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55 CHAPTER 4 In Memory of the Great Master Man’gong on the Fifteenth Anniversary of His Death It is already becoming part of the past. Fifteen years have gone by since the master entered nirvana, quietly, as if the entire world had died away, on an unusually warm early winter day. Why did he keep himself so busy, trying to save sentient beings who are leading lives of naïveté amidst the greatness of nature, where birds sing timeless songs under white clouds and on green mountains? What was he trying to show us through the dramatic last moments of his life as he entered nirvana? Once the work of busy spring days is finished, autumn will arrive and discolored leaves will fall from the trees. This is as it must be, the law of nature. What we consider major events in life—such as birth, aging, sickness, and death—and feelings—such as pleasure, anger, sorrow, and joy—are the manifestations and extensions of the accumulated habitual nature generated throughout our previous lives. In that sense, to live this life is nothing more than to engage in the activities of sleepwalkers. Once this life is over another life will take hold of us in a moment, like scenes in a movie that continuously appear one after another. Once this body’s life span comes to an end, we will move on in accordance with good or bad karma to the next scene of our lives, over and over again. There is no way to stop this continuity, so how could a buddha or a sentient being not be concerned about this [process of rebirth]? We cannot simply give up on living. Whether the result of delusions generated in the eternal journey of suffering and pleasure or like a sleepwalker ’s movements, this life must continue eternally into the future. This is the principle of the universe.1 Hence, Master Man’gong composed the following poem as he reached Piro Peak on Kŭmgang Mountain. 56 Reflections of a Zen Buddhist Nun This body is in the blue sky; Below my feet is Piro Peak; Inside my eyes is the Eastern Ocean; Washing the eyes and washing the feet; Is this not suffering?2 The spirit can be detached, but the individual can never avoid reality. This reality, however, is a shell or a shadow, which is why it cannot be trusted, nor is it self-sufficient. In this world, birth is followed by death, day by night, union separation. Good soon turns back into evil. A shell, however, encases certain contents, and behind a shadow there is the object that casts that shadow. Similarly, behind what we perceive as reality, which is no more than a painting, “real identity” exists as the source of life and creativity. Real identity does indeed exist and is the perfect being without expression; it is “existence among non-existence” (mujungyu), which does not reveal its name even as it performs all of its activities. Each of these visible activities is a function of the existence of non-existence. Only by learning and embodying the activities of non-existence (mu) can an individual become an independent being free from the control of his environment and thereby lead a life that is free, unbound from the cycle of life and death, suffering and pleasure. A life of freedom is a life without complaints. Each of us is freedom and peace just as we are, and freedom and peace are the very embodiment of Buddhist teachings. All beings desire peace, but until Buddhist teachings are embodied, peace cannot be realized . At a time when the Buddhist teachings were sleeping—and as a result, plaintive cries and a lack of freedom echoed around the world— Master Man’gong appeared on Tŏksung Mountain and led the effort to revive Buddhism. He was one of the leaders of the purification movement of Buddhism. (He initiated the Buddhist purification movement that took place thirty years ago.)3 Over a period of forty-five years, he launched from his base on Tŏksung Mountain a number of Buddhist activities, transmitting the core of Buddhism nationwide. Countless numbers of his disciples, dharma students, and lay followers received his dharma transmission. The major figures in Korean Buddhism today are either disciples who studied under him, followers who learned from him or those influenced by the master’s teachings who devote themselves to Buddhist activities. In spite of these followers, the current...

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