Introduction

1. On the twenty-sixth of March in the first year of Won Buddhism, the Great Master, Venerable Sotaesan, upon the attainment of his great Enlightenment, said,

"An beings are of one Reality and all things and principles originate from one source, where the Truth of No Birth and No Death and the Principle of Cause and Effect operate as a perfect organ on an interrelated basis."

2. After his enlightenment, the Great Master read extensively from scriptures and sutras of other religions. Upon reading the Diamond Sutra he said,

"Shakyamuni Buddha is really the sage of all sages. Although I attained the Truth through self-instruction, I have discovered many coincidences between my own motives for following the religious path and those of the old Buddha, up until the time when I myself attained Enlightenment. For this reason I will regard the Buddha as the antecedent of my Law."

He concluded by saying,

"In the future, when I intend to establish my great and perfect religious Order, Buddha Dharma should be the central Principle."

3. The Great Master said, "Buddhism is a great and universal Way. It teaches the Principle of the Nature of sentient beings clearly, offers solutions to the problem of birth and death, explains the Principle of Cause and Effect, establishes the perfect Way of moral practice, and is superior to the teachings of all other religions."

4. The Great Master observed the society of that time and announced as a motto his guiding principle:

"As material civilization develops, cultivate spiritual civilization accordingly."

5. The Great Master, before he established his Order, and during the early months of his teaching, decided unofficially to select from among forty of his followers nine men who were sincere and of great faith and who would become model disciples when he established his order. To them he said,

"Human beings are the masters of all things and all things are to be used by human beings. The path of humanity is one based on benevolence and justice, and scheming is secondary. Naturally, therefore, as the great Way of benevolence and justice becomes established in the world, the human spirit should dominate all things. Recently, however, this main principle has been losing its influence, and scheming has come to dominate the world, creating obstacles to the establishment of the great Way. This is the time for us to cooperate with one common spirit and cure our degenerating minds. Take this into consideration as you prepare and initiate the newly founded and everlasting Order."

6. The Great Master devised a system of organizing people into groups of ten members through which all the people of the world can be taught. And he said,

"In this way, quickly and without exception, each person can be taught and trained by one teacher. This is such a simple system that, by always training only nine persons, millions of people can be taught."

Having organized the first group, the members of which he had already selected, he preached to them, saying:

"The method of organizing this group is in accordance with the principle of cosmic organization. The group has a head which corresponds to the heaven of the cosmos, a center representing the earth, and eight members in accordance with the eight directions of the cosmos. Broadly speaking, this group symbolizes the whole cosmos, and narrowly speaking, the whole cosmos is integrated in the body."

The head of the group was the Great Master, and the Rev. Song Kyu was assigned as the center. The eight members were Rev. Lee Je-Chul, Rev. Lee Soon-Soon, Rev. Kim Ki-Chun, Rev. Oh Chang-Keon, Rev. Park Se-Chul, Rev. Park DongRuk, Rev. Yoo Keon and Rev. Kim Kwang-Seon.

7. The Great Master, in preparation for founding his Buddhist Order, organized a savings cooperative and said,

"Establishing this Order is not work ordinary people can do. It will require perseverance and particular effort to achieve something that ordinary people are unable to do. At present, as we cannot afford to establish the foundation needed for accomplishing our task, an especially thrifty and laborious way of living is needed. We will wholeheartedly observe all articles of the cooperative and be an example, as founders of an Order for those who follow."

In the first place, cooperative members were prohibited from smoking, from drinking wine and were told to save rice, which would be called 'Rice for Requiting Grace,' and were encouraged to engage in cooperative work.

8. The Great Master, while supervising his nine disciples building a dam to reclaim land at Kilyong-ni, said,

"You are not accustomed to such heavy work. This hardship you are now suffering, as initiators of the great Order, is quite different from that of ordinary people. However, you will find unique pleasure in doing it. It will be more meaningful to initiate a thing yourself through hardships and difficulties than just taking over some other person's work. Our Order is to be of unprecedented greatness, and at the same time, it will be the last of its kind. To establish such a great Order, we must prepare a doctrine which incorporates the following teachings: moral study and philosophy of science should be compatible, which might bring real civilization to the world; Study in Motion should be harmonized with Study in Quietness in order that the study of Buddha Dharma might parallel our practical works; possibilities for the unity of all doctrines must be found which will bring the world together in peaceful harmony like a family. Thus, to accomplish our task perfectly, a great deal of effort on our part is naturally required."

