Special Report: Ven. Pomnyun Sunim leads 430 practitioners on pilgrimage to India and Nepal in the footsteps of the Buddha

- through Henry Oudin

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Ven. Pomnyun Sunim gives a Dharma teaching at Mahabodhi Temple. Images courtesy of Jungto Society

Revered Korean Dharma master and social activist Venerable Pomnyun Sunim recently led a cohort of 430 Buddhist practitioners on the Jungto Society's 34th annual pilgrimage across India and Nepal, following in the footsteps of the historical Buddha to visit key sites related to his life, spiritual practice, enlightenment and Dharma teachings.

Jungto Society is an international volunteer-run Buddhist community that aspires to embody Buddhist teachings through social engagement and by promoting a simple lifestyle centered on sustainable living. The community seeks to address the crises of modern society, such as greed, poverty, conflict, and environmental degradation, by applying a Buddhist worldview of interconnectedness and life consistent with the principle that everyone can find happiness through Buddhist practice and active participation in social movements.

“Although we call it a pilgrimage because we visit sacred places, from a Buddhist perspective it is not correct to say that there are particularly sacred lands or particularly sacred days. This is because the Buddhist teaching is that all phenomena are empty,” Ven. Pomnyun Sunim explained during his Dharma talk for the opening ceremony on the first day of the pilgrimage.

“A pilgrimage is to follow in the footsteps of Shakyamuni Buddha, our great teacher whom we respect the most and consider our role model. Studying the Buddha’s footsteps through books and videos . . . can be somewhat abstract, limited to memorization or understanding with our minds. The reason for the pilgrimage is to learn vividly how the Buddha actually responded to many of the problems in this world during his time, and how he guided people who were suffering and in anguish to find their way out of suffering.” (Jungto Society)

Running from January 11 to 23, the pilgrimage began in Sarnath, near Varanasi, where the Buddha gave his first Dharma teaching after attaining liberation under the Bodhi tree. Pilgrims took shelter in Buddhist temples en route,

Seated before the Dhamek Stupa in the Deer Park, the site of the Buddha's first Dharma sharing, the 430 pilgrims were formally ordained as renunciates for the duration of the pilgrimage, clad in a symbolic monastic robe and carrying alms bowl, the practitioners took a solemn vow to uphold the precepts, repent for past wrongs and prepare for their spiritual commitment in the days ahead.

The pilgrims then visited the Gayasisa hilltop site where the Buddha delivered his fire sermon, before proceeding to the Sujata Academy in Dunveshwari, a school, health clinic and community centre that Ven. Pomnyun Sunim established over 30 years ago to help local communities of Dalit villagers lift their lives from hunger, illiteracy and disease.

Practitioners visited the nearby Pragbodhi Hills where Siddhartha Gautama practiced austerities for six years after renouncing his former life as a prince. Next, it was on to Bodh Gaya, where Siddhartha would become the Buddha. En route, pilgrims visited the site of Sujata's food offering to the ailing Buddha, before arriving at the Mahabodhi Temple, where Ven. Pomnyun Sunim offered a Dharma teaching for pilgrims under the sacred Bodhi tree.

“The most important teachings of Buddhism are the law of dependent origination and the middle way,” Ven. Pomnyun Sunim explained. “The Buddha discovered the middle path at Pragbodhi Hill and realized the law of dependent origination here in Bodh Gaya where we are now sitting. Terms such as ‘Buddha’, ‘Liberation’, ‘Nirvana’ and ‘Samsara’ were originally used in India. The difference lies in the interpretation of these terms in the Indian tradition compared to Buddhism. However, the middle way and the law of dependent origination are unique to Buddhism and cannot be found in traditional Indian thought. This uniqueness of Buddhism originated here in the Bodh Gaya region.”

The monk continued: “Here the Buddha discovered that neither the traditional pursuit of happiness through hedonism nor the newly emerging asceticism proposed by the new thinkers was the true path to liberation. The only path to liberation was the middle way, which does not lean toward either extreme. Following desires and suppressing desires are not the two reactions to desire. The third path the Buddha discovered is to between these two paths, but one new Path that abandons both. It simply involves being aware of desire without following it or rejecting it. Not reacting to desire is the true way to freedom from desire. . .

“The content of the Buddha’s Enlightenment is, first, the law of dependent origination. The Buddha spoke of dependent origination like this:

“When it exists, it becomes; With the arising of it, it arises. When it does not exist, it does not become; With the cessation of it, it ceases.« 

“A more detailed expression of this law of dependent origination is the 12 links of dependent origination,” Ven. Pomnyun Sunim noted. “The 12 links explain the process of removing the cause of causes. Spatial dependent origination became the teaching of ‘no-self,’ indicating the absence of inherent existence, while temporal dependent origination became the teaching of ‘impermanence’ from the perspective of cause, effect, and change.

