How to Be the Master of My Own Life

Feb 25, 2025 – Day 9 of the 100-Day Dharma Talk, Open Dharma Assembly Lecture 5

Hello. Today is the 9th day of Venerable Pomnyun Sunim’s 100-Day Dharma Talk.

Sunim began his day by participating in an online meeting with the Seattle Jungto Society board at 7:30 AM after completing his morning practice and meditation. He then attended an online meeting with the Columbus Jungto Society board at 8:30 AM. The board meetings concluded after reviewing and approving the 2024 business reports and financial statements, as well as the 2025 business plans and budgets.

Sunim immediately headed to the Jungto Social and Cultural Center to deliver his 100-Day Dharma Talk. At 10:15 AM, the Open Dharma Assembly began with the recitation of the Three Refuges and the Heart Sutra.

About 150 people gathered and requested Sunim’s Dharma teaching with three full bows.

Continuing from yesterday, the Open Dharma Assembly focused on the “1000-Day Practice Method” that Jungto Society members practice for one hour every morning. Today, in the second session, Sunim explained in detail the meaning of reading the “Words for Practice,” “Repentance,” and “Vow of a Jungto Practitioner” that follow the Three Refuges.

“In Korean Buddhism, the Three Refuges and the Heart Sutra are generally recited. Reciting the Heart Sutra means ‘I am mindful of the essence of the Buddha’s teachings.’ In Southern Buddhism, after taking the Three Refuges, the Five Precepts are always recited. This is to confirm ‘what attitude I should have in life.’ Although the content of the Heart Sutra is good, it doesn’t immediately connect to reality. That’s why in Jungto Society, we substitute the recitation of the Heart Sutra with reading the Words for Practice. Through the Words for Practice, we clarify the essence of the Buddha’s teachings and what perspective we should have to progress toward liberation and nirvana.”

More important than a practitioner specifically observing precepts, meditating, and reciting sutras is what perspective they hold. The Words for Practice clearly define ‘what practice is.’ It contains the message that a practitioner can only be called a practitioner if they maintain this perspective.

A practitioner should never discuss external factors in any situation. If you focus on the external, you become controlled by the world. You end up getting angry, laughing, or crying as others manipulate you. To avoid being controlled by the world, you must clearly maintain a proactive perspective of ‘what will I do in this environment?’ If you get angry in a certain situation, you’re becoming someone who is controlled by the world. In any situation, you must clearly establish yourself as the master by asking, ‘What will I do?’ and ‘What would benefit me?’ In Seon Buddhism, this is called ‘Sucheojakju’ (隨處作主), meaning ‘be the master wherever you go.’ No matter where you go or what situation arises, you should always play the role of the master. However, in reality, we often lose our self-centeredness.

How to Be the Master of My Own Life

For example, if you got divorced because your husband had an affair or your wife squandered your assets, you would be someone who ‘got divorced.’ This is a passive perspective: ‘I wanted to stay together, but because the other person did this, I had no choice but to divorce.’ But if you change your perspective, what happened was that while living together, a situation arose where your spouse had an affair or wasted money. In this situation, divorce was your choice. From the same perspective, getting married, joining a company, or resigning—all are your choices in response to situations that arise. But we don’t clearly establish our position. We always say, ‘Because of someone else, I had no choice.’ It’s like being a fallen leaf fluttering in the autumn wind, blown here and there until one day it falls into some valley.



When a situation arises, if you are not awake to the truth and become captivated by a single thought, suffering occurs. Whether it’s anger or greed, being trapped in your own temperament prevents you from seeing the truth. As the old saying goes, “Even if caught by a tiger, you can survive if you keep your wits about you.” In any situation, you must maintain the perspective of “What should I do in this situation?” A practitioner should not be trapped in ignorance but remain awake to the given conditions.