9. When members of the group were still building the dam, one of the wealthy neighbors, seeing them at work, immediately submitted an application to the authorities so that he might do that same work for himself, and kept in touch with the authorities. As this caused some trouble over the question of ownership of the beach, the members became very concerned about it and deeply hated the neighbor. Hence the Great Master said,

"This trouble in the course of constructing the dam seems to be a trial from Heaven. Don't worry about this and neither hate nor bear a grudge against our neighbor. Right will win in the long run. Even if this beach which we are reclaiming should happen to be owned by our neighbor through unfortunate circumstances, right will stand on our side. Moreover, as our original purpose in life is to serve the public, it will not be entirely meaningless to serve him except that we would regret that the beach would not help more people, as we intended. Anyway, the poor residents along the beach will be able to use a considerable part of this land for farms. From this point of view, our labor will not have failed to serve the public welfare. During this trial, do your best if only for the benefit of the public, and transcend the concept of yourself and the other. Then, naturally, everything will be settled fairly."

10. One day when Lee Choon-Poong, one of his disciples, came to see him, the Great Master asked him,

"Do you understand why I have told them to construct the dam first before teaching them anything about morality as they had wished?"

Choon-Poong answered,

"How should I expect to be able to comprehend the immeasurable depths of your thought? But, if I dare express my understanding, it seems to me that you have two reasons. First, you want them to prepare for the financial expense involved in studying, and second, you want them to know that nothing is impossible to achieve successfully for those who cooperate and are of one will."

The Great Master answered,

"Your comment makes sense. In addition, however, let me say something more. As these people come to me for the purpose of study, I need to know, first of all, whether they have unswerving faith or not. Their real faith will be proved when, inexperienced in hard labor and in the face of mockery from neighbors, they reclaim the beachfront which has been ignored for thousands of years. And from the beginning to the end of their task, we may judge their latent capabilities which will enable them to achieve success in the future. They will also come to know the origin of blessedness through the self-sufficiency attained by a thrifty and economical way of life and by hard work. Moreover, through this difficult task we will be training in using our Original Nature and will attain the power to overcome all sufferings which may face us in the future. It is in light of these considerations that I told them to do the work."

11. When they had completed the work, the disciples were talking among themselves;

"At the beginning of the task it seemed to be such a difficult thing, almost like constructing a high mountain on flat ground. Now that we have succeeded in this task, it seems rather easier to construct a dam. But I wonder how much harder it will be to attain the Way."

Listening to this the Great Master said,

"It may seem very difficult to attain the Way because you do not know how to do it. However, it is easier than eating your meals. No more difficulties are involved in the attainment of the Way than in the construction of the dam, and you may keep the placid and undisturbed state of mind. If you are not able to follow what I mean, just keep what I say in your mind and think about it again when you have become aware of the means by which to attain enlightenment."

12. When the first Temple of Won Buddhism of this Order was constructed at the foot of Oknyobong in Kilyong-ni, the Great Master wrote the following words on the roof beam of the house:

The alternation of day and night has its source in Won- Truth,
Weaving the Law of the circulation of seasons.

Under the words he added:

A Pine tree stands monopolizing the liveliness of spring;
The confluence of water running from a thousand mountains produces a thunderous roar.

13. The Great Master said to the nine in the group,

"At present, materialism has an increasing influence in the world today, while the minds of human beings are becoming weak. In these circumstances, individuals, homes, societies and nations are not able to maintain equilibrium and must remain in endless suffering. Can we who have made up our minds to help other people neglect this situation? We know of saints and sages who, with utmost sincerity, gave prayers for all living beings and received a response from Heaven. Now I suggest that this is the time for us to pray incessantly to Heaven and Earth until Heaven and Earth respond to our prayers. Then people can be the masters of material things, instead of being tempted by them. Your mind is equivalent to the mind of Heaven; your virtue will meet with the virtue of Heaven and Earth when the last bit of self-centered desire has left your mind. Everything will then turn out successfully, as you desired. You should be conscious of the fact that you possess the ability to impress the will of Heaven and at the same time should always be aware of your own responsibility to save all sentient beings."

