Apr 14, 2026. 23rd Anniversary Memorial Service for Great Master Seoam, Happy Dialogue Lecture in Daegu
Hello. Today, there is a memorial tea ceremony for the 23rd anniversary of Great Master Seoam’s passing in the morning, and a ‘Happy Dialogue’ lecture in Daegu in the evening.
Sunim completed his early morning practice and meditation. After returning from a week-long schedule in India, his physical condition was not very good. Sunim adjusted his plan to leave for Mungyeong at 5 AM and instead departed from Seoul at 7 AM.
As it happened, this coincided with rush hour, causing heavy traffic on the highway.
Upon arriving in Mungyeong, wild cherry blossoms were blooming sparsely on the mountain ridges, creating a beautiful scene.
Mt. Huiyang could be seen in the distance, and soon they passed by Mungyeong Jungto Retreat Center. Venerable Yusu was waiting at the entrance of Mungyeong Jungto Retreat Center. Sunim followed Venerable Yusu’s vehicle into Bongamsa Temple.
“In Seoul and Dubuk, all the cherry blossoms have fallen, but in Mungyeong, they’re just beginning to bloom fully.”
Sunim stopped the car before entering the Bongamsa Temple grounds after passing through the cherry blossom tunnel, and walked up the mountain path to pay respects at Great Master Seoam’s stupa.
After climbing the winding mountain path, the memorial stone and stupa came into view. Sunim offered three prostrations before the stupa and reminisced about his teacher, Great Master Seoam. The Great Master was an exemplar of practitioners who lived his entire life with frugality, purity, and humility.
“No Matter how frugally I live, I cannot match him. No Matter how humbly I live, I cannot match him“
Whenever Sunim recalled Great Master Seoam, he would say these words and strive not to lose the attitude of a practitioner.
Walking down toward the entrance to Bongamsa Temple grounds, Sunim moved to the tea room to have tea with the abbot.
While moving to the tea room, Sunim met a senior monk from Bongamsa Temple, exchanged warm greetings, and moved to the tea room together.
Sunim thanked the abbot for preparing the annual memorial tea ceremony and made a donation to be used for the ceremony expenses. After finishing tea, he moved to the main hall to attend the memorial service.
At 10 AM, the 23rd anniversary memorial tea ceremony for Great Master Seoam began. Sunim offered the morning service with earnest devotion.
Following this, Sunim offered a ceremonial cup together with the participating monks on behalf of the dharma lineage. Monks and lay practitioners who had come from various places offered cups, and after meditation with three strikes of the bamboo clapper, the memorial tea ceremony concluded simply.
Sunim came down from the main hall and visited the Patriarch Hall with Venerable Yusu to pay respects at Great Master Seoam’s memorial tablet.
“Venerable Yusu, I’m not feeling well right now, so I’ll go ahead to the retreat center first.”
“Yes, Sunim, please go ahead and take care.”
Having heard that Venerable Jahaeng, who has been living at Mungyeong Jungto Retreat Center, was not in good health, Sunim briefly stopped by Mungyeong Jungto Retreat Center to visit and inquire about her well-being.
As Sunim entered the courtyard where Venerable Jahaeng’s quarters were located, the 100-Day Chulga practitioners who were doing community work at the retreat center all came down at once to greet Sunim.
“Welcome, Sunim.”
“Why are you running over to greet me when we see each other every day? (laughs)”
Sunim exchanged greetings with the 100-Day Chulga practitioners and entered Venerable Jahaeng’s quarters.
“Sunim, have you been well?”
“How long has it been? Welcome, Sunim.”
Venerable Jahaeng slowly walked out and clasped Sunim’s hands.
“I heard your health hasn’t been good lately.”
“It’s just old age. I’m fine.”
“How old are you this year?”
“I’m 97.”
“Then you’ll soon be 100.”
