May 14, 2025. 100-Day Dharma Talk Day 87, Weekly Dharma Assembly, Standing Thousand-Day Preparation Committee Meeting
Hello. This is the 87th day of Venerable Pomnyun Sunim’s 100-Day Dharma Talk. Today is the Weekly Dharma Assembly where Jungto Society members examine their practice.
After completing his morning practice and meditation, Sunim headed to the Jungto Social and Cultural Center for the Weekly Dharma Assembly.
In the third-floor Dharma Hall, with about 150 people gathered, the Weekly Dharma Assembly began at 10:15 AM with the recitation of the Three Refuges and the Heart Sutra. Jungto Society members from across the country also participated online.
First, they watched a video showing the activities of Jungto practitioners over the past week. The Jungto Social and Cultural Center and main temples nationwide had a busy week cleaning up after Buddha’s Birthday celebrations.
The assembly requested Sunim’s Dharma talk with three bows. Sunim began his talk by mentioning the turbulent international situation and the ever-changing domestic political landscape, discussing what perspective practitioners should maintain.
“We started the 100-Day Dharma Talk in winter, and now spring has passed and summer is approaching. We’re entering the final stage with just two weeks remaining. At first, 100 days seemed like an eternity, but now that I’ve actually done it, I feel how quickly it has passed.
Living Life as if Looking Back on Time Already Passed
Life is like that too. Looking ahead, it seems endless, but looking back, it feels like just a moment. The next 30 years might seem distant, but when you recall 30 years ago, it feels like it passed in just a few days. So when we reach the moment of death and look back on our lives, everything feels like it happened just yesterday.
Good times pass too quickly, and bad times pass in an instant as well. Looking back, good things don’t seem so extraordinary, and bad things don’t feel so difficult. If we view our future lives with the same perspective as we look back on past time, there’s little reason to worry or be anxious. There’s also no need to be overly emotional about whether things go as we want them to or not. That’s why practitioners need to always view life as if looking back on it. We need eyes that see the whole picture rather than fixating on one part.
I’d like to thank everyone who volunteered over the past week, whether visibly or behind the scenes, whether introduced or not. Jungto Society is maintained and developed through your voluntary service. It’s through your generous hearts and sincerity, whether large or small, that Jungto Society’s activities continue. As the guiding Dharma teacher of Jungto Society, I express my deep gratitude to all of you. I also hope that you’ll view your volunteer work at Jungto Society not as ‘something for others’ but as ‘something for yourself.’ With this ownership mindset wherever you are, you won’t regret your life when looking back later.
Why We Shouldn’t Despair Despite Many Failures
The international situation is changing rapidly. The word ‘rapid’ barely captures it—’turbulent’ might be more appropriate. The world changes overnight. Just yesterday, the U.S. imposed a 145 percent tariff on Chinese imports, and by morning, it had dropped to 30 percent. With advance information about such changes, some people use stocks as speculation tools, making or losing vast amounts of money. Rather than nations or the world being guided, it seems a few powerful individuals are steering the world as if running their own shops. As a result, 8 billion people are experiencing great confusion.
The domestic situation is similar. Things change overnight. We might call it ‘dynamic,’ but ‘chaotic’ might be more accurate. However, even these changes will seem insignificant with time. Looking back at our history, it has been a series of failures. The Donghak Revolution ended in failure, the March 1st Independence Movement ended in failure, and after liberation, we experienced the pain of division. We endured the Korean War and continued to face setbacks throughout our history.
But looking at the big picture, what do we see? Though we’ve failed in parts, history has gradually developed in a better direction. Our lives are the same. Even if we’ve failed in parts, in the long view, we’re moving toward success. So we don’t need to be too discouraged or despair over small failures. Think of it as practice. Everything we do as practice ultimately becomes learning. Through this learning, we become more skilled and grow into people capable of handling the world’s big and small matters. With that perspective, I hope you continue your diligent practice today.”
Next, people who had submitted questions in advance took turns asking the questions. Two people online and two people at the venue each asked questions and conversed with Sunim. One person shared that she had recently started dating a popular boyfriend and was constantly anxious about him leaving her, asking Sunim for advice on how to overcome this attachment.
A Popular Boyfriend, I’m Afraid He’ll Leave Me
“If you were holding a hot ball of fire in your hand, what should you do? Should you keep holding it or let it go?
“I should let it go. So should I break up with him?”
“After meeting your boyfriend a few times, you found him very appealing, right? Would other women find him appealing too, or not?”
“I’m worried they would find him too appealing.”
“Then you can date him knowing that.”
“But I wish he would only look at me.”
“That’s impossible. People aren’t objects. If he were an object, you could buy him and keep him in your room, but people aren’t like that. You’re suffering because you’re dreaming of something impossible.
It’s the same even in marriage. Anyone might be attracted to someone who is handsome, has a good personality, and is competent at work, regardless of marital status. Some people even say they like me, a monk. We can’t control all these emotions. Women who like your boyfriend will continue to appear. We don’t know who he might come to like among them, but the possibility is very high. The fact that many people are attracted to him means he’s also likely to be attracted to others. The same applies to you. Right now, you might not have better options, but what if someone with better qualities than your current boyfriend appeared? Would you boldly leave him, or keep the new person as a backup?
