urr%

1977VOLUME III NUMBER II

KOBEA

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Published by:

Research Institute forOverseas MissionsWon Kwang UnioersitY,

lri City, Cholla Pukto, Korea

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CONTENTS

A New Year's Message \n 1977

from Ven. Taesan, the Prime Master

The Three PrinciPles of Life

The Grace of Heaven and Earthby Prof. Khn Pal-Kon

The Grace of Parentsby Prof. Chun Eun Song

The Grace of Brethrenby Prof. Shu Chang-NYul

The Grace of Lawby Prof. Kim Hong-Crrul

The Relationship between Religion ancl Politicsby Prof. Pal Khn Chon

Buddhist Story

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VOL. lll No. 2 WON BUDDHISM r977

A New Yeqr's Messsge in 1977

from Ven. Taesan, the Prime Master

On this New Year's D ry, I prayfor a bright and blessed life for allmankind, all nations, and all of ourWon Buddhist members. In comme-moration of this New Yearts Day, Iwish to present the best way whiehleads us into the happiest life by ex-plaining the desire which becomes acrossroad leading people in two di-rections; the one to the way of Bud-dhahood and deliverance, and the oth-er, to the way of delusion and re-straint.

All human races or sentient be-ings strive to live well. That is desire.'Ihis desire may be broken 'down intotwo segments. One is wish and the

The Vm. Taesaa other is avarice. The wish may growinto a great desire which gives benefits to the world. It will givephilosophy, the Way, and the Law to one's mind. This mind rendersa great light and deliverance to the people, leading them into a broadpath. Greedy avarice, however, comes from an excessive desire whichleads human races into darkness and restraint.

'We must have a desire which wishes to do something, but notgreedy desire which is avarice. Buddhas and saints with pure desirebecame great leaders and the everlasting lights of the world, whereascommon people consumed by greedy avarice are suffering in theirdark and painful lives. Ven. Sotaesan, therefore, announced thatgreedy avarice breeds suffering and unjust pleasure whereas pure'desire results in righteous pleasure which Iasts for an eternal life.The Shakyamuni Buddha also had the pure desire to attain Buddha-hood and to deliver all sentient beings. When he reaehed Buddhahood,he preached the great Law of the Four Dogmas, that is sufferi,ng, th€

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cause of its Assembly, (the possibility of its cure), Etti,nction, andthe Way (to extinction) which led human beings to the path of truth,deliverance, and paradise.

sufferi,ng comes first of the Four Dogmas. The dogma of suf-fering means that the unenlightened have to suffer from birth, decay(growing old), disease (illness), and death, combined with the painof parting from the loved, meeting with the hated, failure in one's aims,and the pain eaused by the five Skandhas. The second is the causeof wsembly of sufferings. Suffering assembles from the ignorantdeeds of avarice, ang'er, stupidity, five excessive desires, and frombreaking the thirty precepts.

The third is the possibility of Er,tinction of. sufferings, whichshows the state of eestacy in which no sufferings or no pleasuresremains. This is the state of complete oneness witfr the truth ofII-Won, the utmost ideal paradise, Eden, whatever the name may be.Ii is bhe very state that all human beings regard as the perfect stage,where all Buddhas and saints reside.

The fourth is the Way to extinetion of sufferings. This is theEightfolo Noble Path, the eight right or correct ways. The EightWays ere: (1) to have correct views in regard to the Four Axiomsand to be free from the common delusions, (2) to have correctthoughts and purpose, (3 ) to speak correctJy and to avoid false andidle talk, (4) to conduct rightly and to get rid of all improper actions,(5) to have a correet livelihood or occupation, (6) to make constantand energetic progress in the way of Nirvana, (T),'to retain the truethought and to exclude the false, and (8 ) tc keep the uninterrupted,correct mind of meditation. The Threefold Trainings and the EightArticles which are the essential ways of moral practice, and boththe Regular Training and Constant Training, the Practice of Con-tinual Meditation and Meditation Everywhere which are purposedto have people practice the essential ways of moral practice, are thecorrect ways of moral training which extinguish all sufferings.

In other words, all suffering is caused by the assembly of thethree poisons of avarice, anger, and stupidity, five desires, and com-mitment to the thirty precepts. Then, in order to get rid of suffering,the Assembly, the cause of suffering must be rooted out. To root outthe ossambly, a eonstant effort to practice the Eightfold Nobel Pathshould be made until we reach the true state of Ertincti,on, the stateof the ultimate Truth. To realize this ideal, we must, first of all, stand-ardize the following three points for moral practice in our everydayIives.

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First, we must practice the middle life by realizing that all be-ings in our actual life will return into the void.

Second, we have to be delivered in our everyday life by realizingthe fact that our life, the most precious thing in the world. will beextinguished between a breath.

Third, we must learn to be grateful and to requite grace in oureveryday life. We are the ereator of our own happiness or misfortune.We must keep our mind calm when we suffer and when a ehance forrevenge eomes, we must be very careful not to harm the eounteqpartbut to try to exoreise all sprouts of evil in our mind.

This Truth should be realized and praetieed. Avaricious geedi-ness should be overeome and controled while the middle way shouldbe praetieed. Once in a while, a period of training specially arrangedfor moral training is very desirable.

All our brethren should become one mind to attain the greatpower which is able to kindle the dark mind of all human beings. Ipray for the perpetual prosperity of my friends all over the world.

- from The Canonical Textbook of Won Buddhistn -

The Great Master said, "The hunter trnng to hunt a lion or-a tiger does not shoot a hare or a pheasant recklessly because shooLing at small animals will cause him to fail in catching the largerones. Likewise, the man who has made a deeision to study the greatWay is similar to this hunter in that he is not e,oncerned with smallobjects because he knows this small avariee will be an obstacle toachieving his goal of studying the great Way. Hence, he who seeksto attain Buddhahood should be able to ignore all worldly desiresand attachments in order to accomplish his gioal. If he cannot shedtrivial worldly desires and is thus unable to achieve his great goal,he will be compared to the hunter whose shootin! at a hare or apheasant causes him to lose the lion or the tiger. What a pity it is !Therefore, I ask those who seek to attain Buddhahood to eut them-selves off from trivial worldly desires."

