|
The late Ven. Beop Jeong |
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Ven. Beop Jeong, one of the most respected Buddhist leaders in Korea, passed away Thursday at Gilsang Temple in Seoul. He was 78.
Ven. Beop had suffered from lung cancer for the past several years and had been resting on Jeju Island since last December. He was moved to Samsung Medical Center in southern Seoul after his condition recently worsened. He moved to Gilsang Temple this morning to prepare for his death.
He was born in Haenam, South Jeolla Province, in 1932 as Park Jae-cheol. After experiencing the Korean War (1950-53), the young Park thought intensely about life and death, and later left his school in search of the truth.
His journey led him to a temple and in 1955, he became a monk at Songgwang Temple in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province. After publishing several essays, he became a bestselling author with his 1976 book of essays ``Musoyu,'' or ``Non-Possession.''
To get away from the spotlight, he moved to a small cottage deep in the mountains of Gangwon Province, which offered him peace and also the meaning of life he later shared with readers through his books and essays.
His essays mostly portrayed lessons he had learned from both his Buddhist faith and the environment he loved and cared about throughout his life.
From simple anecdotes from his life in the deep mountains, where he shared his food with wild animals, to his interpretations of Buddhist teachings, he managed to connect with the readers with his insights on Buddhism, life and death, and enlightenment.
``Musoyu,'' one of his most popular books, especially resonated in the hearts of readers.
``Poverty that is made by choice is not poverty at all,'' he wrote, inspiring readers living in a world of material wealth and temptation.
``People who wish to possess everything must not possess anything. People who want to become everything must not become anything. Even if you let something go, you must escape from the conception that you let it go. Don't become attached to a nice thing you have done. It will pass just like the wind blows by a tree,'' he wrote.
The book doesn't relay profound lectures and lessons on Buddhism or abstractions on life. Instead, it depicted his lonely yet spiritual life in the mountains: the leaves changing color throughout the year, the birds chirping by his side and his simple routine including waking up, reading and appreciating his surroundings as they were.
He wrote about the simple joys of life, which people living in the busy city fail to notice.
In 1997, he transformed Daewongak, a high-class Korean restaurant back in the 1970s and '80s, into Gilsang Temple and paid regular visits to give lectures. He failed to attend the 12th anniversary event of the temple last year due to his health problems.
As one of the most popular and influential religious leaders in Korea, he appreciated other religious leaders as well, including Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, whom he met and became good friends with. Cardinal Kim passed away on Feb. 16 last year.
In 2008, he compiled his essays he wrote for the Gilsang Temple Buddhist journal and released ``The Beautiful Ending,'' along with a Buddhist textbook titled ``Ilgi Ilhoi,'' or ``The First Acquaintance in a Lifetime.''
``A beautiful ending always requires the preparation to leave. It's resembles a pilgrim or a traveler, not attached to anything. It is about using the gifts of the universe gratefully and preparing to leave everything behind,'' he wrote in ``The Beautiful Ending.''
``A beautiful ending is about leaving old thoughts and habits behind and being reborn into something new. Thus, a beautiful ending is not the end, but a new start.''
sanghee@koreatimes.co.kr
|