Keep the Precepts, Cultivate Meditation, and Attain Wisdom

In Theravada Buddhism, it’s enough to not act outwardly on negative impulses. Even if anger or desire arises in your mind, it’s acceptable as long as you don’t express it through words or actions. However, in Mahayana Buddhism, even generating such thoughts is considered breaking the precepts. Even if you think, “I’m so angry I want to hit them,” but don’t act on it, it’s still considered breaking the precepts. This is expressed as creating karma through body, speech, and mind. It means you create karma not only through physical actions and speech but also through intentions, as even generating thoughts creates karma. This is why we perform the 108-bow repentance prayer to maintain the first aspect of the threefold training—precepts(戒).

The second is cultivating concentration. For this, we practice meditation for 10 minutes. This doesn’t mean you should only meditate for 10 minutes; rather, it means you should meditate for at least 10 minutes. Generally, people meditate for about 30 minutes.

The third is attaining wisdom (慧). To gain wisdom, we read sutras. Continuously reading the Buddha’s teachings helps us gain wisdom and clearly understand principles. There are three types of wisdom: wisdom gained from hearing and learning (聞慧), wisdom gained through contemplation (思慧), and wisdom gained through direct experience (修慧).

Let’s say you’ve listened to a Dharma talk and clearly understood the principles. You’ve come to understand the law of cause and effect, the principle of the Middle Way, and the emptiness of all phenomena. This is called wisdom from hearing, and it’s described as “opening the vision of the path” (見道). When the vision of the path opens, you see the way clearly, and there is no darkness. However, momentary ignorance can still arise. When something happens, delusion automatically occurs in that moment. Even though you would understand everything if you looked carefully, momentary ignorance still arises in your actual behavior. That’s why you need to practice maintaining constant awareness. The practice of cultivating awareness is called “cultivating the path” (修道). When you reach the level where you’re always aware without having to concentrate and no delusion arises, you’ve reached the stage of “no more learning” (無學道). This means there is nothing more to cultivate. The stage of no more learning refers to the state of an Arhat. This practice of the threefold training—precepts, concentration, and wisdom—is the practice method of Theravada Buddhism.  

Establishing a Vow to Save All Sentient Beings

The practice methods of Mahayana Buddhism differ somewhat from those of Hinayana Buddhism. While observing precepts, cultivating meditation, and reciting sutras to understand principles are considered important, Mahayana practice places the greatest emphasis on developing a vast mind. If Hinayana practice focuses on purifying oneself by not harming others, not causing damage, and not inflicting suffering, Mahayana goes beyond this by saving dying lives. Rather than merely stopping at not causing harm to others, Mahayana practitioners help and give to others. Instead of simply not troubling others, they cherish them. This expansion of the mind is the vow (願) of Mahayana. While the essence of Hinayana is keeping precepts, the essence of Mahayana is establishing vows. The Hinayana attitude of “regardless of what happens in the world, at least I will not do wrong” is certainly essential for practice. However, Mahayana bodhisattvas place greater importance on making great vows.

For example, suppose a tiger came and killed my mother. That would be an infuriating situation. If I then killed the tiger, I would be breaking the precepts because I would be taking a life. My mother is already dead, and the tiger is still alive, so killing it out of anger would be an act of revenge. A practitioner should not seek revenge. But what if this tiger is about to attack the elderly woman next door? If left alone, she would likely die. To save her, I would need to drive away the tiger, but would simply poking it with a stick and saying “go away” be effective? If I were to stab the tiger with a spear, that would be an action taken to save the elderly woman. However, in Hinayana Buddhism, one should refrain from killing the tiger even in this situation. It maintains that taking life is forbidden under any circumstances. That’s why in Southern Buddhism, there are no records of armed resistance even when Muslims invaded, burned temples, and killed many monks. They either died or fled.



