Supreme Patriarch offers prayers for all victims of Korean War, calamities

(By Han Yuri) His Eminence the Most Venerable Jinje Beobwon, the Supreme Patriarch of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, offers a special sermon and prayers at Suryuk Mucha Daeje (literally, the Sea-Land Non-Discriminatory Memorial Prayer Service) at the Head Temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism in Seoul on May 17, 2015.

In the sermon, the Supreme Patriarch prays for the deceased souls of the members of the Republic of Korea (south) Armed Forces, the United Nations Forces, the (North) Korean People’s Army, the Chinese Armed Forces and all the civilians; the departed souls of the victims of the Sewol Ferry Vessel; the victims of the earthquakes in Nepal, and all the departed souls of those on land and at sea without the families or friends. (The English translation of the sermon and prayers released by the Order is at the end of this article.)
The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism hosts a Grand Memorial Prayer Service at the Main Buddhist Temple of the Jogye Order in Jongno-gu, Seoul on Sunday May 17, 2015 with the participation of some 300 famed Buddhist leaders from various countries of the world, which is the largest of its kind so far in the history of Korean Buddhism.
The grand prayer meeting is for the peaceful unification of the Korean peninsula and peace of the world hosted on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Korea’s Liberation from Japan as well as for soothing the souls of the victims of all the countries of the world who took part in the Korean War of 1950-53.
The event, which is held for three days on May 15-18, 2015, will also take place at the Gwanghwamun Square in front of the Central Government Building in Gwanghwamun in Seoul, the Hyeonchungsa Shrine and the Bongeun-sa Buddhist Temple south of the Han River.

The total 300 noted religious leaders of Korea and the world include famed Buddhist leaders from 19 different countries of the world, including the famous country of the Kalmikiya Republic of Russia, Australia, France and various other countries of Europe.
Among the Asian Buddhist leaders expected to attend the meeting are Venerable Tepbong (the ‘Buddhist King’ of Cambodia) who already visited Korea in September 2010.
Also expected to visit Korea on this occasion are Venerable Badanta Jotiaka Sayady (phonetic) of Myanmar who is concurrently the president of the State Pariyata Sasana (phonetic) University.
Other famed Buddhist leaders of the world attending the grand Buddhist event are the vice president of the Chinese Buddhist Association, the president of Japan-Korea Buddhist Association, the vice president of the Sri Lankan Buddhist Association and the president of the Lamanya Buddhist Order.
An estimated total of over 100,000 lantern bearers will have a parade at the Gwanghwamun Square from six p.m. This meeting named Mucha Daehoe is open to anyone and everyone and participation is unlimited. This meeting is for all the Buddhist leaders and believers to become one in supplicating peace for the Korean peninsula and the world.
A lantern parade and procession will start from the Dongdaemun (East) Gate and proceed to the main venue, Ganghwamun, with some 70,000 Buddhist believers carrying a total of 100,000 lotus lanterns.
On the morning of Sunday May 17, there will be held a Suryuk Mucha Buddhist Rite (a rite to sooth the dead souls on land and in the sea as well as in the heaven), who died during the Korean War. Here food will be offered to the dead souls. This meeting is expected to be attended by the ambassadors of the various countries of the world as well as the Korean War Veteran countries.

His Eminence the Most Venerable Jinje Beobwon, the Supreme Patriarch of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, “I expect that this Buddhist event will be the largest such meeting in the world for the promotion of peace not only on the Korean peninsula but also for the entire world. I am sure that the meeting is unprecedented.”
Over 200,000 expected to attend Buddhist prayer in Seoul for world peace on May 16-19, 2015.

Sermon and prayers by the leader of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism:
His Eminence the Most Venerable Supreme Patriarch Jinje Beobwon of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism presents a Dharma Talk for the Great Equal Water and Land Ceremony
By His Eminence the Most Venerable Jinje Beobwon of the Supreme Patriarch of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism:
To all the spirits of those who sacrificed their lives during the Korean War, including soldiers of the Korean armed forces, soldiers of the sixteen UN nations, North Korean soldiers, Chinese soldiers and many civilians!
To all the spirits of those who lost their lives in the Sewol Ferry disaster!
To all the spirits of those who have died on land, in the ocean or in any river, whether your descendants offered you a memorial ceremony or not!
In my earnest wish for you to let go of all clinging love, attachments, resentments and lingering remorse, and in my earnest wish for you to celebrate forever the joy of Truth in the blissful sphere of the Buddha’s land, I offer this lofty and noble Dharma talk to you. I hope you accept and embrace it well.

Life is but a fragment of the razor-sharp sword of Truth.
Death is but a fragment of the razor-sharp sword of Truth.
The razor-sharp sword of Truth emits a brilliant light.
This light breaks and shatters the four continents.
This is the mind of all Buddhas.
This is the mind of all Patriarchs.
This is the inherent pure mind of all sentient beings.

In this pure mind there is no birth and death, no coming and going.
It can be as vast as one billion worlds, or as small as a tiny speck of dirt.
It is inconceivably free and one’s response to it can be boundless.
An offering like this is presented to the Buddhas of the three ages.
An offering like this is presented to all beings in the cycle of existence.
An offering like this is presented to all spirits who have passed away on land.
An offering like this is presented to all spirits who have passed away in rivers and oceans.
Is this mind or Buddha?
If one knows that this is neither mind nor Buddha,
A great teacher from the South allows the knowing.
A great teacher from the South doesn’t allow the knowing.