Whatever you do, wherever you go in Korea, you will find some evidence of how this ancient Buddhist heritage has impacted every aspect of Korean life.Let's take a look back across Korean Buddhism's 1700 year long history and try to sense the breathing life that resides within.
Whaterver you do, wherever you go in Korea, you will find some of the ancient Buddhist heritage which has dominated and influenced every aspect of korean life for the past 1,700 years.
The largest and oldest of the Korean orders is the Jogye Order.
A person joins the Sangha, or monastic community in order to practice harder than he can do in secular life.
His or her aim is to attain a level of spiritual development in order to help others.
The Sangha is the world's oldest monastic organization, dating back some 2,500 years to the original followers of the Buddha Sakyamuni.
Many of Korea's temples were born out of the Seon movement and consequently were built on mountains where the environment was conducive to meditation pratice.
With a virtual end to organized seon meditation in China during the latter half of the 20th century, Korea became and is now widely recongnized as the leading preserver and practitioner nation of the seon tradition of seeking enlightenment with use of a hwadu.
As Korea's largest buddhis sect, Jogye Order has an estimated following of 10million lay disciples.
The order conducts systematic educational programs, regular Dharma talks, and numerous other events at its temples nationwide for its followers.
