By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Gilsang Temple revealed the will of Buddhist leader Ven. Beop Jeong, Wednesday.
The late leader left two wills before his death: one regarding his inheritance and another for his student monks. Both wills were signed on Feb. 24.
In his first will, Ven. Beop Jeong wrote that ``If I have anything left to give, give it all to the charity foundation `Clean and Fragrant' and make sure that it is used in helping society become cleaner and more fragrant.'' Clean and Fragrant is a volunteer group that was formed by his followers in 1993 to help the underprivileged.
He also added that he wished the publishing of his books to stop, citing that he did not wish to take the words he made in this life to the next.
He appealed for harmony among his student monks and also emphasized the importance of meditation.
``I am grateful to have met you with belief and trust. I am sorry to have left you without doing my best to help you reach enlightenment. I hope you all meditate hard and find the nature of Buddha within you,'' he wrote.
The volunteer group received the will today and requested publishers to stop releasing his books.
``We feel sorry for the readers but we respect his last wish,'' the group said, adding that they would look for an alternate way to allow the public to read the late leader's words in the future.
The ``49-je'' for the late leader was carried out earlier at the temple Wednesday. According to the religion, when a person dies, the soul lingers in the real world for 49 days before finally reincarnating depending on how he or she lived his or her life.
The Buddhist ancient ritual is held once every seven days for the next seven weeks.
The ritual started off with the ``gwanyok,'' or the soul cleansing ceremony, chants, listening to lectures made by him and continued with a eulogy by friend and fellow monk Ven. Beop Heung from the Songgwang Temple.
He passed away on March 11 in Seoul at the age of 78 after a long battle with lung cancer. Some 30,000 mourners gathered for the religious ritual held at Songgwang Temple, South Jeolla Province, on Saturday where he was cremated.
Famous for his essays, including ``Non-possession'' in 1976, Ven. Beop Jeong escaped the spotlight by moving into a small cottage in the woods of Gangwon Province.
Right after his death, his books topped the bestseller list in major book stores. His books ``Non-Possession,'' ``Pleasure in Living Alone,'' ``Words and Silence'' and ``Empty Abundance'' are already not available at online and offline bookstores.