Monk offers shelter for would-be suiciders
In Jigaiya’s temple there is a wooden Buddha, which he carved himself, with no eyes, nose or mouth. The statue, made out of an old tree root, only has two ears. /Courtesy of Jigaiya
By Park Jin-hai
Monk Jigaiya
By most standards, Woo Jae-seok, in his late 60s, is quirky in every way. The former member of the Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Council and National Assembly candidate, and a self-made millionaire, abruptly decided to quit his political career.
In 2004, despite the opposition of his wife and two children, Woo shaved his head, deserted his name and became a monk called “Jigaiya,” meaning a beggar asking for God’s blessings. He took all his possessions and built a temple in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, in 2006.
“While I was preparing for the National Assembly election, I happened to hear the news that there is a suicide taking place every 45 minutes in Korea. It struck me hard like thunder,” said the monk. “Then I thought that saving lives _ if it is even one life _ would be worthier than doing a politics.”
Then he made the temple, named “Silent village,” a shelter for anyone who thinks of attempting suicide, offering them a free place to stay and listen to their inner voices in practicing silent mediation.
Korea had the highest suicide rate among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) over the past 13 years, since it first topped the list in 2003. In 2016, a total of 13,092 people took their own lives in Korea, which means an average of 36 people commit suicide per day, meaning a suicide takes place every 40 minutes, according to Statistics Office data.
“People end their lives because there is no one around them who will listen to the despair they feel. If they have anyone who would truly listen to what is in their hearts, things could be different,” said Jigaiya. In his temple there is a wooden Buddha, which he carved himself, with no eyes, nose or mouth. The statue, made out of an old tree root, only has two ears.
“Having silent meditation is not just closing one’s mouth. It is about following after one’s moving mind and looking at why it goes that way. Arguing with no other, there is only one conversation with oneself. Then people come across answers on their own,” said the monk who says he has listened to stories of some 3,000 people who visited his temple.
The monk himself has experienced extreme ups and downs in his life. Born a son of a woodchopper’s family in a remote rural village, he ran away from his home when he was young to Andong, the capital of North Gyeongsang Province. But the cold city didn’t greet him warmly, he says.
He rummaged through restaurant garbage bins for food and worked all sorts of jobs, including selling ink pens on the streets and shining shoes in order to finish high school. He continued his studies at Andong National University and Konkuk University, and worked at Chukhyup (National livestock Cooperative Federation) over two decades.
It was the early 1980s, when the prices of cows crashed due to increased beef imports that he began making a big money. By buying cows at cheap prices and selling them when the prices went up years later, he accrued some 3 billion won.
Recently, he published a book, about his talks with those on the verge of killing themselves. “Stories of Awakening from Death (translated)” reveal the painful stories of 29 people, including those abandoned and abused by their families, a two-time suicide attempter and a gambler, and the monk’s “unconventional” teachings.
His temple found a new home in Yeosu, Jeolla Province, in late 2016.