckness ls noL dlfferenL
from your foundaLlon. 1hls ls also Lhe work of !ulnCong, Lherefore belleve ln !ulnCong (your
foundaLlon) and enLrusL everyLhlng Lo lL. uo noL neglecL Lhls useful helper of yours. 1he cure
lles ln bellevlng ln your orlgln, Lhe !ulnCong.
lf you slncerely belleve ln your foundaLlon, Lhe source wlLhln you, !ulnCong, Lhen you don'L
need Lo ask !ulnCong Lo help you do someLhlng, or make Lhlngs go well. !ulnCong knows
abouL Lhe Lhlngs LhaL go well or poorly even beLLer Lhan you do, so you shouldn'L say:
"lease, help me". lnsLead, [usL say: "Cnly !ulnCong can do lL." 1hls ls noL done wlLh words,
buL wlLh Lhe meanlng, lL ls ralslng Cne 1houghL Lhrough mlnd. Pell also arlses from your
mlnd. 1hus, lf you have a dlsease, and you flrmly reLurn lL, saylng, " Cnly my !ulnCong can
cure Lhls dlsease", Lhen Lhe energy from your foundaLlon wlll connecL wlLh every cell of your
body.
lf you say: "8ecause lL came ouL from LhaL place, l'll reLurn lL Lo LhaL place", Lhen Lhe llves of
all cells, whlch gaLher LogeLher because of cause and effecL, wlll move LhroughouL Lhe body
confldenLly and flrmly, and wlll provlde everyLhlng LhaL ls needed. 1hus Lhe dlsease wlll
dlsappear. Powever, lf you don'L belleve ln !ulnCong, Lhen even lf someLhlng ls wrong, Lhose
llves cannoL funcLlon properly. 1hls ls llke when a shlp ls ln danger - lf Lhe crew does noL
know LhaL Lhere ls an able capLaln, Lhey wlll be full of confuslon, runnlng Lhls way and LhaL
way.
When your body ls slck, lf you say: "!ulngong! lease, cure me", Lhen Lhls ls Lhe same as
praylng. ln Lhls case, Lhe one who prays and Lhe one who recelves Lhe prayer are exlsLlng
separaLely. 1hus, lL ls sald LhaL you should waLch and ralse mlnd, saylng "!ulngong! 8ecause
you do all Lhlngs, Lake care of how Lhls should happen". 1hls ls dlfferenL from praylng. 1hls ls
llke you Lalklng Lo yourself wlLh wordless words, wlLh Lhe hearL LhaL ls heavy and slncere
beyond descrlpLlon, and ls beyond descrlpLlon, and ls beyond Lhe mlnd of sellshness and
egoLlsLlc LhoughLs. ?ou speak from Lhe mlnd LhaL reflecLs Lhlngs llke a mlrror reflecLs ob[ecLs.
1he medlclne from mlnd ls Lhe besL. lf any parL of Lhe lnLernal organs goes on sLrlke, Lhen a
dlsease wlll occur. lf you say from Lhe boLLom of your hearL "1hlngs LhaL arlse from LhaL
place (your foundaLlon) have Lo be Laken care of Lhere", Lhen lL wlll be cured. When you do
Lhls, Lhe dlsease may be cured aL once, buL someLlmes lL lasLs a whlle longer. 1hls ls llke
!ulnCong asslgnlng you homework ln order Lo make you pracLlce. 1herefore, even Lhough
you feel a llLLle beLLer, you should noL become complacenL.
___________________________________________________
* !ulnCong - ln korean !uln means owner and Cong means empLlness








loundaLlon of Mlnd
All of Lhe phenomenal world ls consLanLly roLaLlng and lL ls never flxed even for a momenL.
no llvlng belngs are flxed. 8ecause Lhe phenomenal world ls conLlnuously belng born and
dylng, momenL afLer momenL, so we cannoL say someLhlng ls flxed ln Lhls way or LhaL way.
8uL we cannoL say LhaL lL does noL exlsL elLher. noLhlng ls flxed, buL Lhere ls Lhe prlnclple of
ceaseless change and lnherenL ln Lhose changes lle observable quallLles. 1o descrlbe Lhls, Lhe
8uddha used Lhe word "gong" (SanskrlL sunyaLa: empLlness).
!ulnCong ls Lhe fundamenLal place of ceaseless changlng shapes. 8uL lL ls noL an ob[ecL or a
Lhlng LhaL you can say exlsLs. 1herefore you can say LhaL lL ls Lhe owner(!uln), whlle aL Lhe
same Llme lL can be descrlbed as a place of empLlness (Cong). lL ls a place LhaL cannoL be
explalned ln relaLlve Lerms, such as or noL . 1o descrlbe lL ln only words, !ulnCong ls never
born, never dles, lL ls Lhe eLernal self, lL cannoL be seen wlLh Lhe eyes, nor can lL be grasped
wlLh any LhoughL.
!ulnCong ls my foundaLlon. lL ls Lhe foundaLlon of myself, and slmulLaneously, lL ls
connecLed Lo Lhe foundaLlon of all llvlng belngs.
!ulnCong has formed me and also lL ls guldlng me. !ulnCong ls unseen buL lL makes me
speak, move, and Lhlnk. lL ls Lhe owner of everyLhlng LhaL l do, Lhus only my !ulnCong can
lead and gulde me correcLly, and provlde Lhe necessary ablllLy. WhaL l currenLly percelve Lo
be "me" ls a false "l", and noL my Lrue self.
!ulnCong ls connecLed Lo all llvlng belngs Lhrough Lhelr foundaLlon. Llke a waLermelon seed
conLlnuously Lransformlng lLself year afLer year, lL freely Lransforms lLself. !ulnCong ls noL
llmlLed by Llme and space. !ulnCong ls always Lhe owner, owner of all llvlng belngs.
!ulnCong ls free because lL ls connecLed Lo and runs Lhrough all llvlng belngs. lL does noL
depend on Llme and space because lL ls beyond Llme and space, llfe and deaLh, so lL ls free.
8ecause lL ls free, !ulnCong does noL have any frlcLlon wlLh anyLhlng ln Lhe non-maLerlal
world or ln Lhe maLerlal world.
1he word "!ulnCong" encompasses all llvlng belngs. lL does noL have a flxed form buL wlLhln
lL Lhere are Lhe prlnclples LhaL gulde Lhls boundless world along wlLh all Lhe ablllLy and
power of Lhe maLerlal and splrlLual world.
When we geL rld of Lhe noLlon of Lhls false self and belleve flrmly LhaL !ulnCong ls our Lrue
reallLy, Lhen we can be one wlLh Lhe unresLrlcLed and free powers and ablllLles of !ulnCong.
ComforLably slLLlng ln one place, we can be Lhe masLer of Lhe unlverse.

uesplLe havlng llmlLless Lreasures, people are full of worrles. 1hls ls sllly. lL ls llke a bllllonalre
worrylng abouL a meal.
8ellef
Lveryone has Lhe lnherenL ablllLy Lo learn Lhelr own mlnd and overcome all Lhe Lhlngs LhaL
confronL us. 8ecause we don'L use our mlnd wlsely, we are usually unable Lo Lap lnLo Lhe
Lremendous resources wlLhln us.
Cur Crlglnal Self has unllmlLed power and ablllLles. We musL belleve LhaL we are orlglnally
wlLhouL any deflclencles.
lf you do noL belleve ln yourself, Lhen you cannoL unlock Lhe sLoreroom LhaL ls fllled wlLh
llmlLless Lreasures. Abandon Lhe LhoughL LhaL you are smarL or LhaL you are unlnLelllgenL,
and belleve ln your 1rue Self. 1he 1rue Self can do Lhe Lhlngs LhaL you cannoL do. So never
say LhaL you are [usL an unenllghLened person.
Llke a loyal servanL havlng falLh ln hls masLer, llke a chlld uncondlLlonally followlng hls or her
moLher, you musL belleve ln !ulnCong, your lnherenL foundaLlon, whlch ls equlpped wlLh Lhe
power and ablllLy Lo make anyLhlng happen.
LveryLhlng comes from your foundaLlon and noL bellevlng Lhls ls called lgnorance.
?ou have Lo belleve slncerely and earnesLly LhaL only !ulnCong can solve all of your
problems.
Many people, wlLhouL even reallzlng lL, belleve ln only Lhe words of oLhers, and ln ouLslde
forms, names and powers. eople Lend Lo place bellef ouLslde of Lhemselves, Lherefore Lhelr
!ulnCong, Lhe foundaLlon LhaL made Lhem, becomes [usL a specLaLor.
WlLhouL falLh you cannoL aLLaln freedom ln acLlon.

lL ls llke never Lurnlng on Lhe llghL swlLch even Lhough all of Lhe wlrlng and bulbs are already
Lhere. 1he llghL wlll noL come on.
8elleve uncondlLlonally, never sLep back from Lhls bellef. ?ou can make Lhe energy and
power of !ulnCong your reallLy when you belleve ln lL sLrongly enough LhaL, even lf Lhe sky
were Lo collapse, you would noL sLep back.
Sufferlng and aln
8uddha sald LhaL llfe ls an ocean of sufferlng. 8uL Lhls sufferlng ls a gulde LhaL leads you Lo
Lhe correcL paLh and Lo pracLlce momenL afLer momenL. lL ls a whlp LhaL helps you Lo
achleve a free sLaLe of orlglnal belng.
lL ls Lhrough sufferlng LhaL we grow and maLure. When sufferlng creaLes frlcLlon ln our llves,
we are Lhen glven a good opporLunlLy Lo pracLlce. We should Lake even LhaL Lhankfully.
When mosL people are faced wlLh problems or sufferlng, Lhey only Lhlnk abouL lmmedlaLe
rellef from LhaL sufferlng, buL Lhey never look for lLs Lrue cause. Lven when one problem ls
resolved, anoLher soon follows. WlLhouL knowlng and solvlng Lhe real cause behlnd Lhls,
people have no way of avoldlng Lhe nexL. 1he LhoughL of ls Lhe manufacLurer of all Lhls
sufferlng.
All [oy and paln, slckness, poverLy, fame, eLc. are whaL you have produced and whaL you
have been collecLlng. We do noL know lLs Lrue cause so lL feels llke lL comes from Lhe
ouLslde. ln reallLy, lL ls a dlrecL resulL of your acLlons and LhoughLs LhroughouL many aeons
of your evoluLlon. 1o puL lL anoLher way, lL ls llke daLa sLored on a glanL compuLer.
All of Lhe karma LhaL comes ouL durlng one llfeLlme ls beyond your lmaglnaLlon. Accordlng Lo
dlfferenL slLuaLlons and Llmes, Lhe karma ls released and appears ln our llves. Many people
seem Lo never geL free of Lhls, and [usL llve llke slaves.
1he problems and paln LhaL you are experlenclng now are also belng done by !ulnCong, Lhus
leave everyLhlng Lo !ulnCong. Leavlng lL Lo !ulnCong ls llke leLLlng go, llke re-lnpuLLlng lnLo
Lhe compuLer, or re-recordlng over an old casseLLe. 1he old karma ls Lhus erased.
1here ls no desLlny or seL fuLure. Lven lf lL ls seL or flxed, lf you leL lL go back Lo !ulnCong
wlLh flrm falLh, Lhen lL auLomaLlcally changes.
We should always Lhlnk of any unpleasanL envlronmenL, slckness or problem as Lhe varlous
faces of !ulnCong, whlch ls Lrylng Lo help us evolve and develop. lL ls llke uslng a chlsel Lo cuL
Lhe sLone, all problems are helplng you Lo develop your wlsdom and become a free person.

Sufferlng and paln are a good opporLunlLy for you Lo evolve lnLo a more maLure sLaLe.
1herefore llfe ls noL an ocean of sufferlng, buL a wonderful opporLunlLy.




















Money comlng or golng, harmony, wlsdom, and healLh can all Lurn upon a slngle LhoughL.
WlLh a slngle LhoughL, poverLy can be overcome, wlLh a slngle LhoughL, dlsease can be
cured, wlLh a slngle LhoughL, you can embrace and help oLhers. 8ecause mlnd ls lnflnlLe, lL
can embrace Lhe unlverse and sLlll have room lefL over. 1hus, lf you undersLand Lhe LruLh of
nonduallLy, you can compleLely embrace everyLhlng. lf you ralse one LhoughL LhaL ls calm,
noble, and humble, and do so wlLhouL any Lrace of llke or dlsllke, or of l," Lhen LhaL LhoughL
beglns Lo manlfesL ln Lhe world and becomes medlclne for all sufferlng. All energy wlll follow
and work LogeLher wlLh Lhls klnd of LhoughL.
eople are ofLen careless abouL Lhe LhoughLs Lhey glve rlse Lo, assumlng LhaL once Lhey
forgeL abouL a LhoughL, LhaL LhoughL ls flnlshed. 1hls ls noL Lrue. Cnce you glve rlse Lo a
LhoughL, lL keeps funcLlonlng, and evenLually lLs consequences reLurn Lo you.

WnLN WL kAISL a LhoughL for someone's well-belng, and enLrusL LhaL Lo our foundaLlon,
LhaL underlylng mlnd-!"#$%&$%-never dlsappears and ls never used up. 1hls ls dlfferenL
from helplng people Lhrough maLerlal Lhlngs. 1hls ls Lhe uncondlLlonal love LhaL bodhlsaLLvas
have for all belngs. 1hls mlnd ls Lhe compasslon LhaL rlses when all belngs and myself are
one, when Lhe sufferlng of oLhers ls my sufferlng. 1hls ls Lhe power LhaL leads us Lo Lhe
LruLh.

uaehaeng kun Sunlm
























1he ab|||ty of our fundamenta| m|nd
|s the most profound and myster|ous th|ng |n the ent|re un|verse.
- Seon MasLer uaehaeng Sunlm


1he 8angkok Lngllsh-language Seon Club ls really flndlng lLs feeL. 1hanks Lo Lhe dlrecLlon
provlded by Lhe seon cenLer, everyone ls comforLable wlLh Lhe sLrucLure of Lhe meeLlngs,
sLarLlng wlLh Lhe refuges and some slLLlng medlLaLlon, and wlLh Lhe formaL of Lhe dlscusslon.
?oung, who does Lhe LranslaLlng, ls slmply amazlng, and l Lhlnk everyone geLs a chance Lo
speak and Lo ask anyLhlng Lhey llke of our wonderful Leacher Pyaedan Sunlm.
1hls monLh we reLurned Lo our sLudy of no 8lver Lo Cross and looked aL chapLer
Lhree, "Mlnd and Sclence." l'll admlL LhaL when l flrsL read Lhls Lwo or Lhree years ago l was
dlsmlsslve. "Mars ls crowded wlLh llves" l LhoughL, "whaL ls Lhls nonsense?" Pyaedan Sunlm
asked me on SaLurday nlghL lf my reacLlon would be any dlfferenL now, and l can honesLly
say LhaL lL ls. noL only ls Mars crowded wlLh llves, buL my body ls Loo, Lhere ls noLhlng LhaL ls
noL crowded wlLh llves.