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The Three principles of Life

In the world, there are _many visibre ways or roads for peopre,eirplanes, ships, etc. to traver. gui th.".-rrro are some ways or roadswhich are not visible, but have to be observed. in our tire. trrey leadus to happiness or to darkness, to paradise or to heu. The evidentways are easily visible to ordinary individuuir, uri-ti" rutt", arenot to be readily seen by them. someti*", p*ple take *rorg waysor find their initial ways difficult to foilow *ii"i. so"; or. Thereforgwe need Masters to direct and guide u's to i *uy of brightness, righLness' and straightness. Some Master's roles are greater than othersand, according to their rolg they ,". "-"gurded

i, g"""ier mastersor minor masters. slrakyamuni iruddhf-tnri.t, and confucius aregreater Masters, but I would call the Ven. Sotaesan ,-s";"r Master.confucius said he would be satisfied, Lven rrrppy,- to ai. in theevening if he. cguld be enrightened to the way in il;; morning. Hemeant, the bright and right way will be found only when a man be-eomes very anxious to seek for it. In the minds or ttrose ;;; M;il;,the desire to pulsue the lvay were burning ceaselessly."The Great Master sotaesan acqui".dth. way *t.o he was 26

3{!., a long period of cherishing ttris trurning desir" io" the way.Likewise, in order !9 keep ourselies on ilre urigrrt, rieht uro ,t rightway, we must establish three principles.First i lve must have u Iil" of Right mlightenment. Right en-Iightenment includes three kind-s of enlilhtenment: proper enlighten-ment, gteat enlightenment, and perfecfenlightenment.^Even thoughJesus Christ lived only a short time after his enlighl*"-""t, B years,

he pronounced that his words were the Way, the Truth and the life.Ih,". s,i1 years.of Buddha's ascetic Iife were ihe .ourr"r of his greatEnlightenment, which still vividly lives in our hearts as the p."rt".tenlightenment.

The Truth is expressed as the Dharma in Buddhism, as the lvayin confucianism, one cirele.(Il-w_on-sang) in won Buddhis*, "rias Logos in western countries. we must't"y to be men of truththrough the self-awakened life which i,s fill;d wiir,

"rs""""r, forTruth. The real features of religious men may be found"in the trueman, a man of Truth.- second; we must try to esta-blish a great and right wish. Everyhuman_ hi"g has wishes. we all wish to do sometfring." There are^gny

kinds of wishes, noble wishes, mean wishes, *o"t]hy or mean-

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ingless wishes. A noble and worthy wish should be cherished. Thedeliverance of unenlightened people by Shakyamuni Buddha, therealization of world peace by Confucian, the guidance for lost peopleby Christ, are all the result which came out of their great wishes.Once we establish a great wish our attitude towards life will becomebetter and our conduct will change, finally producing the power ofthe wish.

When we pray for the realization of established wishes, theyhave to be pursued from the closest to the farthest. The Great MasterSotaesan suggested the principle of gradually achieving greater re-sults by beginning from a tiny size. Everything will be achieved whenone cherishes a wish anxiously, desperately, and consistently. The big-gest wish in the world may be the fourty-eight vows established byAmidabuddha. The fourty-eighth last vow is that he will not be de-livered from himself until all sentient beings are delivered by him.Is this not a noble wish?

Third; When we acquire spiritual enlightenment, it should showitself in our eonduct. A wish in our heart should be rcalized in ourpractical life. Jesus Chirst Shakyamuni Buddha etc. are those whorealized their wishes in their lives. They are the people who knowthe meaning of sacrificing themselves for other people and who trulydisregarded their own personal desires. There is a law of givingand receiving among people, and this law is mediated by love, friend-ship, or in some cases, some matter. Our greatness can he measuredby how much, or by what kinds of things, we can give others. Christi-an service and Buddhist alms should not be a forced practice. The realmeaning of service or alms is to give ones own knowledge, money,and labor to others voluntarily. The giver should not be arrogant orstingy when he serves others. He should be filled with pleasure. Simi-larly the receiver should not become mean or independent beeausehe is being served. Both giver and receiver should be connected bya blessed relationship. The spring of love and sincerity must continual-ly flow in our hearts. In order to bestow benefit to others and tolead our lives to the way full of grace, we must continually anticipatethe needs of others. A great man is always ready to serve others inmany ways.

When the three principles I have pointed out are firmly impress-ed in the hearts of all people and their lives are led by those principles,they will have an eternal life like those of Shakyamuni Buddha, JesusChrist, Confueius, and Sotaesan.

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The Grqce of Heoven ond Eqrth

W Prof. Ktm Pal l(on

While Shakyamuni Buddha advocated benevolence and Jesuslove, the Venerable Sotaesan advocated Grace. It is one of the greattasks for Won Buddhists to do that. They should find out graces andrequite them in their daily lives. Accordingly, they should try tolook for graces in their circumstances and cultivate the force to changea mind full of resentment to a mind full of gratitude even during ahard and painful life. Thus, in order to help them diseover graces

more easily, the Venerable Sotaesan proposed objects of Grace moreconeretely, that is, he ciassified all beings in the universe into fourgreat parts

- flsayen and Earth, Parents, Brethren, and Law, and[e made it clear what grace each part gave us and how we could re-quite it. In this paper I will examine what the grace is which Heavenand Earth give us and how we can requite it.

Man can live, depending on the virtues of Heaven and Earth,namely, the favour of sunlight and moonlight, that of winds andclouds, rain and dew, that of air in the heavens, and that of soil onthe earth. The virtues of Heaven and Earth ean emerge where theways of Heaven and Earth opera+e rightly, that is, the results of theoperations of the ways are virtues of Heavm and Earth. There areeight great ways which Heaven and Earth keep and they are ex-tremely bright w&Y, the sincere, the righteous, the proper and natural,the vast and immeasurable, the eternal, the way containing neithergood luck nor bad, and the way having no pride in offering its bene-

ntr. AU things retain their lives and their shape, owing to the greatvirtue that results from the operation of the great ways. Accordingly,one should live a life requiting the grace of Heaven and Earth, byattaining and praeticing the great ways. Now let us examine, itemby item, how we can attain and practice the great ways.

1. The Venerable Sotaesan said, "Following the very brightway of Heaven and Earth, one should be well versed in all Facts and

Principles by studying them." It follows that one should try to keea

one's wisdom brightly like the liefht of the sun and the moon' Itshould be noticed that there is a difference between wisdom and know-Iedge. Knowledge is neutral, neither good nor evil, informing us of*"i" facts. Whether knowledge can increase good or evil depends

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upon the way in which it is used. But wisdom is the foundationon which Imowledge should be based in order for it to be used in theright way. On the other hand, wisdom without knowledge is apt toneglect practical issues. Accordingly, both wisdom and knowledgeshould not reject, but supplement, each other. Ideally, knowledgeas it is presented by science and religion should work to increase wis-dom. Therefore, a religion which fails in increasing mankind's wis-dom is disqualified for the continuation of its existenee. Thus, theVenerable Sotaesan taught us that one should attain the bright wis-dom to use scientific knowledge rightly, adapting oneself to the verybright way of Heaven and Earth.

2. The Venerable Sotaesan said, "Following the very sincereway of Heaven and Earth, one should fulfill the purpose of all one'sworks consistently." It follows that one should try to ceaselesslykeep sincerity, modeling oneself on the sincerity of the sun and theearth moving without ceasing. In Asia, from ancient times, a wisesaying, "Sineerity ean be aceepted by everything at last" has beenhanded down. Truly, sincerity is the motivating force to fulfill pur-pose when one tries to accomplish something. As heavenly bodiesmove round consistently, day and night, four seasons come to bedistinguished and one can live one's varied life accompanied by allkinds of living things, by virtue of the changing seasons.

