Teachings of Social Buddhism

Here you find a selection of Dae Peop Sa Nim’s Daily Reminders on coretopics, as well as a glossary of Buddhist concepts.

Daily Reminders

The Daily Reminders, also called the Daily Sutras, are daily messages that Supreme Matriarch Ji Kwang Dae Poep Sa Nim issues in order to remind us how to be clear and help us live life correctly.

Without skipping a single day, for more than 28 years, Dae Poep Sa Nim has offered these precious teachings as a guide to support Yun Hwa Sangha practitioners in their complex and bustling social lives.

For most people, it is not easy to fully grasp and understand what it means to write such a profound text on a daily basis. Regardless of the situation or circumstances encountered on that day, Dae Poep Sa Nim has never wavered in Dae Poep Sa Nims dedication towards Dae Poep Sa Nims students.

With this daily effort, Dae Poep Sa Nim relentlessly helps Yun Hwa practitioners to always remain on the path of Buddha (the Absolute, the Truth), so that they may one day attain enlightenment.

Social Buddhism

Hinayana Buddhism lays importance on eliminating one’s impurity and ignorance. Mahayana Buddhism also teaches the same, but with the ...

Six Paramitas

Today, on the tenth anniversary of our World Peace Bell, I will ring the World Peace Bell and, with the ringing of this Bell, would ...

Eightfold Path

The truth is very simple. When one does correct things, the correct results appear. When one does wrong things, wrong results appear. ...

The 5 Precepts: #5

Whether one is alive, or even after death, if one is not clear, one becomes a slave to oneself. One has difficulties escaping from the ...

The 5 Precepts: #4

In the five precepts, the fourth precept is to abstain from conduct done in lust —more specifically, not to commit adultery. This ...

The 5 Precepts: #1-3

As an astronomer looks at the place of the sky and researches what is going on in the sky, so the human being looks at the place of ...

The Four Noble Truths (2)

Most of the time people want to get something, depend on something or believe in something. When people want something, sometimes they ...

Forms of Buddhism

One day in China, a student asked his Zen master, "What is the most exquisite, deepest meaning of Zen Buddhism?" The master answered, ...

Health

In our everyday life, we have many things to do; we are constantly on the go trying to accomplish what we want to do. In that busy ...

The Four Noble Truths (1)

Shakyamuni Buddha cares for others and for all sentient beings. He went to seek Buddha (which means the absolute, the truth), and in ...

About World Peace

If the minds of all the sentient beings in this world would come together in one place, then this globe would automatically have world ...

Enlightenment, Realization and Wisdom

Buddhism is a religion, but it is one that does not attach to religion. Buddhism helps everyone to attain true religion and to realize ...

Being clear

Clarity and being clear means that one’s own six senses follow the correct direction and stay on the correct path, which is the path ...

Karma

The hateful mind, the blaming mind, the jealous mind, and the mind to seek revenge are all actually poisons which ruin oneself. For ...

Meditation

No matter who it is, a person who knows how to concentrate and focus can do his given duty better than others. Concentrating and ...

Mantra

From ancient times, all the enlightened Buddhas depended on the teaching of Buddha, which is the Sutra, and on the mantra. Thus, they ...

Practice

As an astronomer looks at the place of the sky and researches what is going on in the sky, so the human being looks at the place of ...

Glossary

100-Day (solo) retreat. There are two types of 100-day solo retreats: some are conducted by a master, while others are done by remaining in seclusion for a 100-days. The solo retreat under the direction of Supreme Matriarch Ji Kwang Dae Poep Sa Nim traditionally starts on October 15 by the lunar calendar and ends on the first full moon after the Chinese New Year.

Absolute, the Truth. Buddha/Dharma body. The Dharma body means the essence of Buddhahood, the ultimate truth or Law, and the true nature of the Buddha’s life.

Anuttara samyak sambodhi. Supreme, unsurpassed and unexcelled  enlightenment.

Avalokiteshvara. Literally, “He/she who perceives the sound of the world.” The Bodhisattva of compassion.

Bodhisattva. “Bodhi” means perfect wisdom and “sattva” means a being whose actions promote unity or harmony. A bodhisattva is one well on the way to Buddhahood but who also vows to help bring all others to the realization of truth.

