Featured Talk Archives - Jungto Society

When we aspire to become vital to the world and well used by the world rather than try to lead the good life and succeed for only our own benefit, we will be happy and be helpful to the world at the same time. Then, happiness will be a reality rather than a dream. It is also the way for us to exercise our right to be happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope that this book becomes a guide to happiness for those who are tired of living, got hurt in relationships, and suffer in this seemingly irrational world.<\/p>\n","post_title":"You Have The Right To Be Happy Regardless Of Your Life Situation","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"you-have-the-right-to-be-happy-regardless-of-your-life-situation","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-06-12 15:30:20","post_modified_gmt":"2024-06-12 20:30:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.jungtosociety.org\/?p=19657","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"jnews_block_37"};

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To enter the path to complete happiness, from now on, we should live as the masters of our lives and of the world with the awareness that we ourselves create our own happiness. Each of us is an insignificant entity like a speck of dust in space, but when we become the masters of our own lives, we can change ourselves as well as the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So, we need to reflect on ourselves before blaming others and at the same time take responsibility for the improvement of any irrational part of the present reality. In the end, it is all to our benefit. No matter how hard we try to lead a good life, we are bound to suffer if things go wrong in the world. Complacent thoughts like \u201cAs long as it is not me, it\u2019s all right.\u201d or \u201cIt can\u2019t possibly happen to me.\u201d will not protect us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Individual happiness and making a good society are not two different things. An individual\u2019s effort alone doesn\u2019t make the world a better place nor do improved external conditions alone make an individual happy. Happiness and unhappiness are the results of a combination of the individual\u2019s mental attitude and the surrounding environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Anybody who is born into this world has a right to be happy. Until now, for those who do not exercise their right to be happy and are mired in suffering, I have mostly talked about how individuals should cultivate their minds in their practice. In this book, however, I will also talk about social change, which is another wheel that pulls the cart of happiness. In the end, our happiness will be whole only when the individual\u2019s mental attitude(seed) and social conditions(field) are cultivated together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If we as individuals suffer due to our negative mindset, we should change this habit. if we suffer due to a relationship that went sour, we should examine the cause of the conflict and find the solution. If we think that a social system is the problem, we should first try our best to adapt to the current system, and then, if we are sure that the system is the problem, we should try to improve it. Most of us, however, just complain without making any effort to change it. As a result, the world doesn\u2019t change, and we continue to be miserable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, we can never enter the path to happiness when we cling to such negative feelings. If someone tries to give us a bag of trash, we shouldn\u2019t take it. If we took it inadvertently, we should say, \u201cEww, it\u2019s dirty,\u201d and throw it away immediately. Unfortunately, however, we continue to keep it deep in our hearts, so it is difficult for us to be happy no matter how hard we try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A large part of the reason we are unhappy lies in our inability to let go. Let\u2019s say a man swore at us. It is the same as him handing us a bag of trash. We hold onto the dirty bag tightly and rummage through the trash all our lives saying, \u201cHe swore at me,\u201d or \u201cHe slighted me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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All kinds of things happen in our lives. Usually, things don\u2019t turn out the way we want them to. We want to be loved but may get hurt instead or people we cared about may backstab us. Nothing in this world, however, happens without a reason. Nevertheless, it is not because of God\u2019s will, sin committed in a previous life, or pure chance. We just don\u2019t know the reason. If we can identify where the suffering comes from, we will be able to find the solution easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When I ask people, \u201cAre you happy?\u201d in my talks, few people say yes. Each of them suffers due to personal worries and emotional wounds, relationship conflicts, frustration and stress about the irrational society, or anxiety about the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Simply waiting will not bring a good future. We make our future dream a reality by always investigating and overcoming difficulties.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Between The Ideal And Reality","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"between-the-ideal-and-reality","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-07-03 17:38:32","post_modified_gmt":"2024-07-03 22:38:32","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.jungtosociety.org\/?p=19729","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19657,"post_author":"40","post_date":"2024-06-11 15:25:04","post_date_gmt":"2024-06-11 20:25:04","post_content":"\n