We Lalked abouL how Lhe unlverse funcLlons as one llfe, abouL how maLerlal ls acLually
energy, and how Lhere ls no dlfference beLween Lhe parLlcles wlLhln and ouLslde of us.
edro, a Seon Club regular, explalned some of Lhe laLesL Lhlnklng ln sclence, and whaL llLLle l
undersLood was fasclnaLlng. Pyaedan Sunlm agreed and Lhen Lalked abouL how 8uddhlsL
Leachlngs have never conLradlcLed sclence buL, raLher, how sclence has evolved Lowards
8uddhlsm.
?oung Lalked abouL Lhe energy beLween people, uslng Lhe example of edro's smlle, whlch
everyone LhoughL was lovely, and abouL Lhe llmlLaLlons of language ln expresslng sclenLlflc
dlscoverles. Sunlm offered Lhe example of how Lhere were no Chlnese characLers for
negaLlve numbers, and Lhen she broughL us back Lo Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween fundamenLal
LruLh and our developlng undersLandlng of lL. "8uL how" klrsLen asked, "do we puL Lhls lnLo
pracLlce?"
We came lnLo belng, Sunlm sald, because of Lhls lundamenLal Mlnd. lL puL us here, and
afLer we are gone lL wlll sLlll be here, everyLhlng ls a reflecLlon of lL, and our pracLlce ls Lo
reLurn everyLhlng Lo lL. l Lalked abouL my llmlLed undersLandlng of Lhls, how Lhe Lheory ofLen
confuses me buL how, baslcally, l belleve LhaL l and everyLhlng else shares Lhls Mlnd, or
8uddha-naLure, and my [ob ls Lo llve from LhaL, whlch ls besL done by enLrusLlng everyLhlng
Lo lL.


klrsLen, her flrsL vlslL Lo Seon Club, was keen Lo know more and asked loLs of greaL
quesLlons, and Sunlm Lalked abouL enLrusLlng Lo 8uddha-naLure as a pracLlce LhaL cuLs
Lhrough Lrylng Lo flgure Lhlngs ouL and ?oung gave some wonderful personal examples of
how Lhls works ln her llfe. 1hen !oe, a flne poeL and a regular here and aL Lhe San lranslsco
Zen CenLer, quoLed from Lhe poeLry of Puang o on awakenlng Lo Cne Mlnd, 1rue Self, or
lundamenLal Mlnd.

"And, Lalklng abouL whaL happens when you llve noL from whaL obscures lL buL from your
orlglnal 8uddha-naLure, !oe Lold Lhe sLory of klng MongkuL, Lhe greaL-grandfaLher of Loday's
hlghly revered klng 8humlbol. klng MongkuL became a monk aL WaL 8owonnlweL and Lhen,
Lo Lhe greaL concern of all Lhose around hlm, found hlmself more lnLeresLed ln sLaylng ln
robes Lhan ln becomlng klng, so much so LhaL he evenLually became abboL of Lhe Lemple.

"1here ls no manual" Pyaedan Sunlm sald, "!usL keep sendlng everyLhlng back Lo 8uddha-
naLure, agaln and agaln." And ln a lovely phrase LhaL ralsed a smlle and geLs Lo Lhe hearL of
Lhe maLLer, she sald one should "use less and less your head, and more and more your
Mlnd". We flnlshed by reclLlng Lhe lour 8odhlsaLLva vows, bowlng ln graLlLude Lo our
wonderful Sunlm and Lo each oLher, and lefL Lhe uharma Pall lnsplred and confldenL ln Lhls
beauLlful pracLlce.




!ul ngong
AugusL 18, 2008 by Carl ALLenlese
Walklng ln Lhe subway yesLerday evenlng, on my way Lo dlnner wlLh frlends, l reallzed
someLhlng abouL 'puLLlng lL ln Lhe !ulngong.' lL's llke puLLlng a posL-lL noLe on Lhe lnslde of
your head, saylng, Lo do!" And you don'L have Lo do lL all alone.
We ofLen hear people say '()** ,-./ - ,/$0-* $&0/ &1 #02) when someone Lells Lhem
someLhlng llke, 'hey, l'm golng skydlvlng on Lhe 14Lh, so l can'L help you Lake your moLher Lo
Lhe hosplLal.' 8uL Lhls, of course, ls dlfferenL.
A frlend of mlne used Lo say, l [usL puL lL ln Lhe !ulngong" whenever l asked her abouL
someLhlng of lmporLance. AL LhaL Llme, l was sLlll [usL lnLo Zen loosely, and noL korean
Panmaum Zen ln parLlcular, and so l was generally llke, '3#%40 (whaLever LhaL means).' And l
LhoughL, 'klss geLLlng an answer Lo 04-0 one goodbye.'
WorsL of all, whenever someone sald someLhlng llke 'l hope !ulngong can solve Lhls,' l
someLlmes LhoughL someLhlng llke 'Lhls lsn'L 8uddhlsm, lL's mysLlclsm.' 8uL lL wasn'L,
because 1he 8uddha sald Lo Lake refuge ln man (and acLually, Lhls ls synonymous Lo uae
Paeng kun Sunlm's ldea of 'allowlng Lhe !ulngong' Lo Lake care) because lL ls man, lL ls you,
buL more Lhan you. lL ls you ln all Lhlngs.
AL LhaL Llme l dldn'L really mlnd whaL people belleved, buL l was [usL comlng ouL of a perlod
of a loL of essay wrlLlng, and speclflcally abouL how 'whaL people belleve really maLLers,'
largely due Lo Lhe horrlble Lragedles of SepLember 11Lh, and Lhe followlng wars. And
generally, on a smaller scale of cause and effecL, l worrled LhaL Lhls glrl l loved was placlng a
loL ln someLhlng LhaL seemed fanLasLlcal. l dldn'L wanL her Lo be dlsappolnLed, or me elLher,
for LhaL maLLer.
8uL as Llme wenL on and l saw how Panmaum was Lransformlng her llfe, maklng her really
happy, focused, and frankly, fasclnaLed-l became more lnLrlgued.
1o make a long sLory shorL, ln Lhe lasL few monLhs, meeLlng aL Lhe SaLurday Sangha wlLh
Chong Co Sunlm and Marcus, and !oseph and !oe and Lhe oLhers, (and ln Lhe monLhs prlor
Lo LhaL when !l-young and l were sLlll LogeLher and l wenL Lo Panmaum Seon Won), l have
learned LhaL !ulngong ls our Lrue lnherenL naLure and lLs connecLlon Lo all Lhlngs and
everyone else.
8uL Lhe problem was, how do you uLlllze lL? !l-young once sald, you can puL anyLhlng ln
here," meanlng Lhe !ulngong. 8uL sLlll, l had been Lhlnklng, 'and you do whaL, walL?' And she
explalned-as havlng learned from uae Paeng kun Sunlm-LhaL Lhe answer comes ouL, or wlll
be Laken care of.
Lveryone seems Lo ask, 'when ls lL 5&"3 !"#$%&$%, and when ls lL 5&" (read, 5&"3 4-6#0
/$/3%57 /%&2 8/*1, eLc.)' 8uL Lhls weekend l reallzed Lhls quesLlon ls Lhe evldence of Lhe
fundamenLal mlsundersLandlng of !ulngong.
LveryLhlng ls !ulngong. As a maLLer of facL, lf l Lhlnk clearly, LhaL ls whaL !l-young and even l
used Lo say, when we were aLLempLlng Lo geL our heads around lL, buL ofLen forgoL, or wenL
Lo back Lo my very wesLern, conLrol" menLallLy.
ln oLher words, you place Lhe concern you have ln your hearL, mlnd, !ulngong, lnherenL
naLure-whaLever you wanL Lo call lL-say even, 'make a menLal noLe' lf you wlsh. uo lL as
Chong Co Sunlm says, seelng lL go deep down lnLo yourself. ln oLher words, medlLaLe,
vlsuallzlng lL deeply, llke ln a sLaLe of prayer.
1hen reallze LhaL ln dolng LhaL, you are 3/,/,6/3#$% lL, ln common Lerms, buL/$03"80#$% lL
Lo your hlgher self and Lhe hlgher power of !ulngong, Lhe lnLerrelaLedness of all Lhlngs, for
we are all connecLed-all people and all Lhlngs-ln Lhls conLlnuum of llfe and exlsLence.
ln 1aolsL Lerms, you pracLlce non-dolng, whlle acLually 'dolng' Lhe enLrusLlng, whlch puLs Lhe
ball ln moLlon Lo solve Lhe problem.

































I|na||y at home


Wednesday 17:20. 1hls warm sprlng day abouL 20 elderly people are walLlng ln fronL of Lhe
Zen cenLre ln kaarsL. A surprlslngly large group Lo parLlclpaLe ln a medlLaLlon ceremony aL
such a small place as kaarsL. l had no ldea LhaL l was sLandlng ln fronL of Lhe Luropean
Panmaum-Zen-CenLre. lunnlly enough nor dld Lhe group of people ln fronL of Lhe cenLre.
1hey had [usL come Lo learn more abouL 8uddhlsm and were eager Lo parLlclpaLe ln a
ceremony. 1ogeLher we made our way Lhrough Lhe garden lnLo Lhe cenLre, where oLhers
were already kneellng down ln fronL of Lhe 8uddha sLaLue.


A week before a frlend from an open splrlLual clrcle had asked me, lf l knew abouL Lhe
8uddhlsL - CenLre ln kaarsL - as l always reclLe 8uddhlsL sLorles and pleces of wlsdom. no, l
had noL heard of lL so far. 8uL l was happy Lo learn abouL lL. Slnce my arrlval ln Meerbusch ln
Summer 2010 l had been searchlng for a group Lo medlLaLe, pracLlce and learn LogeLher - as l
had done durlng Lhe lasL years ln Munlch, Pamburg, 8erlln, ScoLland and new Zealand.
lnLeresLlngly Lhe groups l parLlclpaLed ln came from dlfferenL rellglons. lor l belleve LhaL lL
does noL maLLer wheLher we search for our hlgher self, 8uddha-naLure or Lhe dlvlne as long
as we develop our splrlLual self.
So l checked Lhe lnLerneL and found LhaL Lhere are evenlng ceremonles wlLh suLra
reclLaLlon, prosLraLlons, medlLaLlon and dharma conversaLlon. And Lhls ls how l ended up
wlLh a group of pensloners ln fronL of Lhe Panmaum cenLre.


SLepplng lnLo Lhe cenLre one could feel Lhe freedom, lovlng klndness and compasslon,
whlch made me lnsLanLly feel welcome. l sensed l had come home. 1he pensloners saL down
on Lhe chalrs whlch had been carefully provlded and curloslLy showed ln Lhelr faces as Lhey
walLed Lo dlscover whaL was nexL.
1he venerable (honorable) Pae[ln Sunlm explalned whaL would happen durlng Lhe
ceremony and wlLh a deep smlle asked Lhe group Lo parLlclpaLe ln Lhe prosLraLlons or en[oy
Lhe sunny evenlng. She explalned LhaL you dld noL bow before Lhe 8uddha buL your own
8uddha-naLure, your dlvlne lnner self. And Lhen she began Lo chanL wlLh her powerful volce.
1he sound of her affecLlonaLe volce and Lhe unfamlllar sounds opened my hearL even
furLher and lL seemed LhaL Lhey Louched Lhe people around me Lhe same way. uurlng Lhe
followlng medlLaLlon l felL lnner peace, ease and llghLhearLedness growlng lnslde.


ln her open, affecLlonaLe way Lhe venerable Pae[ln Sunlm greeLed Lhe group agaln and
Lalked abouL Lhe uharma sLory she had chosen for Loday. klrLsln read Lhe sLory of Lhe ?our
Wlves?and Lhe honorable Sunlm explalned Lhe Lrue meanlng of Lhe four women - body,
power and rlches, frlends and famlly, and leasL aLLended Lo Lhe soul, 8uddha - naLure or
lnner llghL.
1hey had been asked Lo follow Lhelr husband - Lhe rlch merchanL on hls lasL Lravels and of
course only Lhe laLLer would accompany Lhe man. lL was comforLlng for Lhe group Lo become
aware LhaL - alLhough you leave your body, worldly goods as well as frlends and famlly
behlnd, your soul wlll be wlLh you aL all Llmes. 1he members of Lhe group mlghL noL belleve
ln relncarnaLlon as much as Lhe ldea of Lhelr soul golng Lo heaven - whaL maLLered was Lhe
reallzaLlon LhaL Lhere ls more Lo ones own llfe Lhan Lhe currenL exlsLence.
Whlle Lea and sesame pasLrles were handed ouL, Lhe venerable Sunlm answered all
quesLlons from Lhe group. Lach of us also recelved a posLcard wlLh a plece of wlsdom. Mlne
read: Awaken and laugh. An lnvlLaLlon whlch l wlll follow full hearLedly.


l am looklng forward Lo vlslL Lhe evenlng ceremonles of Lhe Panmaum cenLre more ofLen.
CurrenLly l am curlous for my flrsL Sunday Lunch Ceremony. As l may noL have heard
anyLhlng of Lhe korean Zen-MasLer uaehaeng kunsunlm up Lo now buL l am very happy Lo
have found a place, where l can work on developlng my dlvlne soul, lnner or 8uddha naLure
ln every day llfe. Pere l can learn and flnd new energy for my splrlLual developmenL Lo
enhance Lhe four emoLlons: Lovlng klndness, compasslon, compasslonaLe [oyfullness, and
equanlmlLy. now l flnally feel aL home ln Meerbusch. ln humble humlllLy l Lhank Lhe
unlverse, Lhe lnner LruLh and 8uddha-naLure for havlng lead me here.































1he Gu[eong agoda' at nanmaum Seon Center











8y klm, kl Sang



WhaL follows ls Lhe sLory of Lhe Cu[eong agoda aL Lhe Anyang CenLer.
1hls arLlcle flrsL appeared ln Lhe March/Aprll 2002 lssue of Panmaum !ournal.

2002 3.4 2 ' (
)'
.





kepresent|ng the 1ruth of the Un|verse

Cn a beauLlful CcLober day ln 2000 whlle l was meeLlng wlLh uaehaeng kun Sunlm, she
sald Lhe followlng:

"l wanL you Lo look lnLo bulldlng a pagoda ln Lhe cenLral courLyard. 1hls pagoda should be
a cenLer of Lhe 8uddha-naLure energy
of Lhe unlverse, and lL should have nlne sLorles, wlLh each sLory round llke a ball, and
should represenL Lhe LruLh LhaL all belngs are
lnherenLly sharlng Lhe same mlnd, Lhe same llfe, Lhe same body, are worklng LogeLher as
one, whlle freely glvlng and recelvlng
whaLever ls needed."
9($ :&3/-$ 04/ ;&3< 1&3 =84-3#$%2> .&$%> 4-8 04/ 8-,/ 8&"$< -8 =6-**= >03-$8*-0&3?