Thus, the Venerable Sotaesan taught us that one should notonly cultivate one's own personality with persistent sincerity inpractical life, but also that we should assist others to cultivatetheir own.

3. The Venerable Sotaesan said, "Following the very righteousway of Heaven and Earth, one should keep to the mi'ddle way withoutattachment to situations in whieh one feels close and intimate, orremote and estranged, and without attachment to situations in whiehone feels joy, anger, pleasure, or sorrow." It follows that one shouldtry to keep fairness, modeling oneself on that of the sun and the earth,giving all favours impartially. The sun supplies us with its lightimpartially and the earth returns fairly and correctly the effortswhich we make in order to grow plants. Thus, the Venerable Sotae-san taught us that one should cultivate the force to deal with every-thing fairly in our life, adapting oneself to the very righteous wayof Heaven and Earth.

4. The Venerable Sotaesan said, "Following the proper andnatural way of Heaven and Earth, one should examine and takewhat is reasonable, abandoning what is unreasonable in the manage-

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ment of all things." It follows that one should try to grasp and prac-tice the reasonable way of human life without fail, modeling oneselfon the sun and the earth, and never act against the public way ofnature. There are public ways of heavenly bodies and, as the sun,the moon, and the earth follow them without fail, we can live withrelief. It goes without saying that if such heavenly bodies didn'tfollow the public way, we could live no longer. Thus the VenerableSotaesan taught us that one should master the reasonable and na-tural way of human life, adapting oneself to that of Heaven andEarth.

5. The Venerable Sotaesan said, "Following the way of thevastness and limitlessness of Heaven and Earth, one should abandonthe disposition of attachment." It follows that one should try tocultivate a vast and generous mind, modeling oneself on the vacantsky embracing all things of the universe. It is said that numerousanimals can live in very high and vast mountains a.nd thatthe greatest number of fishes can live in the widest and deepestrivers. Likewise, under the man of the highest virtue and most broad-minded personality, numerous sentient beings can enjoy blessed livesby trusting in him entirely. Nowadays one of the most importantthings for human beings is to understand and sympathize each other.Every part of the world is connected to one body in the field of physi-cal space and time owing to the development of science. Accordingly,human beings cannot live happily without making one body in thespiritual field. Thus, the Venerable Sotaesan taught us that oneshould cultivate broadmindedness, adapting oneself to the vaeantsky comprehending all things of the universe.

6. The Venerable Sotaesan said, "Following the way of eternityof Heaven and Earth, one should emancipate oneself from the transi-tion of all things and from the birth, old age, illness and death ofhuman beings." It follows that one should try to buil'd one's eternallife, modeling oneself on the eternity of heavenly bodies sueh asthe sun and the earth. One of the ultimate purposes in the traininglife of Won Buddhists is to cultivate the great force of self-controlby which one can overcome! many kinds of troubles and transcendeven death, namely, transcending the small Self surrounded byphysieal body, and according oneself with the great Self of the wholeuniverse to approach and catch the free eternal world. In approach-ing the free eternal world, the greatest obstacle is the' death of thephysical body. Thus, the Venerable Sotaesan taught us that oneshould realize the free eternal life, transcending the death and de-

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voting oneself to the public way for human beings.7. The venerable sotaesan said, "Following the way in which

Heaven and Earth have neither good nor bad luck, one should. notbecome attached either to good or to bad luck by trying to discoverwhere bad luck lies when confronted with good luck, or by trying todiscover where good luck lies when confronted with ua tutt.t rtfollows that one should try to eultivate the force to accomplish one'sown proper responsibiliff, whether one has good or bad conditions,modeling oneself on the way of Heaven and Earth not attached eitherto good or bad luck. one is usually apt to be glad, even if one is givenIirnited good conditions, and to be disappointed given limited badconditions. But a goal of training for life is to cultivate the basicpower which keeps one's personality from being shaken by eithergood or bad conditions. Thus, the Venerable Sotaesan taught us thatone should cultivate imperturbability, adapting oneself to the un-shakable way of Heaven and Earth.

8. The venerable sotaesan said, "Following the way of Heavenand Earth, wherein pride does not abide in the offering of benefit,one should cultivate the way of non-abidingness in Moving or BeingQuiet, and one should abandon any idea or notion in offering benefitto others, either spiritually, or materially. One should not hate or be.come a foe even to those who are ungrateful for the benefits that onehas bestowed on them." ft follows that one should try to attain thefreedom from all ideas and notions, modeling oneself on the noLabiding way of Heaven and Earth which have no ideas in offering greatbmefit to all living things. In helping others a little, we usually ean-not give up its idea and when those whom we have helped betray us,we bear all the more grudge against them. Thus, the Venerable Sotae-san taught us that one should be trained to transcend all ideas andnotions of offering benefit to others, adapting oneself to the way ofHeaven and Earth which offer benefit to all living things withoutany notion.

According to the Venerable Sotaesan's teaching, the above argu-ments may be summ arized as follows ; If one practices every itemof the Requital of Grace from Ifeaven and Earth, one will becomeone and the same with Heaven and Earth, that is to say, one's p,er-sonality will be in accord with Heaven and Earth, and vice versa,such that, though the void of Heaven and the silence of Earth donot bestow any direct blessedness and happiness upon one, one willnaturally attain the might and the longevifi of Heaven and Earthand the brightness of the sun and the moon, for which both heavenly

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men and worldlyEarth.

people will respect one as if he were Heaven and

The Grqce of Pqrents

by Prof, Chun Eun Song

The Great Master, sotaesan, when he was enlightened to theGreat Way of the Universe at the age of 26, pronounced the Truthof Il Won (the Circle), thus revealing the principle of Graces whichis indispensable for the existence and growth of huuman beings. Thereare Four Graces, the Grace of Heaven and Earth, the Grace of par-ents, the Grace of Brethren, and the Grace of Law. Those Four Gracesfunction as the basic ground for establishing a righteous human life.We are greatly indebted to nature, parents, brethren, and to therighteous Law. It is hardly necessary to say that we ean hardly existin the world by ourselves. Without the help of other powers, humanbeings become completely impotent. Even dur supposed own power isnot completely our own. We acquire our knowledge, accumulate pro-perties, and cultivate capabilities with the help of others. We de-pend upon farmers for our food. We acquire our clothes or other n+.cessities by the help of technicians or laborers. We broaden ourscope of knowledges aided by intellectuals. Merchants enable us toeasily attain material goods. Such is the grace and debt of society.Our long history, its broad and accumulative knowledge and culture,is also a great help to our lives. If we begin our lives as individualssystematically excluding outside help, we will never be out of aprimitive life. Air, earth, water, and all the physical elements areindispensable and beneficial elements of human life.

