wonbuddhism

Mind Practice

Everything is of our mind’s creation. This is the essence of the Buddha’s teaching (Buddhadharma). This world and our lives are the manifestation of our minds. Depending upon our state of mind, our lives can become happy or wretched, successful, or less than successful.
Won Buddhism, a reformed and modernized Buddhism, teaches us how to use our minds. To use the mind well, we should first know what the mind is like and how it works. Based on that understanding, we should cultivate and use it skillfully in everyday situations.
Whether a one-hundred dollar bill is crisp or crumpled, it has the same value. Our original mind is pure, bright, and wholesome, lacking nothing.
Everyone has a mind and is constantly using it.
The simple study and practice of mind can enrich our lives.
The following are excerpts from diaries written by elementary school students.
They show how the study and practice of the mind changed their lives—from the breaking of bad habits to maintaining a peaceful state of mind in trying situations.

Savings

Sunghee Ahn, 3rd grade

When we broke our piggy banks, I was the one with the least amount of savings for several months. But now it is different. I save the most.
My brother spent around two thirds of his money on snacks between meals, but since I began the fifth grade and was taught by my teacher, 'I am originally a good man.' I do not eat between meals now, because a good person does not eat unnecessary things. For this, my mother often praises me.

Change

Sunghoon Ahn, 5th grade

To prepare for tomorrow’s sewing lesson, I dropped in at a store for needlework materials. The price of the sewing materials was two dollars. I paid for them with a five dollar bill. The storekeeper gave me four dollars as change! It was not three dollars, but four dollars!
When I realized that I should return one dollar, the idea suddenly occurred to me that, “For the first time in many days, I earned money so easily. So let’s keep it.” But I remembered, “No, I am originally a good man.” and checked my mind. I returned one dollar to the storekeeper. I was very proud to do that.

Owing to the study of mind

Jimmying Cheo, 4th grade

Today I stepped out to buy things for tomorrow's class. Mother, at that moment said, "Why on earth are you going out this late at night?" So I got furious, holding the money. My mind was something like a burning forest. But in front of the elevator, I remembered, "A trying situation has arisen," and I thought to myself, "Maybe mother had a reason to get mad." At that moment, my mind became calm as if a fire in the forest was put out by rain. I was so glad.