“Oh my… I think it’s time for me to die…”
“These days everyone talks about living to 100. But we can’t deliberately die either, so I hope you live healthily as long as you can.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“I also just returned to Korea yesterday after a week-long schedule in India, and my physical condition isn’t what it used to be. I think I should prepare for retirement too. I should wrap everything up and come down to Mungyeong soon.” 
“Sunim, you can’t come down here yet. There are still countless sentient beings to save.”
“I can’t save them all by myself. (laughs) I need to leave some for the other people to do. (laughs) From this room, you can see Mt. Huiyang directly.” 
“Yes, Sunim, that’s why I haven’t left yet. I’m receiving the energy from Mt. Huiyang. (laughs)”
“Sunim, is there anything you need?”
“I don’t need anything. Just seeing you today makes my heart so satisfied. I want to dance like this. Good, good, how wonderful! (laughs)”
Venerable Jahaeng, who used to dance joyfully on happy occasions like kimchi-making days or picnic days at Mungyeong Jungto Retreat Center, expressed her joy with hand gestures today.
“Today is the day of Great Master Seoam’s memorial service at Bongamsa Temple.”
“Yes, I heard you came to Bongamsa for Great Master Seoam’s memorial service today. You stopped by the retreat center on your way, right?”
“I’m sorry I can’t visit you often.”
“Oh my, some days I miss you so much that tears come…” Venerable Jahaeng couldn’t continue speaking as her eyes became moist.
Among the community members sitting around listening to the conversation between Sunim and Venerable Jahaeng, some quietly wiped away tears.
“Sunim, though you may not need it, I’m giving this for you to use as pocket money.”
“I should be giving to you. Why are you giving me pocket money?”
Venerable Jahaeng received the envelope Sunim handed her and opened it.
“I’ll just take two bills.”
Venerable Jahaeng closed the envelope again and handed it back to Sunim.
“Are you giving it back? (laughs) I’ll gratefully accept it.” 
Sunim received the envelope Venerable Jahaeng handed him with both hands. Venerable Jahaeng also offered a half-bow with palms together toward Sunim as they exchanged greetings.
“Sunim, the members of the Mungyeong lay Sangha are waiting outside to greet you.”
“Tell them to come in. Let’s greet each other here.”
Sunim exchanged greetings with the members of the Mungyeong lay Sangha.
“Sunim, I’ll be going now. I’ll visit again next time.”
“Yes, have a safe trip, Sunim.”
Sunim left Mungyeong Jungto Retreat Center and headed to Seonyudong Education and Training Center.
At the entrance of the training center, Dharma Teachers were waiting to welcome Sunim.
“Have you been well?”
After getting out of the car, Sunim moved to the Dharma hall with the Dharma Teachers. The Dharma Teachers greeted Sunim with three prostrations.
“Today we’re benefiting greatly from Great Master Seoam’s virtue.”
Sunim and the Dharma Teachers looked at each other and smiled broadly.
Sunim had the lunch carefully prepared by the Dharma Teachers at the training center and took a brief rest. At 4 PM, he departed from the training center for the ‘Happy Dialogue’ lecture in Daegu.
He arrived at Kyungpook National University in Daegu around 6:15 PM. The university president was waiting to have tea with Sunim.
Sunim moved to the president’s office and had tea with the president. This year marks the 80th anniversary of Kyungpook National University. To commemorate the 80th anniversary, Sunim’s Dharma Q&A was held in the main auditorium. The president thanked Sunim for giving such a lecture at the university, and Sunim also thanked the president for arranging the use of the main auditorium. At 7 PM, Sunim finished the tea meeting and moved to the lecture hall.
Today’s “Happy Dialogue” lecture at Kyungpook National University marks the first day of the 2026 domestic lecture tour. The entrance to the lecture hall was bustling with many people waiting to enter.
Sunim greeted each person waiting to register and each volunteer, then moved to the waiting room.
About 1,800 people gathered in the lecture hall to hear Sunim’s lecture, and the atmosphere was vibrant. At 7:30 PM, Sunim took the stage to enthusiastic applause from the audience. Sunim first congratulated Kyungpook National University on its 80th anniversary and led applause to thank the school for allowing the use of such a large auditorium. Sunim then had dialogue sessions with the pre-selected questioners in turn.