Bodhi tree. The tree at Buddhagaya under which Shakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment. The term is sometimes used to symbolize perfect wisdom and awakening.

Bong way. Unclear, not being able to think straight, forgetful. A state of mind caused by delusions, illusions, hallucinations and imaginings. To have a blank moment. 

Buddha. In the phrase “a Buddha,” a perfected, enlightened being. “Buddha” means “the enlightened one.” “The Buddha” usually refers to Prince Siddhartha, who became Shakyamuni Buddha, who lived around 2,600 years ago in India and from whom the Dharma was first passed down.

Dae Poep Sa Nim uses “Buddha” without an article to mean “the Truth, the Absolute.”

Buddha’s Home Leaving Day. A specific day in Korea commemorating the day Buddha left home to seek realization. (Traditional Buddhist celebration commemorating the day Prince Siddhartha left home to seek realization).

Buddhahood. The attainment and state of being a Buddha.

Buddhamind. Having the mindfulness of a Buddha.

Dae Ja, Dae Bi. Korean for Great love and Great Compassion

Conditions. Cause (korean: yin) and conditions (korean: yeun) are interconnected aspects. If yin is not correct, yeun will not as well. In human relationships yin is the self, others respond with yeun. In order to represent a correct yin (and receive postive yeun), one has to eliminate one´s own yeun and love others unconditionally.

Connection-relationship. The relations and connections that one makes with others.

Daily Sutras. Teachings written by Supreme Matriarch Ji Kwang Dae Poep Sa Nim and released daily since July 17, 1992.

Dharma. The Truth, the teachings, the Absolute. Law of Universe.

Dharma body. In Mahayana Buddhism, the Buddha is said to have three bodies: Dharmakaya (the body of the Absolute, Truth); Samboghakaya (the bliss body, the body of bodhisattva action); and Nirmanakaya (the physical body of a Buddha).

Diamond Sutra. An important sutra in Buddhism that symbolizes emptiness.

Do ban. Korean for a good practice friend.

Eight emancipations. Liberation from: (1) the lust from things, (2) external things, (3) illusions, (4) limitation of space, (5) limitation of consciousness, (6) views of substantiality, (7) limitations of thoughts, and (8) mental activity.

Eight Sufferings. (1) suffering of birth, (2) suffering of old age, (3) suffering of sickness, (4) suffering of death, (5) suffering of being apart from loved ones, (6) suffering of being together with those whom one despise, (7) suffering of not getting what one wants, and (8) suffering of the imbalance of the Five Skandhas.

Eightfold Path. An ancient Buddhist formulation of eight elements of the path to liberation: right seeing, right thinking, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right recollection, and right concentration. (“Right” here means conducive to liberation).

Eighth consciousness. The store-mind consciousness, in which the karma we create, both good and bad, is stored. Because it is a storehouse of karma, this consciousness partially determines the kind of life we live.

Eighty-four thousand delusions. A phrase used in Buddhism to denote the huge number of delusions that pass through a deluded mind each moment. Shakyamuni Buddha outlined one hundred eight basic states of delusion, which branch out into the eighty-four thousand delusions.

Enlightenment. State of spiritual awakening, of perfect wisdom.

Five desires. Desire for food, sleep, sex, fame, and money.

Five Skandhas. Form, sensation, perception, mental formation (volition), consciousness.

Four Noble Truths. Suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, and enlightenment.

Great Vehicle. The Mahayana teachings. The Sanskrit word Mahayana means great vehicle. Great vehicle indicates a teaching capable of carrying many people to enlightenment.

Hapchang. The Korean word for the gesture in which the hands are joined together, palm to palm, bringing together minus energy (on the left) and plus energy (on the right). A sign of respect and thankfulness.

Hinayana Buddhism. One of the two major branches of Buddhism, the other being Mahayana. It is considered the more conservative schools of early Buddhism. The tradition died out in India, but it survived in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) as the Theravada school and was taken from there to other regions of Southeast Asia.

Hungry spirits. Due to the creation of much heavy karma while alive, those who in their disembodied state after death cannot rest peacefully and are, in a sense, hungry for tranquility.

I-my-me. The belief in one’s ego and acting in accordance with it. Self-centeredness and preoccupation with oneself.

