[Buddha-l] Perhaps the Buddhists in Korea have

[chong go sunim]

Hi Lidewij,
  You might also check out the Seoul Dharma Group http://seouldharmagroup.ning.com/   for information about Buddhist activities in English in the Seoul area. Also, a lot of people really enjoy the Temple Stay program. I think they have their own website, and you can also find out information about this at Chogye Temple in Seoul. 

Take care,
Chong Go



--- On Wed, 10/22/08, Lidewij Niezink <lidewij at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Lidewij Niezink <lidewij at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] Perhaps the Buddhists in Korea have
> To: "Buddhist discussion forum" <buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com>
> Date: Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 3:53 PM
> 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
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