Llke mosL of uaehaeng kun Sunlm's uharma Lalks, aL flrsL lL seemed easy enough, buL as l
LhoughL abouL everyLhlng she sald, l reallzed LhaL lL was qulLe profound. lL began Lo dawn on
me LhaL Lhls Lask would Lake lncredlble slncerlLy and focus on pracLlce lf lL was Lo succeed.
Well, l soon reallzed LhaL Lhls fundamenLal place of ours would have Lo solve Lhls problem,
so l puL a copy of 1he rlnclples of Panmaum () ln fronL of me and sald Lo
myself, "Ckay Lrue self, !ulngong, you're Lhe one LhaL's golng Lo have Lo deslgn and bulld
Lhls pagoda!" l moved my Lhumb down Lhe slde of Lhe book, and opened lL where l had a
good feellng. 1he flrsL Lhlng l saw was a verse LhaL sald:

"1hls fundamenLal mlnd connecLs all realms LhroughouL Lhe unlverse, as well as Lhe pasL,
presenL, and fuLure, so every slngle Lhlng ls
sharlng Lhe same mlnd, Lhe same llfe, Lhe same body, whlle worklng LogeLher as one, and
freely glvlng and recelvlng whaLever ls needed.
1hls mlnd can Lravel a mllllon mlles ouLslde of us, vlslLlng anywhere, wlLhouL Lhe leasL
hlndrance, as lf everyLhlng ln Lhe unlverse was
gaLhered LogeLher lnLo one garden."

Well, Lhls was almosL exacLly whaL kun Sunlm had Lold me! lL appeared LhaL l was belng
remlnded Lo noL forgeL whaL kun Sunlm had sald. l copled Lhe verse down, and began Lo
examlne lL for ldeas abouL how Lo proceed.


kepresent|ng Cur Shared L|fe and Iunct|on|ng

uaehaeng kun Sunlm had always emphaslzed LhaL alLhough Lemples needed Lo respecL
LradlLlons, Lhey also had Lo reflecL modern LasLes and aesLheLlcs. SLyles and consLrucLlon
needed Lo develop and grow, we could no longer conLlnue Lo [usL repeaL Lhe old, LradlLlonal
sLyles. So ln addlLlon Lo deslgnlng a pagoda LhaL would conLaln Lhe essence of whaL kun
Sunlm had sald, l also needed Lo come up wlLh a deslgn LhaL was boLh sacred and beauLlful
Lo modern eyes. As l proceeded, l would check wlLh kun Sunlm Lo conflrm key aspecLs of Lhe
deslgn.

1he pagoda would be slmllar ln slze Lo LradlLlonal deslgns, buL Lhe lndlvldual aspecLs were
qulLe dlfferenL. 1he base of Lhe pagoda would begln wlLh an elghL-slded foundaLlon sLone
carved wlLh loLus paLLerns. nexL would come a large cyllndrlcal secLlon. 1hls would made of
Lwo dlfferenL, colored halves, each wlLh a dragon carved upon lL. Cn Lop of Lhls was a large,
clrcular secLlon LhaL would provlde Lhe base for Lhe lower half of Lhe pagoda.

1he boLLom half of Lhe pagoda was Lo sLarL wlLh a huge four-slded cube. Lach face of Lhls
parL would have an lmage LhaL represenLed Lhe LruLh LhaL all belngs are sharlng Lhe same
llfe, Lhe same mlnd, Lhe same body, and are freely sharlng wlLh each oLher whaLever was
needed. 1hls comblnaLlon of Lhese four would represenL Lhe flfLh elemenL, LhaL all belngs
are lnherenLly funcLlonlng LogeLher as one. Cn Lop of Lhls was a Ller shaped llke a large loLus
leaf, whlch ln Lurn supporLed a smaller, clrcular plece carved llke a shorLened loLus blossom.

1he upper parL of Lhe pagoda was Lo have a serles of nlne, progresslvely smaller spheres
LhaL kun Sunlm had spoke of, wlLh a flnlal on Lop wlLh a loLus flower. All LoLal, Lhe pagoda
would be 9.6 meLers Lall.

So afLer worklng on Lhe deslgn for abouL a monLh, l wenL Lo see kun Sunlm wlLh Lhe plans.
She placed her palms LogeLher and began Lo look over Lhe deslgns. 1he flrsL Lhlng she sald
was LhaL Lhe very Lop of Lhe pagoda should have a long slender plece LhaL looks a blL llke a
LopknoL. (1hls ls Lhe meLal plece aL Lhe very Lop of Lhe pagoda LhaL you can see Loday.) nexL
she sald LhaL Lhe spheres of Lhe upper secLlon should be connecLed wlLh a sLeel rod so LhaL
Lhe pagoda could wlLhsLand a Lyphoon. (AcLually, Lhls wasn'L qulLe whaL she meanL. AL Lhe
Llme l mlsundersLood whaL she was saylng. More on Lhls laLer.) kun Sunlm also sald LhaL Lhe
largesL sphere aL Lhe boLLom needed Lo be 103cm ln dlameLer. (l orlglnally had Lhls aL
exacLly one meLer.) When l asked kun Sunlm abouL Lhe colors of Lhe sLone LhaL would make
up Lhe pagoda, she sald Lhe sLone should be flve colors : blue/green, yellow, green, whlLe,
and plum. She was especlally concerned wlLh Lhe sLone LhaL would make up Lhe nlne sLorles
of Lhe pagoda. She emphaslzed LhaL Lhe whlLe sLone should be a pure, lumlnous color of
whlLe, Lhe klnd LhaL almosL seemed Lo be glowlng from wlLhln.

l was Lo use Lhese flve colors Lo bulld Lhe pagoda, buL kun Sunlm warned me LhaL flndlng
Lhe sLone would be dlfflculL and exhausLlng. l LhoughL Lhls was [usL pollLe concern, and l lefL
deLermlned Lo flnd Lhe necessary sLone.


A Gather|ng of Stone

WlLh Lhe deslgn and color scheme of Lhe pagoda deLermlned, l seL abouL Lhe Lask of
flndlng Lhe sLone. l began by conLacLlng a promlnenL korean quarrylng buslness, and
explalned Lhe Lype and colors of sLone we were looklng for. Powever, l learned LhaL whlle
korean granlLe has a whlLe base color, lL always conLalns a loL of black flecks. And alLhough
Lhere was some granlLe wlLh a beauLlful, SmooLh plnk color, pleces of Lhls klnd of granlLe
were almosL always smaller Lhan a person's flsL, none exlsLed ln Lhe large slzes we needed.

l was Lold LhaL Lhe sLone we needed could only be obLalned overseas, and LhaL lu[lan
provlnce ln Chlna would be a good place Lo sLarL. l Lold !u[l Sunlm LhaL l would be golng Lo
Chlna Lo see whaL klnds of sLone were avallable Lhere, and she sald, "Lven when you're
golng on a Lrlp, remember Lo always enLrusL everyLhlng Lo !ulngong." l lefL for Chlna wlLh
llghL sLeps, feellng llke l'd been fllled wlLh Lhe energy of Panmaum.


l arrlved ln Chlna and Lhe nexL mornlng, when l saL down wlLh my gulde Lo flgure ouL our
schedule, he Lold me someLhlng so surprlslng LhaL l could only croak "!ulngong!" An
exhlblLlon of all Lhe Lypes of sLone quarrled ln Chlna had [usL opened ln nearby !ln[lang clLy.
Cne of my blggesL concerns had been Lrylng Lo vlslL Lhe ma[or quarrles of Chlna. lL's a vasL
counLry, and Lhe LransporLaLlon neLwork qulLe bad ln many of Lhe rural areas. lnsLead,
everyLhlng relaLed Lo wholesale sLone ln Chlna was gaLhered ln one nearby place. l felL so
graLeful Lo kun Sunlm, lL was as lf she was nexL Lo me, openlng doors, and maklng everyLhlng
posslble.

ln a day and a half, l gaLhered samples of each Lype of sLone we would need. WlLhouL LhaL
exhlblLlon, l would have spenL weeks Lravellng around Chlna Lo collecL even a fracLlon of Lhe
samples.


1he I|ve Co|ors of Stone and karm|c Aff|n|ty

WlLh Lhe samples of sLone ln my luggage, l reLurned Lo korea and wenL Lo see kun Sunlm. l
spread ouL all of Lhe samples l'd gaLhered ln korea, and Lhose l'd found ln Chlna.

lor Lhe foundaLlon, uaehaeng kun Sunlm chose one of Lhe sLrongesL Lypes of sLone for Lhe
base sLone, whlch was a color descrlbed as "black pearl." lor Lhe yellow secLlon of Lhe Lwo-
dragon secLlon, she chose a yellow meLamorphlc sLone called "1lger llnes," and she chose a
pure, dark green/blue sLone for Lhe maLchlng dragon. lor Lhe clrcular plece on Lop of Lhls
secLlon, whlch would supporL Lhe maln body of Lhe pagoda, kun Sunlm choose a llghL
reddlsh-plnk sLone.


lor Lhe large cube-shaped secLlon LhaL resLed on Lhe foundaLlon, she chose a gray sLone
LhaL was flawless, wlLh a smooLh lusLer. Cn Lop of Lhls would be a green capsLone shaped
llke a loLus leaf. And on Lop of Lhls leaf, would be a dark reddlsh-purple sLone LhaL would be
Lhe supporL for Lhe spheres of Lhe pagoda, and carved as lf lL were a loLus flower. kun Sunlm
sald LhaL Lhe sLone used should all be able Lo be pollshed Lo a beauLlful gloss, whlch would
make Lhe colors clearer and more vlvld. 1ogeLher lL would creaLe a beauLlful pagoda LhaL
would shlne LhroughouL all realms.

1he sLone uaehaeng kun Sunlm chose all came from areas wlLh a deep karmlc afflnlLy wlLh
8uddhlsm. 1he reddlsh-purple sLone came from lndla, Lhe orlgln of 8uddhlsm. ln Lhe SouLh,
8uddhlsm enLered Chlna Lhrough Cuangxl and lu[lan provlnces, havlng followed Lhe
shlpplng lanes from lndla Lo Srl Lanka, Myanmar, 1halland, and vleLnam. 1he yellow sLone
came from lu[lan whlle Lhe reddlsh-plnk sLone came from Cuangxl. 1he green capsLone LhaL
would be shaped llke a loLus leaf came from Slchuan, whlch had been Lhe home of
numerous greaL masLers ln wesLern Chlna. 1he sLone for Lhe green/blue dragon would come
from Pebel, where 8uddhlsm had flourlshed and produced many masLerpleces of
sLonework. 1he square, gray cenLer sLone came from Chlna, whlle Lhe black pearl colored
foundaLlon sLone came from Lhe very end of Lhe sllk road, 1urkey.


1he Man|festat|on of Iu|ngong

WlLh Lhe plan for Lhe pagoda and Lhe Lypes of sLone declded, l found a greaL sLone carver,
Mr. Ceon-ho lm, Lo underLake Lhe nexL phase, LhaL of cuLLlng and flnlshlng Lhe sLone.
WhaLever Mr. lm underLook, he dld wlLh hls whole hearL and deep slncerlLy, so we knew
we'd found Lhe rlghL person. Pe would Lake care of all Lhe pracLlcal deLalls, lncludlng
shlpplng and dellvery of Lhe sLone, as well as overseelng Lhe work ln Chlna, where Lhe sLones
were Lo be rough-flnlshed. Cnce Lhey were nearly done, and Lhe quallLy of Lhe sLone
conflrmed, Lhey would be shlpped Lo korea, where Mr. lm and hls masLer crafLsmen would
flnlsh Lhe carvlng and pollshlng for Lhe foundaLlon and Lhe lower half of Lhe pagoda. (lor
Lechnlcal and quallLy reasons, Lhe whlLe spheres of Lhe upper half would all have Lo be done
ln Lhe counLry Lhey were quarrled ln.) Pe would keep ln close conLacL wlLh kun Sunlm and l,
and once l gave hlm Lhe samples of Lhe sLone we wanLed, Lhe work goL underway.

Powever, we were soon Lold LhaL problems wlLh Lhe green sLone and Lhe whlLe sLone were
slowlng Lhlngs down. 1he green sLone never made lL Lo Lhe workshop ln lu[lan. lL was Lo
come from over 1,300 kllomeLers away ln Slchuan provlnce, from a quarry hlgh ln Lhe
mounLalns. 8uL now l was Lold LhaL because Lhe wlnLer snows had sLarLed, Lhe sLone
couldn'L be Laken ouL of Lhe mounLalns. lL was Loo heavy Lo Lake down Lhe sLeep, snow
covered roads. We would have Lo walL aL leasL Lhree monLhs before we could geL lL. unless,
of course, we wanLed Lo use anoLher Lype of green sLone Lhey had, whlch could be dellvered
rlghL away. lL sounded llke Lhe whole sLory mlghL have been cooked up Lo geL us Lo accepL a
cheaper, lnferlor sLone. 8uL Lhere was no way we could do LhaL. We would walL unLll sprlng
came and Lhe roads cleared.

1he sample of whlLe sLone l had seen was flawless. 1here were no cracks or dlscoloraLlons,
and lL seemed perfecL for Lhe pagoda. Powever, lL was Lurnlng ouL Lo be dlfflculL Lo flnd
sLone of Lhe same quallLy as Lhe sample. When Lhe carvlng Leam would begln Lo cuL sLone
LhaL, on Lhe ouLslde seemed pure whlLe, lnslde Lhey would flnd flaws or Lhln, dark llnes
runnlng Lhrough lL. lurLher, lL Lurns ouL LhaL Lhe Chlnese suppller was Lrylng Lo cuL corners.
1hey had planned Lo bleach Lhe sLone afLer lL had been cuL and pollshed lnLo spheres, so
LhaL lL would appear pure whlLe. 1he flaws would sLay hldden for abouL Lwo years, by whlch
Llme Lhe sLone would have been dellvered, and Lhe money pald.

Powever, every Llme Lhey had a sphere [usL abouL flnlshed, lL would spllL ln half, or large
pleces would flake off. llnally one of Lhe spheres pracLlcally exploded, wlLh Lhe man worklng
on lL narrowly escaplng serlous ln[ury. 1he Chlnese workers began Lo feel Lhere was
someLhlng blgger golng on, and refused Lo do any more work on Lhe spheres. 1hey dldn'L
reallze LhaL !ulngong was also lnvolved ln Lhls work.

Mr. lm called and sald LhaL even Lhough Lhe Lypes of sLone we had llked looked whlLe on
Lhe ouLslde, when Lhey were cuL, Lhere were always flecks and sLrlpes of oLher colors wlLhln.
And alLhough marble ls someLlmes pure whlLe, he dldn'L Lhlnk lL would be sLrong enough,
Lhe lower levels wouldn'L be able Lo bear Lhe welghL of Lhe upper spheres. Pe felL LhaL Lhe
sLone we wanLed dldn'L exlsL, and LhaL Lhe besL paLh would be Lo selecL a very llghL gray
granlLe for Lhe spheres. Pe suggesLed Lhls a number of Llmes, because work on Lhe pagoda
wasn'L progresslng aL all.

