Ven. Pomnyun, a revered determine in Korea, transcends spiritual boundaries together with his insightful and spontaneous Dharma talks.
His fundamental Korean YouTube channel, which options his offline Buddhist teachings, has attracted a considerable following of over 1.6 million subscribers and amassed billions of views, demonstrating the widespread enchantment of timeless knowledge.
Followers search his steerage on a variety of considerations from the lightest worries to the deepest struggles. The honored monk says, nonetheless, he has by no means given anybody a solution to their questions.
“I’ve by no means thought that I reply their questions,” he mentioned in a latest interview with Yonhap Information Company. “I’m simply engaged in dialog with them.”
“I discuss by means of no matter subjects come up,” he mentioned. “I do not method issues from an moral or authorized angle. I simply assist folks mirror and acquire readability to allow them to resolve for themselves.”
The very best end result, he says, is for the particular person to comprehend, “Come to think about it, it isn’t a giant factor.”
“Nothing in life is de facto that large of a deal,” he mentioned.
Final weekend, the Jungto Society, a group of practitioners based in 1988 by Ven. Pomnyun to use Buddhist teachings to real-world sufferings, held a three-day occasion referred to as Youth Festa, reviving his nationwide touring Youth Live performance collection from 2011-18. The renewed occasion is designed to handle the anxieties and struggles dealing with at this time’s younger Koreans.
“The occasion’s core mission is to consolation younger folks and assist them wake themselves up,” the honored monk mentioned in his opening speech Friday. “I am simply right here to offer them slightly push to look inside.”
In the course of the interview, Ven. Pomnyun expressed his hope that the occasion helps younger folks discover “hope of their lives” and encourages them to “step outdoors to construct social connections.”
Past serving as a mentor to his followers, he’s additionally an energetic writer, and social and peace activist. The Jungto Society has a number of umbrella nonprofit organizations, together with the Peace Basis, based in 2004 to advertise everlasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Whereas refraining from discussing in particulars, he famous worldwide geopolitics and inter-Korean relations have been among the many subjects weighing closely on his thoughts lately.
Additionally he’s presently deeply engaged in a three-year venture in Bhutan centered on making a sustainable, community-based growth mannequin. The Be a part of Collectively Society, one other Jungto Society affiliate, has been working to enhance elementary dwelling circumstances constructing properties and colleges, and upgrading infrastructure, like water provide and roads.
The interview was performed simply someday after he returned from Bhutan. His usually packed schedule, which demonstrates his energetic engagement together with his group and followers, is documented on the Jungto Society’s web site as “The Day of Sumin,” referring to the Korean phrase for monk.
Expressing his remorse over his hoarse voice — a delicate signal of his fatigue — the 72-year-old monk hinted that he was contemplating wrapping up the Dharma talks he started within the early 2000s.
“Maybe it’s time to carry this to an finish,” he mentioned, including “You get uninterested in something in the event you keep it up too lengthy.”
He continued: “About 20 years in the past, I had loads to say to the world — about what life must be and the way the world works. After sharing my ideas by means of books and talks, I now really feel I’ve mentioned all I must say.”