Human beings have often failed to acknowledge nature's benefits,believing excessibly in the capability of human beings. They seemedto be proud of enslaving nature. Human beings, however, are a partof nature and are not able to exist outside its grace. When they actout of harmony with nature, it is very probable resulting destructionwill ensue. Therefore, for our survival, the law of nature can notand must not be ignored.

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When the law which establishes justice and order and eneouragesvirtuous deeds and punishes evil is ignored, it is clear that our so-ciety will suffer from disorder and confusion. Orving to this law,society is able to retain its ideal and all individuals are protectedfrom being victems of injustiee. Everyone wants freedom. However,if each of us tries to realize freedom in the way we want withoutany rules or restraints, society will fall into a shambles full of con-flict and fishting.

An important grace encornpassed in the Four is the grace ofparents. Without parents, our existence as a human being is unthink-able. We grow into a good member of society with the help of parmts.The love of parents poured upon their children is entirely naturaland spontaneous. It is to some degree similar to that of Buddha andsaints. Any child, when he is grown and mamied and has his ownchildren, will be astonished to discover some new facts.

A new born baby keeps his parents terribly busy. Even the smallbut necessary chore of cleaning diaper,s requires a l6t of work. Thereis also inexpressible parental anxleties caused by siclcness in thesmall body. Then the parents, particularly the mother, aecepts herservitude to the baby devoting all her time to looking after it. Ihappened to see a young mother who was recording a diary of thegrowth of her little baby. I asked what she planned to use it for.She replied that the diary would be given to her child as a weddingpresent when he grew up. She recorded how many times her childwas fed, his diapers were changed, was fretful at midnight, gotsick, what kind of medicine was administered and how many timesthe baby took it, etc.

It is needless to say that the mother did this with no expectationof a reward, but simply because she wanted to share her new ex-periences with her child when he grew up. In fact, if we fail to re-ward this kind of human Iove and grace in our life, we are terriblyungrateful. Once I happened to read a newspaper column in whieh thewriter suggested that a love which goes downward is more beneficialto the development to human life than an upward love. The upwardIove was defined as the love for parents, ancestors, or seniors, andthe downward love was the love for deseendants or juniors. UndoubLedly, the excessive love for ancient things sometimes may cast adark shadow upon future development, but it is doubtful that a so-eiety in which downward love is practiced exclusively may alwaysdevelop. It is, of course, not always desirable to be reverent obedient,or attaehed blindly to old things. Ifowever, as far as the old things

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preserve the righteous value in them, they should be given respectand love as much as they are deserved. Parents are h[e traditions.To pursue traditions blindly raises many problems, but to rejecttraditions unreasonably causes more serious problems. Likewise, thereis nothing wrong with an attitude of constant gratitude towardsour parents. Only in such cases where excessive love for and grati-tude towards our parents prevents us from performing our socialduties and impedes public welfare, this love and gratitude is notperfectly good.

The love for parents should. not be conflned to a narrow mean-ing. If one's great Social achievements make his parents widely knownin the world and people come to respect them as parents of a greatman, this may be' an excellent requital of gratitude. Therefore tt

"requital of the grace of parents is not always performed to parentsthemselves directly in their physical lives.

As society experiences a commercial developmmt that transformsits nucleus, our relationship to our parents often becomes very re-mote. However, the gratitude for the grace of parents should alwaysbe cherished in our minds and hearts. What we are at present isentirely due to our parents. When we were entirely powerless, wegrew up by the help and direction of our parents. It is also ourparents who genuinely desire our happiness -and

success.A famous Korean surgeon who succeeded in replacing a dismem-

bered Ieg once confessed that there have been mothers who seriouslywanted to know if he could amputate their own legs and transplantthem on their child suffering from infantile paralysis. The surgeonwas shocked, and he answered that it would be impossible to trans-plant legs to another body, and that, even if it were possible, he wouldnever commit a vice in order to accorrplish some good deed.

There are inflnite examples which show the devoted and sublimelove of parents for their children. Some years &go, I read a topnews story which described the scene of an operation. A mother andher son had a joint operation in Seoul, Korea which transplantedthe mother's kidney into her beloved son. The newspaper said themother was very happy to hear that one of her kidneys was safelytransplanted in her son and that the son was so overwhelmingly movedby the bottomless love of his mother that tears flowed from his eyes.Such dedicated love will be hardly found in any other place but inparents. According to circumstances, the Iove of parents may notalways be quite the same, but there is not much difference. It mustbe admitted in part that, as the social system changes, the character

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and tendency of parents also changes. However, when we stronglytry to push ourselves towards diseovering every grace that parentsgive to us and to requite them, it will also greatly eontributd to therestoration of original human nature.

The Great Master Ven. Sotaesan expressed the principle of thegrace of parents with the phrase, "the Way of Protecting the Inde-pendent." He professed, when our own parents became powerless anddependent, we ought to protect them spiritually and physically. Butwhen they are either still independent or have already passed away,we can practice "the Way of Protecting the Indepeirdent" by pro-tecting other parents powerless and childless.

It may be as a preparation for our own old age that we makean effort to establish social circumstanees filled with gratitude andrequital of graces which give a light to every parent and old personin their lonely later life.

- f rom The canonical Textbook of won Buddhistn -The Great Master said, "occasionally, it has been useful to

worship the Buddha image as a method of teaching Buddhism, butit will not be so in the future. Worshippers of the Buddha imagehave gradually come to think about the influence of the Buddha imagethrough the experiences of worshipping Buddha images over thous-ands of years. Yet, when they realize the meaning of worshippingthe Buddha image, they can hardly believe in the Buddha image,for such worship is useless and is not part of knowing about thegreat Truth. How could Buddhism be prosperous in this way? More-over, there may be many people who will take advantage of the ma-jestic Buddha image in order to seek a mearu of livelihood. What ismore regrettable than this ? It is with this in mind that we havemade the decision to worship Dharmakaya Buddha Il-Won-Sang."

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The Grqce of Brelhrenby Prof. Shu Chang-Nyul

The Grace of Brethren means the grace which we, each asbrothers, are indebted to. This grace is one of the Four Graces whichbelong to the Gate of Faith that is based on the theory ,of the Inter-relation of Cause and Effect in Won Buddhist doctrine. Originally,the word brethren indicated brothers who were born from the samemother or people who belonged to the same oountry or nation. WonBuddhism teaches us that not only the people belonging to one nation,but all human races, even animais and plants, are interrelated withsuch morals as brothers or sisters who were born from a commmonmother. AII races, all Iiving things, all sentient or insentient beings,all beings in the truth of Il-Won are interrelated by the same morals.Thus, the grace of mutual dependence and existence of brethren iscalled the Grace of Brethren. The Canonical Textbook of Won Bud-dhism offers the following explanation: "If one attempts easily toknow how one is indebted to the Grace of Brethren, one should con-sider whether it is possible to live at a place where there are no hu-man beings, no birds and beasts, no trees nor grass; then one willrealize that life without them impossible. If one cannot live withoutthe help of these brethren, without relying upon them, and withouttheir supplies, what could be a greater Grace?"