In contrast, in Mahayana Buddhism, which is the tradition of Korean Buddhism, one would kill a tiger to save a person. This is why Buddhist monks emerged as soldiers during the Japanese invasion of 1592. When monks from the Southern Buddhist tradition hear this story, they find it completely incomprehensible. They would consider a monk who fought as a soldier with spears, bows, and swords to have abandoned his monkhood. However, in Mahayana Buddhism, killing a tiger to save an old woman is permissible because saving the woman’s life is considered more important than the precept against killing the tiger. If asked whether this act constitutes a sin, the answer is that it does not absolve one from karmic consequences. Even though the killing was done to save someone, the karmic consequence of taking life still remains. The merit of saving the old woman does not cancel out the karma of killing. One saves the old woman while accepting the karmic consequences. It’s like rescuing a drowning person even though you know they will blame you and demand compensation afterward. You save them and then pay for the damages. This willingness to accept loss in order to save others is the way of the Mahayana Bodhisattva.



Therefore, in Mahayana Buddhism, one does not seek praise after doing good deeds. Even when saving someone’s life, one may have to accept significant losses as a consequence. Willingly accepting such consequences while saving others is the essence of Mahayana. The most representative example is the vow of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. If one could simply sit outside hell and easily pull people out, there would be no problem. However, to rescue someone from hell, one must take on that person’s sins. Thus, I go to hell, and that person is released. This is precisely what it means to be a Mahayana Bodhisattva.

Diagnosis of the Current State of the World

This is where the “Vow of a Jungto Practitioner” comes from. Since all Jungto practitioners are Mahayana Bodhisattvas, the “Vow of a Jungto Practitioner” outlines what vows Mahayana Bodhisattvas should make.

For a Mahayana Bodhisattva to save sentient beings, one must understand how to view this world and recognize the current state of the world. According to the Buddha’s teachings, we currently face three major problems.

First, from a global perspective, the most critical issue is the climate crisis—problems arising from environmental destruction. The most dangerous problem now is the climate crisis caused by rising temperatures, which is triggering numerous disasters worldwide. The next issue is microplastics. Microplastics are so tiny that they’re almost like dust, difficult to see with the naked eye. They accumulate in our bodies when we eat fish that have consumed them, or when we breathe them in with dust. The process is similar to how heavy metals accumulate. We don’t know what side effects might occur when plastic particles build up in our bodies over long periods. All organic matter undergoes decomposition to return to its original state, with bacteria playing a crucial role in this process. Bacteria act like a furnace, breaking down everything and converting it back into raw materials. When something doesn’t rot, it means it doesn’t decompose—it merely breaks into smaller pieces. When it’s a large mass, we can see it, but when it breaks down into tiny particles, it becomes invisible.

Second, there is the collapse of human community. A community is a unit where individuals come together to live. The smallest community is the family. In a family community consisting of spouses and children, people don’t distinguish between “mine” and “yours.” Larger communities include clan or tribal communities of the past, and further expanded, today’s national communities. Individuals form family communities, which form national communities, and ultimately the global human community. However, conflicts between national communities within the human community are intensifying. Even within family communities, conflicts among family members are worsening. This breakdown of community is a problem we face.

Third, looking at individuals within the community, many are wandering aimlessly. This is called ‘loss of self’ or ‘loss of humanity.’ It refers to a state where people cannot find their center and are mentally unstable. As a result, individual actions are carried out without minimal ethical or moral judgment. Like random assaults or drug addiction. People will do anything if it benefits them. They will sue family members if they go against their interests, and sometimes even commit murder. Dating violence, where people assault their partners without reason, is another example. The number of people who can hardly be considered sane is increasing. This is called ‘loss of self’ or ‘loss of humanity.’ Humanity refers to the basic standard of judgment based on conscience that makes us think, “How could someone do such a thing?” The problem of ‘loss of humanity’ is that more people are acting without even the most basic human values.

To overcome this crisis, we seek solutions in the fundamental teachings of Buddhism. Within Buddhism, there are various types, but we believe that early Buddhism—where the historical figure Gautama Siddhartha attained enlightenment, became the Buddha, and directly taught people—helps solve these problems. We seek answers in Buddhism’s fundamental teachings because the Buddha’s early teachings, rather than Buddhism that has changed over time, offer solutions to the problems we face today.

