#wonhyo

“Not poppy nor mandragora

Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world

Shall ever medicine thee

To that sweet sleep which thou owedst yesterday.”

Othello, act 3 scene 3 - William Shakespeare

I decided to take a bit of time off work, and drew my favourite character of the Shin Angyo Onshi series : Wonhyo. I’ve been rereading them the last few months and I still deeply love this manga. Now being 23 and looking back, I kind of aknowledge how this comic actually influenced A LOT my work since my adolescence. Despite some big issues that didn’t age well (like, very bad female characters...), the universe, the story and the style are still so amazing to me.

Wonhyo

Wonhyo (617-686 ap. J.-C.) était un philosophe bouddhiste coréen dont les œuvres ont influencé un grand nombre de philosophes et d'écrivains postérieurs grâce à son enseignement selon lequel l'interprétation que l'on fait du monde crée notre réalité. Il est considéré comme le plus grand penseur de son époque et sa philosophie fait désormais partie intégrante de la tradition bouddhiste coréenne.

Moines Bouddhistes Célèbres de Corée Ancienne

Tout au long de l'histoire de la Corée ancienne, les moines bouddhistes ont joué un rôle particulièrement important dans les affaires de l'État et de la religion. À partir du IVe siècle de notre ère, à l'époque des Trois Royaumes, ils faisaient partie d'une élite qui voyageait et étudiait à l'étranger, en particulier en Chine. Par conséquent, ils étaient largement responsables de la transmission d'éléments de la culture chinoise en Corée et de la diffusion des idées religieuses qu'ils avaient acquises en étudiant auprès des grands maîtres chinois. Certains de ces moines seraient les fondateurs de sectes bouddhistes importantes et durables, et quelques-uns obtiendraient des faveurs particulières dans les cours royales de Corée, notamment dans le royaume de Silla qui régnerait sur toute la péninsule. En tant que conseillers des rois, ils ont influencé l'acceptation du bouddhisme et son maintien en tant que religion officielle de l'État. En tant que principaux érudits du pays, ils ont eu une influence incommensurable sur la littérature et les développements de l'imprimerie et de l'architecture. Vous trouverez ci-dessous de brèves biographies de quelques-uns de ces personnages les plus importants.

Think of "Essence" not as a soul or spirit, or a thing at all. It's the basis, it's ground zero, its behind everything, it's in the middle and front of everything. It's the noun. "Function" is how Essence is manifested, just as the Absolute only manifests through the relative and vice versa. There can be no Essence without Function, there can be no Function without Essence. Function is the verb.

If you look at the tangle of holiday lights you may have wrestled with recently, the lights are Essence, the untangling, hanging, and turning them on is Function. They are inseparable; there's no dividing line between them. In the end, the lights just do what lights do--throughout that whole process.

When we look at Buddha Nature as our Essence--the commonality among all of us--what is our correct Function? Is it to hate, slander, vilify, and malign ourselves and each other? Drop a dime in the Salvation Army bucket, donate something, or time, or money to someone less fortunate than you, and without any expectation of congratulations, no Great Cosmic "Attaboy."

Just be generous, compassionate, loving, and imperturbable in the face of difficulties, meeting your duties head on. Function is Peace on earth, good will to all sentient beings, peace on earth and good will to you.

Myeong Jin Eunsahn gave the Dharma talk on December 20, 2023

Budismo

El budismo es una religión no teísta (sin creencia en un dios creador), también considerada una filosofía y una disciplina moral, que se originó en la India en los siglos VI y V a.C. Fue fundada por el sabio Siddhartha Gautama (el Buda, ca. 563 – ca. 483 a.C.) quien, según la leyenda, había sido un príncipe hindú.

Perceptions and Reality: Wonhyo’s Story

I gave a talk recently about the power of our minds, the way our perceptions can shape the way we see the world.

You can listen to it here: Perceptions and Reality

In that talk I told the story of a Korean monk from the 600s named Wonhyo. I wanted to write this to talk about Wonhyo a little.

Wonhyo was a really important figure in the history of Buddhism in Korea. He lived in the 600s. His…

PEOPLE OF THE ANCIENT WORLD: Wonhyo (Philosopher) 

WONHYO (617-686 CE) was one of the most important Buddhist philosophers of his time and a highly influential scholar whose works impacted a wide array of philosophers and writers who came after him. 

He is highly regarded as the greatest thinker of his time and a highly prolific writer, producing almost 90 works of philosophy in his lifetime, many of which still exist in whole or in part. 

Although little known in the west, Wonhyo continues to be highly regarded in the east. His writing remains as influential in the modern day as it was during his lifetime centuries ago.

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