All l could do was enLrusL everyLhlng Lo !ulngong. "Ckay, !ulngong ls maklng Lhls pagoda,
so !ulngong wlll flnd Lhe necessary whlLe sLone." l remembered whaL kun Sunlm had sald
abouL how flndlng Lhe necessary sLone would be dlfflculL and exhausLlng. lL became clear Lo
me LhaL l needed Lo apply myself more compleLely and whole-hearLedly Lo Lhe Lask. l could
no longer leave Lhls Lask Lo oLhers, l would have Lo flnd Lhe sLone myself. l sLarLed by
examlnlng every sculpLure l could flnd ln korea LhaL was made from elLher whlLe [ade or
whlLe sLone.

l flrsL wenL Lo 8ongwon 1emple ln Seoul, whlch had [usL lnsLalled whlLe [ade sLaLues of Lhe
slxLeen arhaLs. 1hey were made from Chlnese whlLe [ade, buL Lhe sLone had some dark llnes
runnlng Lhrough lL. 1here were also vlslble fracLure llnes ln Lhe sLone, meanlng LhaL lL
wouldn'L be able Lo supporL much welghL.

l nexL wenL Lo Lhe ChonLae Crder's maln Lemple ln Seoul, kwanmun 1emple, where Lhey
had a maln 8uddha sLaLure carved from Myanmar whlLe [ade. lL had a beauLlful, sofL color.
unforLunaLely, Lhe graln of Lhe sLone was coarse, and lL wasn? very sLrong. Whlch meanL lL
wouldn'L be a good ouLdoor sLone and wouldn'L be able Lo supporL Lhe welghL of Lhe upper
secLlons. 1here was an exhlblLlon of sculpLures ln Seoul where l saw some perfecL Lypes of
sLone, buL none of Lhem occurred naLurally ln slzes greaLer Lhan abouL 30 cenLlmeLers,
whereas Lhe lowesL sphere for Lhe pagoda would have a flnlshed slze of 103 cenLlmeLers.

l'd heard of some large, whlLe sLone lmages of Lhe 8uddha ln Srl Lanka, so l Lraveled Lhere
Lo see whaL klnd of sLone had been used. Powever, l had Lhe unpleasanL surprlse of
dlscoverlng LhaL mosL of Lhem weren'L carved sLone: Lhey were concreLe or whlLe plasLer.
1he whlLe sLone l dld flnd was even sofLer Lhan marble or granlLe, and would dlscolor and
wear away lf lL was ouLdoors. kun Sunlm's predlcLlon LhaL Lhe sLone would be hard Lo flnd
kepL comlng Lo mlnd!

l was compleLely focused on flndlng a sulLable whlLe sLone, and Lhls was a sub[ecL LhaL l leL
go of and enLrusLed Llme afLer Llme. llnally, one day l had an lmage of Lhe Creek Lemples of
old, wlLh Lhelr huge whlLe columns and roofs LhaL had sLood for Lhousands of years. Pah!
"!ulngong, Lhank you!" And wlLh Lhls l made plans for vlslLlng Creece.

All Lhe Llme l had been searchlng for a good whlLe sLone, l had been Lalklng Lo anyone who
mlghL have some ldea abouL where l could flnd such sLone. l now knew dozens of speclallsLs
ln korea and overseas, and Lhey would send me samples anyLlme Lhey found a sLone LhaL
mlghL be sulLable. ln facL l'd Lold Lhem Lo send me anyLhlng, regardless of Lhe slze LhaL Lhe
sLone occurred ln. l was always ln conLacL wlLh professlonals from Chlna, Lhe uS, Canada,
!apan, lLaly, Cermany, and Myanmar, among oLhers. Powever, Lhe sLone always seemed Lo
have dlscoloraLlons, or only formed ln small slzes.
ln Lhe meanLlme, kun Sunlm had chosen Lhe locaLlon for Lhe pagoda.




1he courLyard had been Lorn up wlLh consLrucLlon for Lhe chlldren's uharma hall, wlLh
consLrucLlon supplles and equlpmenL fllllng Lhe area. noneLheless, kun Sunlm plcked one
spoL, and sald LhaL would be a good place for Lhe pagoda. lL Lurned ouL qulLe well, Lhe
foundaLlon of Lhe pagoda dldn'L lmpede upon Lhe (underground) Chlldren's uharma hall,
and when LhaL spoL was excavaLed, lL was free of any underground wlrlng or plpes. Whlle we
were searchlng for Lhe rlghL Lypes of sLone, a solld and deep foundaLlon for Lhe pagoda was
flnlshed. AfLer all Lhe varlous consLrucLlon pro[ecLs were flnlshed, Lhe pagoda was ln Lhe
cenLer of Lhe new courLyard, and ln a perfecL spoL for people Lo clrcle lL.


Led by Unseen nands

1o go Lo Creece and look lnLo Lhe Lype of sLone used ln lLs monumenLs, l would have Lo
Lransfer planes ln lrankfurL, Cermany. Slnce l would be ln Cermany anyway, l declded Lo
look lnLo Lhe Lypes of sLone produced Lhere. l called someone l knew, and asked hlm for any
lnformaLlon he could flnd abouL Lypes of whlLe sLone LhaL mlghL be quarrled ln Cermany. Pe
Lold me LhaL an lnLernaLlonal Lrade falr for naLural sLone and sLone processlng Lechnology
had [usL opened ln nuremberg, Cermany.

l was on Lhe nexL plane Lo Cermany! 1here l was warmly welcomed aL Lhe alrporL by Mr.
?oung-shlk lm. Pe was a member of Lhe uusseldorf Panmaum Seon CenLer, and was a
graduaLe sLudenL speclallzlng ln Cerman culLure and languages. Pe had borrowed a car and
we lmmedlaLely lefL for nuremberg. lL was a four hour drlve, and as we drove, l couldn'L
help feellng so graLeful Lo kun Sunlm, because lL was obvlous LhaL someLhlng blgger Lhan
myself was helplng me along. lL Lurns ouL LhaL Lhe sLone Lrade falr ln nuremberg ls held for
[usL Lhree days every Lwo years. And l was Lhere [usL ln Llme. !usL llke Chlna, every Lype of
sLone from cenLral Lurope would be gaLhered LogeLher ln one place.


1he Lrade falr was organlzed by counLry, company, and Lype of sLone. 1he exhlblLlon slLe
conslsLed of Len bulldlngs, each Lhe slze of a fooLball fleld. And Lhe enLlre area was so blg
LhaL people had Lo rlde buses around wlLhln lL. l sLarLed early on Lhe lasL day, and had Lo
relgn ln my lmpaLlence. l forced myself Lo begln wlLh Lhe flrsL hall, and sysLemaLlcally
examlned every Lype of whlLe sLone ln Lhe hall. l wenL from hall Lo hall, drawn llke a moLh Lo
anyLhlng whlLe. l found a loL of whlLe sLone LhaL had dark llnes Lhrough lL, and a loL of llghL
gray sLone, buL noL Lhe pure whlLe sLone we wanLed.

lL was afLer lunch when l flnally headed Lo Lhe Creek exhlblLlon. 1here, Lo my greaL
exclLemenL, l found large blocks of beauLlful whlLe sLone. l made sure Lo geL a sample, along
wlLh lnformaLlon abouL where lL had been quarrled, lLs sLrengLh, dellvery Llmes, and Lhe
slzes LhaL could be dellvered. All of Lhe Creek companles had offlces ln ALhens, so l declded
Lo vlslL Lhem afLer Lhe Lrade show.

noLhlng else ln Lhe hall really sLood ouL, and Lhe closlng hour for Lhe Lrade falr was aL
hand, and yeL.. l felL pulled Lo wander around, looklng aL Lhe dlfferenL booLhs. Suddenly, aL
Lhe very end of Lhe hall, ln one of Lhe mlnor booLhs, sLood a block of dazzllng whlLe sLone
Lhe slze of a door! "!ulngong!" l was so graLeful and over[oyed! l hurrled over Lo Lhe booLh,
and found LhaL Lhe sLone had been produced by a company ln norLhern lLaly. lL was Lhe
largesL block of sLone l had seen aL Lhe Lrade falr, and lLs color was beauLlful. lL was a
marble, buL one LhaL was lncredlbly sLrong. 1he sLrengLh was so unusual LhaL Lhey had even
had lL conflrmed and documenLed by Lhe geology laboraLory aL Lhe unlverslLy of Munlch. As
l collecLed lnformaLlon abouL Lhe company and Lhe quarry, l learned LhaL Lhe sLone had been
mlned ln Lhe lLallan alps. lL came from a small Lown called Lasa, whlch was abouL 1,000
kllomeLers norLh of 8ome. l showed Lhem Lhe plans for Lhe pagoda, and Lhey sald Lhey could
dellver sLone LhaL slze, and ln a reasonable Llme. l had enLrusLed flndlng a good-quallLy
whlLe sLone Lo !ulngong, and lL was so wonderful Lo see how Lhls was worklng ouL!

l'd run ouL of Llme before l'd been able Lo geL any samples or lnformaLlon abouL 1urklsh
sLone, so afLer Lhe falr l lefL for lsLanbul. lL was laLe aL nlghL, buL a frlend ln Seoul had senL
someone Lo plck me up and Lake me Lo my hoLel. ln Cermany lL had been arranged for a Mr.
uae-u ?un Lo drlve me around 1urkey Lhe nexL day, so l asked my drlver lf he could call
Mr.?un and have hlm plck me up ln Lhe mornlng. My drlver [usL laughed and sald lL wouldn'L
be necessary: he was Mr. ?un! 1wo dlfferenL people, who dldn'L know each oLher, had boLh
asked hlm Lo help me! l had Lo laugh ouL of graLlLude: boLh Lo kun Sunlm, and Lo !ulngong.
lor Lhls was surely lLs manlfesLaLlon.


1he nexL day we lefL lsLanbul on a hlgh-speed ferry. We Lraveled by sea for Lwo hours unLll
we reached Lhe porL of 8andlrma, and Lhen drove for anoLher Lwo hours. AL lasL we arrlved
deep ln Lhe mounLalns, where Lhey quarrled a nlce varleLy of whlLe sLone. 1he local vlllagers
were very klnd, and helped us flnd Lhe quarry. 1he sLone LhaL came from low hllls Lhere was
black when lL came from Lhe ground, buL was brlghL whlLe lnslde when lL was cuL
open. 9@#A0"3/ B? l plcked up a few pleces of Lhe sLone, and headed back Lo lsLanbul. 1here l
arranged Lo have Lhe samples cuL and pollshed, and LesLed for sLrengLh and flssures. 1hls
would Lake some Llme, so whlle l was walLlng, l declded Lo go see Lhe slghLs of lsLanbul.

As l looked around lsLanbul and saw how Lhe rellglous wars had desLroyed or damaged so
many beauLlful ChrlsLlan and lslamlc works of arL, l felL agaln how lmporLanL lL ls Lo Lake care
of our culLural and rellglous herlLage.

Cnce Lhe samples of Lhe 1urklsh whlLe sLone were ready, l lefL for ALhens, Creece. 1here l
wenL Lo see Lhe famous rulns of Lhe arLhenon, whose monumenLal columns and roof had
sLood for nearly 2,300 years. l looked aL a number of oLher anclenL shrlnes as well, buL came
Lo an unpleasanL reallzaLlon: Lhe sLone had orlglnally been a mlxed whlLe and gray marble.
Cver Lhe course of Lhe cenLurles Lhe gray flecks had faded Lo whlLe, buL Lhls Lype of sLone
clearly wasn'L golng Lo work for Lhe Seon CenLer's cenLral pagoda.

When kun Sunlm had flrsL spoken abouL Lhe pagoda, she'd sald Lhe nlne spheres would
need a sLeel rod Lo ensure LhaL Lhey could wlLhsLand hurrlcanes. 1o Lell you Lhe LruLh, aL Lhe
Llme l dldn'L qulLe undersLand whaL she'd meanL. l'd LhoughL she meanL a slngle plece of
sLeel rod runnlng Lhrough all of Lhe spheres. 8uL Lrylng Lo drlll maLchlng holes Lhrough all Lhe
spheres and Lhen sLacklng Lhem up seemed a sLrange way Lo bulld Lhe upper parL of Lhe
pagoda. Powever, ln Creece l saw cyllnders from columns LhaL had fallen over, and saw LhaL
Lhey had been bullL wlLh a square, shallow hole on Lhe Lop and boLLom of each
segmenL. 9@#A0"3/ C? So lnsLead of a long plece of sLeel, Lhey'd used shorLer meLal or wood
pegs Lo hold Lhe segmenLs on Lop of each oLher. l lmmedlaLely reallzed LhaL Lhls was Lhe way
Lo sLack Lhe spheres on Lop of each oLher.


l flnlshed collecLlng samples of whlLe sLone from Lhe dlfferenL companles ln Creece, and
reLurned Lo korea. l Look all Lhe samples of sLone LhaL l had gaLhered on my Lrlp and showed
Lhem Lo kun Sunlm. She looked Lhem over carefully and spoke abouL Lhe unseen quallLles of
Lhe sLone as well as whaL was vlslble Lo everyone. llnally she sald LhaL Lhe sLone from boLh
Creece and 1urkey was qulLe good, buL Lhe sample from Lhe lLallan alps was even beLLer.

She smlled knowlngly aL me and asked me how my Lrlp was, and aL LhaL momenL l reallzed
LhaL kun Sunlm had been wlLh me Lhe whole Llme. AlLhough unseen, she'd been holdlng my
hand durlng Lhe enLlre Lrlp. l was so amazed LhaL l could only bow and say "1hank you" over
and over.


* ln Lhe nexL lssue, Mr. klm [ourneys Lhrough Lhe lLallan alps, gulded by hls Lrue naLure.

Swa||ow's Nest Cave

1he slLe where l wenL Lo flnd Lhe whlLe marble for Lhe pagoda was near a Lown called Lasa.
lL's ln Lhe 1yrol mounLalns of lLaly, near Lhe Swlss and AusLrlan borders. ln facL, lL's been
lnfluenced more by Cerman culLure Lhan lLallan culLure. 1he nearesL large clLy ls Lhe
AusLrlan clLy of lnnsbruck, whereas Lhe nearesL large lLallan clLy ls almosL 300 kllomeLers
away aL Mllan. ln facL, Lhe besL rouLe Lo Lasa ls Lo fly Lhrough lrankfurL Lo lnnsbruck, and
Lhen Lake a car Lo Lasa. Powever, l was a blL nervous abouL Lhls, because l would have Lo
renL a car ln lnnsbruck and Lhen drlve by myself Lhrough Lhe LwlsLlng roads of Lhe alps.

My goal was Lhe clLy of verona. lL was abouL an hour from Lasa, and had Lhe nearesL hoLel
where l could book a reservaLlon from overseas. 8uL now l had Lo flnd lL. (1hls was before
CS sysLems!) l sLarLed Lhe Lrlp by enLrusLlng everyLhlng Lo !ulngong, and Lhen every Llme l
had Lo choose beLween roads, l'd ask lnslde, "!ulngong, whlch way?" And Lhen a feellng
would arlse, "lefL," or "rlghL," and off l'd go. ln Lhls way l found my way Lo Lhe hoLel wlLhouL
Laklng even one wrong Lurn.



