Zen and the Art of Press Interviews

Taken from interviews with foreign journalists.

Q: What is the difference between chanting and Zen?

A: Anyone can not only practice Zen but also chant sutras. Anyone can approach chanting easily as a means of practice without a teacher. However, Zen is so specialized that we need an enlightened master in order to practice it in the right way. In a word, there is no practicing Zen without an enlightened master.

Q: How do you spend a day?

A: I breathe hard. Breathing hard, I am living a positive life doing with pleasure anything that comes to me.

Q: I wonder how we can make our lives better by practicing Zen or meditation?

A: Above all, you should know Zen is different from general meditation. Speaking of one of the differences, meditation is hard to practice while doing our jobs in our daily life. We need a silent and convenient place which is easy to reach so as to practice meditation, but you can practice Zen anywhere any time regardless of noise or silence.
Back to the point, you can find out your true self or true nature, in other words you can realize the essence of your being by practicing Zen. Once you find out your true self, everything around you looks different from the way it used to before, and you will feel happiness and comfort you've never felt before. One of the main reasons why modern people are still not happy enough though they have achieved more wealth and more development in science than ever is that they don't know themselves or their true self, I think.

Q: Do you think your view of the world is right?

A: I wonder whether my answer can make you satisfied enough. People tend to divide everything into right and wrong or good and bad. In general morality it is said good is truth but evil is not and justice is truth but injustice is not. However, the concept of Buddhist morality is different from that of general morality. In Buddhism not only good but also evil is truth because in truth exist all the other things as well as good and evil.
Nothing can exist beyond truth. The essence of truth is the purity that is never dyed by good and evil though including them. But I don't deny the fact that general morality is necessary and very important to keep our societies in order. I do mean that Buddhism pursues the freedom of different dimension from that of the freedom mentioned in general. Only after you realize the essence of your being can you attain the freedom.

Q: If I understand rightly, one aspect of Buddhism is renouncing the world to free ourselves from the chaos of the world. But I am confused about it because I like the beauty of the world. Why should we give up the world? Do I misunderstand the nature of Buddhism?

A: You are misunderstanding. Buddhism never tells people to give up the world. Not that Buddhists give up the world, but that ascetics like monks turn their backs on the mundane world for some time to pay all attention to Buddhism so that they may get well acquainted with Buddhism. In fact people become more enthusiastic over the world when they lead right Buddhist lives than they used to be when they were not Buddhist.
The purpose of Buddhism is to set people as free as possible from invisible restraint made by their minds. For example, it is Buddhism that enables people who feel shut in by their jobs to enjoy their jobs.

Q: How long does it take to become a Zen master?

A: It depends. Someone may take less than a year to become a master, but someone else can't become a master even though he practices all his life.

Q: How long does it take to be able to smile like you? Smiling so brightly like you doesn't seem easy.

A: Does my smile look so bright? Maybe I look so because I am happy to see you. I feel as comfortable as if I have known you for a long time.

Written by Master Subul Sunim of Ahnkook Zen Center
Translated by Boo Ahm (Song Soo-kyong)

Monthly Magazine SEOUL(July 2008)