원불교를 수행하는 궁극 목적은 무엇일까? 가장 중요한 목적은 단연코 생활 속에서 불법을 닦고 불법으로 생활을 더욱 원활히 하는 점이라고 생각한다. 원불교 모든 가르침의 핵심은 우리가 생활 속에서 이를 모두 달성할 수 있도록 했다는 것.

역사를 통틀어 대부분의 영적, 종교적인 수행은 ‘평범한 삶’과 분리 해왔다. 종교행사를 마치고 성전을 떠나는 즉시 일상으로 돌아가 버리기 일쑤였다. 매주 교회에 다녔지만, 나 역시도 그랬다. 이점은 거의 모든 종교의 큰 약점이다. 대부분 종교의식은 따르지만, 가르침과 일치하게 살지는 않는다. 왜냐하면 일상생활 속에서 어떻게 공부해야 하는지 잘 모르기 때문이다.

설교의 효과는 마치 에어컨이 켜진 시원한 건물에 있는 것처럼 아주 잠깐이다. 하지만 건물을 나오면 바로 태양에 노출돼 시원함은 금방  사라져 버린다. 여러 수행도 변화를 주는 듯 하지만, 생활 속에서는 옛 습관이 고쳐지기 어렵고 수행의 힘이 자리 잡기는 참 힘들다. 

이것이야말로 원불교가 개교한 독창적 이유라고 생각한다. 사람들은 ‘영적 실천이 일상과 분리된 것’으로 봤다. 그래서 사회를 떠나 산이나 특별한 곳에서 수행해야 하는 것으로 여겨졌다. 허나 소태산 대종사는 불법 공부를 개혁해 어떠한 신분과 직업에도 관계없이 모두가 살아있는 부처가 되게 했다.
 

 중생교화를 위한 
 큰 그물을
 함께 만들어 갈 것. 

우리는 상황이 변할 때마다 행불행이 바뀐다는 사고방식에 쉽게 빠진다. 졸업하면, 혹은 승진하면, 또는 배우자가 생기면, 자식이 있으면, 은퇴하면, 이것이나 저것을 얻으면, 나는 행복하고 자유로울 것이라고 착각한다.

그러면서 우리는 더 많은 돈, 더 많은 물건, 더 많은 이론을 찾아 외부로 향하며 내면으로 돌아가지 않는다. 원불교 공부는 분별심과 주착심에 의지해서는 얻을 수 없는 불생불멸한 영원성에 바탕해 인과를 믿고 개척해가는 생활을 한다. 우리의 자성에 따라 살아가는 게 곧 무시선과 무처선, 처처불상 사사불공이다.

나에게 있어, 원무의 직분은 살아있는 부처로 행동하기 위한 또 하나의 서약이다. 모든 원불교 공부인과 마찬가지로 원무의 임무는 자성본원을 반조하는 게 급선무다. 우리가 요란함과 어리석음, 그리고 그름으로부터 본래 자유로움을 반조하며, 우리가 원래 원만구족하고 지공무사함을 반조해 가야 한다. 오직 이 진리를 반조할 때만 우리는 자성에 따라 행동할 수 있고 이 공부는 교무님이나 원무들에게만 한정된 것이 아닌 공부인 모두가 빛을 돌이키는 공부로 해나가야 하는 것이다.

미국원불교에서 첫 원무 중 한 명이 된 것은 큰 영광이다. 이 의식을 통해 나 스스로 부처가 되기를 다짐하며, 더불어 중생교화를 위한 큰 그물을 함께 만들어 갈 것을 서원한다.

/필라델피아교당

It’s an honor to be here today. This is truly a humbling and motivating moment for me to deepen my spiritual vow. My name is Brian Freer, and my dharma name is Won SeonKyo. Today I’d like to share with you my view of the Wonmu position and why I think Kathy and I are just the two first knots in a huge net which is being built to save all sentient beings.

What is the purpose of practicing Won Buddhism? Better focus or productivity? Less stress and better relationships? Better skin and hair? No. It’s very simple. Our purpose is to realize daily life as buddhadharma and buddhadharma as daily life. That’s it. The goal of all the teachings is simply to enable us to achieve this. I think most people throughout history, including us right now, have largely kept spiritual or religious practice separate from “regular life.” We engage in worship service or attend classes but usually leave the lessons in the building when we leave to go back to our routines. And that’s how I approached my religious life when I was raised Lutheran. I went to church every Sunday but you wouldn’t have guessed if you judged me by my behavior. That is a point of failure in every faith tradition; people just go through the rituals and don’t live in accordance with the teachings, because they don’t know HOW.