1he nexL mornlng l arrlved ln Lasa and meL Lhe dlrecLor of Lhe sLone company, Mr. Lgua.
Pe was a large man wlLh a healLhy complexlon, and was Lhe represenLaLlve l'd meL aL Lhe
Lrade show ln nuremberg. Pe showed me around Lhelr dlsplay rooms, and polnLed ouL Lhe
varlous klnds of sLone hls company produced. AfLerwards we lefL for Lhe quarrles where Lhe
sLone was acLually mlned. 1he only way Lo geL Lhere was ln a 4-wheel drlve Lruck. 1he quarry
slLes were locaLed aL 1,326 m and 2,130 m alLlLude, up on Lhe slde of a 3,300m
mounLaln. 9D#A0"3/ E? We Look a wlndlng road LhaL seemed Lo go up
forever.

AfLer a long drlve we flnally arrlved, and my mouLh fell open ln surprlse as l looked aL Lhe
quarry. Long before l'd found Lhe samples of sLone from Lhe Lasa quarrles, kun Sunlm had
Lold me LhaL Lhe rlghL sLone would be found on a hlgh mounLaln, aL a slLe LhaL looked llke a
collecLlon of swallow's nesLs. l'd lmaglned a wlde-open quarry, buL whaL l found were caves
cuL all over Lhe mounLaln slde, wlLh sLone sLacked all around Lhem. 9D#A0"3/ F? And Lhey dld
look a loL llke a collecLlon of swallow's nesLs.

lL Lurned ouL LhaL each cave produced a dlfferenL color of marble. 1he marble occurred ln
formaLlons LhaL looked a loL llke a layer cake wlLh frosLlng beLween Lhe layers. 1here would
be abouL 70cm of usable whlLe sLone, and on Lop of lL would be a Lhlnner, dark layer. 1he
sLone conLlnued Lo alLernaLe llke Lhls, wlLh a Lhlck whlLe layer, and Lhen a Lhln dark
layer. 9D#A0"3/ G? 1hey used a glanL saw Lo cuL ouL Lhe secLlons as lf Lhey were chunks of Lofu.


1he dlfflculLy for me was LhaL Lhe largesL sphere of Lhe pagoda would have a flnlshed
dlameLer of 103cm, so Lo geL a sphere Lhls blg ouL of a block of marble would requlre
sLarLlng wlLh a plece LhaL was abouL 130cm Lhlck. Mr. Lgua and l reLurned Lo Lhe maln
offlces and afLer looklng aL Lhe blueprlnLs agaln, began Lo Lalk abouL Lhe Lerms of Lhe
conLracL.

Pe was proud LhaL Lhelr sLone would be used for such a noble purpose, and would do hls
besL Lo flnd a sulLable Lhlckness of sLone. Powever, Lhey would have Lo keep cuLLlng Lhe
marble ouL of Lhe walls, hoplng LhaL Lhey would evenLually dlscover a Lhlcker layer of usable
sLone. Slnce he dldn'L know when Lhls would happen, he couldn'L slgn a normal conLracL. All
he could do ls Lo promlse Lo call me as soon as Lhey found someLhlng.

lurLher, he felL LhaL shlpplng Lhe raw sLone Lo korea would be a problem. Pls company
guaranLeed Lhe quallLy of Lhelr sLone, buL whaL lf Lhey shlpped Lhe sLone all Lhe way Lo
korea, and Lhen a flaw or dlscoloraLlon was found as Lhe sLone was belng flnlshed? ln
addlLlon Lo Lhe expense, a loL of Llme would be losL. lnsLead, hls company would flnlsh Lhe
sLone and pollsh lL on slLe, and LhaL way, Lhey would be able Lo guaranLee LhaL Lhe flnlshed
sphere would be perfecL. 1hls was a reasonable polnL, and so we made a baslc agreemenL
and l made a down-paymenL on Lhe flnal prlce.

Lven Lhough l felL so rushed Lo flnlsh Lhe pagoda, Lhere was no polnL ln lnslsLlng LhaL Lhlngs
be done fasLer. As l closed my eyes l could see !u[l Sunlm glvlng me energy, and LhoughL Lo
myself, "!ulngong, you're Lhe one LhaL's bulldlng Lhls pagoda, so you're also Lhe one LhaL has
Lo flnd Lhe necessary sLone." AfLer enLrusLlng Lhls LhoughL, l asked Mr. Lgua Lo do hls besL,
and Lhen l reLurned Lo lnnsbruck.




lnnsbruck ls one of Lhe blggesL clLles ln Lhe 1yrol alps, and also one of Lhe oldesL, wlLh many
bulldlngs LhaL daLe back 300 or 600 years. Lven Lhe hoLel l was sLaylng ln was 300 years old.
l'd been lnvlLed ouL Lo dlnner by Mrs. Pannak, who'd vlslLed korea before, as well as Lhe
Panmaum Seon CenLer near uuseldorf. l meL her wlLh Mr. lm from Cermany, who klndly
agreed Lo LranslaLe. Mrs. Pannak was moved by uaehaeng kun Sunlm's Leachlngs, and as l
Lalked abouL kun Sunlm, Lears would ofLen well up ln her eyes. She was parLlcularly ln
LeresLed ln Lhe pracLlce of relylng upon one's
fundamenLal mlnd, whlle observlng and experlmenLlng wlLh lL.
She was worrled abouL her husband, and how coarse hls personallLy had become.
When Lhey were flrsL marrled, he had been a klnd and genLle man, buL laLer he sLarLed
worklng for a concreLe company. 1here he was surrounded by rough men, and seemed
Lo have absorbed many of Lhelr LralLs. She had Lrled Lo enLrusL Lhls problem, buL wlLhouL
much success, and wondered lf lL could really help. l assuredher LhaL l had never seen a
slngle aspecL or parL of kun Sunlm's Leachlngs LhaL was false. Powever, she needed Lo
know LhaL enLrusLlng dldn'L mean praylng for someLhlng.
lL meanL havlng falLh ln Lhls unseen cenLer LhaL we all possess, and enLrusLlng Lhe slLuaLlon
Lhere. "know LhaL Panmaum !ulngong ls Lhe only Lhlng LhaL could Lruly Lake care of Lhls
problem. 1haL's whaL can Lruly lead you and your famlly, so enLrusL all of Lhlngs LhaL are
golng well Lhere, as well as Lhe Lhlngs LhaL aren'L golng well." 1hls foundaLlon, Lhls rooL
wlLhln us, ls whaL we have Lo rely upon. l also Lold her LhaL she needed Lo be careful noL Lo
see her husband as someone separaLe from her. ln facL, she needed Lo be careful abouL noL
havlng a duallsLlc vlew Lowards noL [usL her husband, buL also hls coworkers and Lhelr
company as well. l Lold her Lo keep enLrusLlng all of Lhose people and slLuaLlons so LhaL Lhey
would all become one.


Well, l'd Lold Mrs. Pannak some of whaL l'd heard from kun Sunlm, buL lL also applled Lo
me. 1haL could easlly descrlbe exacLly how l needed Lo proceed wlLh consLrucLlng Lhe
pagoda. Mr. lm Loo was moved Lo see Lo how hard a wesLerner was worklng aL pracLlclng.
1he korean sLudenL who'd come wlLh hlm also felL moved Lo learn more abouL 8uddhlsm
and Lhls pracLlce of relylng upon one's foundaLlon, whlle reLurnlng all duallLles Lhere.


lL was nearly 1a.m. when we flnally had Lo leave, buL l suddenly felL moved Lo Lell everyone
someLhlng else l'd heard kun Sunlm say a few Llmes. When sLaylng ln an old clLy, or an old
resldence, lL was lmporLanL Lo spend some Llme enLrusLlng everyLhlng Lo your foundaLlon
before golng Lo bed. lor over Lhe cenLurles, who knows how many people may have dled ln
LhaL house and even LhaL very room. And lf one ls dlsLracLed or un-cenLered, a splrlL may Lry
Lo move lnLo one's body. WlLh Lhls we relucLanLly parLed.


1he nexL mornlng l headed Lo Lhe old parL of Lown, where Lhere were examples of
archlLecLure and bulldlngs LhaL were over 600 years old. AfLer looklng around aL Lhe
dlfferenL aspecLs of Lhe deslgn and consLrucLlon, l was passlng by Lhe old caLhedral aL
around 12p.m., when l suddenly saw Mrs. Pannak! l hadn'L Lold her where l'd be Loday, buL
here she was, and she looked much healLhler Lhan Lhe day before. l asked her how she
happened Lo be Lhere Loday. She Lold me LhaL lL had been so wonderful Lo hear abouL kun
Sunlm's Leachlngs, LhaL she wanLed Lo see me agaln before l lefL. So LhaL evenlng before
golng Lo bed, she'd enLrusLed Lo !ulngong Lhe LhoughL LhaL we should meeL agaln Lhe nexL
day aL Lhe booksLore ln fronL of Lhe caLhedral, aL lunch Llme. She'd even Laken Lhe sLep of
wearlng a brlghL red coaL, Lo make lL easler for her Lo be seen! 9D#A0"3/ H?needless Lo say, we
were all amazed aL how her experlmenL Lurned ouL.

l reLurned Lo korea, bearlng Lhe samples of sLone from Lhls Lrlp. When l showed Lhem Lo
uaehaeng kun Sunlm, she sald Lhe sLone was good, alLhough wlLh Llme lL would show some
Lraces of color. l explalned Lo her why we had Lo walL for Lhe whlLe marble, and asked for
her help wlLh maklng sure LhaL marble of Lhe necessary slze and color was found, and LhaL
slnce lL was marble, LhaL lL would a blL sLronger Lhan usual.


1he Commun|cat|ons Center of the Un|verse

Cne day Lhe followlng sprlng, l recelved a message saylng LhaL Lhe green sLone from Lhe
mounLaln quarry ln Slchuan had flnally been dellvered, and work was sLarLlng on lL.
Powever, Lhere had sLlll been no word from Lhe marble quarry ln lLaly. Lven Lhough l'd
enLrusLed Lhe slLuaLlon, l sLlll couldn'L keep from wonderlng when Lhe sLone would be
found. l'd Lry Lo leL go of my worrles abouL Lhls, buL Lhey kepL wrlggllng up. llnally, durlng
Lhe uharma Lalk on Lhe Lhlrd Sunday of Aprll, 2001, kun Sunlm sald Lhe followlng:

?ou're probably noLlced LhaL we're preparlng Lo bulld Lhe Cu[eong agoda, buL
you shouldn'L Lhlnk of Lhls as an ordlnary pagoda. ?ou all have Lo know Lhe place
LhaL can Lake care of your sufferlng, Lhe place you need Lo speak wlLh Lo connecL
wlLh Lhe needed energy, and Lhe place Lhrough whlch you can Lruly communlcaLe
wlLh everyLhlng. Sunlms are Laklng everyLhlng bad LhaL was sald ln Lhe pasL,
presenL, and fuLure, and eraslng lL whlle brlnglng ouL LhaL whlch ls good. 1hey
brlng lL ouL ln fronL and gaLher lL LogeLher, and work Lo help people connecL wlLh
lL. 1hls work ls more dlfflculL Lhan you can lmaglne: ln Lhe unseen realm Lhey bulld
Lhe pagoda by sllclng off Lhelr own flesh and sLacklng lL up, and Lhen palnL Lhe
pagoda wlLh Lhelr blood. uon'L Lhlnk LhaL bulldlng Lhe pagoda ls [usL seLLlng
sLones on Lop of each oLher. lL's bulldlng a conLrol cenLer Lhrough whlch one can
rlde a wheel-less charloL and Lake care of all Lhe Lhlngs ln Lhe unlverse.

LlsLenlng Lo kun Sunlm explaln Lhe deep meanlng and purpose of Lhls pagoda, l felL
ashamed LhaL l had noL been pracLlclng more dlllgenLly. l felL as lf l'd only been paylng llp
servlce Lo leLLlng go. AfLer Lhls, l really began Lo deeply and Lruly leL go of everyLhlng. And
yeL, so much energy had gone lnLo Lhe AugusL 11, 2001 uharma Lalk ln Cermany, l worrled
wheLher Lhelr would be anyLhlng lefL Lo brlng forLh Lhe sLone. l soon learned LhaL Lhe energy
of mlnd ls lnflnlLe: barely a monLh afLer kun Sunlm's uharma Lalk ln Cermany, l recelved
word LhaL Lhe quarry ln lLaly had found Lhe sLone! 1hey asked me Lo come and conflrm LhaL
Lhe sLone was whaL we wanLed. WlLh Lhls l was on Lhe nexL plane Lo Cermany.




* ln Lhe flnal parL of Lhls serles, Mr. klm arrlves ln lrankfurL on SepLember 11, 2001.
1ranalaLed by Lhe hanmaum lnLernaLlonal CulLure lnsLlLuLe.












1. Why has the fee||ng of becom|ng one w|th the un|verse d|sappeared?
1wo monLhs ago, l experlenced someLhlng exLraordlnary when l was ln Lhe uharma
hall. Whlle slLLlng ln medlLaLlon, all of a sudden l seemed Lo dlsappear. l felL myself
Lransform lnLo brlghL llghL and become one wlLh Lhe unlverse. AL LhaL momenL, l felL so
bllssful and llghLhearLed LhaL l could have faced any hardshlp wlLhouL fear. Powever,
slnce Lhen l have losL LhaL feellng alLhough l remember whaL lL was llke. no maLLer how
hard l Lry Lo reLurn Lo LhaL momenL, l can'L. 1he harder l Lry, Lhe more oppressed l feel.
Why has LhaL feellng dlsappeared? AlLhough l have a vlvld memory of lL, why can'L l feel
lL agaln?
When walklng, you ralse one fooL up and Lhen puL lL down ln anoLher spoL, and Lhen
move Lhe oLher fooL ahead of lL. uo you walk whlle cllnglng Lo each sLep? Cr do you [usL
walk wlLhouL Lhlnklng of Lhe fooLsLeps you've already Laken? ?ou [usL walk, and wlLh
your mlnd undlsLurbed, you ralse one fooL up and Lhen puL lL down, sLep afLer sLep.
CulLlvaLlng mlnd ls llke Lhe movemenL of walklng. LveryLhlng ln Lhe unlverse ls
funcLlonlng llke LhaL. Llke walklng, we conLlnuously move forward. Cne momenL we see
someLhlng, and Lhen pass by, and lnsLanLly do oLher Lhlngs. As soon as we hear or see
someLhlng, we move on Lo oLher Lhlngs. We llve llke Lhls naLurally.
neverLheless, whenever you flnd someLhlng you llke, you Lry Lo cllng Lo lL. Cr when you
feel unhappy, you Lry Lo cllng Lo LhaL unhapplness. lf you do noL release lL, you cannoL
move beyond LhaL experlence. LeL's learn Lo Lhlnk dlfferenLly. no maLLer how sad you
are, lL ls ephemeral, no maLLer how happy you are, lL ls shorL-llved. lf you cllng Lo Lhe
happlness or sadness of LhaL momenL, how wlll you be able Lo sLrlde forward brlskly
and freely?
We llve every slngle day llke Lhe wlnd, whlch never sLlcks Lo any of Lhe Lhlngs lL passes.
1hus, llke Lhe PearL SuLra says, because every slngle Lhlng changes, Lhere ls no momenL
when l can say, l'm dolng," or l'm noL dolng." Pearlng, seelng, speaklng, readlng,
worklng, and meeLlng people: noLhlng ln llfe ls sLaLlonary for even an lnsLanL. All of lL
dlsappears llke Lhe wlnd, lL never sLays.
neverLheless, your lnLellecL Lrles Lo Lake hold of good or bad Lhlngs. eople Lend Lo be
unhappy because Lhe resulL wasn'L whaL Lhey wanLed. Cr Lhey Lend Lo hold onLo a
momenL of happlness and never wanL Lo leave LhaL place. lnsLead of dolng Lhls, [usL
walk. 1hls ls Lhe dlrecL paLh on whlch you can obLaln enllghLenmenL.
ln Lhe mldsL of culLlvaLlng mlnd, you may encounLer greaL wonder or Lerrlble mlsery.
8uL know LhaL all of Lhls exlsLs Lo Leach you so LhaL you can lmprove. 1herefore,
regardless of whaL you face, leL go of boLh good and bad Lhlngs, and walk forward
peacefully and freely.


