Sakyadhita Korea’s E-Newsletter #1

Starting May 2nd, 2020, a group of Sakyadhita Korea members began an advanced English reading session, led by Professor Eun-su Cho. The members of the group met on Saturday mornings, through Zoom, to read and translate the text together.

On August 1st, they completed reading Stumbling toward Enlightenment by Geri Larkin. Geri Larkin, an American meditation instructor, lived in a secular society that was extremely stressful and she suddenly began to show symptoms of eye-twitching, which was an outcome of her stressful lifestyle. In order to overcome these symptoms, she began to practice Korean Seon meditation under the guidance of a Korean monk, Samu Sunim, and the book goes over the journey she experienced while practicing.

The group is currently reading Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha, written by Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.

On June 13th, Sakyadhita Korea members visited the Research Institute for the Korean Bhiksuni Sangha to congratulate them on their opening. On the same day the Research Institute for Temple Food, and the Research Institute for Tea Culture also opened.

After researching through various records and history concerning Korean Bhiksunis, the members hope these research institutes will play a role in improving women’s Buddhism in Korea (the status of Korean Buddhist women).

On August 11th, with the invite from Deokjae Sunim, a fellow member, the members of the Advanced English Reading Group visited the Jeonggaksa Temple in Seoul, Seongbuk-dong. While following social distancing guidelines for Covid-19, the members were able to get a tour of the temple and have a safe face-to-face discussion about the book they had finished reading.

For eight weeks, Eunhee Kim, a committee member of Sakyadhita Korea, conducted Wednesday night lectures on Korean Buddhist Culture focusing on art and architecture. The course covered the structures and characteristics of both traditional and modern Korean Buddhist temples, and looked at different kinds of Buddhist arts. Following the lectures watching detailed pictures of Korean temples that Mrs. Kim, we were able to go on a peaceful online temple pilgrimage.

The contents of the lectures were:
     Week 1: Temple of Korea, The Structure of a Hanok
     Week 2: Modern Temple
     Week 3: History of Stupas
     Week 4: Nectar Ritual Painting
     Week 5: Buddhist Deities Painting
     Week 6: Seven Star Painting
     Week 7: Muwisa Temple
     Week 8: Hoeamsa Temple Site

In 2020, Sydney Thompson, Sakyadhita Korea’s publicity assistant, carried out interviews with Lama Dvora and Di Cousens.

Lama Dvora is the founder of Ehvam-International Spiritual Center for Peace, and the spiritual director of Method and Wisdom Association. She has studied and researched Buddhism and other Asian religions for more than 30 years, and has translated various scriptures into Hebrew.

Di Cousens is a Tibetologist. She is also the first president of Sakyadhita Australia and the former vice-chair of the Buddhist Council of Victoria.

For those who are interested in the interview, you can visit our website: http://sakyadhita.kr/ to read their story.

Eunhee Kim, Sakyadhita Korea’s committee member, introduced a children’s book on Buddhism, Paint a Double Rainbow: 40 Mindfulness Activities for Kids and Their Grown-Ups to Feel Calm, Focused, and Happy by Sally Arnold (2020).

This book introduces 40 activities that can be done together by children and their parents or guardians to practice their mindfulness. These activities focus on 6 different points to keep mindful of, which are breathing, feeling, concentrating, being kind, being imaginative, and relaxing.

Published by Sakyadhita Korea
Korean Branch of the Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women

Co-Presidents Bongak Sunim & Dr. Eun-su Cho
Newsletter publishing team: Eunhee Kim, YuJeong Sunim, Lunah Kim, Yoo Sung (Jenny) Kim, Sydney Thompson, Hyung Eun Chung