“I might keep him as a backup.”
“Exactly. Even while dating someone, you might want to keep a financially stable person as a backup for difficult times, or a kind-hearted person as a friend to consult with when you’re struggling. People are like that. Even married people develop feelings for attractive people they meet. That’s why affairs happen. You’ll need to live with this anxiety not just while dating but even after marriage.
For example, with $77,000, you could own 100 percent of a small company’s shares, but even with $385,000 you might own less than 0.1 percent of a large corporation’s shares. Would you prefer to own 100 percent of a company worth $77,000? Or would you prefer to own just 0.1 percent of a large corporation? The choice is yours.”
“I would prefer to have a lot of money even if I only own 0.1 percent.”
“Then you need to adopt the perspective that ‘I’m satisfied just having a small share of this person.’ Even if another woman becomes involved after marriage, you should be able to generously accept it, thinking, ‘I’m still legally his wife.’ In the past, to marry a king, the queen had to accept concubines. To have a high position, you must accept many things. This isn’t an issue that can be controlled by ethics, morality, or law. When we try to control it with laws, illegality emerges.
That’s how the world is. Where there’s profit, thieves abound even with fences. Where there’s no profit, no one takes anything even without fences. So if you want to have someone exclusively, date a man no one is interested in. Even if you put him out there, no one will take him. But naturally, someone who looks good to you will look good to others too. If you start seeing this as a problem, you’ll inevitably suffer. You’ll experience distress, anxiety, and jealousy. That’s why such behavior is sometimes described as ‘taking rat poison.’ But rat poison is okay. It’s fine to try it once, prepared to die. Many people in the world haven’t even tried rat poison once. (Laughter)
Thinking this way makes you much more comfortable. Don’t be too attached—whether you date for a day or a month, just do what you can. Even if he finds another woman, you can think that having met such a man once is better than never having met him at all.
Everyone wants good things. I understand that feeling, but the world doesn’t work that way. When you try to possess something you can’t have, you suffer. This isn’t about ethics or morality. For example, if you were asked to choose one mop—gold, silver, or cotton—and could only take one, most would choose the gold mop. It seems good at first. But when you actually try to clean with the gold mop, it doesn’t work well. What would you do then? You’d either throw it away and get a cotton mop, or secretly take someone else’s cotton mop. This could happen to anyone, not because they’re particularly bad. Control might make people more cautious and do it less, but it can’t prevent it entirely. Whatever choice you make, you’re responsible for it. If you know it’s rat poison but want to experience it anyway, date appropriately. Even if you get married, it’s better not to try to confine your partner but to keep things open. Anything is fine if you do it knowingly.”
“Thank you. I’ll try to date comfortably with pride as the major shareholder.”
“Your boyfriend seems to have money, looks, and many other good qualities. Isn’t it better to be a shareholder with a large stake in a small company than a shareholder with just 0.1 percent of a large corporation? Isn’t it better to be the head of a snake than the tail of a dragon? But it seems you think being the tail of a dragon is better than the head of a snake.” (Laughter)
The questions continued:
I’ve been married for 17 years and my child is still in high school. I’m considering divorce but I’m not financially independent. How should I make this decision?
I met someone I can’t stand in my book club, and continuing together is very difficult.
I’m doing 300 prostrations while praying for peace and unification on the Korean Peninsula. But I keep doubting whether praying will actually bring about unification.
As the questions continued, it was time to conclude the Dharma assembly. We agreed to continue our conversation at next week’s Weekly Dharma Assembly and ended the session as it approached noon.
After leaving the Dharma hall on the third floor, Sunim went to the dining hall in the basement to have lunch with the Sangha members.
At 2 PM, the Standing 1000-Day Preparation Committee (hereafter “Cheonjunwi”) meeting was held in The Peace Foundation conference room. Jungto Society forms this committee every three years to prepare for the next 1000 days (three years). This committee drafts the overall business plan for Jungto Society, including organizational restructuring and personnel changes.
Before the main discussion, Dharma Teacher Beopjeong, the chairperson of the committee, presented the draft of the “2-2nd 1000-Day Practice Business Direction.”
First, he evaluated that after the COVID-19 pandemic, Jungto Society attempted to transition to an online organization but faced limitations in development. He explained that stagnation occurred due to issues such as volunteer fatigue from excessive online work, inadequate organization and operations, and insufficient promotional strategies. In particular, he diagnosed that the aging of volunteers, the absence of middle-level leaders, and lack of content production capabilities were making sustainable development difficult.
Accordingly, he announced that the 2-2nd 1000-Day Practice would focus on breaking through the stagnation of the online organization and building a foundation for sustainable development. Specifically, he presented a direction to transition to activities centered on practice, spreading the dharma, and implementation; strengthen regional implementation and multicultural projects to build internal stability; and realize future visions through global dharma propagation and youth outreach.