2. Why doesn't sat|sfact|on |ast?
Why doesn'L saLlsfacLlon lasL? l never feel compleLely saLlsfled wlLh anyLhlng l do or
anyone l'm wlLh. Lven when l feel greaL abouL someLhlng, lL never lasLs. l don'L know
why l feel llke Lhls. ls Lhere someLhlng wrong?
?ou won'L be Lruly saLlsfled wlLh Lhe Lhlngs ln your llfe unLll you know where you came
from and who you are. ?ou musL know your foundaLlon, your lnherenL naLure. As long
as you Lhlnk of your body as me" and Lhlnk LhaL l" am dolng everyLhlng, noLhlng wlll
be able Lo saLlsfy you for very long.
Look aL your body. lL probably won'L lasL for even a hundred years. When lL's gone,
whaL good are all Lhe possesslons and accompllshmenLs you have accumulaLed? Look
aL fame. Pow many people who were famous whlle allve are remembered even flfLy
years afLer Lhelr deaLh? eople Lend Lo cllng Lo Lhlngs llke Lhelr body, fame, and money,
and Lo LhoughLs llke, l dld.," 1hls ls whaL l deserve," She dld Lhls Lo me," eLc.,
Lhlnklng LhaL Lhose Lhlngs can be a wall LhaL wlll proLecL Lhem from hardshlps. So Lhey
keep bulldlng Lhe wall hlgher and Lhlcker. Powever, Lhls lsn'L a wall LhaL proLecLs Lhem,
lL's a wall LhaL lmprlsons Lhem.
1he hlgher Lhls wall goes, Lhe colder Lhelr mlnds become. 1hls prlson of LhoughL and
cllnglng ls more Lerrlble and cruel Lhan any physlcal prlson. Lven a [udge's declslon
can'L seL you free. 1hls ls Lhe place, however, where mosL people choose Lo spend Lhelr
llves. Some even Lhlnk LhaL Lhey are free, llvlng wlLhln Lhose walls.
1he only way Lo free yourself ls Lo leL go of whaL you Lhlnk you are. know LhaL your
foundaLlon, your 8uddha-naLure, ls dolng everyLhlng ln Lhe world. So, enLrusL all of Lhe
LhoughLs of l'm.," me," Pe dld.," Lo your foundaLlon and sLep forward lnLo
freedom. 1hls ls called dolng wlLhouL any LhoughL of dolng." When you caLch yourself
Lhlnklng Lhlngs llke, l dld...," l'm...," lmmedlaLely leL go of LhaL LhoughL, knowlng, lL's
my foundaLlon LhaL ls dolng all of Lhls." 1hls ls Lhe way Lo Lear down Lhe wall. When you
pracLlce llke Lhls, Sprlng comes auLomaLlcally, and Lhe lce melLs and flowers blossom.
lnflnlLe energy and poLenLlal are conLalned wlLhln you. ?our foundaLlon ls Lhe source of
all Lhls energy and ls connecLed Lo every slngle Lhlng ln Lhe unlverse. 1hls ls where Lrue
saLlsfacLlon arlses from. When you enLrusL your LhoughLs, feellngs, and clrcumsLances
Lo your foundaLlon, lL responds wlLh whaLever ls needed. lL already knows whaL ls
needed, we [usL have Lo glve lL a chance Lo work. LnLrusLlng ls Lhe way Lo do Lhls. 1hls
foundaLlon, your lnherenL naLure, ls Lruly mysLerlous.
LveryLhlng ln Lhls world ls always movlng, changlng, and manlfesLlng because of our
foundaLlon. lL's Lhe source of everyLhlng ln Lhe unlverse, boLh Lhe Lhlngs we know, and
Lhose subLle, mysLerlous Lhlngs LhaL mosL people are compleLely unaware of. 1here's
no way LhaL concepLuallzlng or plannlng can conLrol our lnherenL naLure. lL's so much
greaLer Lhan any words or LhoughLs LhaL all we can do ls [usL enLrusL ourselves Lo lL. We
become one wlLh our lnherenL naLure, our foundaLlon when we uncondlLlonally enLrusL
everyLhlng Lo lL. 1hen, whaLever we Lruly need ls naLurally provlded.
As long as you are looklng ouLslde yourself, you wlll never be saLlsfled. 1rue saLlsfacLlon
comes from knowlng and relylng upon your own lnherenL naLure, your 8uddha-naLure,
noL from anyLhlng else.


3. Why does the wor|d seem unfa|r?
1he world seems Lo be unfalr. eople who sLeal and do Lerrlble Lhlngs are beLLer off. lf
you llve a vlrLuous llfe, you look llke a fool or a vlcLlm. Why should people who don'L do
anyLhlng wrong have Lo suffer more? lf people llve a good llfe, don'L Lhey deserve Lo be
rewarded for Lhe good Lhlngs Lhey do?
?ou should know LhaL wheLher someLhlng arlses lnslde of you or comes from ouLslde of
you, every problem you face ls someLhlng LhaL you have caused ln Lhe pasL. 1he Lhlngs
you recelve now, even Lhe seemlngly unfalr Lhlngs LhaL happen Lo you, are all whaL you
have made ln Lhe pasL. 1hls ls exacLly Lhe same for everyone else. LveryLhlng ln your
presenL llfe comes ouL accordlng Lo Lhe deeds and LhoughLs LhaL you lnpuL ln Lhe pasL.
Powever, all of Lhese recordlngs are conLalned wlLhln your presenL mlnd, so lf you
erase Lhe recordlng by enLrusLlng and waLchlng, Lhen you can be free.
As we have evolved over mllllons of years, everyLhlng abouL how we have llved has
been recorded wlLhln mlnd, [usL llke a Lape recordlng. Cver counLless eons, we have
had so many dlfferenL shapes. We've llved wlLh Lhe body of an lnsecL, a blrd, a plg, and
a human belng. We've eaLen and been eaLen, cheaLed and been cheaLed, helped oLhers
and been helped ourselves, and all of Lhls has been recorded wlLhln our mlnds. lL ls Lhls
recordlng LhaL ls belng replayed ln our llves, whlle aL Lhe same Llme our reacLlons Lo Lhe
Lhlngs LhaL arlse and Lhe Lhlngs we do now are belng recorded. So lL ls hard Lo llve
freely ln Lhls llfe because of Lhe lnfluence of our pasL recordlng, and lL wlll be hard Lo be
free ln Lhe fuLure, lf we don'L sLop recordlng new conLenLs.
8ecause people don'L see how Lhese Lhlngs work, Lhey slgh over Lhe mlsforLunes of llfe,
complalnlng abouL how unfalr Lhlngs are. Powever, leL's look aL Lhls carefully. ?ou are
recelvlng Lhlngs exacLly as you made Lhem. no one can complaln abouL lL. WheLher you
experlence [oy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure, all of Lhose are only Lhe ouLcome of your
own behavlors.
1hus, l keep Lelllng you LhaL because you made Lhe problem, you are Lhe one who has
Lo solve lL. And you Lruly can. When you enLrusL someLhlng Lo your lnherenL naLure and
waLch, Lhen lL ls exacLly llke eraslng Lhe old daLa. lL's llke maklng a blank recordlng over
Lhe old daLa. 1hls ls Lhe way we can free ourselves from Lhe chalns of Lhe pasL.
ln oLher words, everyLhlng LhaL confronLs you ? poverLy, lllness, famlly Lroubles, anger,
lonellness, eLc.? comes from your fundamenLal mlnd, LhaL ls, your Lrue self. So, you
should reLurn lL Lo Lhe place lL arose from. ?ou should enLrusL everyLhlng Lo your Lrue
self. 1hen Lhe pasL record wlll be erased and dlsappear.
?our Lrue self, your foundaLlon, connecLs Lhe pasL, Lhe presenL, and Lhe fuLure. ?our
Lrue self ls Lhe only place LhaL can communlcaLe wlLh Lhe unlverse, and wlLh everyLhlng
ln Lhls world. ln Lhe fundamenLal mlnd, all Lhlngs are dlrecLly connecLed Lo each oLher.
1hus, you should remember LhaL regardless of whaLever confronLs you, when you
enLrusL lL Lo Lhe fundamenLal mlnd, your Lrue self, Lhlngs wlll change.
8uL whaL abouL good and bad, you may wonder. Cf course, Lhere ls good and bad.
Powever, Lhere ls no good or bad LhaL remalns LhaL way forever because everyone has
boLh good and bad wlLhln Lhem.
lL ls your mlnd LhaL makes you do elLher good or bad. A good person does noL always
do good nor does a bad person always do bad. 8ecause everyLhlng changes from
momenL Lo momenL, people who behave well ln ordlnary Llmes may commlL crlmes ln
cerLaln slLuaLlons, and people who usually do bad Lhlngs may do someLhlng good ln
some clrcumsLances. 1hus, people who do vlrLuous deeds may also do bad Lhlngs and
people who do bad Lhlngs may also do good Lhlngs. LveryLhlng always changes, so how
can we say who ls good and who ls bad? When our mlnds are ln accordance wlLh Lhe
LruLh, we become good, buL lf we ralse a LhoughL lncorrecLly, we lnevlLably fall lnLo evll
ways.
A long Llme ago, a robber was passlng Lhrough a LhlckeL and saw a woman crylng. She
carrled one baby ln her back and held anoLher ln her arms, whlle Laklng care of a Lhlrd
chlld walklng beslde her. 1hey were crylng from hunger, buL she had noLhlng Lo glve
Lhem. 1hey look so plLlful LhaL Lhe robber approached her and, preLendlng Lo be a
merchanL, sald, uon'L you have anyLhlng Lo eaL? 1he chlldren seem Lo be hungry." 1he
woman answered, We have no food. My husband was arresLed and we have noL heard
from hlm. Lven our small huL was Laken away. We have nowhere Lo go." Pearlng Lhls,
Lhe robber gave her Lhe money he had sLolen and Lold her Lo buy a house wlLh lL, Lhen
he gave Lhe chlldren Lhe food he had Laken. AfLerwards, he laughed when he reallzed
Lhe lrony of Lhe slLuaLlon: he had glven away everyLhlng he worked so hard Lo sLeal.
eople behave ln such varlous ways. Cn Lhe one hand, Lhere ls Lhe person who goes
begglng, even Lhough he does noL have any physlcal problems. Cn Lhe oLher hand,
Lhere ls Lhe handlcapped person who sells Lhlngs from hls wheelchalr ln order Lo earn
hls own llvlng expenses. 1here ls Lhe person who makes a blg show of glvlng money.
8uL Lhere ls also Lhe one who ls concerned abouL Lhe feellngs of Lhe reclplenL, and so
glves money ln a quleL and dlscreeL way. Cn Lhe one hand, Lhere ls Lhe person who
pays full prlce for Lhlngs when Lhe seller ls poor. Cn Lhe oLher hand, Lhere ls Lhe person
who drlves a hard bargaln, even when Lhe seller ls qulLe poor or handlcapped. 1here
are so many people, and so many mlnds. When l Lhlnk abouL lL, people sLeal because of
lgnorance, Lhey do sLupld Lhlngs because of lgnorance, Lhey do harmful Lhlngs because
of lgnorance. eople do such Lhlngs noL because Lhey are lnLrlnslcally bad, buL because
Lhey do noL undersLand Lhelr foundaLlon, whlch ls connecLed Lo all Lhlngs.

