Jogye Order Publishes Guidebook to Encourage Monastic Life
'Wise Monastic Living'
'For Those Who Like Buddhism but Fear Becoming a Monk'
“To make ordination easier, we need to offset the sense of distance the public feels towards ordination. For that, efforts from the Buddhist community are necessary.”
On the 14th, Beomhae Sunim, the head of the Education Institute of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, spoke at the publication briefing held at the Buddhist Central Museum located in Jongno, Seoul. [Photo by Seo Mideum]
At a book launch meeting held on the 14th at the Buddhist Central Museum in Jongno, Seoul, Ven. Beomhae, head of the Education Institute of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, emphasized the need for change within the Buddhist community. He stated that without embracing change, it would be impossible to properly address the issue of the declining number of ordinations. Recently, the annual number of ordination hopefuls in the Jogye Order has been around 100, a stark contrast to the 700 who flocked in 1999. As part of encouraging ordination, the Jogye Order published the books Wise Ordination Life and To You Who Like Buddhism but Are Afraid of Ordination.
Wise Ordination Life shares ordination stories directly from ten monks. It challenges the common perception that ordination means cutting ties with the secular world and dedicating oneself solely to ascetic practice in mountain temples. The book introduces cases such as Ven. Junhan, who opened the practice playground “JustBe Hongdae Seon Center” in Hongdae, a popular youth district, and Ven. Muyeo, a YouTube creator whose videos have surpassed 4.4 million views. It also explores the lives of monks who are temple food experts, military monks, and professors within the Buddhist order.
Readers can also access vivid interview videos through QR codes in the book. It introduces various ways of life that are not about “cutting off from the secular world” but “living together with the world.” A Jogye Order official said, “There is a feeling that ordination means giving up on dreams. We wanted to show that even after ordination, there are paths to achieve dreams in various fields, and that such monks exist.”
Ven. Beopjeong, director of the Buddhist Studies Institute who was involved in the book’s publication, said, “There are surprisingly many people who want to ordain but don’t know how to go about it. We collected and included stories from various monks for those people.”
The book To You Who Like Buddhism but Are Afraid of Ordination is a tailored collection of Dharma talks for those dreaming of ordination. It was created for all age groups, from youth to retirees. It explains the meaning and importance of ordination through customized Dharma talks for teenagers, young adults, the general public, and retirees. It also introduces real-life cases of ordination by age group.
Ven. Beomhae said, “The way to escape suffering and complete a happy life lies right here and now, in one’s own thoughts and practice. The lives of the ten monks who strive according to their own convictions and complete the life of a practitioner will serve as a good example for those seeking their life path.”
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