Cheonghwa ( 1923 ~ 2003 )

The Great Spiritual Master Cheonghwa was born at Mu-an in Cholla Province in 1923. After graduating from Gwangju Educational College, he went to Japan to study more. Returning home, he founded a public school and taught students at his hometown. However, he renounced the job upon seeing many conflicts between left wing and right wing ideology of that time, and left home to seek truth. He became a monk under the direction of Master Geumta at Unmun Hermitage at Baekyang sa Temple at the age of 24.

 

He moved through many meditation halls and hermitages over the whole country to practice, keeping silence, never lying down, and taking one meal a day.  He started to instruct sentient beings when he was over 60 years old, after such a long time of practice, around 1985. With the intention of dissemination of Korean Buddhism in other countries, in 1992 he opened the Diamond Meditation Center in California, and served as a member of the Council of Elders for the Jogye Order until entering nirvana.  He always focused his mind on keeping precepts and a simple life. He taught that samadhi (concentration) comes from keeping precepts, and wisdom follows samadhi.

 

His contribution to modern Korean Buddhism was to suggest "Seon with recollecting Buddha's name" in an atmosphere tending toward hwadu meditation. He claimed "the Buddha's name, for example Amitabha Buddha or Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, is a hwadu itself that the Buddha shows us.  This new way of practice is in harmony with personal spiritual capacity, without opposing hwadu meditation.  It makes you find that you and Buddha are not two, to recollect Buddha's name repeatedly while praying for what you wish."

 

He passed away on November 12, 2003. He was 80 years old, 57 years of Dharma age.

His last day was the same as other days.  Though he was not in good shape for the last couple of months, he had kept on taking one meal a day and never lying down as practice. He took only a simple lunch and had dharma talks with his disciples. Around late afternoon, he took a walk in the courtyard in front of the Main Hall, saying that it was time for him to leave, looking long at Ji-ri Mountain far away. He finally lied down to take a long rest after more than 40 years, and asked the disciples to "practice hard in order to help sentient beings.  That is the way to pay back Buddha's blessing." 

His last Gatha is:

I do not care about coming or going
Either to this samsara or to nirvana
Receiving Buddha's blessings as countless as the whole universe
I deplore that my return for this is a tiny stream.

Bodhi Meditation  

- by the Venerable Geumta Dae Hwa Sang(Master Cheonghwa's teacher) 
- translated into English at Sambo Temple in California, USA
MIND is like empty space, without a trace of cloud or a spot of shadow. Perceive the mind-realm like great, vast and infinite empty space. At the same time, recollect the pure Dharma body, Vairocana Buddha.

In this void-like mind-realm, perceive the ocean of essential Dharma nature like an overflowing ocean of infinitely pure clear water with radiant golden light surpassing that of sun and moon. At the same time, recollect the perfect and infinite body, Rocana Buddha.

All beings: internally, the formless beings of thoughts that arise and disappear; and externally, beings without conciousness such as the sun, moon, and stars, the mountains and rivers, and great earth and all of Nature; as well as beings with consciousness such as mankind and animals, crawling creatures and so on. Perceive all these beings as bubbles playing in the radiant golden waves without wind within the ocean of essential Dharma nature. At the same time, recollect the countless incarnation bodies, Sakyamuni Buddha.

Again, perceive collectively that the clear empty MIND realm, the pure ocean of essential Dharma and all beings like bubbles not different from one another these three realms are the oneness. At the same time, recollect the Trikaya (three bodies) - the pure Dharma body (Vairocana Buddha), the perfect and infinite body (Rocana Buddha) and the myriad incarnation bodies (Sakyamuni Buddha) - are the infinite oneness, Amita Buddha.

Contemplate and perceive that the transitory actions of all countless beings, all phenomena arising and disappearing internally and externally, are the innumerable manifestations of the MIND, the appearance of the great actions of Amita Buddha

* 菩提方便門보리방편문 (원문)

心은虛空과等할새片雲隻影이無한廣大無邊한虛空的心界를觀하면서淸淨法身인달하여毘盧遮那佛을念하고此虛空的心界에超日月의金色光明을帶한無垢의淨水가充滿한海象的性海를觀하면서圓滿報身인달하여盧舍那佛을念하고內로念起念滅의無色衆生과外로日月星宿山河大地森羅萬象의無情衆生과人畜乃至蠢動含靈의有情衆生과의一切衆生을性海無風金波自湧인海中　로觀하면서千百億化身인달하여釋迦牟尼佛을念하고다시彼無量無邊의淸空心界와淨滿性海와　相衆生을空性相一如의一合相으로通觀하면서三身一佛인달하여阿彌陀佛을常念하고內外生滅相인無數衆生의無常諸行을心隨萬境轉인달하여彌陀의一大行相으로思惟觀察할지니라

 

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