Yangwoo Buddhist Order is a Buddhist organization where we learn Buddha’s teadhing and achieve the real “Great Freedom” through diligently participating in our daily lives.
Yangwoo Buddhist Order is a Buddhist organization with the aim of fundamentally solving the suffering of all living creatures. In order to overcome sufferings and attain real freedom, we first have to discard everything that restricts us. We have to realize that the substances of the universe is not real. In other words, we have to realize that our current self existence is provisional, thus we need to search for our true self. Yangwoo Buddhist Order was established in order to widely spread the truth that aligns with the modern lifestyle and at the same time, saves all suffering beings.
Moreover, Yangwoo Buddhist Order presents the Mahayana way of learning Buddhism, ‘The Great Freedom in Daily Life’. This method does not force us to leave society but gives us the chance to reach the ultimate enlightenment. Everything that occurs in our life must be understood as a foundation to perfect ourselves. Therefore all difficulties and pain should be treated as catalysts to perfect ourselves, only then, we can reach full enlightenment even when surrounded by agony and obstacles.
Yangwoo Buddhist Order mainly rely on Vimalakirti Sutra. Vimalakirti Sutra is the most influential and outstanding Mahayana Sutra that Buddha approved for future generation. The practice ‘The Great Freedom in Daily Life’ is also based on Vimalakirti Sutra.
Gautama Buddha himself, has taught us the path of Mahayana Buddhism. However, since people back then had low tenacity, Buddha lead his disciples to renounce the world in order to teach them, and brought them back to world of suffering beings to spread Buddha’s teaching.
Mahayana means big wagon for all of suffering beings to reach the path of enlightenment. Mahayana Buddhism’s fundamental idea is to have mindset of Bodhisattva. This is possible by improving oneself and leading suffering beings to the path of enlightenment by sharing joy and suffering, and practicing “Six Perfections” and “Eightfold Correct Path”.
Vimalakirti, a successful entrepreneur in Buddist era, teached the core of the Buddhism and actively spread the Mahayana Buddhism. He told that one should do spiritually renounce the world (心出家), if one truely knows the value of the enlightenment and is eager to look for it. Spiritually renouncing the world (心出家) is an idea that one should dutifully accept their karmic affinity but at the same time, put effort to detach from karmic affinity.
SangGuBoRiHwaWaJungSaeng(上求菩提下化衆生)
Most importantly, one should seek wisdom and enlightenment from Buddha, but at the same time, should lead all the suffering beings to Buddhism and spiritually mature them.
CheoCheoDoRyang(處處道場)
One who practices Buddhism treats every ground as their temple. The temple or sanctum isn’t the only place to practice Buddhism. Anywhere where one’s able to practice Buddha’s teaching, is the temple to improve yourself and all the suffering beings.
YoJungSeon(搖中禪)
While in the midst of greed,anger and ignorance (貪瞋癡), one must not be affected by it by knowing the very principle of Mahayana.
CheoYeomSangJeong(處染常淨)
Like a lotus blossoming from the mud, must not get tainted by the worldly desires and guide the suffering beings with sincere heart.
The Great freedom is to be free from the bondage of the mind, the intervention of spirits, and the underlying principles of the universe. The Great Freedom in Daily Life means to transform one’s mind like a Bodhisattva does, by treating obstacles and suffering as foundation to achieve wisdom and good karma.
In the literal sense, the “Yangwoo” means “two universes” like the symbol ∞. The universe itself is in continuous flow. When energy from one universe flows to another, it turns invisible and ceases to exist. Like such, the universe continously repeats this process of birth and death, and therefore, is stuck in samsara. Naturally, this applies to all the living creatures in the universe.
Every individual in the universe must face suffering caused by samsara. Nobody can flee from the agony of birth & death, aging & illness, cause & effect and natural selection where the strong takes all. That is the reason why nobody can flee from suffering. Yangwoo Buddhist Order pursues the ‘Middle Way’ (中道), which is to be aware of the fact that there is no real self in the universe and that even the two universes are not real (空).
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