First, We Adopt the Law of Dependent Origination as Our Worldview

How does Buddhism’s fundamental teaching view the world? The framework or method by which we fundamentally perceive the world is called a worldview. Most worldviews consider all beings as independent entities and see the whole as a collection of individual existences. Therefore, social or natural phenomena occurring between individual beings are viewed from the perspective of survival of the fittest or the law of the jungle. The theory of evolution is also based on this perspective. It’s the same when Hobbes viewed society as “the war of all against all.” All social ideologies and religions until now have emerged from this worldview. The concepts of going to heaven or hell after death, or being reborn, are also based on the premise that all beings exist individually.

However, the Buddha saw this world as interconnected beings. When the Buddha attained enlightenment and observed this world, he realized that all beings are interconnected. That’s why he used the term “dependent origination” (緣起). The character “緣” means “to depend on” and “起” means “to arise” – together meaning “arising dependent on conditions.”

“Because this exists, that exists. Without this, that does not exist. Because this arises, that arises. Because this ceases, that ceases.”

Philosophically, “Because this exists, that exists. Without this, that does not exist” is called “non-self.” “Because this arises, that arises. Because this ceases, that ceases” is called “impermanence.” This means there is no substantial self and nothing is permanent. The first vow in the Jungto Practitioner’s Vow states that we adopt the law of dependent origination as our worldview. This is the most important perspective we should have now. Therefore, Jungto practitioners should view the world based on the law of dependent origination and maintain the perspective that the world is dependently originated. Without this understanding, it is difficult to reach the goals of liberation and nirvana, and it is also difficult to properly understand the identity of Buddhism.

One day, King Prasenajit asked the Buddha, “How can I become a great king? Please teach me the way of kingship.” The Buddha replied, “Do not build your happiness upon the unhappiness of others.” Today, when we feel happy or pleased, it is often at the expense of others’ misfortune. When I pass an exam, someone else fails; when I win an election, someone else loses; when I gain, someone else loses; when I feel good because my stocks rise and celebrate with a drink, the person who sold those stocks feels bad and drinks in sorrow. When we think our son is ordinary but we got a good daughter-in-law, her parents might think they got a poor son-in-law. This shows how we are all interconnected. Therefore, we should not pursue joy or pleasure built upon others’ unhappiness. Such happiness is imperfect and unsustainable.

To the king with absolute power, the Buddha said, “Love your people as you would love your only child.” Even in today’s world, it’s difficult to tell leaders to love their citizens like an only child. Would anyone dare tell the president in the Blue House to love the citizens more than their own spouse or children? It’s easy to ask for things like “Build a temple,” “Build a church,” or “Build a hospital,” but such advice is much harder to give.

We must adopt the law of dependent origination as our worldview and see the world based on this perspective. The law of dependent origination is not a matter of belief but a matter of fact. We can see that this worldview is true in the material world, the biological world, and the mental world. Understanding something doesn’t automatically make us believe it, but when we clearly grasp the theoretical principles, belief naturally follows.

Second, We Take the Buddha and Bodhisattvas as Models for Our Lives

The second vow of Jungto practitioners addresses the question, “What kind of life will we lead?” We have chosen to take the Buddha and bodhisattvas as models for our lives. How did the Buddha live? He lived his entire life with just one kasaya (robe) and one bowl, begging for food. We aim to emulate this lifestyle. In simple terms, it means living frugally. More specifically, it means eating little, wearing little, using little, and maintaining the attitude of a seeker who is not bound by anything. At the very least, it means not being overly concerned with food, clothing, and shelter. During the Buddha’s time, those who were attached to such things could not renounce the world.