And he assigned the members of the group specific locations and dates, and bade them start offering prayer.

14. The Great Master, when he witnessed the miracle of the Fingerprints of Blood which appeared on a paper on the twenty-sixth of July in the fourth year of Won Buddhism, interpreted it as symbolizing the spirit of the utmost devotion of the nine aspirants, a spirit standing above life and death, and said:

"Heaven and Earth have already made a response to your devoted minds, and this miracle shows the judgment of the invisible world of Truth. This is the first step in our successful project. From this moment you do not belong to yourselves, but to the Universe. In spite of any hardships and difficulties which you might face in the future in carrying out your work, do not change your minds from what they are at this moment. Be reminded of this moment whenever you are tempted by the pleasures of home and by the five desires. Thus, with a free and concentrated mind, be faithful in your study and work."
Then he conferred Dharma titles and Dharma names on them, saying,

"Your name, which has been used before, is a worldly name and a name for an individual. You may suppose that you who have been called by the worldly name have died, but are reborn with this universal Dharma name. Do your best to save numerous sentient beings from suffering by using this Dharma name."

15. The Great Master said,

"What we now need to know and teach is Buddha's morality. Study the essential meaning of Buddha Dharma and strive for enlightenment to its Truth. It has been a long time since I was enlightened to Buddha Dharma, and since then I have been putting emphasis on inspiring religious faith into the minds of people only by means of an unorganized teaching system, according to their intelligence. I have done this because I observed that your understanding of the Truth is still far from complete. On the other hand, because Buddhism has been ill-treated in this country for several hundred years, and because consequently the people lack reverence for it, I fear that ignorant people might be very indifferent to my Buddhist teachings. If you are to be enlightened to the genuine Truth and seek after the goal of the true discipline, leading all sentient beings into the path of wisdom and blessedness, Buddha Dharma should be the main principle in your teachings.

Moreover, true Buddhism will become one of the major religions practiced in the world. In the future, however, Buddhism should not be the same system as that of the old Buddhism, but should be practiced by scholars and officials, farmers, artisans and merchants. It should be a Buddhism not only for monks, but for all laity. As for the way of worshipping the Buddha, we should not regard a Buddha image as a real Buddha, but we should know that all things in the universe are Buddhas and everything we are doing is the practice of Buddha Dharma. When we do ordinary things faithfully, we are practicing Buddha Dharma faithfully. The one who studies Buddha Dharma successfully can accomplish worldly affairs as well. As to the way of offering worship to Buddha, there is no particular Dharma Hall or Buddha image for offering worship to the Buddha. Every place is to be our Dharma Hall and everything is to be our Buddha image for offering worship to the Buddha. Then, we will be living in Dharma Halls and surrounded by Buddhas, and, at the same time, the benefactions of Buddha will spread over the whole universe, making this world an unimaginably blessed Buddhist paradise. My disciples, you are fortunate enough to have an opportunity which rarely comes to one, that is, to become one of the initiators of this new religious Order. Do not think that my words are groundless, even though they are not proved at present. They will be proved in the near future."

16. The Great Master said,

"Buddhism has had a close relationship with Korean society, and several hundred years ago was prosperous; recently, however, it has been ill-treated. It has been forced to hide in the mountains due to changes in the ruling power and the prevailing influences of Confucianism, and, therefore, has carried out a transcendental and meaningless life. This is why Buddhist teachings have not been widely recognized by the general populace. Some people who think they know about Buddhism say that in some scenic places in the mountains there are Buddhist temples with monks and Buddha images, and that the ordinary people go to these temples to give offerings before the Buddha images for the purpose of being blessed or excused from being punished.