Nevertheless, there are many people who regard others as ob-jects of their domination and victems of their advantages. This causesconflicting circles of hurting each other, creating a world full ofgrudges, hatred, despair, and disunion. The Venerable Sotaesan, byIooking into the suffering world, called it the tormenting sea of lifeand established the new Buddhism in whieh he clearly explainedthe moral ways of Graces. He taught that all brethren are in a re-lationship of mutual assistance and mutual interests. However, today,people tend to concentrate and focus upon their own interests and con-veniences. They are living under the illusion of thinking that humanbeings are priviliged to take advantages of all things, and the veryvalue of the Iife of living things comes to be judged by the standardof their own interests. Scientiflc civilization and modernization de-veloped through such a view point and are finally bringing forthserious public harm, violent human relationship, and feelings ofbeing an outsider among people.

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The Great Master Sotaesan, to overcome such realities and tobuild up a new world, adopted the motto, "As material civilizationdevelops, cultivate spiritual civilization accordingly." In this mottohe pointed out that technical civilization or material civilizationcan not be the essmtiality of human life. Spiritual eivilization shouldbe the essentiality of human life. He announced ethics as a deliverancefor human beings who are in an unbalanced spiritual civilizationcaused by a rapidly developing material civilization and who arelosing their harmony with nature.

Human beings who have been blindly pursrring material civiliza-tion which has developed under the spirit of selfishness, finally havefound themselves- to be outsiders. They are now trying to rectifythis situation by various means. The Great Master, Ven. Sotaesan,presented an ethics of grace as a means of restoring human nature.The ethics of g'race is the principle not only for restoring human na-ture, but also for enlivening all our lives through mutual harmony.In the Canonieal Textbook of Won Buddhism, Grace is divided intofour parts. They are the Grace of Heaven and Earth, the Grace ofParents, the Grace of .Brethren, and the Grace of Law.

What, thm, is the concrete spirit which is contained in theGrace of Brethren? It may be catagorized into four points. First allexistences in the universe are brothers which have originated in theplacenta of the Il-Won-Sang Truth, the ultimate Truth.

Second, all people having the occupation of scholar, official,farmer, artisan, and merchant are related to each by the grace ofmutual interests and common prosperity. Third, all beings in theuniverse should love each other, for they are brothers and sisters.Fourth, we must extend the scope of our neighborers and lead themtowards a higher standard of spiritual life through the three pointsof the spirit which I have mentioned.

We will now think more concretely about the four points ofspirit which were previously stated. In the first place, all existences

in the universe aie brothers and sisters which originated in theTruth of Il-Won-Sang, the source of all Truths. The Canonical Text-book says that the tiuth of Il-Won is the source of the Grace ofHeavm and Earth, the Grace of Parents, the Grace of Brethren, and

the Graee of Law. The late Prime Master Jungsan announced theThree Ethical Practices, explaining that all beings in the universeare one family in one home, working in one workshop for one purpose.

Those who bLlieve and have experienced such truth regard all be-

ings and things of Six Ways and Four Livings as their own bodies,

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the whole world as their own possession, and protect and cooperate

with them. As a result, they naturally come to relate with morals as

brothers and sisters ; sorrow of other people is my o\ilrn sorrow;

ft""rrr" of other people immediately becomes my pleasure. The lifeLf *"n will be filled *itf, eontentmmt and pleasure when they beeome

aware of brotherhood.We will all stand above raeial discrimination, discrimination of

nationality, discrimination of Faith and even the discrimination ofthe rich uod poo*, and we will all be united with a sexse of equalityand identity.

-Furthermore, all of us may be able to perform a role

as designer and supporter of world peace.

In the seeond pir.", we are all indebted to eaeh other under theprinciple of mutual interests. Many people-, however,-have not com-

ot"tet, cast off their short-sightedness and selfish self-centeredness.hmort all human beings are anxious to pursue their own advantages

everywhere, as individuals, family members, citizens of a country,

and'as social creatures. Tire life of selfish and self-centered people

*horu only coneern is expanding their own advantages will ultimatelyresult in self-destruction. Venerable Sotaesan, the Great Master,

insisted that people should be enlightened to the relaionship of the

s;." of brethr", to the existence of people so that they misht prag-

lice the Boddhisattva's deeds which weie based upox the principleof mutual interest and mutual goodness. He explained -that

to under-

siand the graee of breth"en and to requite it, a leader-should practice

the deed. of troadhisattva for mutual interests, in his position as a

leader, as a merehant in his commercial pursuits, as a farmer on his

tarm, and as a producer in tlte course of his prod-Yction'-In this way,

the sllfishness i, "r" life, whieh is the root of all eonflict, disorder,

and antagonism will eease and a world of mutual help and harmony

ean be realized.In the tfrira place, the principle of loving and v-aluing all li-ves

is the graee oi f""tf,ren and is to iequite it. All lives have the will tolive. Life it aig"inea. Except for special cases, we must love and

value all life. Our doctrine insists that even a tree, grass, or an animal

should not be ".cf.f"sfy

destroyed. Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)

said that the good is to protect, develop and promote life, and that

"rr1 ir to reieil, rrrr*, and trouble life. In the personality of the

Great Master, -we

*ifi find the love of life. At the age of four, wlqite

ptuyirr, he and his friends, were suddmly intruded ,rP9n by a bisi"ur."."rrightened, hir friends fled, and some were immediately soingto kill the r"u[". But the Great Master, without any thought

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of harming it, led the snake in the other direction with a stickwhich he happened to be holding. He never killed even an ant or anyother insect.- Frogs and dragon-flys have never become his victems.He was neither frightened nor harmed by any of the beasts whichhe ofrc'n came across in the mountains while he was enduring hisascetic life. Those beasts were rather kind to him and he often foundthat they were very helpful to him. He taught people no! to kill anyliving thing without _a

proper reason. He put this teaching in thedoctrine of-W,on Buddhism as one of its thirty precepts. This teach-ing, along with the Shakyamuni Buddha's precept of restraining fromkiuing living things, is maintaining the tradition that loves andvaluss the nre of all living things. The only difference _between theGreat Master's teaching and that of Shakrramuni Buddha is thatShakyamuni Buddha entirely prohibited killing living things where-as ttre Great Master added the words "in the absence of sufficientreason" in a line of his teaching.

In the fourth nlace, it is to expand the scope of our neighbor.Many people hmit the conc_ept of neighbor to simple spaee and time.HowLver, io know about the grace of brethren and to requite it isto expand our neighbors, both in quality and quantity. When we rg|.

alize tt at we are ill neighbors and are ready to love and respect allthings, regarding even plants and animals as our neighbors, when-.r." o, w["teu"i we happen to be, we will become true human beingspossessing fully harmonized minds.