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If I had compromised because of the difficulty of the situation, I wouldn\u2019t have been able to take the path I wanted to follow. Even when we are sure of our dream for the future, we sometimes feel doubtful and ask ourselves, \u201cAm I on the right path?\u201d At times like these, we need to work hard while thinking about how things will be in ten years and investigate ways to face the challenges each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I was penniless at the time, so how was I able to keep the Dharma center open? On the days I didn\u2019t give lectures, I worked part time as a Math instructor at an academy to cover the expenses of running the center. I continued doing this for four years and only stopped when the Dharma center finally became financially independent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After the lecture program ended, the person who had attended the lectures brought several acquaintances to the Dharma center. Also, after I again handed out additional leaflets, ten more people came, five of which stayed. I gave the three-month lecture to those people. That\u2019s how the Dharma center slowly grew to become what it is now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Then, after preparing a three-month Buddhist lecture program, I invited a famous monk to the opening ceremony. Five people came that day, but after the first lecture, only one person remained. As it was a three-month education program, most people would have cancelled the program. However, I gave the lecture to the one remaining person for the whole three months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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First, I handed out leaflets that read, \u201cI have opened a Dharma center. Please, come to study Buddha\u2019s teachings. About 10 people came after reading the leaflets. After looking around the tiny center with disappointment, they never came back. However, I kept handing out the leaflets without giving up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I had no choice but to leave the temple and open a small Dharma center and started to spread the Buddha\u2019s teaching. Did many people recognize my good intentions from the beginning and come to the center? No, they didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thirty years ago, I opened a Dharma center with the aspiration to break away from the common practice of seeking good fortune and instead aimed to study Buddha\u2019s original teachings and attain enlightenment. Before opening the center, I tried to follow this aspiration in a Korean Buddhist Temple which led to a lot of conflict. This is because at the temple it was customary to pray for blessings and perform ancestral rites, but I refused to participate. Many people complained about me to the abbot of the temple, saying, \u201cIf he continues to do that, we will lose all our lay Buddhists. \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ignoring reality while searching for your dream and pursuing future happiness is like building a castle in the air. However, just focusing on making a living in the present will leave you without hope in the future. Therefore, people always agonize over whether to pursue their ideals or focus on their present circumstances. However, the relationship between the ideals and the present does not need to be a conflicting one. Your feet should be firmly planted in reality while your eyes look toward the ideals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Let\u2019s say this person becomes a monk. Wouldn\u2019t he still have the opportunity to design? He could become interested in the design of monks\u2019 robes, garden landscaping, or creative modernization of temple designs that preserve the traditional beauty of the structures. It\u2019s not really important what specific kind of work you do or what kind of design you do. Working on the things that come your way, you will be able to find your aptitude and employt your talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Also, you shouldn\u2019t despair about not being able to do what you want to do. Let\u2019s say you want to study design but your current situation doesn\u2019t allow it. Then, you can try to incorporate design into your work instead of agonizing over not being able to study it further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One can become free by not insisting, \u201cThis is the only way for me.\u201d Most people cannot attain such freedom, so they try to focus on at least one thing and try to do it well. Therefore, you don\u2019t have to worry about not wanting to do anything or liking anything in particular right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, you don\u2019t need to torment yourself with questions like, \u201cWhy don\u2019t I have a passion for anything?\u201d or \u201cWhy don\u2019t I have something that I would like to devote my life to?\u201d There are people who have passion and there are those who don\u2019t. Maybe it is better not to have a passion for any particular work. This is because if you can do whatever that is given to you, you will be more free. Cooking when cooking needs to be done, doing laundry when laundry needs to be done, giving a lecture when a lecture needs to be given, and doing farm work when farm work needs to be done is how people on the highest level of enlightenment live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I often tell young people who are looking for jobs, \u201cDo what you really want to do. Do what makes your heart beat faster.\u201d They need to think carefully about the true meaning of these words. Young people should search for jobs that suit them rather than trying to become doctors, lawyers, or government officials in pursuit of money, position, or security. Also, if there are jobs that they think they will be good at and really want to get, they should pursue them even if they don\u2019t get paid much initially, and they should not weigh whether they are so-called good jobs or not. Occupations that most people say are good are not necessarily good for everyone, so one should not blindly follow the path that the majority of people recommend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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