How are you doing at this challenging and dynamic time? Please follow me and take three deep breaths. How do you feel now? Time after time, I take refuge in my breath and my Seon practice when I am confronted with the unknown, the stressful, or the fearful. It has always been there for me, offering peace and wisdom without fail though sometimes only after heroic struggles. Now I have learned to put trust in it at times of dire personal needs.
My Seon practice isn’t just sitting by myself or with a group, just like it isn’t my own. It connects me with thousands of years of wisdom. The Seon masters in our lineage have lived through times of war, plague, and persecution, just like the rest of humanity. When my teacher, Venerable Yangil, was jailed and tortured by Korea’s military dictatorship in the 70s, Seon was there to sustain him. I’m just coming out of a physically testing period, and Seon has been here to support me. I have hope and faith that this time-tested tradition can be there for you too when you need it the most. It can take courage to sit down and open your heart, but I know you can do it.