On June 12th, 2022, 11 member of the Jungto International Division visited the Seonyudong Education and Training Center to volunteer in the garden. Three members were from the North America Chapter, and 7 members were from the Asia-Pacific and Europe Chapter. They worked in the garden under the guidance of Dharma Teacher Seonju.
The volunteers planted and watered flowers, sorted the stones, and pulled out the weed under the hot summer sun. They had a delicious lunch together, and they were able to take home some vegetables harvested from the garden. After lunch, they went to the mountain streams nearby, in Seonyu Valley, to relax and soak their feet. The members had a memorable experience, and all the members shared that they were happy to spend time with Dharma Teacher Seonju.
Also, they were all happy to meet one another and talk in person since they had only been able to meet online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. They expressed it was a good opportunity experience and understand some of the things that Ven. Pomnyun Sunim and Dharma teachers do, which includes farming. Everyone talked and laughed a lot.
Towards the end, they all wished that they could spend more time together. While online meetings are also precious, it felt special to meet and interact with the other members offline. They felt that each and every member had something to contribute that made the group stronger as a whole. They all wished the day would not end, but it was soon time to leave. Some of the members had woken up 3:30am in the morning to come to Seonyu-dong. It was time to return to the real world.
The experience allowed the members to unite and work towards a common goal. They worked as a community and had fun during the process. This experience holds a lot of value considering the current state of the world. By working together to the good of the world, we can slowly momentum to make the world a better place.
