Pomnyun

Venerable Pomnyun attended Gyeongju High School and was initially interested in becoming a scientist. However, while he was studying for his semester finals in the 10th grade, he had a chance encounter with the Buddhist monk, Venerable Domun, who later became his Buddhist teacher.^[8] Venerable Domun was a disciple of Venerable Yongsung, who was one of the 33 leaders of the Korean independence movement in 1919, and Venerable Pomnyun also became heavily influenced by Venerable Yongsung's nationalistic views.^[8] At the age of 16, Venerable Pomnyun took his vows as a Buddhist novice under Venerable Domun's tutelage.^[7]

After finishing high school, he became involved in peasant movements and Buddhist educational programs during the dictatorship of President Park Chung Hee.^[7] In 1979, he was once arrested and tortured on the suspicion that he was sending money to an activist group.^[7] To, Venerable Pomnyun, the arrest and torture was an important awakening moment for him.^[7]

In the past, I was a warrior for democracy, fighting for social justice. I hated dictators and in protesting against them, I was prepared to sacrifice myself for the realization of justice. I was frequently voicing complaints about other people, as my mind was always in darkness. When I truly awakened to the teachings of the Buddha and could see the world as it really is, however, I realized that it did not matter who was right and who was wrong because these were just different points-of-view. Dictators, military leaders, imperialists, exclusionary religious organizations, and groups pursuing their own selfish interests.... they are not enemies to defeat, they are simply people or groups whose point-of-view is different from mine. I came to understand that from their position, they are also doing what they think is best.^[7]

In 1988, at the age of 35, Venerable Pomnyun was convinced that "the time has come for social activism and Buddhism to become one" so he established Jungto Society.^[7] Jungto Society is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization that operates several programs:^[8]

JTS ("Join Together Society") is an international NGO relief organization with the aim of fulfilling the goals that: #1) The hungry should have food. #2) The sick should receive treatment. #3) Children should have access to education.^[8]

Ecobuddha is a corporation originally established in 1994 under the name "Korean Buddhist Environmental Education Institute" that applies the teachings of the Buddha towards environmental preservation.^[8]

Good Friends was established in order to promote reconciliation and cooperation between the North and South Koreans, provide humanitarian aid to North Korean residents suffering from extreme economic hardship, carry out activities to improve the human rights situation of North Korean refugees, and advance peaceful reunification of the two Koreas through cooperation with Koreans living overseas.^[8]

The Peace Foundation focuses on ways to resolve North Korea's nuclear weapons stance, human rights issues, and to study how best to prepare for the unification of the two Koreas, including specifics of the systematic approach to achieving unification and building a unified Korea.^[8]

• 2011: POSCO TJ Park Prize, POSCO TJ Park Foundation

• Prayer: Letting Go. Jungto Publishing. 2014. ISBN 978-89-85961-84-4.
• True Wisdom: Ten Precious Guidelines from Bowang Sammaeron for a Happy Life. Jungto Publishing. 2013. ISBN 978-89-85961-80-6.
• True Freedom: The one Thing that Happy People Have in Common. Jungto Publishing. 2011. ISBN 978-89-85961-68-4.
• True Happiness: Here and Now. Jungto Publishing. 2010. ISBN 978-89-85961-64-6.
• Awakening. Jungto Publishing. 2015. ISBN 978-89-85961-98-1.
• A Monk's Reply to Everyday Problems. Jungto Publishing. 2018. ISBN 979-11-87297-16-1.

• Buddhism in Korea
• Buddhism in the United States
• List of peace activists