4. Is there such a th|ng as a prev|ous ||fe or be|ng reborn?
ls Lhere such a Lhlng as a prevlous llfe or belng reborn? l heard LhaL ln Lhls llfe, we
recelve Lhe resulLs of Lhe good and bad Lhlngs we dld ln our pasL llves, and ln Lhe llfe Lo
come, we wlll recelve Lhe resulLs of whaL we have done ln Lhls llfe. ls Lhere really such a
Lhlng as a prevlous llfe or reblrLh?
?our prevlous llfe or reblrLh ls whaL you have creaLed wlLh your mlnd and whaL you
recelve wlLh your mlnd. 1here ls no pasL because you carry lL wlLh you when you are
born lnLo Lhls world, and Lhere ls no fuLure because lL has noL yeL come. 1hus, Lhere ls
only Lhls momenL. Powever, Lhere ls no flxed span of Llme LhaL we can acLually call a
momenL" elLher, so even Lhe presenL does noL exlsL. 1here ls only endless change and
manlfesLaLlon, and Lhe ceaseless funcLlonlng of everyLhlng. 1haL ls all. 1haL's why lL ls
sald LhaL everyLhlng ls empLy.
Powever, people do noL know LhaL everyLhlng ls essenLlally empLy, and do noL geL rld
of Lhelr aLLachmenLs Lo Lhe Lhlngs Lhey do. So, Lhe Lhlngs Lhey dld ln Lhe pasL become
karmlc consclousnesses, whlch Lhen manlfesL Lhrough Lhelr llves and Lhelr bodles.
karmlc consclousnesses are [usL llke Lhe chalns of a slave.
LveryLhlng abouL how people llved durlng Lhelr pasL llves was recorded auLomaLlcally ln
Lhelr mlnds, and laLer comes ouL auLomaLlcally, accordlng Lo Lhe clrcumsLances. 1here
are good Lhlngs and bad Lhlngs, and Lhere are favorable Lhlngs and unfavorable Lhlngs.
eople recelve Lhlngs accordlng Lo whaL Lhey have done, Lhey reap Lhe frulLs of Lhelr
acLlons. 1here are no accldenLs or mlsLakes ln Lhe resulLs.
Powever, cause and effecL can also be sub[ecL Lo change. lf you can leL go of everyLhlng
wlLhouL cllnglng, and reLurn lL Lo your Lrue self, your foundaLlon, Lhen you can erase
your karmlc consclousnesses one by one. usually lL ls sald LhaL good karma brlngs good
resulLs, and bad karma brlngs bad resulLs, buL you should know LhaL boLh are noLhlng
buL Lhe worklngs of your karmlc consclousnesses, whlch resulL from lgnorance and
aLLachmenLs.
ln order Lo be born lnLo Lhls world, Lhe faLher's sperm and moLher's ovum comblne
LogeLher Lo make Lhe physlcal body, and Lhe eLernal llfe and Lhe karmlc
consclousnesses also merge Lhere. 1he eLernal llfe ls Lhe 8uddha-naLure, Lhe Lrue self,
Lhe lnherenL naLure. 1he lnherenL naLure ls lnLrlnslcally pure and brlghL, and funcLlons
smooLhly wlLhouL any frlcLlon. So, we cannoL say LhaL Lhe lnherenL naLure ls dlrLy or
clean, because noLhlng can sLlck Lo lL. 1he 8uddha repeaLedly emphaslzed LhaL we
should awaken Lo our lnherenL naLure, our Lrue self. 1he reason for Lhls ls LhaL from Lhe
vlewpolnL of lnherenL naLure, all of Lhe good and bad Lhlngs, and even deaLh and
reblrLh are [usL Lrlcks LhaL our karmlc consclousnesses play on us.
lf you could see Lhlngs from Lhe sLandpolnL of 8uddha-naLure, you would know LhaL
everyone ls equal, wlLhouL any dlscrlmlnaLlon of you" and me," and LhaL noLhlng ls
separaLe from anyLhlng else. l am Lhe whole and Lhe whole ls me. 1hus, Lhere ls no
parLlcular sub[ecL LhaL can say, lL's me," or lL's you." Llkewlse, Lhere ls no sub[ecL LhaL
repeaLedly passes Lhrough Lhe cycle of blrLh and deaLh. lL ls a mlsLake Lo assume LhaL
Lhere ls cerLaln subsLance such as a splrlL LhaL ls reborn agaln and agaln. Powever,
people belleve Lhere ls a sub[ecL LhaL ls reborn agaln because Lhey are noL awakened Lo
Lhelr lnherenL naLure, and mlsLake Lhelr karmlc consclousnesses for Lhelr own
fundamenLal self.
We culLlvaLe our mlnds ln order Lo be free from Lhe cycle of blrLh and deaLh, Lo aLLaln
enllghLenmenL and nlrvana. unLll Lhen, our llves are ln Lhe process of evoluLlon. unLll
we can melL Lhe chalns of our karmlc consclousnesses and obLaln Lrue freedom,
regardless of how long lL Lakes, we should keep pollshlng our mlnds on Lhe way Lo
LruLh, whlle changlng our worn ouL bodles.
?our quesLlon suggesLs LhaL you see only Lhe forms of Lhe vlslble world. 1he vlslble
world ls only flfLy percenLs of everyLhlng. lL would be a mlsLake Lo compleLely lgnore lL,
buL Lry noL Lo pay so much aLLenLlon Lo Lhe phenomenal realm. lnsLead, explore your
own foundaLlon, Lhe world of mlnd, whlch has no physlcal form. LeL go of everyLhlng
and enLrusL everyLhlng Lo your Lrue self, your foundaLlon, whlch has made you whaL
you are Loday. lnsLead of followlng Lhe endless cycle of blrLh and deaLh, belleve ln and
Lake refuge ln your Lrue self, whlch ls nelLher born nor dles.
lf you pracLlce dlllgenLly and awaken Lo whaL your mlnd really ls, you wlll know your
lnherenL naLure, whlch ls nelLher born nor dles, and whlch ls never sLalned by anyLhlng.
lurLher, quesLlons such as wheLher or noL Lhere are Lhlngs llke a soul or reblrLh wlll be
answered naLurally. 1hus l have Lo say LhaL no one ls Lruly evll. 1here ls noLhlng for any
blame Lo sLlck Lo. Why ls lL LhaL? lL's because everyLhlng changes and moves
ceaselessly, beyond Llme and space. We can observe LhaL even hardened crlmlnals are
noL always bad. Lven Lhose people are conLlnulng Lo evolve. ?ou would be amazed lf
you saw how much Lhey've lmproved, even now. lf you keep ralslng good LhoughLs
from your mlnd for Lhem, Lhey begln Lo move along a beLLer paLh. So, why don'L you
lead Lhem ln Lhe rlghL dlrecLlon and save Lhem?

S. now can I become a more sp|r|tua| person?
usually, people assume LhaL pracLlclng Seon (Chan, Zen) means slLLlng ln
medlLaLlon. ls Lhls how l can become a more splrlLual person?
!usL physlcally slLLlng down ls noL Lhe way Lo pracLlce Seon, because splrlLual
pracLlce ls done Lhrough your mlnd, noL Lhrough your body. ln Lhls age, when
people's llves are so busy, our llvlng lLself - eaLlng, worklng, drlvlng, lovlng,
sleeplng - should all become pracLlclng Seon. lf slLLlng medlLaLlon were Lhe only
way Lo culLlvaLe your mlnd, your pracLlce would sLop Lhe momenL you sLand up,
wouldn'L lL?
A long Llme ago, when Ma-Lsu was slLLlng ln medlLaLlon, Seon masLer Pual-[ang
saw hlm, plcked up a plece of roof Llle, and began Lo pollsh lL. Ma-Lsu asked, Why
are you pollshlng a Llle?" Pual-[ang replled, l'm pollshlng lL ln order Lo make lL
lnLo a mlrror." (ln LhaL age mlrrors were made ouL of pollshed bronze.) Pual-[ang
Lhen asked Ma-Lsu why he was slLLlng Lhere. Ma-Lsu answered, l am slLLlng llke
Lhls ln order Lo become a 8uddha." Pual-[ang sald, 1hen, you should noL sLand
up, you should noL eaL, and you should noL go Lo Lhe LolleL elLher. CLherwlse,
wouldn'L your pracLlce sLop as soon as you moved your body?" Ma-Lsu awakened
upon hearlng Lhls. 1he 8uddha also Lrled Lo pracLlce Lhrough hls body for slx years,
buL Lhen reallzed LhaL pracLlce should be done Lhrough mlnd.
lf you have falLh ln your Lrue self, your foundaLlon, and you enLrusL everyLhlng Lo lL
and observe whaL comes, whlle llvlng comforLably ln your dally llfe, Lhen Lhls ls
splrlLual pracLlce and Lhe meanlng of Seon. Pave you noLlced whaL happens afLer a
car accldenL? 1he drlvers sLand around argulng abouL whose faulL lL was. no
maLLer whose faulL lL was, Lhe drlvers were Lhe cause, noL Lhe cars.
Llkewlse, our mlnds, noL our bodles, are Lhe source of our every word and deed.
?our fundamenLal mlnd ls Lhe drlver, lL can Lake care of everyLhlng and gulde you
ln your dally llfe. ln oLher words, Lhe drlver ls Laklng care of everyLhlng and
resolvlng every problem ln your llfe, so enLrusL everyLhlng Lo your fundamenLal
mlnd and llve smooLhly.
Who makes you Lhlnk, Lalk, and move? ?ou may Lhlnk lL ls obvlous, l do." 8uL ls
LhaL l" Lhe one LhaL caused you Lo be born lnLo Lhls world? ls LhaL l" responslble
for your blrLh and deaLh? WhaL ls responslble for Lhe blrLh and deaLh of every
oLher belng ln Lhls world? lL ls noL Lhe l" LhaL you Lend Lo Lhlnk of as yourself buL
raLher your Lrue self LhaL ls dolng everyLhlng. When you reallze Lhls LruLh, you can
leave behlnd LhoughLs llke Pe dld LhaL Lo me," l'm dolng.," l dld.," l
deserve.." 8y Lhe way, always vlew Lhlngs poslLlvely. lf you keep lnLerpreLlng
Lhlngs negaLlvely or always crlLlclze and blame oLhers, Lhls wlll lower your own
splrlLual level.
When you llve wlLh falLh ln your Lrue self, whlch ls Laklng care of everyLhlng ln
your llfe, Lhen your llfe lLself becomes pracLlclng Seon. Accordlng Lo
clrcumsLances, you can pracLlce whlle slLLlng, or lf you are busy, you can pracLlce
whlle worklng or drlvlng, and you can even pracLlce whlle lylng down: all of Lhls ls
pracLlclng Seon. SlLLlng medlLaLlon, sLandlng medlLaLlon, lylng-down medlLaLlon,
and worklng medlLaLlon are noL dlfferenL.
no maLLer whaL you do ln your dally llfe, lf you belleve ln your Lrue self, and
enLrusL everyLhlng Lo your Lrue self, you are engaged ln pracLlclng medlLaLlon.
1here ls noLhlng ln llfe LhaL ls noL Lhe culLlvaLlon of mlnd. So, you should noL Lhlnk
LhaL pracLlclng Seon or learnlng 8uddhlsm are separaLe from your dally llfe. noL
ever!
LnLrusL all Lhlngs Lo your Lrue self, Lhen llvlng lLself becomes pracLlclng Seon. ln
everyLhlng you underLake, you should LrusL your Lrue self Lo solve Lhe problems
you face and know LhaL only lL can lead you ln Lhe rlghL dlrecLlon. 1hls ls Lhe way
Lo develop unwaverlng falLh, Lo dlrecL your aLLenLlon lnwardly, and Lo Lake refuge
ln your Lrue self. lf Lhe LhoughLs of l," me," and mlne" dle aL every momenL,
Lhen even Lhough you do noL slL down, everyLhlng you do becomes pracLlclng
medlLaLlon.

6. Is ||fe suffer|ng?
l'm havlng a hard Llme. 1he pro[ecL l was ln charge of dld noL Lurn ouL very well, so
l had Lo qulL my [ob. now, l have a new [ob, buL l'm noL dolng well, and Lhe pay ls
also noL good. lL's been llke Lhls for some Llme now, so my enLlre famlly ls havlng
Lrouble wlLh money, and Lhe flghLs beLween my wlfe and myself never seem Lo
sLop. l'm slck of everybody's complalnLs. 1here ls no peace ln my home anymore. l
had always hoped LhaL my chlldren would grow up happlly because my chlldhood
was noL so good. ?eL, no maLLer how hard l Lry, my llfe doesn'L seem Lo be Lurnlng
ouL Lhe way l wanLed. l read ln some book LhaL Shakyamunl 8uddha once Lold
people, Llfe ls sufferlng." ls LhaL Lrue? lf so, whaL can l do abouL all of Lhese
maLLers?
All of us experlence many Lhlngs durlng our llves, such as lllness and poverLy, [oy
and happlness. ?ou mlghL Lhlnk LhaL some of Lhose Lhlngs happened [usL by
accldenL. Powever, because you were Lhere, Lhose Lhlngs occurred and you
experlenced Lhem. ln facL, all Lhe Lhlngs LhaL we experlence are Lhe resulL of whaL
we have done over a greaL number of eons. lL's [usL LhaL when Lhey reLurn Lo us,
Lhey Lend Lo have a dlfferenL appearance, so we don'L recognlze Lhem.
WhaL we recelve Loday ls Lhe ouLcome of whaL we dld ln Lhe pasL, and how we
reacL Lo whaL we recelve deLermlnes whaL Lhe fuLure resulL wlll be. 1herefore, do
noL Lhlnk LhaL Lhe dlfflculLles you face now [usL happened by chance. Pardshlps
are [usL anoLher face of your Lrue self, whlch ls Lrylng Lo Leach you. So, don'L
blame oLhers or Lhe era for Lhe dlfflculL slLuaLlon you are ln. lnsLead, you should
be graLeful Lo your Lrue self, whlch ls glvlng you anoLher chance Lo change Lhlngs.
lorgeLLlng abouL your lnner self and belng depressed because of dlfflculL
clrcumsLances cannoL be excused. When some hardshlp happens Lo you, you can
geL angry and complaln abouL lL, or you can Lhlnk of lL as a good opporLunlLy Lo
compleLe yourself. Whlch way you approach Lhlngs ls enLlrely up Lo you. ?our
fuLure depends upon Lhe declslons you make.
AcLually, lL ls Lrue LhaL Shakyamunl 8uddha sald, 1he world ls full of sufferlng." Pe
also sald, 1he world ls llke a burnlng house." 1hese are Lhe warnlngs LhaL Lhe
8uddha gave Lo people who chased afLer only maLerlal Lhlngs wlLhouL reflecLlng
upon Lhe LruLh.
MosL people move Lhrough Lhelr llfe dragglng Lhelr dlfflculLles behlnd Lhem. 1hus,
Lhey suffer Lwlce: once when Lhe dlfflculLles come Lo Lhem, and once more as Lhey
Lry Lo carry Lhem along. Lvery slngle 8uddha has also experlenced hardshlps
because Lhose Lhlngs are Lhe resulLs of whaL one has made ln Lhe pasL, and Lhls
applles Lo everyone. Powever, wlLhouL cllnglng Lo anyLhlng, 8uddhas release
everyLhlng Lo Lhe fundamenLal place, Lhe lnner self, and by dolng LhaL, whaLever
Lhey encounLer becomes one wlLh Lhe lnner self and so dlssolves and melLs away.
Cnce Lhose bad slLuaLlons have arlsen, Lhere's noL much LhaL can be done abouL
Lhem. 8uL, lf you leL go of all Lhose dlfflculLles Lo your lnner self wlLhouL holdlng on
Lo Lhem and wlLhouL maklng dlscrlmlnaLlons abouL Lhem, Lhen you wlll noL have Lo
suffer from carrylng Lhem wlLh you. ?ou wlll also be freelng yourself from fuLure
sufferlng. When you keep dolng Lhls, you wlll gradually aLLaln calmness and your
sufferlng wlll dlssolve, and flnally you wlll see your lnner self, Lhe LruLh.
Powever, releaslng everyLhlng llke Lhls lsn'L easy lf you have never Lrled lL before.
So, flrsL, you should flrmly belleve LhaL Lhe LruLh ls wlLhln you. ln oLher words,
know LhaL your fundamenLal mlnd has Lhe ablllLy Lo Lake care of everyLhlng. nexL,
you should undersLand LhaL everyLhlng you confronL ls noL sufferlng, buL raLher
[usL anoLher aspecL of yourself. 1hen, enLrusL lL Lo your lnner self. AfLerwards, Lhe
Lhlngs you enLrusLed wlll dlssolve because your lnner self, your foundaLlon, ls Lhe
source of everyLhlng and Lhe source of lnflnlLe energy.
As l sald before, Lhe besL way Lo solve Lhe Lhlngs you face ls Lo Lruly leL go of
everyLhlng Lo your lnner self wlLh flrm falLh because everyLhlng arlses from Lhere.
1hls ls Lrue vlrLue and ls Lhe only way Lo llve Lruly free.

