[Buddha-l] Perhaps the Buddhists in Korea have

[Michael J. Wilson]

Hi Liedwij

I too spent many months in Nepal and India studying Tibetan Buddhism before I went to live for almost 4 years in Korea.  At first I felt a profound emptiness about the buddhism in Korea.  The temples lacked warmth and had no people or spiritual practioners.  No one spoke English.  I lived in a rural country where nature was bountiful.  Eventually I found 2 of the strongest Son (Zen) temples in all of Korea near to my small town.  These remote temples are often closed all year round, as the monks are meditating.  Few foreigners have joined their ranks.  The last one I knew who did was Stephen Batchelor, who translated many Tibetan works before going to study buddhism in Korea.  I made friends with Korean biguni (Zen nun) and learned a lot about the Son tradition in Korea.  My only advise is to be patient, visit many temples, find English guides to Buddhism.  If you are in Seoul, maybe visit Dong-kuk University, the only buddhist univesity in Korea.  There
 is an International Zen Centre in Seoul where you can meet foreigners who speak and teach Son in English.  Outside of Seoul, you are on your own.  You can get English books about Korean Buddhism from the Lotus Lantern Society.

As far as authenicity goes, it was from Korea that buddhism spread to Japan.  Korean buddhism is older than Tibetan buddhism. One cannot find an older and more genuine source of buddhist teaching.  There is a lot  sanskrit in the Korean sutras.  A big hurdle is studying the language.  You might want to take a course in motor mechanics first.

Good luck!

Michael


Hello everyone,

I am currently in South Korea, traveling the country. One thing
that has been surprising me is the amount of christian churches
one finds scattered all over any place we go. We keep on looking
for these hidden temples here (beautiful and very inspiring by
the way), but all we get smacked in the face are crosses on large
buildings.

As far as the practice of Buddhism is concerned. I am very
curious what the experts on this list could tell me about the
authenticity of the Buddhist practitioners over here. I just
spent 4 months in Nepal studying abhidharma with the Tibetans.
Although i feel very strongly committed to learning the Dharma,
the Tibetan wholesale of Buddhism has been testing my practice of
patience and equanimity to the fullest extent. Anyone any ideas
or resources on the practice overhere?

Thanx,
Lilli


--
Lidewij Niezink, PhD
http://www.linkedin.com/in/lniezink

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