Those who take the Buddha as their life model should at least not complain about food, clothing, and shelter. Of course, we may feel some discomfort. However, what we eat is better than what the Buddha ate. The clothes we wear are better than what the Buddha wore. The places we sleep are better than under the trees where the Buddha slept. As our living environment changes, we may feel inconvenience, but we should not complain. I’m not saying you must live exactly like the Buddha, but at least don’t complain about your living conditions. From the Hinayana perspective, we should live frugally ourselves, and from the Mahayana perspective, we should regard the pain of sentient beings as our own pain. Thus, we make a vow to become practitioners who help those who are suffering by following the example of Mahayana bodhisattvas who willingly enter the world to save sentient beings. Living frugally corresponds to the attitude of seeking enlightenment for oneself, while helping people in disaster areas or extreme poverty around the world corresponds to the attitude of helping all sentient beings achieve enlightenment. We do not distinguish between Hinayana and Mahayana, but rather try to combine the strengths of both—the practice of Hinayana and the vows of Mahayana.

Third, We Take Non-Self, Non-Possession, and Non-Obstinacy as Guides for Practice

Non-self (無我) means there is nothing that can be called “I.” Non-possession (無所有) means there is nothing that can be called “mine.” Non-obstinacy (無我執) means there is nothing to stubbornly insist is right. These three principles—non-self, non-possession, and non-obstinacy—serve as the guides for our practice.

What does it mean to become a bodhisattva who responds to the needs of sentient beings? If there is nothing inherently fixed about the self, then we can become anything. This is called “manifestation.” It doesn’t mean becoming anything at any time, but rather responding according to causes and conditions when sentient beings need something. That is what “responding” means. The phrase “becoming a truly free person without suffering or bondage” means freely manifesting as anything according to causes and conditions.

Even if you are a wealthy madam or a company president outside, when you come to the temple, you come as a practitioner. So if there’s cleaning to be done, you simply pick up a broom and clean. However, such people often find it difficult, thinking, “I don’t even do this at home, so why should I clean and wash rags here?” They feel as if doing such work lowers their status. If you cannot let go of these false images of yourself, you become lonely. On one hand, you become arrogant by pretending to be superior, and on the other hand, you feel isolated because you’re not open. A practitioner must remain open. When you abandon false images, you become free.

‘Happy lives’ is the alternative to the loss of humanity. ‘Peaceful society’ is the alternative to the collapse of community. ‘Beautiful nature’ is the alternative to the destruction of the natural environment. Through these activities, creating a better world, Jungto (Pure Land), is the vow of Jungto practitioners.”

After the Dharma talk, the participants gathered in groups to share their thoughts. Following the Four Great Vows, the Open Dharma Assembly concluded after 12 o’clock.

After lunch, Sunim participated online in the JTS Philippines Board of Directors meeting at 1 PM. The board reviewed and approved the 2024 business report and financial statements, as well as the 2025 business plan and budget. Last year, they completed the construction of 10 schools for indigenous mountain children and children with special needs in the Mindanao region. This year, they plan to build 12 more schools, continuing last year’s achievements. Sunim encouraged the JTS Philippines volunteers who have been working hard surveying the sites before concluding the board meeting.

Following this, at 2 PM, Sunim attended the Jungto Society Philippines Board of Directors meeting online, where they reviewed and approved the 2024 business report and financial statements, as well as the 2025 business plan and budget. This week, Sunim is scheduled to continue participating in various overseas corporate board meetings online.

As the sun set, at 7:30 PM, Sunim began the 5th session of the Open Dharma Assembly for evening participants. About 100 people who had come directly from work gathered in the third-floor Dharma hall.

The topic of the evening Open Dharma Assembly was Barugongyang (formal Buddhist monastic meal) and the Heart Sutra. In this second session, Sunim explained the Ten Recollections chanted when placing food in the bowls, followed by a detailed explanation of the meanings of the Offering Verse and the Five Contemplations.

“The Ten Recollections refer to the ten Buddhas and Bodhisattvas we should keep in our minds. When we unfold our bowls and recite the Ten Recollections, food is distributed. We first name five Buddhas, then the Dharma as one entity, and finally four Bodhisattvas, making ten recollections in total.