Atl communications should be addressed to;

Miss ral Krrn ChonDirector, Overseas Missionsof Won BuddhismWon Kwang UniversityIri City, Cholla Pukdo,Korea

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The Grqce of Low

by kof. Ktm Hong-Chul

The Great Master ven. sotaesan explicated Il-\[on-s zrr1r theDharmakaya, for us as the object of belief and the standard of moralpractice. It is the origin, and the raison d.'etre, of all beings. He saidthere is a force which operates the Universe in accordan& with thetruth of Il-lVon-Sang, which he ealled ,,Grace.',

Grace may be said to be a "Vital relationship without whichwe cannot live." The Great Master divided Grace into four parts

-the Graee of Heaven and Earth, that of Parents, that of Brethren,and that of Law. Law is the rule and ruling prineiple which all ofus should duly follow as human beings. It is the law which makes itpossible for us to live comfortably in peace and order, at home, insociety, in a country, and in the world. Along with the grace ofHeaven and Earth, that of Parents, and that of Brethren, the Graceof Law is vital to the existence of human beings.

The Canonieal Textbook of Won Buddhism says: "The easiestway to know how much we are indebted to law is fo think whetherit is possible to live in peaee and order without the law of moraltraining for individuals, the law with which ro IeaC a family life, andthe law with which to govern a society, a state, and the world. Itwill become crystal clear that no one can live without the grace ofthese laws. If law is indispensable, isn't it a great grace?"

Peace and order can be maintained only because there is Law.Without it, the world would become one of ehaos. There are twokinds of Law: The Law of the Nature which operates the Universe,and Moral and Juristical Law which governs our daily lives. Dayand night and the seasons' cycle are evdiences of Law of Nature orPrinciple of the Universe. The constitution, and other laws of com-munity and state fall under Moral and Juristieal Law. Generally, whenwe speak of law, we are referring to Moral and Juristical Law.

Moral law encourages human beings to take the right Faft,whereas Juristical Law issues restraints to maintain peace, order,and the promotion of soeial welfare. The Great Master likened MoralLaw to the southeast wind and the Juristical Law to the northwestwind. The two are equally necessary and complement each other.Without either of the two, peace and order eannot be maintained.They are like a stern father and benevolent mother in a family, and

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Iike two wheels of a cart.The Great Master said leaders of religion and state should work

together to pro,mote the welfare o{ all beings. He said, in order togovern a society or a state well, the leaders of religion and stateshould prevent corruption and malpracti-es at all times, properlyand fairly enforcing the Moral and Juristical Law. Our originalnature is perfect, just, and fair. It lacks nothing. However, the worlddiversely unfolds before us in accordance with how we act and useour mind. We who live in this diverse world have different desiresand different habits which, if left unchecked, will deprave our charae-ter and destroy peace and harmony in this world. That is why it isnecessary for us to have just and impartial laws eapable of har-monizing and controlling peoples' different desires and habits tomaintain peace and order for the individual and the world. Wheneverthey deemed it necessary to lead us to the right path with religionand moral law, and the society and state have not ceased to rewardwhat is right and good and to punish what is wrong and bad.

The Great Master taught us we should be grateful to the sageswho explicated moral law and to those who made and enforced juristi-cal Iaw for the sake of peace and order. Without them, he said, thiBworld might have become one of chaos. To abide o-y Iaw is the prQ-per way of requiting the Grace of Law. By that w&y, can we obtainfreedom and shake ourselves from restraints and, simultaneously,improve ourselves. Only then will the world become a paradise inwhich peace and order dominate society.

Today everyhody speaks of freedom. But very few of us arefollowing the path to freedom in its true sense. Freedom meansabolishing restraints. But more positively, it means following notour impulsive nature, but our original nature, the Buddha nafurewhich ordinary people, patriarchs as well as the Buddha, are knownto possess.

Acts for whieh we can answer and which are done for the pub-lic as directed by reason are protected by 'aw. Genuine freedom re-sults from such acts. What is, then, the standards of our actionsthat are protected by law? The Great Master Ven. Sotaesan taught:"W'e should abide by the moral precepts and law as cautiously as ifwe were treading on thin ice. Only by that way can we be kept onthe right path for human beings." He said that the standard of ouractions should be, "to get rid of injust,ice and establish justice."He taught us to do what is right even at the cost of our lives andto refrain from doing wrongs by all means. He stated this is the

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standard for cultivating our character, our actions, and for realiz-ing social justice.

Yet, Iile sometimes fail to discern Sood and right from bad andwrong. Habit and fear of failure prevent us from consistently doingwhatls right. Unfortunately, we often ignore our call to eonscience.We must realize that if we do not abide by law, we shall not be pro-tected by it and shall be subject to its restraints and punishment:If we do not abide by law, our personality will inevitably be de-praved and the world will naturally fall into chaos. It is quite

iormidable to imagine a world devoid of law and order in whieh thestronger prey upon the weaker.

W" .u, obserrr" that Law is adhered to even in the world of bees

and ants. How can we, as human beings, not abide by law? Thesurest way to r,equite the Grace of Law is to abide by Law. It is theonly way for all- of us to obtain genuine freedom and to improveoui character. Furthermore, Law is the only way to maintain peace

and order in this society and to make this world a better place inwhich to live. In conelusion, as Iaw protects us in a just and im-partial way, we should also model ourselves after it, and abide byit itt order to requite its grace. Through the way of Law, we mayestablish a world of greater freedom.

- f rom T trc c anonieal T extbook of w on Buddhism -The Great Master said, "It is always regrettable to see the strong

who do not know how to aet like the strong. The strong wiil not have

lasting power, nor be respected as seniors and leaders, until they

have [rila to encourage and help the weak so that they may grow

op to be equal to the strong themselves. Nowadays, it seems that too

often the strong are apt tJ oppress or deceive the weak. Under such

circumstanees, io* "", tt" ttroos retain lasting power? The weak

will not always remain weak. some day the weak will gain enough

po*., to equal the strong. \ilhm the weak equal the strong' the strongwho once oppressed ana deceived the weak will be overthrown-

ft erefor., tt e truly enlightened person knows he must help and

protect the weak in [heir need in order to retain his lasting power."

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The Relqtionship between Religion qnd Polirics

by Prof. Pal Khn Chon

A nation is outwardly under the domination of politics and lawand inwardll, based upon religion and morals. The relationship,however, is not so peaceful. Sometimes religion is oppressed bypolitics and at other times politics is oppressed. When both are wellharmonized the nati,on and society are wholesomely opperated.

The Great Master compared the role of religion and politicsto the two wheels of a cart, to the south wind and north wind, andto a compassionate mother and strict father.

Sotaesan, the Great Master viewed a nati,on as in its most idealiz-ed form when religion and morals, politics and law (righteousness)are best realized. The Great Master, at that time, read the causesof the disorder in a society groping in darkness by losing its direc-tion. Ven. Sotaesan seemed to believe the causes lay in the non-existence of a politics that would speak for people, and also inthe nonexistence of a faith which would satisfy the desire for beingsaved.