We may carry the sermon with us for a short while, but inevitably we forget. I’ve thought of this effect like a hot summer day when you come out of an air conditioned building; for a brief while, the cold air around your skin is able to resist the heat, but eventually it fades and you’re at the mercy of the summer sun once again. Anyone who’s been at a retreat knows this feeling well; you leave feeling so inspired and different, but eventually old habits win and the retreat feels like a distant dream.

This is exactly the reason Won Buddhism was founded. People viewed spiritual practice as something separate from daily life, something reserved only for those willing to leave society and practice in the mountains. Master Sotaesan sought to reform the practice and application of buddhadharma, so that anyone of any status or vocation could be a living buddha.

In fact, our entire lives are compartmentalized, not simply in terms of spiritual/secular. The vacation mind vs the workday mind, parent vs child, teacher vs student, lay vs ordained, etc. I believe that out of this fragmented view, we also fall victim to the mindset that we will finally be happy or free from suffering when our circumstances change. When I graduate, when I get promoted, when I get a husband or wife, when I have children, when I retire, when I buy this or that: then I can be happy and free.

Does that contentment persist? Of course not. But we still seek more acclaim, more money, more material objects, more education. Moving ever outward, never thinking that spending some time moving inward is a better idea. The goal of Won Buddhist practice is to engage in life with a consistency, continuity, and ease that we cannot achieve by acting in a compartmentalized or dualistic way. Living in accordance with our buddha nature is the meaning of Timeless Zen, Placeless Zen.

To me, the position of Wonmu is another vow to act as a living buddha. Just like all Won Buddhist practitioners, the job of the Wonmu is to remember the buddha nature. To remember that we are originally free from disturbance, delusion, and wrongdoing. To remember that we are originally complete and perfect, utterly fair and with no self. Only when we remember this truth can we act accordingly. The light is either on or off. This job is not reserved for Kyomunim or Wonmunim. We all must practice remembering.

Each of us has special talents and a style that certain others will respond to. In fact, Master Sotaesan instructs us to view all others as teachers and to be more eager to teach others, ourselves. That’s the power of the Wonmu concept. How much more expediently can people be converted from a life of resentment to gratitude, than if there are countless Wonmu with countless styles to reach all of them? It’s like fishing with a rod vs dragging a net behind your boat. The rod works well but it’s usually geared to catch particular types of fish, based on the lure and setup that the fisherman has. But a net can catch so many more fish. That’s the vision of Wonmu service. To build a huge net through which all sentient beings can be delivered. A net that we are all part of here.

There’s an adage that goes: “When you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.” I think most of us have heard that before. If only we could find the sort of job that invigorates us, we excel at, and where we feel fulfilled and content. It’s because we’re not truly following “our passion” that we’re discontented, right? But it’s not the passion we need to find. We need to find our original nature, because it is through that passion that we most easily reveal our original nature.

Why do you like running? Because you’re one with your body. Why do you like painting? Because you’re one with the canvas. Why do you like playing music? Because you’re one with the instrument. It’s not the sport, canvas, or music themselves that fulfill us; it’s the connection with our original nature. I’d like to submit that when daily life is buddhadharma, you’ll never work a day in your life.

My time in Won Buddhism so far has taken me to South Korea two times and I have been lucky to experience both of those trips. But the place it’s taken me that’s even more fantastic is to my original nature. Does that sound corny? I admit that it does. But it’s true, and it’s not just true for me. This trip is free, instant, and you’re welcome to come back any time you desire; you simply have to remember.

Thank you to all my teachers and dharma friends, and fellow believers that led me to this day, especially Venerable Juksanim, Beopsan Daesung Song and Intawon Insun Park, my family and all of you today for your generosity, wisdom, patience, and gentle guidance. I’m absolutely honored and humbled to be among the first Wonmunim in the United States, and intend to act as a living buddha for the benefit of my family, friends, coworkers, and everyone I encounter. I hope that this service can inspire all of us to remember the ultimate goal of approaching our lives as buddhadharma and by doing so, be living buddhas capable of creating an infinite net to deliver all sentient beings. Thank you.

[2024년 1월 31일자]