New Year’s Message from Most Ven. Jinwoo, President of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism

The struggle is over, and a harmonious way of living together has been found.

A single ray of light instantly dispels a thousand years of darkness, and the true light of wisdom annihilates ten thousand years of ignorance in the blink of an eye. The bright sun that rises on the first day of the Eulsa year, the Year of the Snake, removes at once all darkness and ignorance of the past and illuminates the whole world.  

Korea, already divided into the North and the South, has been torn asunder above and below, left and right, new and old. Conflicts and discord in the community have reached new heights. Instead of finding a righteous direction for the benefit of the whole community that everyone can agree on, it is now every man for himself, each putting his or her own faction's interests first. As a result, Korea is now ripped to pieces, and no one, not even ordinary men and women, is free from the blame for this sad state of our society. 

The best solution to stop all the quarrels and disputes and lead to a path of harmony is to open the channels of communication. This path of coexistence cannot be created by relying on someone else. It is only through our own efforts that we will create, expand, and maintain such channels, which is the only way to transform the jarring cacophony of disagreement into a symphonious accord. Only the path of communication toward reconciliation can ensure the foundation and future prosperity of the five-thousand-year-old community.

The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism will continue to develop the ‘K-Seon Meditation’ movement in order to heal the minds of those who have been hurt in all walks of society, especially in politics. We will continue to promote K-Seon Meditation through various international initiatives, including the International Seon Meditation Congress.  

The Jogye Order of Buddhism will also present the essence of Korean culture through the Buddhist Expo which we hope will bridge the intergenerational gaps. Yeondeunghoe, the Lantern Lighting Festival inscribed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, will also create a plaza where the global community can find a path of reconciliation by working together to achieve peace of mind and inform the world of the dynamism of our traditional culture. We will also strive to practice until we attain enlightenment to save all beings in every corner of the secular world. 

I beseech, urgently and fervently, all fellow Koreans to stop quarreling and gather our wisdom so that we can all move toward the path of harmony and co-existence. 

Bakcheon gonghae 百川共海

Mansang ilcheon 萬像一天

Hundreds and thousands of rivers all reach the sea,

Ten thousand forms all become one in the sky.