“Thus, the law of dependent origination is impermanence and not-self. When one knows the law of dependent origination, all suffering disappears; When one does not know it, one can only suffer. When one knows impermanence and not-self, one attains nirvana; When one does not know impermanence and not-self, all becomes suffering. These are called the three marks of existence. This is the most essential content of what the Buddha realized. The four noble truths are the application of this to help the masses realize it. Recognizing the reality of suffering (the truth of suffering), investigating its cause (the truth of the origin of suffering), realizing that when the cause is extinguished, one attains a state without suffering (the truth of the cessation of suffering), and maintaining eight types of consciousness to prevent the recurrence of suffering (the truth of the path). These are the four noble truths and the noble path of eight times. Thus, the Buddha's teachings are structured in a very simple system. It was later scholars who made the Buddha's teachings more complicated." (Jungto Society)

From Gaya, pilgrims forged ahead to Rajgir, the capital of the Magadha kingdom at the time of the Buddha, visiting several important Buddhist sites: Jethian, the path where King Bimbisara of Magadha greeted the Buddha; Vulture Peak, renowned as the site where the The Lotus Sutra was preached; Venuvana, at Rajagriha, the first Buddhist monastery; and Saptaparni Cave, where the first Buddhist council was held after Buddha mahaparinirvana.

The pilgrimage visited Vaishali, which houses the original relic enshrining the Buddha's relics, and also known as the place where the Buddha first allowed women to become monastics. This was followed by Kushinagar, home to the Kesaria Stupa built by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, the Cunda offering site and the Kakuttha River, before paying homage at the Mahaparinirvana Temple and Ramabhar Stupa.

The practitioners then moved on to visit sacred sites in Nepal: the Ramagram Relic Stupa, the Rohini River and Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, before returning to India to continue their pilgrimage to Sravasti, Jetavana and Sankissa.

“After attaining enlightenment, the Buddha spent his entire life trying to save suffering beings, but the number of beings he saved is only one leaf. The remaining beings are as numerous as the leaves in a forest. We should have the mentality of saving the rest of these leaves. If we approach this attitude, this world will become brighter,” Ven. Pomnyun Sunim told the pilgrims.

“However, there are still countless people in this world who have not yet established a connection with the Dharma. So, starting from our surroundings and extending to the entire world, we must widely spread this wonderful teaching to help many people live freely and without suffering. It is with this aspiration that we engage in Dharma propagation activities. We must practice diligently to become people free from suffering, and then pass this teaching on to those around us so that they can also become free from suffering. This is called ‘seeking enlightenment above and safeguarding sentient beings below.’ In other words, we are called ‘Bodhisattvas,’ beings who strive for illustrations while helping others.

“That is why Mahayana Buddhism forms its Sangha with bodhisattvas. The fourfold assembly includes not only male and female monastics. The Sangha is not composed of believers, but of practitioners. Jungto Society performs pilgrimages with this orientation. That is why you have come on this pilgrimage to become practitioners yourselves.” (Jungto Society)

Ven. Pomnyun Sunim is a widely revered Korean Dharma teacher, author, and social activist. He has founded numerous organizations, initiatives, and projects around the world, including: JTS Korea, an international humanitarian relief organization working to eradicate poverty and hunger; Jungto Society, a volunteer community founded on the teachings of the Buddha and dedicated to solving modern social problems that lead to suffering; EcoBuddha, an organization focused on environmental ethics and sustainable living based on the teachings of the Buddha; and Good Friends, which promotes reconciliation and cooperation between North and South Korea, and provides humanitarian aid to North Koreans. Ven. Pomnyun Sunim is also the patron of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB).

In October 2020, the Niwano Peace Foundation in Japan presented the 37th Niwano Peace Prize to Ven. Pomnyun Sunim in recognition of his international humanitarian work, intensive environmental and social activism, and tireless efforts to build trust and goodwill among communities of different faiths and cultures, toward the goal of world peace. *

* Buddhist monk Ven. Pomnyun Sunim awarded the 37th Niwano Peace Prize (BDG)

See more

Pomnyun
Jungto Society
Jungto
Jungto Dharma School (Jungto)
International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB)

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Henry Oudin

Henry Oudin is a Buddhist scholar, spiritual adventurer and journalist. He is a passionate seeker of the depths of Buddhist wisdom, and travels regularly to learn more about Buddhism and spiritual cultures. By sharing his knowledge and life experiences on Buddhist News, Henry hopes to inspire others to embrace more spiritual and mindful ways of living.

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