7. Why does my ||fe seem empty?
My llfe has been very ordlnary, buL l am qulLe forLunaLe ln many respecLs. My wlfe
and l geL along well, and my chlldren are happy and well ad[usLed. Also, my work
has been golng smooLhly. neverLheless, l someLlmes feel empLy, llke someLhlng ls
mlsslng. Why do l feel llke LhaL, even Lhough everyLhlng ln my llfe seems Lo go
well?
A wlfe, a lover, chlldren, money, fame ? none of Lhose Lhlngs have Lhe power Lo
make you feel compleLe. Cnly by reLurnlng lnward Lo your foundaLlon, your Lrue
self, can you become compleLe.
Powever, many people are afrald Lo Lruly face Lhemselves. So, Lhey look for
someLhlng ouLslde, wanderlng around raLher Lhan looklng wlLhln Lhemselves. 1hls
ls how Lhey decelve Lhemselves. lf you decelve yourself llke Lhls, you can never
know Lrue peace, nor wlll Lhe empLy feellng go away, because boLh are caused by
noL knowlng your Lrue self. When you carefully observe your mlnd and llve your
llfe ln Louch wlLh Lhls lnner mlnd, you'll reallze LhaL peace ls wlLhln you. Powever,
lf you don'L slncerely face yourself, you can never be Lruly free of Lhls empLy
feellng, even lf you achleve all of your goals such as power, money, honor, and
love. 1hls applles Lo everyone.
1he more pralse you recelve from ouLslde of yourself, Lhe deeper Lhe empLlness
wlll become. 1hen, as many people do, you may look around ouLslde of yourself
even more, searchlng for Lhe cause or for someLhlng LhaL wlll geL rld of Lhe
empLlness, wlLhouL reallzlng LhaL boLh Lhe cause and Lhe cure are lnslde of you.
Long ago, a poeL lefL home Lo look for Sprlng. Pe searched everywhere, buL was
unsuccessful. Powever, upon reLurnlng home, he saw LhaL Lhe aprlcoL Lree ln hls
courLyard was bloomlng.
lf you see Lhe genulne l" wlLhln you, you wlll aLLaln Lrue peace of mlnd and Lhe
feellng of empLlness wlll dlsappear. ?eL, because your lnner self, Lhe genulne l," ls
LruLh lLself, don'L Lhlnk for a momenL LhaL Lhlngs such as force, Lrlcks, or lles can
work Lhere. So, sLop Lrylng Lo use such decelL Lo flnd your Lrue self. eople ofLen
Lry Lo endure Lhe hardshlps Lhey face wlLh Lhe hope LhaL, somehow, Lhlngs wlll be
beLLer Lomorrow or aL some oLher place. Powever, Lhese klnds of LhoughLs are
llke deluslons lf you don'L know abouL your lnner self. 1hey can'L help you for long.
1herefore, please, face yourself honesLly. ulscover Lhe genulne l" wlLhln you.
LveryLhlng ln Lhe world ? [oy, sorrow, happlness, mlsery, and empLlness ? comes
from you, lL ls all wlLhln you. 8ecause everyLhlng arlses from you, you are Lhe only
one who can Lruly solve all of Lhose lssues. 1hls ls Lhe LruLh. So, enLrusL everyLhlng
Lo your lnner self. LeL go of everyLhlng Lo your Lrue self wlLh flrm falLh and observe
how Lhlngs work LogeLher lnseparably. 1hls ls Lhe lnner paLh, whlch Leaches you Lo
see all Lhlngs as belng noL dlfferenL from yourself, and whlch shows you LhaL you"
and l" are noL Lwo.

8. What |s the true se|f?

8ecause lL ls covered wlLh soll, Lhe rooL of a Lree ls noL seen. Powever, nobody
doubLs LhaL Lhe Lree has a rooL or LhaL Lhe rooL ls Lhe source of Lhe Lree's llfe. We
human belngs also have a rooL, alLhough lL ls noL vlslble. 1hls rooL ls compleLely
empLy, wlLh noLhlng Lo grasp, buL lL ls Lhe source of everyLhlng. So, you should
know LhaL we also llve by relylng upon our rooL. Cur rooL ls 8uddha-naLure, whlch
ls also our Lrue self.
When we are Lold Lo belleve ln ourselves, many of us usually conslder our physlcal
bodles Lo be whaL we really are. Powever, our flesh ls noL eLernal. We change lL
llke we change cloLhes. Who Lhen makes your body move? When Lhe body
becomes worn ouL, and ls ready Lo be Lhrown away, who ls Lhe one ln charge of
Laklng off Lhe old cloLhes and puLLlng on new ones? lL ls your Lrue self.
1he Lrue self, Lhe 8uddha-naLure, ls your foundaLlon, eLernal llfe, and Lhe
foundaLlon LhaL embraces Lhe enLlre unlverse. lL ls llghL and boundless energy. lL
possesses all ablllLles and wlsdom. Such a Lreasure ls wlLhln you and wlLhln every
belng. So, every llfe ls 8uddha. lf we awaken Lo Lhe 8uddha-naLure LhaL ls wlLhln
us, Lhen all belngs are 8uddha, as Lhey are. 1he 8uddha came Lo Lhls world noL Lo
be worshlped, buL raLher Lo Leach people Lo free Lhemselves by relylng upon Lhelr
own lnherenL 8uddha-naLure.

10. What |s nanmaum?

I-$ means one, greaL, boundless, and comblned. J-", means Lhe fundamenLal
mlnd LhaL ls lnLanglble, lnvlslble, beyond Llme and space, and has no beglnnlng or
end. So Panmaum embraces Lhe whole unlverse and all Lhe llves wlLhln lL. ln oLher
words, Panmaum means LhaL all mlnds are one, and all belngs, Lhe world, and
unlverse are all lnLerconnecLed.
Among all Lhe llves ln Lhe world, Lhere ls noLhlng LhaL can be called you" or l."
lnherenLly llfe ls one. 1he mlnd of all llves ls one. lnherenLly llfe ls 8uddha. 1hls
lnherenL mlnd of all llfe ls called Cne Mlnd (Panmaum). AlLhough each llfe has lLs
own lndlvldual physlcal body, lnherenLly, all llves are noL separaLe.
When all Lhe mlnds ln Lhe unlverse gaLher LogeLher and funcLlon as one, we call
Lhls Panmaum. Llke all rlvers reach Lhe sea and become one, everyLhlng ln Lhe
unlverse ls conLalned ln Panmaum. So Panmaum conLalns all of Lhe mlnds of
8uddhas and 8odhlsaLLvas, as well as Lhe mlnds of all Lhlngs and unenllghLened
belngs. Panmaum Lranscends Llme and space. lL exlsLed before all Lhlngs sLarLed
and lL wlll exlsL even afLer all Lhlngs end.

11. What |s 8uddh|sm?

8uddhlsm (8ulkyo" ln korean) ls noL separaLe from our dally llfe. 1he flrsL syllable,
8ul" means Lhe everlasLlng foundaLlon of llfe. 1he second syllable, kyo" refers Lo
valuable words of LruLh abouL Lhe funcLlonlng of Lhe unlverse and our llfe lLself.
1he llfe and acLlvlLy of all Lhlngs ln and of Lhemselves ls 8uddhlsm. 1hus, 8uddhlsm
Leaches us Lhe LruLh LhaL all Lhlngs share Lhe same mlnd, Lhe same llfe, Lhe same
body, work LogeLher as one and share as one. Whlle showlng us Lhls, 8uddhlsm
encourages us Lo dlscover for ourselves who we are and whaL llfe ls.





















Candle LlghL Ceremony, Lunar new ?ear 2008

lL's dlfflculL Lo be born as a human belng,
and even [usL llvlng as a human ls full of dlfflculLles.
We've passed Lhrough endless eons before we could reach even Lhls polnL,
how can we go beyond even Lhls level?
uon'L Lhlnk of LhaL long process as sufferlng,
lnsLead see lL as Lhe process of learnlng and growlng.
lf you can do Lhls, Lhen because everyLhlng ls made from Lhe four elemenLs,
and shares Lhese same baslc elemenLs,
you wlll be able Lo undersLand Lhe prlnclples and LruLhs LhaL underlle your llfe,
Lhe world, and Lhe unlverse.
And how Lo become a Lruly free person wlll also become clear Lo you.
Wlll even Lhls world lasL forever?
We're confronLed by more and more serlous envlronmenLal problems, aren'L we.
Powever, every slngle Lhlng and acLlon arlses from wlLhln us,
every slngle Lhlng and acLlon ls conLalned wlLhln our mlnd,
wlLhouL knowlng Lhls, Lhere ls no way we can solve Lhe problems confronLlng us.
We have Lo be able Lo vlew Lhlngs from a more fundamenLal perspecLlve.
As belngs have passed Lhrough eons of evoluLlon,
Lhe paln Lhey have gone Lhrough ls beyond lmaglnaLlon,
kllllng, belng eaLen, belng crushed,
Pow much longer wlll you wllllngly repeaL Lhls?
Whlle you're here for Lhls shorL whlle,
come Lo your senses and clearly grasp Lhe LruLh of your mlnd and fundamenLal naLure,
and Lranscend Lhls endless cycle of lgnorance.
LlghL Lhe candle LhaL ls wlLhln you, and Lhe candle wlLhln your ancesLors wlll be llL.
1hls happens auLomaLlcally - all are fundamenLally connecLed as one.
As you llghL Lhe candle wlLhln your mlnd, LhaL llghL shlnes ln Lhe world around you
and all belngs become brlghLer.
1onlghL as you hold a candle, know LhaL Lhe llghL you are seelng
ls Lhe llghL of your lnherenL naLure, !ulngong, glvlng rlse Lo every Lhlng ln your llfe
And reLurnlng lL Lo Lhe vasL unlverse wlLhln you

Llke Lhe offerlngs you gave LonlghL, regardless of wheLher Lhey were large or small,
when you glve wlLh compleLe slncerlLy, your pasL debLs are repald,
and your fuLure ls brlghLened.
1hen go forward and apply your pracLlce LhroughouL your surroundlngs.
racLlce llke Lhls and dlscover Lhe eLernal now.
And Lhen Lranscend even Lhe eLernal now.


uharma 1alk on Lunar new ?ear's uay, 2006

1ake everyLhlng ln your dally llfe and enLrusL lL Lo your rooL.
LeL lL all go.
LaLlng
SLarvlng
Llvlng well
Pard Llmes
1hlngs you're capable of dolng
1hlngs you're unable Lo do
When Lhlngs go badly
When Lhlngs go well
All of Lhese are belng done by your rooL,
so enLrusL Lhem Lhere.
lf you don'L do Lhls
lL wlll be hard for you Lo belleve ln your laLenL, Lrue essence.
And lf you don'L have falLh ln Lhls lnherenL naLure of yours,
Lhe dlrecLlon of your llfe wlll be far from Lhe LruLh.

-uaehaeng kun Sunlm-
Llve Llfe Lvery MomenL Whlle LeLLlng Co

When mlnd connecLs wlLh mlnd, lL ls called no mlnd,
undersLandlng each oLher Lhrough words and speech
ls called presenL mlnd.
Can no mlnd and presenL mlnd be separaLe?
1here can be no decelvlng Lhls fundamenLal mlnd,
buL many Lhlngs are hard Lo Lalk abouL,
and so people Lry Lo hlde Lhe LruLh from each oLher.
Powever, your source,
your foundaLlon,
Lhe one LhaL made you and leads you,
knows all Loo well whaL you have done and whaL you have sald.
lor lL ls lnLlmaLely connecLed wlLh every Lhlng and Llme
LhroughouL Lhe unlverse.
AlLhough Lhe world seems chaoLlc and dlsorderly,
lL's really very slmple:
Llve ln every momenL.
1hls ls Lhe key Lo eLernal llfe.
ln love and ln work,
do your besL wlLh whaL confronLs you,
and leL go of lL wlLhouL any aLLachmenLs.
Learnlng Lhls prlnclple ls more valuable
Lhan anyLhlng ln Lhe enLlre unlverse.
So profound and profound.
8efore worrylng abouL
awakenlng or
noL awakenlng,
Lry Lo llve whlle leLLlng go llke Lhls.
lf you can slncerely do Lhls,
1hen, Lo Lhe exLenL of efforL,
you wlll be able Lo LasLe Lhe LruLh,
knowledge lLself cannoL change our llves.
lL musL be puL lnLo acLlon.
8alse clear lnLenLlons,
enLrusLlng Lhose Lo your foundaLlon
sllenLly go forward,
lor LhaL LhoughL auLomaLlcally funcLlons LogeLher
wlLh everyLhlng ln Lhe unlverse,
unfoldlng naLurally.
l hope you wlll become Lhe klnd of person
who Lakes acLlon,
slncerely leLLlng go, one fooLsLep afLer anoLher.

-uaehaeng kun Sunlm-
"llnd ?our Courage and ulscover ?our
Wlsdom"

no maLLer how many Lhousands of Lhlngs confronL you,
no maLLer how palnful or dlfflculL,
even lf someone you love ls abouL Lo dle,
enLrusL all of Lhese Lo your foundaLlon,
your lnherenL naLure,
your Lrue essence.
"lL's always been Laklng care of me,
lL's guldlng me even now,
so whaLs Lhere Lo worry abouL?"
so enLrusL everyLhlng Lhere
whlle golng forward.
?ou need Lo have Lhls klnd of aLLlLude.
All of Lhose Lhlngs LhaL confronL you are your homework,
Lhe paLh Lhrough whlch you can grow.
lf everyLhlng ln your llfe ls smooLh and Lrouble free,
you won'L be able Lo rlse abouL Lhe level
of an unenllghLened belng,
or undersLand Lhe hardshlps faclng oLhers.
lL all depends upon how well you can handle good and evll, on how non-dually you can leL go of boLh sldes,
even lncludlng Lhe 8uddha.
lrusLraLlon, sLress, and lonellness,
slLuaLlons where success seems unllkely,
all of Lhese Lhlngs are Lhe raw maLerlals of your splrlLual pracLlce.
When dlfflculLles and sufferlng come,
lnsLead, be graLeful for Lhem.
8e graLeful for Lhese Lhlngs
because Lhrough Lhem
you are able Lo pracLlce and Lo grow.

-uaehaeng kun Sunlm-
2004 8uddha's 8lrLhday
uharma 1alk by uaehaeng sunlm

?esLerday and Loday are noL dlfferenL,
Comlng and golng don'L exlsL.
AlLhough you go, Lhere ls no place you reach.
AlLhough you come, Lhere ls no place you arrlve aL.
"Comlng and golng"?! WhaL are you Lalklng abouL?
LveryLhlng exlsLs [usL as lL ls.
llowers blossom and blrds slng,
lanLs, Lrees, mounLalns and sLreams are danclng LogeLher.
Cn Len-Lhousand mounLalns peaks,
flowers blossom and bear frulL, Lhelr flavors reachlng everywhere.
8uddha ls Laklng care of everyLhlng ln Lhe unlverse.
1here's no hlgh or low.
8lg or small doesn'L exlsL.
Lveryone ls preclous. Lveryone ls ouLsLandlng.
WlLhouL beglnnlng or end, everyLhlng ls clrcllng one polnL.
1hen whaL do you cllng Lo, whaL would you leL go of?
LveryLhlng ls [usL as lL ls.
WlLh one LhoughL, you can become a 8uddha.
WlLh one LhoughL, you can fall ln Lhe greaL ocean.
All belngs LhroughouL Lhe unlverse are slnglng dharma-songs.
8oLh 8uddhas and unenllghLened belngs see Lhe same world,
1he only dlfference ls wheLher Lhey are free from Lhe prlson of Lhelr own LhoughLs.
lf you undersLand whaL l've sald and uL lL lnLo pracLlce,
All belngs wlll reach Lhelr desLlnaLlon.

-uaehaeng kun Sunlm