The Great Master's view of a nation was to recover his nativecountry, Korea from Japan and to develop it until it would becomeone of the pattern countries of the world. His view of a nation wasthe presentation and practice of this idealism. In otlter words, itcan be said that he presented even the political point of view whichis under the charge of religion in order to make his religion indigern-ous wherever his religion happen to take root.

The Great Master not only warned not to have such an attitudeand approach towards religion and politics as "the Union of reli-gious service and politics" or "the Union of religion and politics" butalso disapproved both the theory of religious superiority to politicsand the theory of political superiority to religion. The late primeMaster, Rev. Jung-san, expressed the view of Sotaesan in the words,"politics and religion with one mind." When religion and politicsdo their roles perfectly, strictly keeping their own positions, thenation will be harmonized ideally and will remain prosperous.

The Great Master presented a perfect truth which explain thatthe universe is one home, and Four Lives are one body. He calledthe perfect one Truth Il-Won-SBDB, or the Great Way of Il-Won. Iferegarded the great power of creation which the Great Way of Il-Won

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operates, as the Four Graces. Aecordingly, the view of a nation bythe Great Master indicates that all nations in the world should tryto break all their boundries and must regard the world as one hometrying to understand each other. He also expressed his view of anation in the words "politics and religion with one mind."

The Great Master made it clear that religion and politics areinseparable from the standpoint of a nation. However, the subtletyexists in the fact that religion has to be related wih politics andits own original obligation. A religion can neither beoome indigen-ous anyplace nor become a world religion if it ignores or is indifferentto any group in a common fate, such as a country or a race. Sotaesandid not mean to demean religion by making it equal to politics. Healways put religion in a different dimension from politics. He thoughtthat law could be produced by religion; if a law whieh was polishedby religionism was quite proper and adaptable to politics, politiciansmight adopt it for their policy. The Great Master thought that, if areligion offers such adaptable laws, it will prevail all over the worldthrough both religi,on and policy.

The Great Master, as a religious leader, indicated that the lawswhich were practiced by religionists should be studied and polishedso that politicians might adapt them to their poliey. As his par-ticipation in politics in such a high dimension v/as purely motivat-ed by a sense of duty, he had to perform some works which had someanalogy to politics.

After the liberation of Korea, the analogical activities of theGreat Master were succeeded and observed by the successors of hisLaw, Song Jung-san, t}e later Prime Master and Kiin Tae-san, thepresent Prime Master.

Song Jung-san, upon the liberation of I(orea, warned the peopleof his order who were still not quite sensible to the real pleasure ofIiberation, that the order should not agitate a low political dimen-sion, but must seize the situation correctly; He insisted they mustunderstand the most urgent task of reconstructing a new nation.

Upon the liberation, Song Jung-san, wrote An Essay on theFoc"i,nding of a Natinn, sitting up late until midnight. He added ap-pendixes The Twenty-one of Maoimrums and The Second Term ofFcunding the Nation. Jung-san, while announcing his thought, cameto think that the most urgent work his order must do in the partici-pation of founding a nation are these; First, partieipation in reliefworks for sufferers. Second, to prompt the spread of education, andthird, to develop a campaign to spread Hangul (Korean Language).

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He called these works, "The Three Great Works for Founding thpNation," and encouraged his people to devote themselves to the works:

In conclusion, we may forward several questions in order toseize the Sotaesan's view of politics from the religious dimensionwhich Sotaesan aimed at, and especially to establish the ftrnctionalrelationship between his religion and politics; First the attitudeof transcendental accommodation, seeond, the deter,minative attitudein harmoryr third, honest criticism, and resistenee of ndnviolence.These may be worth while questions to pursue as a me&ns for partici-pating in polidics in the world's present situation.

EDITOR'S NOTE

Won Buddlti,sm, is published twice a year, in summer and winter.However, w€ missed the summer issue this year due to the editor'strip to the United States, Europe, and East Asia from August 4 toSeptember 10. In the News Corner, therefore, the editor had to in-clude some events from the January of this year. It is regrettablethat this magazine will take to much time to reach you by boat.

We shall be very grateful if you let us know your new address

whenever you move so that we may have your correct address.Your contribution of articles on religion to this magazine are

always welcome. We are ready to put your artiele in this magazine.Please do not hesitate to ask for more copies if you need them, andalso to back issues.

If our readers have a chance to visit Korea please find time tovisit the Research Institute for Overseas Missions at Won KwangUniversity in Iri. We will be happy to take eare of you. From Seoulyou can dial 5-6053 and ask for Ms. Pal Khn Chon. She has beenin eharge of almost all religious affairs eoncerning foreign eountries.

Thank you.

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Buddhist StoryPRECIOUS STONE OF IVII\D

Gne thousand and five hundred years &go, there was a smallcountry in Southern India. The King was a faithful follower ofShakyafnuni Buddha, and almost everyday he listened to Buddha'sLaw told to him by Ven. Panjotolo, a high virtuous monk.

One day the king gave a beautiful precious stone to Ven. Panjo-tolo as an expression of his gratitude. Three princes were sittingbeside the king. Panjotolo showed the stone to those three princes.Two of the princes made an opulent compliments about it. But theyoungest prince kept silent. Panjotolo asked about his silence. Theprince replied; "It seems to be very gorgeous stone, but it will bechanged in fire and water. And also there is the possibility that itmight be stolen by a thief. How, then, can we trust it, and what canwe do with this changeable thing?"

Panjotolo agreed with the prince, inquiring if there was anytreasure which is unchangeable and is safe from thieves. The princeassented. When the high virtuous man asked again about its location,the prince pointed at the heart of himself, of the high virtuous manand his brothers.

Our bodies and all things will be burnt in fire or will be stolen.by thieves, but our mind can not be earried away like all materialthings. This mind of human beings is the most precious treasure.The answer of the prince surprised the virtuous man. He explainedthat he agreed with the prince, our mind is the most precious treasure,but most people were hardly aware of that faet. It is regrettablethat we ignore the treasure of the mind and leave it uncultivated.When we constantly purify and cultivate our minds, it is beyonddoubt that we can Iead our lives very pleasantly and righteously.

Panjotolo invited the prince to become his desciple and to polishthe precious stone of mind, to give light to other people as well asto himself. The prince smiling paid a deep compliment to the highvirtuous monk and attained permission from the king to be a desciple.The prince is the Great Master, Boddhidharma himself.

A CROW OF VAMTY

One day the Creator pronounced he was going to choose themost beautiful bird of all birds for the king, and that all birds

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should come to him. A crow, although knowing his ugliness, cameto cherish the ambition of becoming the king at any eost. He flew overmountains and fields, collecting feathers which were fallen fromother birds. He put all the various feathers upon his body and wasmost gorgeously attired. On the appointed dry, all the birds cameto the Creator. The crow also proudly showed up. The Creator,seeing the crow, said that he was going to appoint the crow a kingbeeause the crow was m'ost gorgeous. Hearing this, all the other birdswere very angry and flew at the crow to take off their own feathers.The crow, which cherished an ambition of beeoming the king by anunrighteous means, again became the ugly crow. He never becamea king of the birds.