My Wife’s Irritatioin Makes Me Feel Wronged 
“You said that when you see your wife getting irritated, you think, ‘Is that something to be irritated about?’ Then, is seeing your wife getting irritated really something for you to be irritated about?” (Audience laughs)
“It would be good if I didn’t think that way, but I keep thinking, ‘Isn’t she being too much?'”
“Let’s say your wife got irritated about something.”
“Yes.”
“You said you look at your wife and think, ‘Is that something to be irritated about?’ Looking at you, the questioner, who gets irritated when your wife gets irritated, I could also think, ‘Is that really something to be so irritated about?’ couldn’t I?”
“But I do get irritated.”
“Just like that, your wife also gets irritated.”
“It doesn’t seem like I did anything wrong, but she gets irritated at me…”
“Your wife has her own reasons for getting irritated, and you get irritated seeing that, so isn’t it ultimately the same thing? You’re saying that your wife getting irritated is not something to be irritated about, but you getting irritated is justified.”
“Then what should I do when my wife gets irritated?”
“What I’m saying is, just as you think ‘Is that something to be irritated about?’ when your wife gets irritated, you should also look at yourself getting irritated and ask yourself whether this is really something worth getting irritated about.”
“I feel resentful.”
“Seeing how you don’t understand what I’m saying, I can see why your wife gets irritated with you.” (Audience laughs)
“I’m trying my best to be good to my wife.”
“That’s not what’s important. When your wife gets irritated about something, you think, ‘Why is she getting irritated about that?’ But from my perspective, your wife’s irritation is due to her own temperament, so why are you, who’s watching her, getting irritated?”
“Because my wife is getting irritated at me.”
“Whoever someone gets irritated at, just as you wonder ‘Why is that person getting irritated?’ ask yourself, ‘Why am I getting irritated?'”
“When I think about it, when someone gets irritated, I automatically get irritated too.”
“Then is that your wife’s problem or your problem?”
“It seems to be a problem with my temperament.”
“Then why do you keep blaming your wife?”
“Then how can I stop getting irritated?”
“If you get irritated, just be irritated. Your wife gets irritated, and you get irritated – isn’t that fine?”
“It’s more painful when we’re both irritated.”
“Don’t suffer when you get irritated. Just observe your mind thinking, ‘Oh, I’m getting irritated.’ Just as you observe your wife thinking, ‘Oh, this person is irritated,’ observe your own irritation the same way. Don’t suppress it thinking you shouldn’t get irritated – just be aware of it as it is.”
“I keep blaming my wife.”
“That’s the problem. Let me give you an example. If you’re steering a boat and hit a rock or log, do you get irritated?”
“Yes, I get irritated. I think I get irritated quite a lot.”
“That’s a bit of a problem. But human psychology is such that we get more irritated when our boat hits another boat with someone in it. Because we think ‘It’s your fault.’ If there’s no one there, we think ‘I steered the boat poorly’ and that’s the end of it. But if there’s a person, we blame them. When walking and tripping over a stone, we feel bad but dust off our knees and continue on our way. But if we trip over someone’s foot, we don’t just continue. We blame them saying, ‘Why did you trip me?’ Ultimately, irritation is not because of the other person but our own reaction. Looking at you now, it seems you have more irritation than your wife.”
“This is actually much better than before. How can I reduce my irritation even more?”
“Don’t try to fix it. You’re currently trying to eliminate your irritation by making your wife not get irritated.”
“Yes, that’s what I’m doing.”