It is also said that the monks are disciples of the Buddha's image, remaining unmarried, with shaved heads, in ragged robes and with beads in hand chanting the name of Buddha and reading sutras, going around with sacks on their backs begging alms from donors, paying their respects even to the lowest and poorest persons among ordinary people, refraining from smoking and eating meat or fish, and refraining from killing things. It is also said that it is not the people of the higher class, the rich and the blessed, who are supposed to become monks but those who are born with an unfortunate situation. Furthermore, among the monks who are versed in the Buddhist Truth there are supposedly those who can tell a place for the best homesite or burial ground. They are also said to be able to bring winds and rains, move mountains and walk on water. However, it is also said that such a one would rarely be seen, even among thousands, and that therefore Buddhism is an unrealistic religion not suitable for ordinary people, with temples which are surrounded by beautiful scenery, but which are just like places to visit for relaxation.

It is also said that if a member of a family is a temple-goer or a monk, the family will experience bad fortune and their descendants will never be prosperous because Buddhists practice cremation.  Thus, to the general people, the Buddhist monks have been regarded as unusual human beings. Actually, however, the monks have carried out their lives worshipping magnificent Buddha images in splendid temples constructed at scenic places remote from everyday society. They have cut off all worldly relationships while enjoying the rustling of the wind and the loveliness of the moon, listening to the music of nature, such as birds singing arid water flowing. Without a worry, they have eaten meals and worn clothes which were offered by donors. They have had only to read sutras, practice Chanting the Name of Buddha and Sitting Meditation, and occasionally stroll in the woods.

Not all of the monks have lived their lives in this way but generally the monks have had lives of leisure, of cleanliness and of taste. The Buddha's great Way, however, has remained unknown to the world while these monks have indulged themselves in their way of living, being good only for themselves: the Hinayana method. How, then, could this be the Buddha's original purpose? Therefore, a part of the doctrines and systems of Buddhism must and can be changed without bringing any change in the Buddha's great Principle. Thus, the Buddhism which thus far has only existed for a few people can now be the Buddhism for the majority. And also, partial methods of moral practice can be perfected."

17. The Great Master continued, saying,

"The height, depth and width of the Buddha's superior Way are immeasurable; his wisdom and ability cannot be expressed through words written or spoken. Generally speaking, however, ordinary persons know only that there exists a birth and a death and are ignorant of the eternal life, but Buddha was enlightened to the principle that there is no birth and no death, but rather eternal life. We are also ignorant of the principle of even our own selves, but the Buddha thoroughly knows the principle of all things in the universe. We are not able to differentiate between the way of good and evil, and usually follow the evil way. But the Buddha has the ability to deliver himself and to save all beings in the universe, leading them from the way of evil to the way of goodness.

We do not know why happiness and suffering comes our way, but the Buddha knows about the happiness and suffering which naturally happens or is created by our own selves. When we fall from blessedness and happiness we can do nothing for ourselves ; but the Buddha is able to restore his blessedness and happiness. We care little about our wisdom, whether it is getting bright or dull, but the Buddha brightens wisdom when it loses its brightness and can keep it continuously bright.

We are apt to commit many wrongs, from being affected by covetousness, anger and foolishness; the Buddha, however, is never affected by covetousness, anger and foolishness. We are too strongly bound to awareness of Being in the universe to be aware of Non-being, but the Buddha sees Non-being through Beings or forms, and Being through Non-being. We are ignorant about the Six Paths: of Heaven, of human beings, or Sura, of animals, of hungry ghosts and of hell; we are ignorant of the Four Forms of  Birth: viviparous, oviparous, waterborne, and metamorphic, while the Buddha knows even the Reason of the transformation of the Six Paths and the Four Forms of Birth. We never care whether we hurt others for the sake of ourselves, but the Buddha does things in the spirit of mutual interest, and when he finds it necessary to give up all his own interests, he gives them up, even his own life, for other people as though it were his own blessedness and happiness to do so. We are in possession of only a limited number of things such as our own individual homes and our blood relatives. The Buddha, however, said that all things in the universe are the Buddha's home and all sentient beings are his family. With this wisdom and ability of the Buddha, we are to devote ourselves to delivering all living beings."