After completing her presentation, Dharma Teacher Beopjeong sought Sunim’s advice on the business direction. Sunim emphasized the importance of identifying the root causes of Jungto Society’s current stagnation in order to establish a new business direction.
The Need to Clearly Diagnose Root Causes
“The most important thing now is to identify the root cause of Jungto Society’s stagnation. We should first understand the cause and then discuss what initiatives are needed to overcome this stagnation. From what I’ve heard from all of you so far, there has been much discussion about minor causes, but I think there’s insufficient identification of the fundamental cause. Before establishing specific alternatives, the broader directional framework must first be established.
Another important point is that until now, I have personally pioneered and led this work, but going forward, we need to create a system that can maintain and develop these initiatives even without me. For programs like the Jungto Dharma School or the Happy Citizen program, apart from the Dharma talk content, you are already managing most operations. We need to establish a stable system that can continue to operate through videos and books even after I’m gone.
Preparing to Move from Stagnation to a Period of Growth
In fact, since I’m over 70 years old, it would be better if I were no longer in this world. This is because as long as I’m alive, no matter how much I tell you to act autonomously, you’ll still be conscious of my presence, making change and innovation difficult. Conversely, if I’m gone, change will naturally have to occur. Of course, there’s a risk that the system could collapse, but there’s also the possibility of expansion. So the most desirable direction is to build a sustainable system that can operate without me. That way, we can prevent collapse while gradually developing.
However, without me, no matter how well you all do, there will inevitably be a period of stagnation. Jungto Society needs to overcome this period well and move toward expansion. You’ll need to overcome such a period for at least about 10 years. Only then will stable change be possible. Therefore, the early period of the 2nd 10,000-Day Practice, which includes the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd 1000-Day Practices, should be a time to prepare for the second leap forward. Going forward, let’s research and prepare more regarding the root causes.”
In addition, the Standing Committee sought Sunim’s advice on various topics, including adjusting the age range for the Special Youth Division, strengthening connections with regional branches, integrated operation of overseas branches, establishing an education center for training Happy Citizen volunteers, and pilot operation of weekday chapters.
The meeting concluded at 4 PM, with an agreement to continue discussions on sustainable development for Jungto Society based on the directions and tasks proposed by Sunim.
As the sun set, the evening session of the Weekly Dharma Assembly was broadcast live starting at 7:30 PM. About 150 people gathered in the Dharma hall on the third floor, while Jungto Society members connected through online video conference rooms, requesting Dharma teachings from Sunim with three bows.
As in the morning, Sunim began by discussing the perspective practitioners should maintain amid rapidly changing international affairs and domestic political situations before starting the dialogue.
First, three people who had requested to ask questions online did so, followed by one person who raised their hand at the venue. One of them had quit their job to begin practicing but found themselves becoming increasingly lazy, and sought Sunim’s advice on what perspective to maintain in their practice.
I Quit My Job to Practice, But I’m Getting Lazier
“The essence of your question is ‘I’m being lazy these days,’ right? Then it’s simple. If you recognize you’re being lazy, you can just stop being lazy. If you think ‘Is this okay?’ then you can become diligent again, and if you think ‘I’m being too greedy,’ then you can stop. You’re probably being lazy because you’re free without much to do. When something urgent comes up, you’ll naturally become diligent again. Seeing that you’re still alive and doing well, it seems fine. So what’s the main point of what you want to ask?”
“How can I overcome laziness?”
“It’s okay to be a bit lazy now because you have extra time. You worked at your job for a long time, and you even quit your morning work to listen to the 100-Day Dharma Talk, so you don’t have much to do right now. If you really have nothing to do, it might be good to go to a nearby Jungto Society main temple and help out with some work. That will solve the problem naturally. It’s natural for people to become lazy when they have nothing to do. When situations become urgent, you naturally become diligent. Trying to be diligent when you don’t have anything specific to do doesn’t quite fit. How can you be busy when there’s nothing to do? So be a little lazy now, and when you have a lot to do later, you can be diligent then. That’s precisely No Everlasting Abiding Dharma. Water flows slowly on level ground and quickly on steep slopes, right? Life is like that too. So don’t make it too much of an issue. It’s not a big deal. I hope you can take it lightly like that.”
“Thank you.”
The questions continued.
I was raised by my stepmother. Recently, my birth mother suddenly contacted me, and I’m worried that my stepmother who raised me will be upset if she finds out.
While receiving education as a leading member applicant, I became curious about the meaning of “dedication of merit.” Also, how can I let go of expectations toward others when spreading the dharma?
After listening to the Buddhist Social Studies Course lecture, I thought that the principles of the macro world and the micro world might be similar. I’m curious about Sunim’s thoughts on this.
After conversing with four people, it was time to conclude the Dharma assembly. Participants engaged in mindful sharing in groups before ending the assembly as it approached 9 PM.
Tomorrow will be the 88th day of the 100-Day Dharma Talk. In the morning, Sunim will hold a Teacher’s Day event in the Dharma hall on the third floor of the Jungto Social and Cultural Center, followed by the 6th lecture on the Heart Sutra. In the evening, he will give the 19th lecture of the Buddhist Social Studies Course in the main hall in the basement.
