Happy Thanksgiving Day to Everyone!

This is Jaseung, the President of the Jogye Order.

The Korean Thanksgiving Holiday, when all enjoys the abundance of the season, is right around the corner. However, we have gone through the exceptionally too hot summer in Korea, which caused so much damage to farming and health of the people nationwide unfortunately. And outside of Korea, the catastrophic earthquakes hit Myanmar and Italy, taking away millions of people’s lives, damaging the properties and particularly Bagan, the precious World’s Cultural Heritage Site of Myanmar. Facing the disasters, we witnessed that it is the oldest and  tradition of Korean people to give a helping hand out of deep compassion to those all who go through suffering. It is the tradition we should never lose but keep despite the extreme materialism and individualism surge in this capitalist society.

Ven. Seoljung, the esteemed Buddhist master of Korea, said, “Leaders of the society should be particularly more humble and generous. And, if he or she does not listen to others, it means he or she does not have self-confidence. The Buddhist practitioners should be always short of three things, which are food, clothes, and sleeping. Only when practice is accompanied by physical work, the practice can be strengthened and bolstered.”

Keeping in mind the teaching of Ven. Seoljung, the monastics of the Jogye Order will continue to strive practicing hard to become the light of the society as religious leaders and standing next to the people in need of help so that they won’t feel lonely and destitute any further.

The Thanksgiving Holiday is the Korea’s largest national holiday observed from the ancient era. It’s the day when people share the joy of harvest and pray to their ancestors and the nature for the abundance of life. Despite the hardship across the world and in Korea, I hope we all never give up but stay hopeful and collaborate together to make a better society where we belong to.

Thank you for your interest and support to Korean Buddhism.