Should I Discharge from the Military Due to My Injury During Rehabilitation?

Hello. This morning, Sunim tended to the vegetable garden, inspected the mountain field, and did farm work. In the afternoon, guests arrived and he spent time with them.

Sunim began his day with early morning practice and meditation. After a simple breakfast, he changed into work clothes and started farm work at 9 AM. Bogwang Dharma Teacher, the India JTS Secretary General visiting Korea after a year, and Hyanghun Dharma Teacher from the Philippines JTS joined the farm work.

Sunim started by organizing the cilantro garden. He snipped the bushy cilantro leaves with scissors. While trimming the cilantro shoots, Sunim explained:

“Please cut leaving one leaf at the bottom. New shoots will grow from between those leaves.”

As Sunim and the Dharma Teachers cut and collected the cilantro leaves, they quickly filled a basket. It was enough for today’s lunch. After inspecting and organizing the garden, they headed to the mountain field. The mountain field gets plenty of sunlight and is a good place for mugwort to grow. They planned to inspect the field and also gather some mugwort. They gathered their tools and headed to the mountain field.

As Sunim walked out the gate, he looked at the mountain full of light green and said:

“Wow, look at that mountain. The light green color is so beautiful.”

Looking at the distant mountains full of light green, they passed through the village’s rice paddies and fields on their way to the mountain field. The path to the mountain field had a slope. Sunim slowly made his way up using two walking sticks. On the way to the mountain field, Sunim explained the places where many spring herbs grow.

“This is where a lot of daylilies grow. Last time we picked daylilies here and had a hearty meal.”

After walking a bit further, Sunim explained:

“There are many deodeok (mountain herbs) here.”

Taking their time walking up and chatting, they soon arrived at the mountain field.

“Oh my, we planted bracken here, but they all died.”

Sunim inspected the crops and trees he had planted a few years ago. Going up a bit further, white peony flowers were in bloom.

“This flower is a peony. In 2019, when we heard that North Korean residents were starving and urgently sent 20,000 tons of corn, we also sent peony seeds. We planted some of those seeds as an experiment, and they survived and bloomed beautifully.”

The white peony flowers blooming among the green leaves added to the spring atmosphere.

Sunim also inspected the area where he had planted fruit trees a few years ago. He had planted plum, peach, and plum trees, but some had died due to lack of proper care and others were not in good condition. He did some light pruning on the surviving fruit trees.

“Oh my, many fruit trees have died. I need to retire quickly and take care of these trees. I can’t leave them like this.”

While inspecting the field, Sunim also cleared away kudzu vines.

In various sunny spots throughout the mountain field, there was plenty of mugwort growing. Sunim and the Dharma Teachers began harvesting mugwort. Working together, they quickly filled a basket and a sack.

“The mugwort growing here is sturdy and good quality. Come over here to harvest.”

After gathering enough mugwort, everyone sat in the shade together to trim it. They plan to send it to the mill to make mugwort rice cakes. Sunim explained and demonstrated how to trim mugwort. As they chatted together, they trimmed quite a large amount of mugwort.

They had scheduled lunch for 11:30 AM. After checking the time, they wrapped up the farm work. They gathered the tools and trimmed mugwort and came down.

As they came down in time for lunch, there was still some untrimmed mugwort. While some trimmed the mugwort, others organized the tools. Still others washed the mugwort to be sent to the mill. Since they had trimmed the mugwort immediately after picking it from the mountain, it was clean enough that they only needed to wash off some dust.

Sunim had lunch with the Dharma Teachers at a table full of lettuce wraps from the garden and spring herbs. For the Dharma Teachers who had lived abroad for a long time, a table full of lettuce wraps and spring herbs was the best gift of spring. They continued to chat over the meal. After lunch, Sunim prepared to welcome guests. Writer Noh Hee-kyung, representative of Gilbeot (a celebrity volunteer group at the Jungto Society), and her party came from Seoul to meet Sunim at Dubuk Jungto Retreat Center. From late afternoon, Sunim spent time with the guests. In the evening, he did manuscript proofreading and business communications whenever he had time, and at night he toured Gyeongju’s night scenery with the guests before ending his day.

Tomorrow morning, after farm work pruning aralia trees, he plans to take a walk around Gyeongju with the guests.