-from The Canonical Textbook of Won Buddhistn -The Great Master said, "These days we have many people wh

dream of being enlightened to the Way without studying; who wishto be successful in doing things-without effort; who just look forwardto having a chance to achieve things without making any preBaration;who manipulate the Great Way with witchcraft and who ridiculejustice in tricky ways. Each of them makes a fuss as if he weredoing a great thing. They are ealled daytime ghosts. Such beings,however, will find no place to stand in the brighter period of theworld. Only the righteous Law, indispensible for human life, willbe accepted by the world. Such a world r.rill be regarded as a trulybright world."

Practice

Practice

M editation C ontinually,

Meditation Eaeruwhere

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nl"*o €,or^",

1. Iri Branch Temple Opens School for the Aged

A special school for the old was established by Iri BranchTemple of lVon Buddhism. Twenty-seven people representing all as-pects of the community held a eonference January 14 at the Iri Lions'Club to discuss the welfare of the aged. The result of the meetingwa.s a proposal to start a special school for the elderly at Iri BranchTemple of Won Buddhism.

The principal aim of the school is to help the aged adjust tobeing elderly. The old are often lonely. They feel rejected by theirfamilies and useless to their community. Iri speeial school is attempLing eradicate those feelings. By conducting lectures in the hu-manities and natural sciences focusing on the problems of the aged intoday's soeiety, the school hopes to instill a sense of usefullness, be-longing, and pride into its students. Growing old presents specialproblems, but Iris' school emphasizes the point that those problemsare not insolvable. Awareness and determination are two key eon-cepts. The elderly must be aware of their capabilities and be de-termined to use them. The school constantly stresses the possibilityof an enriching an enjoyable old age.

Entrance to the school is limited to men and womm over sixtyone. The period of instruction is divided into two cycles. The firstcycle begins in March and ends in June and the seeond cycle startsin August and ends in November. Enrollment is limited to fifty peo-ple. 48 hours of humanity courses, 12 hours of natural science courses,and 36 hours of public health courses must be eompleted during: acycle.

2. Textbooks Distributed to Prisoners

On March 14th Soo-Won Branch Temple of Won Buddhism inKyonggi-do province distributed, for the first time, three hundredvolumes of canonical Textbooks and 2,800 volumes of an outline andhistory of Won Buddhism in Soo-Won Penitentiary. Twenty speakerswere also made available. More than 2000 of men and women prisoners

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attended the ceremony. They enthusiastically welcomed the Soo-'WonRranch Temple distributors. Many prisoners dissolved into tearsduring the hyrnns sung by Won Buddhist ministers.

290 Textbooks were also sent to the United States for the firsttime. All texts for Soo-Won Penitentiary and for distribution in theU.S. were collected during a series of organized book drives.

3. Doctors Give Free Treatment

Four doctors from the Won Kwang Hospital of Oriental Medicinegave free diagnosis and treatment for three days last April. Over200 patients from Sam Rye, Kun San and Iri consulted the doctors.

4. Thirtieth Anniversary of IVon Kwang University

Won Kwang University celebrated its Thirtieth AnniversaryMay 15 in 7976. More than 3,000 people including leading provincialfigures of The Order of Won Buddhism, government officials, alumni,parents, and students attended at 10:00 A.M. Founders Day Ceremony.

Dr. Kil Chin Park, president of Won Kwang University, gavethe opening address. He told his audience that we should open oureyes on a world scale. He went on to state that only by studying witha world perspective can we advance and reform yet still retain ourintelligence, courage, Iove, and respect for our fellow man. Dr. Parkalso advised that outside awareness is a necessity for attaining aproper view point of Korean national security.

Awar'ds were presented to those who had served Won KwangUniversity for over flfteen years. The recipients of this offieial honorare as follows: Dr. Pal Khn Chon, Dean of Teachers' College. Dr.Chun Een Song, University Library Director, Prof. Jong Rim Seong,Director of Student Affairs.

5. Tlon Kwang Opens Public Health Junior CoIIege

Won Kang Public Health Junior College held its official openingceremony on March 11 in t976. The new junior college wa,s approvedby the Ministry of Education in January 24. 320 students wereselected frorri all those who took the entrance examination to beginstudy during the 1976 academic year.

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Departments included in the new two year school are clinicalpathology, physical treatment, X-ray, and dento-surgical technology.The college aims to produce expert technicians of medium standingto serve in all the medieal fields. Upon graduation the prospectivetechnicians must pass a state examination for qualification.

6. I)r. Kil Chin Park Attends Korea-Japan Religtous Council

Dr Kil Chin Park, president of Won Kwang University, attendedthe Korea-Japan Religious Council, February L4 in 1976 in Tokyo,Japan. It was reported that this was a preliminary step towards es-tablishing a Korea-Japan Religious Congregation in Korea. Venera-ble Park also toured Japanese educational and religious organizationsafter the Council.

7. A Symposium on Won Buddhist Thoughts HeId

The Besearch Institute for Won Buddhist Thoughts of WonKwang University held a symposium at, Chong-ro Braneh Templeon September 25 in L976. The subject was, "The View of Religionof Ven. Sotaesan." Approximately 500 people attended. During freetalking they discussed, "The View of Peace of Won Buddhism", "TheView of Human Nature of Won Buddhism," "The Creativity of WonBuddhism," "The Social View of Won Buddhism," and "The Participa-tion in Social Activity of Won Buddhism," etc.

8. Ihe Ground Breaking Ceremony of the Main Buddhist Training House

At two o'clock on September 20, L976, the Won Buddhist Head-quarters had a ground breaking ceremony for the Main BuddhistTraining House. Ven. Taesan, The Prime Master, Ven. Soong-san,the Chief of the construction committee, and other members attend-ed the ceremony.

9. The International Won Buddhist Convention

The 2nd International Won Buddhist Convention was held inLos Angeles, New York, Chicago from the 8th to the 14th of Oetoberin 1976. The Korean representatives were twelve Won Buddhistmembers who were eseorted by Ms. Pal Khn Chon, the Direetor ofResearch Institute for the Overseas Missions. The Convention sched-

ules were not much different from lastthe U.S.A., the members visited Wonand Europe.

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year. After the convention inBuddhist members in Canada

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Pmtwnt of the Won Buddhist Second lnternational Conoention whlchuas held in l-os Angeles, Neus York, and Chicago Won Buddhist Branch Tem-ples &tring August 8 through 18, 1976.

-28-

18, 7976. Won Buddhisnt's ven. Toesan, the Prime Master d.elioered the

sennon.

The Great Dharma Hall under construction at the Won Buddhi* Head-

quarters in lri. The Hall u:ill be completud in March 1977 and will be used

for all ktnds of Won Buddhist training.