18. The Great Master continued, saying,

"Because old Buddhism was based upon monk-centered doctrines and systems, it was not suitable for secular life. As a result, the ordinary laity were outsiders to the Buddhist religion, and were rarely even listed as Buddha's immediate disciples or as ancestors of a Buddhist Order, unless they achieved particular distinction through Buddhist works or study. Religion has meaning when it teaches people. Monks, however, established temples in the remote mountains. How, then, could busy people find time to go to the temples to be taught? The Buddhist scriptures, also, were composed of phrases and characters which were too difficult to be taught and understood by ordinary people, intelligent or ignorant, male or female, old or young. As to their way of living, the monks, without any occupations as such, lived on the aims and offerings of donors, which is an inadequate and impossible way of life for the majority.

Marriage was also strictly prohibited for monks. With regard to propriety, monks were instructed only in the formalities of Buddhist worship and not the proprieties which are necessary for secular life. How, then, could their lives encompass the totality of existence? Therefore, in this new Order, we will not make any distinction between monks and laity in their basic rights as members of the Order, but the degrees of their Buddhist study and activities will be the standard of distinction. Also, we will make no distinction between monks and laity as to their succession to the Law. Temples for moral training will be established where the believers are living, and scriptures will be composed of the essentials of the teachings, using easy words, so that the majority may use and understand them. The monks will be allowed to have suitable occupations, and marriage for monks will be optional. We will not observe the all too complicated proprieties of formal worship of Buddha, but will learn more about the most appropriate and useful proprieties of ordinary life by emphasizing the way of offering worship to Buddha everywhere and in everything.

As for the lives of monks, it is desirable, except on special occasions, for us to engage in scholarly works during our youth, and in our middle age to learn moral philosophy while carrying out missionary works. In our old age we will find a scenic and quiet place adequate for a secluded life, away from worldly attachments and desires, and there we may study the problem of birth and death. In autumn and spring, we may, in turn, visit the temples in towns and cities, giving our best in missionary work. And in winter and summer, we will resume our moral training, thus leading our everyday lives into the perfect Way. We are also to be on the alert for the trends of modem society, so that our doctrines will not be left behind by these changing times and thoughts."

19. The Great Master said again,

"Old Buddhism taught the scriptures, methods of practicing meditation by pondering on the Abstruse Questions (kung-an), methods of Chanting the Name of Buddha, how to voice incantations, and methods of Offering Worship to the Buddha. In teaching scriptures, it originally intended to introduce Buddhist doctrines, systems and history. By letting the Buddhists practice meditation on kung-an, it aimed to enlighten them to the profound Truth which is otherwise difficult to teach through scriptures or verbal explanation. The method of Chanting the Name of Buddha and other incantations was taught for beginners of Buddhist study whose minds were too strongly occupied with worldly desires and attachments to permit the concentration required to get into the right Way. The methods of Offering to Worship the Buddha were taught to help the believers in the successful achievement of their wishes and to help them in doing Buddha-work. It was necessary, therefore, that each believer practice all these courses of study; but it happened that some of them became too attached to only one or two of these courses.

Holding to the partial ways, they divided into different groups, which became a hindrance to the true Buddhists in believing and in practicing their moral training. Hence, we have decided to integrate all the Buddhist training courses. In order to cultivate our wisdom in doing these things and in understanding these principles, we have trained in the many kung-an of the meditation sects, studied scriptures of the teaching sects, and have selected the most essential kung-an and scriptures from those complicated doctrines and kung-an to be the courses of the Study of Facts and Principles. The practices of Chanting the Name of Buddha, of meditation, and of incantation have been selected as the courses of Cultivating Spiritual Stability in order to integrate the mind: The practice in Precepts and the training in the Principle of Cause and Effect and in the Four Graces are the study courses for the Selection of Right Conduct, which are the most adequate for secular life. Accordingly, we require the believer to practice these three great courses at the same time.

Through the continual practice of the courses for the Study of Facts and Principle, we will attain power to gain an insight into Facts and Principles without hindrance, as the Buddha achieved. By practicing the courses for the Cultivation of Spiritual Stability, we will attain the Buddha's power of Spiritual Stability which is undisturbed from external circumstances. Through training in the courses of Selection of Right Conduct, we will acquire the power of distinguishing between right and wrong, and we will learn to practice doing righteous things. When we use these three great powers as the power source enabling us to attain our wishes or to show us the necessary way for the practice of Offering Worship to Buddha in our everyday life, then all doctrines will become united, and the methods of moral training of the followers will become harmonized."

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