Then we recite the mantra. Practitioners should always take refuge in the Three Jewels—Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha—and practice the threefold training of precepts, meditation, and wisdom. We recite the mantra as an expression of this vow. The food distribution should be completed during the recitation of the Ten Recollections and the mantra for the Three Jewels and threefold training. If the distribution isn’t finished, we pause the chanting until it’s complete. Usually, the food distribution finishes by the time the chanting ends.

May Both Those Who Receive and Those Who Give This Food Attain Immeasurable Perfection

The Offering Verse (Bongbange) means offering food to the Buddha. It is a verse recited while holding the bowl at eye level.

This means that the color, fragrance, and taste of this food are offered upward to all Buddhas, in the middle to all sages and saints, and downward to all sentient beings without any discrimination. We don’t give more to the Buddha; we distribute equally to all. We hope that everyone who receives this food will be satisfied, and we pray that both those who receive and those who give this food will equally attain immeasurable perfection. “Paramita” means “crossing over to the other shore.” This is the aspiration and blessing contained in the Offering Verse.

Reflecting on the Merit of All Those Who Worked to Bring This Food Before Me

The next verse contains the most important content from the Lesser Heart Sutra. If you were to memorize just one verse from the entire Lesser Heart Sutra, it should be this Five Contemplations Verse (Ogwange).

“計功多小量彼來處 means to calculate and consider the varying degrees of effort made by all those who worked to bring this food from there to here. There is much labor involved in the process of making the food I receive. This verse asks us to reflect on that labor. The most immediate labor is that of the kitchen staff. The effort of the kitchen staff who washes the rice, prepares the rice, and makes the side dishes is easily visible. It’s like when we ask young children where water comes from, they answer “the faucet,” where rice comes from, they answer “the rice cooker,” and where clothes come from, they answer “the closet.” Similarly, we often don’t recognize the labor of those who worked to bring this food before us.

Usually, which parent do children feel more affection for? They feel more affection for their mothers. Mothers visibly nurse them, feed them, and dress them, while fathers provide the money to make this possible, but this isn’t directly visible to children. So when considering merit, we must also see what is not visible to us. For example, if we think about making food, the rice was produced by farmers, and the rice cooker was manufactured by workers. The frying pan, oil, electricity, and gas were all produced by someone. When we consider all of this, we realize that a single grain of rice contains the labor of countless people. This verse is about contemplating all of that.

“忖己德行全缺應供 means to reflect on whether I am worthy of receiving this offering. It’s about examining whether my practice and virtue qualify me to receive this meal. As I quietly reflect on my day, I consider whether my small virtuous deeds make me worthy of receiving this offering that contains so much merit. If my life is built upon the hard work of others, then I am incurring a debt. Instead of creating good karma, I am consuming it.

“防心離過貪等爲宗 means to distance my mind from wrongdoings and greed. The purpose of eating this food is to support my proper practice.

“正思良藥爲療形姑 means that I eat this food not for its taste, but as medicine to prevent my body from withering away.

I Will Eat This Food to Achieve the Supreme Path

“爲成道業應受此食 expresses the vow to eat this food and achieve the supreme path. It means that I must practice diligently after eating this food to repay the debt. I could refuse to eat this food because my practice is insufficient, but if I do eat it, I should practice enough to repay that debt. I could grow my own food, but there are also service occupations in the world. Counseling or caring for those in need, cleaning—these are all necessary tasks in society. Similarly, a practitioner who diligently practices without laziness is also repaying a debt. If a practitioner eats this food and becomes lazy, it causes suffering to sentient beings or sacrifices them.”

After Sunim finished explaining each verse, everyone recited the verses together in a loud voice.

When the Dharma talk ended, the participants gathered in groups to share their thoughts, while Sunim left the Dharma hall and headed to the Jungto Center.

Tomorrow will be the 10th day of the 100-Day Dharma Talk. In the morning, Sunim will participate online in the board meetings of Washington DC Jungto Center and Canada Jungto Society, followed by the daytime Weekly Dharma Assembly at the Jungto Social and Cultural Center. In the afternoon, he will meet with social leaders, and in the evening, he will conduct the evening Weekly Dharma Assembly.