In The Footsteps of Wonhyo

"One who realizes that he is in delusion is not greatly deluded, and one who realizes that he is in darkness is not in total darkness."

"When sewing clothes, a short needle is needed and a long spear is useless. To avoid the rain, a small umbrella is needed, and a cover that spans the entire sky is useless. Therefore, small things should not be regarded as trivial. Depending on their true nature, both small and large things are precious."

"The sun has heat as its basic nature, and the moon has cold as its basic nature. If there is only the sun, and no moon, the growing shoots, will dry up and will not live long enough to bear fruit. But if there is only the moon and no sun, the shoots cannot grow and so will rot."

Wonhyo (617 – 686), one of Korea’s most beloved and unconventional monks, was a great scholar with more than 80 commentaries and essays to his credit. Born into a simple family in the Silla Kingdom, Wonhyo, a monk for many years, renounced the formal religion life to teach ordinary people. He was known to carry a gourd, dancing and singing around the country, encouraging people to chant and recite the Buddha’s name. He called himself “Muoae Geusa” (unhindered practitioner). For a short time he was married to a princess and had a son, who became a leading Confucian Scholar. Legend has it that while on pilgrimage to China he found enlightenment after drinking rotten water from a skull-cap. This experience became the base of his realization that "there is nothing clean and nothing dirty; all things are made by mind." Wonhyo teaches us to live in Buddha's mind by returning to the origin of One Mind. His One Mind philosophy is of great relevance to the modern world where people live in chaos and delusion as a result of ignorance of their true nature and attachment to name and form.

inthefootstepsofwonhyo@gmail.com

Donate US $10 to the In The Footsteps of Wonhyo pilgrimage film project and we will send you an authentic Korean postcard from a remote town along the trail. For more details, please click on the image above.

원효대사순례일주 프로젝트에 10불을 기부하시면 한국 기념 엽서와 함께 당신만을 위한 불경구절을 보내드립니다. 당신의 행운을 빕니다. 자세한 사항을 확인하시려면 상단의 이미지를 클릭하세요.