Jogye Order Monastics and Laity Offer 1080 Bows for the Welfare of Korea

Jogye Order monastics and laity offered 1080 bows for the welfare of the Korean society and the preservation of Korean culture at the Cheonggyecheon Plaza on January 10 starting at 10 a.m. This event was sponsored by the Jogye Order Committee for the Preservation of Korean Culture. Jogye Order administration’s monastics and lay employees (over 300 total) met at the Cheonggyecheon Plaza on a cold Monday morning. They began by chanting the refuge prayer and heart sutra. Thereafter, an aspiration speech was read. This was written for the citizens of Seoul. Then, everyone bowed together 1080 times.

They began with three rounds of 108 bows. After resting for about five minutes they began another three rounds of 108 bows. Then, after another 108 X 3, they rested for another five minutes. Finally, they did 108 bows to conclude the 1080 bows. At the end of the bowing, Ven. Jaseung head of the Jogye Order came by to offer words of encouragement.

This event was to repent of the way that Korean Buddhism has not been able to contribute more to Korea’s development and pray for the happiness of the Korean people. In addition, these bows were offered for the welfare of the Korean society and the restoration of democracy, and the preservation of Korean culture and for religious harmony. The preservation Korean culture is in the hands of the Korean people was also conveyed in the event.

Over 50 monastics and 250 lay people participated.

See more photos and captions from Korean Buddhism [dot]net.

Korea (Jogye Order) to host 2012 WFB Conference

The 2012 World Fellowship of Buddhist Conference will be held in Korea hosted by the Jogye Order. The decision came during the 25th WFB Conference on November 13 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The 26th WFB Conference will be organized by the Jogye Order and the Jogye Order’s Central Council of the Laity. The plan is to have the conference coincide with the 2012 World Expo in Yeosu City and the very popular Lotus Lantern Festival.

Director of Social Affairs Ven. Hyegyeong said, “The reason for coinciding the conference with the expo and the Lotus Lantern Festival is that it would be a good way to show the world the beauty and richness of Korean Buddhist tradition and to promote Korean Buddhism. We will have a tentative six-day visit plan with half the time spent in Yeosu City and the conference, and the other days to see the Lotus Lantern Festival.”

Read the rest of the press release here

Buddhists close temples to Korean President allies, GNP reps

After funding for a temple stay program was slashed in the national budget passed Wednesday, the Buddhist community has lashed back at the Lee Myung-bak administration, and Grand National Chairman Ahn Sang-soo vowed yesterday to find out who cut the funds and punish them.

The Jogye Order, the country’s largest Buddhist sect, issued a statement Thursday banning all Grand National Party lawmakers and Lee Myung-bak administration officials from entering its temples. “The ruling party and the administration rammed through next year’s budget on Wednesday, and the amount earmarked for the temple stay project was cut based on religious bias,” the statement said. “We cannot accept this situation and we ban all public servants and GNP lawmakers from entering temples nationwide.”

Read the rest of the story from The Buddhist Channel.

Congratulations new Bhikkhus!

Ven. Hae Doh (along with Ven. Hae Moon, Ven. Hae Kwang) received their full Bhikkhu ordination in Korea this past week and are on their way back home now. Congratulations to them as well as the other 100+ monks that have committed to the next level!

Book explores 30 wonders of Korean Buddhism

Understanding a religious faith is difficult — spanning the scope from the history and culture to philosophy and practices, it would be nearly impossible to completely learn a given tradition in a short period of time, although people benefit greatly by using various sources, including books.

The Korea Buddhism Promotion Foundation has been working hard to make Buddhism and its unique culture and teachings accessible to both the local and foreign crowds, and it hopes to facilitate the process with a new book, “The Colors of Korean Buddhism: 30 Icons and Their Stories.”

The book introduces distinctive icons that represent Korean Buddhism, which also have been published in The Korea Times from February to September this year. The series was called “Icons of Korean Buddhism” and introduced 30 of the representative or most typical Korean Buddhist cultural items, personas and symbols.

Read the rest of the article from the Korea Times here.

30 Year Anniversary of October 27 Incident

October 27 marks the 30-year anniversary of the government’s illegal actions against the Buddhist community. Now, the Buddhist community demands the truth to be revealed, the restoration of honor for the victims, and compensation for victims. To commemorate the 30-year anniversary, there was a dharma service and a meeting of the victims at Jogyesa Temple on October 27.

What is the October 27 Incident?
New Military Government Search Temples and Takes Away Monks and Nuns

On October 27, 1980, the Korean Government illegally searched Buddhist temples and forcibly hauled away monks and nuns. This is the first time the Buddhist community was singly sought out and oppressed in modern Korean history. The government, which has newly seized power, as a “purification movement” searched 5731 temples and took away 1929 Buddhists to be interrogated. After the incident, there were distorted and exaggerated reports, and various false rumors circulated to cause immense damage to the Buddhist community. By these severe actions of the government, the human rights of numerous monks and nuns were violated, which led to a dramatic decrease in the number of Buddhist faithful as well as the Buddhist community losing social authority. Accordingly, the October 27 Incident is an abuse of government authority, which was a violation of religious freedom and human rights.

Read the full story on Korean Buddhism.net

Taego and IBS retreat of Western region (Los Angeles, CA).