[Buddha-l] Perhaps the Buddhists in Korea have

[Lidewij Niezink]

Hi Michael,

Thank you very much for your reply. Sounds like worth the effort! So far, my
korean is limited to hello, thank you and good bye so i've got a long way to
go ;-).Then again, i am amazed by the warmth and friendliness of the Korean
people in general. We manage quite well with hands, feet and laughs. Most
people over here assure me that learning the alphabet is peanuts but
learning the grammar is ultimate samsara. What to do eh?

I'll investigate more,
all the best,
Lidewij

2008/10/20 Michael J. Wilson <michaeljameswilson at yahoo.com>

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