New Year’s Message for B.E. 2566(2022), the Year of the Black Tiger, from H.E. Master Jinje, Daejongsa,

 the Supreme Patriarch of the Jogye Order

佛祖場中不展戈Buljojangjungbuljeongwa
後人剛地起嚆訛Huingangjigihyowa
道泰不傳天子令Dotaebuljeoncheonjaryeong
時淸休唱太平歌Sicheonghyuchangtaepyeongga

No conflict arises where the Buddhas and patriarchs abide.
Yet, the rest of us engage in a futile debate on right or wrong.
No emperor’s law is needed when the Dharma spreads far and wide,
No song to praise peace prevailing on earth is written when the world is already pure and clean.

May the red sun dawning on the first day of the new year, the Year of the Black Tiger, dissipate the pandemic caused by the coronavirus, drive away all confrontations, armed conflicts, and famine, and dispel the night of ignorance. In the new year, may the people’s hearts be filled with hope instead.

The law of interdependence is the central tenet of the Buddha’s teaching. Everything happens because ofits causes and conditions. The Buddha says,

“When this exists, that comes to be.With the arising of this, that arises. When this does not exist, that does not come to be. With the cessation of this, that ceases.”

All phenomena arise when necessary causes and conditions come together, and cease to exist when those causes and conditions change. That is just how this world works.

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing havoc all over the world, terrorizing every corner of the planet earth. Yet, It is no surprise that Mother Nature has reacted this way to human arrogance, which in turn led to reckless exploitation of nature and subsequent environmental damage. The only fundamental solution to this global crisis is changing humanity’s attitude and relationship with nature.

The others and I are not two. ‘I’ exists only dependent upon others, others upon me. Likewise, humanity owes its very existence to nature, and everything in this universe bides in an inseparable union.

Vimalakirti taught us what the Great Compassion of Mahayana Buddhism is about when he says, “Bodhisattvas are taken ill when sentient beings are taken ill; Bodhisattvas recover when sentient beings recover.” May the Great Compassion of Bodhisattva arise in the hearts of all Koreans, regardless of their ideology, religion, gender, social or economic class, so that every individual being becomes happy and the world becomes peaceful.

I beseech every one of the human family!

If you wish to achieve everlasting happiness and joy life after life, return to the hwadu of:

‘What is my true self before I was born of these parents?

Return to this hwadu and arouse a great doubt thousands of times, tens of thousands of times a day every day. Then one day, you will suddenly awaken to your true self.

Then, your wisdom eyes will open to the essential truth of all things in the universe and you will realize the ultimate wisdom of non-duality, that others and I are not two. If all humankind is united in this wisdom, then peace will indeed prevail on this earth.

On the morning of January 1, B.E. 2566,

Jinje
The Supreme Patriarch of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism