The Seon Meditation Academy for Social Leaders, led by Ven. Jinwoo, the President of the Jogye Order, has successfully concluded with a Templestay as its last program, a program where participants experienced Seon meditation firsthand. Through the Seon Meditation Templestay, held at the Korean Culture Training Institute in Gongju from August 24 to 25, participants learned how to calm their minds and vowed to popularize and globalize Seon Meditation.

While the 2-month academy was in session, Ven. President Jinwoo taught all he knew about Seon Meditation in seven theoretical lectures. The Seon Meditation Academy was directly taught by Ven. President Jinwoo, and is expected to be viewed as an unprecedented event in the history of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. He also taught various Seon meditation methods that eliminate suffering including “Stop Meditation,” “Any Time Meditation,” “Letting Go Meditation,” “This Shall Pass Meditation,” and “Meditation to Dissipate Three Feelings.”

Ven. President Jinwoo asked the attendees to have several moments of feeling at ease every day, even if only for 5 minutes. To do this, he advised us to occasionally sit in meditation, walk quietly, or just breathe quietly to calm our confused minds. He added that we should always cultivate peace of mind to eliminate emotional ups and downs, and maintain our emotional states on an even level as much as possible. 

Ven. President Jinwoo explained the purity of three types of karma (acts, speech, and thought) as a way to eliminate emotional ups and downs. To this end, he emphasized the practice of the six perfections, which are the virtues practiced by Buddhists, and he said that if we continually practice them, we can purify these three types of karma, change our karmic consciousness, and make our mind and body upright. He emphasized, “We are constantly being pulled this way and that by what we see with our eyes and what we hear with our ears. Even though these things are just phenomena or shadows, we are obsessed with what we see and hear, and our minds are misled. We need to have the skill to separate us from these illusions. That is the only way to find peace of mind.”

Lastly, Ven. President Jinwoo asked that everyone take the lead in popularizing and globalizing Seon Meditation, saying, “We must consistently practice Seon Meditation to create a good life and seek opportunities to awaken our minds. If we make Seon Meditation known to everyone and have people around the world practice it, we can save humanity.”