Won-Buddhism

책 소개

Preface It must have been around March 1981. I had just arrived in the United States to begin my doctorate degree. Needing a place to stay, I contacted a high school classmate currently at the New York Won Buddhism Temple. There was a lot of time left until the semester began in September, and now that I was in America for the first time, I wanted to see New York City. Thus I headed to where my old classmate was living. I was fairly occupied during the day exploring downtown New York via metro, but there was nothing to do in the early morning and late at night. I was staying at the Won Buddhism Temple, where alcohol and television were not allowed. It was then that my classmate suggested reading through The Scriptures of Won Buddhism (hereafter, Scriptures). Although I had come to the US to major in religion, at the time I knew very little about Won Buddhism. Embarrassingly enough, most other Koreans back then probably knew no more than I did. Upon flipping through the book, I noticed that it was entirely in Hangeul and thought that if nothing else, it would at least be an easy read. Without any prior knowledge or idea of what to expect, I began reading, believing that it would roughly resemble most other religious scriptures. However, the more I read, I found myself astonished. To think that such an extraordinary individual had been with us until the very recent past! The character of Founding Master Sot’aesan that I met in the Scriptures was as grand and magnificent as a mountain range. His teachings not only accommodated all other teachings but were described very logically. I do not ordinarily read the same book twice, but I ended up reading the Scriptures twice in one sitting. I had thought that there were only independence fighters such as An Changho and Kim Gu who had illuminated the Japanese colonial period, failing to realize that there had also been a great teacher in a remote corner of Ch?lla Province who dreamed of the Great Opening of Korea and the world. At this, people often jokingly reproach me, pointing out that “there is no way such a great teacher of faith could have come from an obscure little country like Korea.” It is then my duty to insist that I do not say such things because of exaggerated nationalism or chauvinism. Having read my share of books on religion, ranging from the Ramakrishna and Ramana Maharishi to the modern sages, I always stress that Sot’aesan is no less great than these. But such observations are always met with little enthusiasm. My complaint on this matter is a very simple one. Koreans, fully aware of the value of traditional culture, designate human cultural treasures and regularly custom-make the traditional attire known as hanbok. But why do they then ignore religious teachings that have been tailor-made specifically for Koreans? The teachings of indigenous Korean religions, beginning with Tonghak (Eastern Learning) and going up to Ch?ngsangyo and Won Buddhism, are universal, but why do we so often ignore and even look down upon them? Great pains are taken to make sure that everything else in our lives is ‘made in Korea,’ but the truly important part ?the mental component?is always sought from elsewhere. I deeply regretted the fact that I had not been born earlier, to have met in person the great human being that was Sot’aesan. I would no doubt have asked to become his disciple. My classmate at the New York temple also admitted that he had not been proud of being Korean until he met Sot’aesan through Won Buddhism, after which he took boundless pride in having been born in the same country as the great leader.

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