[One Sip of a Book] Living Means... Being Where You Should Be, As You Should Be

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This book explores answers to anxiety and worries through the Buddhist philosophy of 'Seon (Zen)'. A dialogue between Masuno Shunmyo, a globally respected Seon monk, and Matsushige Yutaka, an actor familiar as 'Goro-san' from the Japanese drama "Kodokuna Gourmet," guides readers on a journey to find their 'true self.' The conversation follows the stages of the 'Ten Ox-Herding Pictures (Sipudo, 十牛圖),' which depict a ten-step journey of discovering and realizing one's true nature hidden within, through the story of a boy searching for an ox.

There is a saying called ‘Haengjujwa (行住坐臥).’ Haeng (行) means walking, Ju (住) means staying, Jwa (坐) means sitting, and Wa (臥) means lying down. In other words, as long as you are alive, all your actions are practice. It means to do everything sincerely and wholeheartedly. Even when placing an object, you should not just put it down carelessly but hold it with both hands and place it gently, so your mind dwells there. When you spend each moment with care, your mind becomes calm and undisturbed. (pp. 38-39)

In Buddhism, there is a concept called ‘Jebeopmu-a (諸法無我),’ which means that all things in the world exist interdependently. No one exists alone. For example, to drink a cup of coffee, you need the help of many people?from cultivating, harvesting, roasting, to brewing the coffee beans. Everything in the world exists within relationships, and it is very important to recognize that we live within those relationships. (p. 75)

It is not easy to find an answer that feels like ‘this is it’ from the start. And I think finding answers will become even more difficult in the future than in the past. (...) That era will probably not be about Japan as a country, but about how to survive in the world. The scope of finding jobs has expanded from the neighborhood where one was born and raised, to local areas, to all over Japan, and now to the world. Because it has become such a global era, I believe that finding the ‘true self’ as described in the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures has become even more important. (pp. 84-85)

When you are lost, you need to ask your ‘true self’ whether what is right in front of you is indeed the right choice or not. You must draw answers from within yourself with eyes unclouded by prejudice. Because there is no single correct answer in human life. But if you think about it, does a ‘job that suits me’ really exist? I believe there is no such thing as ‘this is my true calling’ from the beginning. Whether a job suits you or not is something created through the process of accumulating effort. If you diligently carry out the given work, eventually it becomes your true calling, doesn’t it? (p. 85)

In Buddhism, this is called ‘Jeukgeumdangcheogagi (卽今當處自己).’ It means ‘Now, here, I live.’ It is a truly simple principle. Ultimately, what matters is doing what you must do here and now?that is all we can do. The principle of the world is simple: ‘What should be, is where it should be, and exists as it should.’ We just need to live according to that natural flow. (p. 247)

Buddhist Mind Lessons | Masuno Shunmyo & Matsushige Yutaka | Translated by Wang Hyeoncheol | RH Korea | 256 pages | 18,000 KRW