Ja Up Ja Duk. Korean expression which means what you do is what you get. (One receives the results of one’s actions/cause and effect).

Kalpa. An extremely long period of time. The traditional definition of one kalpa is: a goddess that wears a dress made of the softest and thinnest material and who appears every three years on top of a 40-mile high mountain. With her long sleeve she sweeps, in a back and forth motion, the mountain surface just like a soft whisper and she disappears again. One kalpa is the number of years that it will take for the goddess to completely melt down the mountain with the motion of her dress.

Karma. Literally, “action,” referring to cause and effect. The continual process of action and reaction from which all things and phenomena appear.

Karma-I. The self that is produced, thinks, and acts according to one’s individual karma, as distinguished from one’s true-I or big I. The small I.

Kwan Se Um Bo Sal. Avalokitesvara, World Sound Perceive Bodhisattva of Love and Compassion. (Guanyin in Chinese).

Lotus Sutra. The most important sutra in Buddhism, which symbolizes from the true emptiness and shows the exquisite Dharma.

Mahayana Buddhism. Buddhism of the Great Vehicle. The Sanskrit maha means great, and yana, vehicle. One of the two major divisions of the Buddhist teachings, Mahayana and Hinayana. Mahayana emphasizes altruistic practice—called the bodhisattva practice—as a means to attain enlightenment for oneself and help others attain it as well.

Mantra. Spiritual words or sentences given by a master, through which energy is sent.

Middle Way. The way or path that transcends polar extremes. The Middle Way also indicates the true nature of all things, which cannot be defined by the absolutes of existence or nonexistence. It transcends the extremes of polar and opposing views, in other words, all duality.

Nirvana. It can mean the cessation of rebirth (see samsara) and entry into bliss; the utmost, heaven-like realm. However, true nirvana can be attained here in this present world while living.

No-Zen-stick Zen stick. The hitting, in a sense, of a student’s mind by the master via a mind-to-mind transmission of a teaching or lesson.

Practice. Applying and incorporating into one’s daily life the methods of meditation. Upholding and living by the Dharma. The path of seeking and attaining the truth.

Saha world. “This world,” the world of desire and forms. In Sanskrit, “saha” means “endurance”.

Samadhi. Literally, “concentration.” It is a profound meditation practice, often a personal practice given to students by their master.

Samsara. The realm of birth and death and going around in the whirlpool of one’s karma.

Sangha. The collective family of practitioners.

Six Paramitas. “Paramita” means “perfection.” Six practices that are essential for the attainment of Buddhahood: almsgiving, which includes material almsgiving, almsgiving of the Law, and almsgiving of fearlessness; keeping the precepts; forbearance or bearing up patiently under opposition and hardship; assiduousness or diligence in practice; meditation; and wisdom.

Six senses. Sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and the mind senses.

Social Buddhism. The Dharma, which provides the daily life wisdom to perform one´s correct function and duties as a human being while also attaining enlightenment. In this way one can live one´s daily life and is yet able to see oneself and realize the highest levels of attainment. Its origin dates back to Shakyamuni Buddha. Dae Poep Sa Nim is one of the few masters teaching it since then.

Sok Ga Mo Ni Buddha. Spelling for Shakyamuni Buddha.

Store-mind consciousness. See eighth consciousness.

Supernatural penetration power. Transcendent power. An attribute of fully awakened beings.

Sutra. A written version of Shakyamuni Buddha’s teaching or of another Buddha. Shakyamuni Buddha is said to have taught 84,000 sutras. 

Ten thousand Dharmas. All existents and knowledge in all areas of life.

Three Jewels. Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

Three poisons. Desire (and greed), anger, and ignorance.

Treasure palace of complete, stillness, and extinction. The absolute Buddha world, which is right here within us.

True form body. The physical body of one who has realized Buddha mind.

Unchanging Dharma body. Buddha (the Absolute, Truth), from which form is created.

Zen. Is a school of Mahayana Buddhism which originated in China during the 6th century CE as Chán. From China, Zen spread south to Vietnam, to Korea and east to Japan. Boddhidharma was its founder and first patriarch of Zen. The main focus of Zen is to find one’s true self-nature and Diamond Sutra is the main Sutra.