Trying to Solve Problems by Fixing Others Is the Wrong Approach
“Trying to solve your problems by fixing others is the wrong approach. Leave your wife’s irritation as her problem, and you should fix yourself to reach a state where you don’t get irritated. You don’t need to try to be good to your wife or blame her. Just observe thinking, ‘That’s how my wife is.’ If I tell you to just observe, you’ll probably start blaming yourself, thinking the irritation is your problem. Until now you blamed your wife, and after hearing this dharma talk on the way home you’ll think ‘It’s my fault, it’s my fault,’ but that’s also not the right approach. When you get irritated, you should observe, ‘Oh, I’m getting irritated.’ If you do this, the irritation can be alleviated. However, it’s difficult to completely fix it. You’re over fifty now, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I’m over fifty.”
“Then it’s a bit difficult to fix. Would it be better to die trying to fix it, or to just live with some shortcomings?”
“I’d still like to fix it somewhat and live.”
“If you really want to fix it, you need determination. Every time you get irritated, do 1,000 prostrations on the spot. After getting really irritated, say ‘I’m sorry’ and do prostrations for about two and a half hours. If you get irritated again, do another 1,000 prostrations. If you do this for a month, you’ll do about 30,000 prostrations. After that, it will be fixed. Will doing 1,000 prostrations be difficult or not?”
“It seems difficult.”
“Of course it’s difficult. Then next time when irritation starts to rise, the thought of having to do another 1,000 prostrations will make the irritation subside. When you do 1,000 prostrations, even when irritation rises from your unconscious, thinking ‘Oh no, I have to do another 1,000 prostrations’ will make the irritation go down. If you want to live without getting irritated, you need to do that. If you think ‘Let me just live as I am,’ then use methods to alleviate the irritation. Whenever you get irritated, observe ‘Oh, I’m getting irritated.’ Don’t discriminate thinking getting irritated is bad and not getting irritated is good – just be aware of the irritation. If you continue this ‘awareness,’ the irritation will be somewhat alleviated.
How to Live Together Without Fixing Your Temperament
Then you can live together without major problems even without fixing your temperament. After getting irritated, say ‘Honey, I’m sorry. I got irritated.’ After getting angry, say ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I have a bad temper.’ If you do this, it’s unpleasant to see, but since you know your own faults, there’s no problem living together. However, to completely fix it, you need to give yourself strong stimulation. If that doesn’t work well, just live as you are. The important thing is not to blame others and to know that this is your problem.”
“Yes, I understand. Thank you.”
After completing all the dialogues with the on-site questioners, more than two hours had passed. The host concluded the lecture.
“Did everyone enjoy today? Let’s thank Sunim for sharing this precious time with us. Shall we all draw hearts with our hands and follow me?”
All 1,800 on-site participants drew hearts with their hands and shouted:
“Be happy now, be happy now, be happy now!”
The loud shouts and bright smiles of 1,800 people seemed to fill the auditorium with happy energy.
After the Happy Dialogue ended, a book signing event was held in the lobby. Many people filled the lobby to get Sunim’s autograph on his books.
After about 30 minutes of book signing, Sunim took a commemorative photo with the Happy Citizens who volunteered today. As Sunim was about to leave for Dubuk after completing all schedules, representatives from Kyungpook National University’s External Cooperation Team were waiting to greet him. Today, Kyungpook National University provided the lecture venue free of charge to commemorate the 80th anniversary of its founding, and even provided free parking for the audience.
“Sunim, thank you for giving such a wonderful lecture.”
“Yes, thank you for lending us this wonderful space. Let’s meet again if we have the opportunity.”
“Have a safe journey.”
“Until this morning, I was worried whether I could give today’s lecture because I wasn’t feeling well, but once I got on stage, I managed to give the lecture. (laughs) I’m glad we successfully opened this year’s first lecture.”
Sunim spoke quietly in the car on the way.
After completing all scheduled activities and arriving at Dubuk Jungto Retreat Center, it was almost 11 PM. Sunim freshened up, had a late dinner, and rested.
Tomorrow, Sunim will give a dharma talk at the morning Weekly Dharma Assembly from the broadcasting room at Dubuk Jungto Retreat Center, and in the evening, he has a lecture scheduled at Silla Culture Center in Gyeongju.
