Pages: 52 . Enjoyment Factor: 7/10 . Ease of Understanding: 7/10
I casually read “Find the Treasure Within: The Teachings of Seon Master Daehaeng” over the past week. I got this free Buddhist pamphlet at the Frankfurt book fair. There’s a short preface explaining Seon Master Daehaeng’s biography, a short explanation about Buddhism and the “true self” and eight questions about life in general and Buddhist practice which are answered by the Seon Master.
I only read this pamphlet for language practice and because I got it for free, but it was still quite interesting. I find it hard to understand beliefs about rebirth, but even without believing in Buddhism I got some wisdom and interesting cultural lessons out of the small book. One of the basic principles Seon Master Daehaeng teaches is that it is important to first acknowledge and then let go of any positive and negative feelings, ambitions and sorrows, and let life take its course. She says that only by doing so can one attain true freedom and alter the course of one’s destiny, because everyone forms their destiny by the way they react to things that happen to them and by the thoughts that occur to them (and has been doing so throughout many rebirths). There is certainly some wisdom in this. Resisting change is usually not only futile, but can easily become harmful and even devastating. It is best to accept things for what they are and go through them without resisting the negative when futile or trying to cling to and artificially prolong the positive. But I think there is some danger in this philosophy as well – maybe only when interpreted with little insight. If it becomes an excuse for not trying to change something negative that could be changed, if practiced without compassion, I think this may well be harmful. I also think the idea of inheriting the karma of earlier lives unnecessarily complicates things and could be used to justify someone’s misfortunes. Whatever is happening in this moment is the most important (but this is also emphasised by the Seon Master).
The second idea I liked is the idea of being one with everything, which from general knowledge I infer is central to Buddhism. I suppose to really believe and implement this concept in one’s life must be a powerful experience. There would be no reason to feel inferior or superior to anyone or anything. No reason to fear anything, to covet anything, no possibility of not being empathetic. It is this idea which is really interesting culturally, because collectivism and saying “we” and “our” rather than “I” and “my” seem to point in the direction of this understanding of everything as one. Jeong 情, an important East Asian and specifically Korean concept of affection and connectedness, also seems related:
“Jeong is difficult to define. One Korean-English dictionary defines it as “feeling, love, sentiment, passion, human nature, sympathy, heart.” Although it is complicated to introduce a clear definition of jeong, it seems to include all of the above as well as more basic feelings, such as attachment, bond, affection, or even bondage. . . .
One of the important characteristics is its “location.” Jeong seems located not only inside of our hearts but also outside. In other words, the location of jeong is between individuals. It can be difficult to understand an emotion as being seated outside an individual’s heart, yet it may be related to the idea of collective emotion.”
from “Significance of “Jeong” in Korean Culture and Psychotherapy” by Christopher K. Chung & Samson Cho
“Finding the Treasure Within” contained some of the most complex Korean sentences I have read thus far. However, I was surprised that with concentration I was able to understand the book, almost without a dictionary. While some concepts remained in the dark for lack of vocabulary, I think I fully understood the teachings. The key vocabulary related to Buddhism and Seon Master Daehaeng’s teachings repeats again and again and is quite limited, so the pamphlet was easier to read than expected.
Renatie Smartie 