Since there was no Dharma talk today, this post concludes with a story from the “Happy Conversation” Dharma Q&A held at the Busan Design Promotion Center on April 17th.

Should I Discharge from the Military Due to My Injury During Rehabilitation?
“My concern is about career choices. I’m a woman in my mid-30s and a professional soldier. Since my 20s, I’ve received a lot of help from Sunim’s lectures and books whenever I had concerns. Two years ago, I injured my ankle and during surgery and treatment, the nerves below my knee were damaged, causing walking problems. At the time, I deeply resented the surgeon who operated on me, and even though I was promoted that same year, the responsibility and burden of the rank were heavy. Moreover, while I need consistent rehabilitation, the environment doesn’t provide sufficient conditions for rehabilitation, making it very difficult both physically and mentally. At that time, I kept remembering Sunim’s words from a lecture: ‘If it’s too hot, put it down.’ So I submitted my discharge application and am currently focusing on rehabilitation during my duty assistance period, thinking about whether to try returning again. However, my practical concerns are significant. Even athletes sometimes choose to retire when injured, and I’m also at a crossroads wondering whether it would be better to discharge or continue to the end while doing rehabilitation. I would appreciate your wise counsel.”

“First, the most important thing is the extent of your injury – how badly you were hurt. For example, let’s say an athlete gets injured. If they were originally playing in the first division but due to injury can no longer play in the first division but can still play in the second division, they need to decide whether to retire or continue playing even in the second division. Moving from the first division to the second division means reduced income and may not feel good. However, playing in the second division might still be better than finding another job. If you choose to retire just because you’re not as good as before, it could actually be to your disadvantage. Based on facts, continuing to play even in the second division might be the wiser choice. Of course, if you can rehabilitate through treatment and play in the first division again, there’s no need to worry. But if recovery to that level is difficult, choosing even the second division is a realistic judgment. On the other hand, if the injury is so severe that playing is impossible, then you would need to quit. Some people lose their lives in traffic accidents. Compared to losing your life, injuring your ankle isn’t necessarily such a big deal. But we fall into frustration and despair by looking at the present based on our past expectations and ambitions. Many people work at companies and have office jobs. Similarly, you could retire from the military and work at a regular company. Which would be better – working at a regular company from the beginning of your career or working at a regular company after military service? Experiencing something once is better than never experiencing it at all. People who never experienced something from the beginning don’t suffer, but those who experienced better conditions continue to suffer in their current situation. Why is that? Because they can’t let go of their attachment to the past. This isn’t a problem caused by injuring your foot, but a problem arising from attachment to the past. Looking at cases like idol singers or actors who gained great fame at a young age, the probability of that popularity lasting a lifetime is not high. When popularity suddenly rises and then drops before the mind becomes strong, they experience great frustration. And this experience of frustration and hardship makes life very unhappy. So when popularity rises a little, they get too excited, and when it drops a little, they fall into great frustration and their life collapses. That’s why it’s better not to try to rise too quickly but to go slowly. As I get older, my health gradually deteriorates, but other things are actually getting better. Because I’m going slowly. People tend to be attached to the past. For example, let’s say there’s someone who had 10 billion won but failed and now has 1 billion won, and someone who started with 100 million won and made 1 billion won. Objectively, both have 1 billion won, but who would be happier? The person who newly earned 1 billion won lives more happily. On the other hand, the person who had 10 billion won and now has 1 billion won always thinks ‘If only I had done it right back then…’ and lives in depression and a sense of failure.

The questioner is in the same situation. There is no problem except for the ankle injury. First, there is the option of returning to your original position through rehabilitation. Second, if returning is difficult, you can change your duties within the military and continue serving. These days, from the perspective of human rights and job security, many adjustments are made to match physical conditions. If field work is difficult, you can apply for office work, or if physical labor is challenging, you can switch to administrative duties. Third, if it becomes difficult to perform duties in the military organization due to physical conditions, then you can be discharged and choose a different path. Depending on the situation, you may receive a disability rating and find new work in society, or you may live utilizing disability support systems. There is no reason to be afraid. South Korea now has a well-established social security system that can maintain at least a minimum standard of living. It’s not like the past when making ends meet was extremely difficult. So there’s no need to be too anxious.”

“Yes, I understand. Thank you.”