Won Buddhism of Richmond
8266 Walnut Grove Rd. Mechanicsville, VA 23111
By: Mark Pownall
History:
Won Buddhism of Richmond is located in Mechanicsville, Virginia, just outside of Richmond, Virginia, and has served as a spiritual home for Richmond since 1999. The organization consists of a temple and meditation center, both of which are open to everyone, including families, students, and those just curious about Won Buddhism. It is clear that Won Buddhism of Richmond places strong emphasis on the community.
As the name indicates, this organization is a branch of Won Buddhism. Won Buddhism was founded in 1916 in Korea by the enlightened Master Sotaesan with the motto “As material civilization develops, cultivate spiritual civilization accordingly”. He established the Headquarters of Won Buddhism in Iksan in 1924 to help his students realize that buddhadharma is everyday life. Although Sotaesan adopted Shakyamuni Buddha as his original guide, with Won Buddhism he set out to modernize the traditional ideas of buddhadharma and make it relevant to the modern world, enabling people to infuse their daily lives with buddhadharma. Won Buddhism now has its fifth Head Dharma Master, Venerable Kyungsan, who was inaugurated in 2006. The emphasis on buddhadharma coincides with the belief that enlightenment can be achieved by everyone in an instant when they see their buddha nature.
The name “Won Buddhism” derives from the Korean compound word “Won-Bul-Kyo,” which means truth, enlightenment, and teaching. Won means circle and is used as a symbol of the ultimate truth and a circle is featured prominently across Won Buddhist media. The circle has been traditionally used to represent the universal truth. Il Won Sang is another circle symbol featured in Won Buddhism and represents the Dharmakaya Buddha, the Buddha Nature of all beings, and the perfect nature of the Buddha’s heart and mind.
Won buddhism shares many key tenets with Mahayana Buddhism; particularly of note is the bodhisattva path and the enlightenment of all sentient beings. However, Won Buddhism has taken a path to further modernize itself through several additional tenets. They accept that materialism is a part of the modern world that cannot be avoided, and as such we must cultivate our spirituality equally so. Won Buddhism also highlights the importance of women in their leadership and ministry, noting how past Buddhist traditions have often overlooked women. Additionally, the importance of inter-religious cooperation is heavily emphasized in the Won Buddhist tradition. Finally, the group is actively involved in social issues such as the environment, education, social and community service, and women’s issues and humanitarian service.
There are three major teachings Won Buddhists follow: The Fourfold Grace, the Threefold Practice, and the Four Great Principles. Grace is the core expression of interdependence and interconnectedness of all things and the Fourfold Grace is the manifestation of Dharmakaya Buddha. This allows Won Buddhists to see the world through the perspectives of co-existence and interdependence. The Threefold Practice is the Won Buddhist summarization of the Noble Eightfold path and consists of the following: Cultivation of Spirit; Inquiry into Human Affairs and Universal Principles; and Choice in Action. Finally, the Four Great Principles include right enlightenment and right practice, awareness of Grace and requital of Grace, practical application of buddhadharma, and selfless service to the public.
As the leaders for inter-religious cooperation movement, Won Buddhists explicitly teach the acceptance of other faiths through the Ethics of Triple Identity. The Ethics of Triple Identity states that “all religions and spirituality are based on a Common Source, all human beings and all forms of life are interdependent as a One Earth Family and all enterprises have a Common Purpose” (Won Buddhism of Richmond). Through this philosophy, Won Buddhism is trying to work with all religions and spiritual groups to help better the world through construction of a world community.
Since the 1970s Won Buddhists have been heavily involved with interreligious dialogue and cooperation at all levels, from local to international. Won Buddhism is accredited by the UN and was a founding member of the Korean Conference of Religions for Peace (KCRP). Additionally, Won Buddhism remains actively engaged in the World Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP), World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB), and Asian Conference of Religions for Peace (ACRP), exemplifying their commitment to a world community and maintaining good relationships with other religious groups, both Western and Asian.
Practices:
Won Buddhism of Richmond.
At Won Buddhism of Richmond, followers are led by Rev. Kea Sung Kim, the sole teacher listed online for this location. Rev. Kim was ordained as a Won-Buddhist priest in 2008 after intense studies in Korea and has served in her role at Won Buddhism of Richmond since 2008. Her specialities have included Taichi practice and Rev. Kim enjoys sharing this with other practitioners as a way of enhancing meditation and bringing about spiritual cultivation.
Rev. Kea Sung Kim.
There is a strong emphasis on meditation at Won Buddhism of Richmond; a motto of the organization is “anytime is a good time to meditate”! There is group meditation every morning from 6am-7am. The group features four main types of meditation: sitting meditation, chanting meditation, walking meditation, and koan meditation.
Sitting meditation helps to calm the wandering of the mind and bring forth the true nature. This meditation also helps the fire energy descend and the water energy to ascend. Chanting meditation is used to focus a distracted mind through the recitation of a Sutra or phrase. At Won Buddhism of Richmond, practitioners chant “NA-MU-AH-MI-TA-BUL”, the Four Great Vows, the Ilwonsang Vow, and and the Heart Sutra. Walking meditation is a form of meditation in action in which the meditator focuses on the awareness of movement and the different components that make up each action. This is just one example of the ways Won Buddhism incorporates into everyday life because walking meditation allows you to transform an ordinary activity into practice for your awakening. They draw some of their walking meditation practices from Thich Nhat Hanh and see it as a way to enjoy the present moment. Finally, koan meditation is a method borrowed from the Zen tradition to directly see one’s buddha nature through the asking of a question.
In addition to the daily morning meditation, Won Buddhism of Richmond offers several other scheduled practices. On Thursdays, there is a Dharma service, where you can learn how Buddhism and meditation can enhance your life. There is also Zen yoga and Taichi offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Additionally, Green Tea Meditation with Kyomunim can be arranged with organization members. When there are no programs scheduled, individuals are welcome to come to the temple during daylight to practice meditation independently.
Won Buddhism of Richmond also provides many brief guides on their website, making it a valuable resource for those interested in the practice of meditation. They provide a general guide to meditation for the beginner, explaining the importance of posture, breathing, and calming the mind, as well as some of the challenges a novice meditator may experience. Further, for each of the four specific types of meditation described above, the website provides a description of how to practice, as well as the benefits of each meditation. Beyond meditation, the website has videos and audio recordings of Dharma Talks, including a video describing what Won Buddhism is. Overall, Won Buddhism of Richmond’s website is a useful resource that should not be overlooked.
Although the temple does not explicitly state the ethnic makeup of their community, browsing the photos on their website shows a diverse group of people. It is also worth noting again that the teacher, Rev. Kim, hails from Korea. Overall, Won Buddhism of Richmond appears to cater to the needs of the everyday person, which is very much in line with Won Buddhism as whole. Throughout their webpage, it is clear that this temple wants to help develop the surrounding community and help to make their community strong by cultivating inner peace. They offer recommendations for how one should conduct themselves at the temple to help facilitate the creation of a sense of oneness between all practitioners.
The temple is maintained through donations and does not require fees to attend programs, although they do ask that attendees make a donation. Donations can be made by check or PayPal to the temple.
Sources:
http://richmond-va.wonbuddhism.org/
All images fromichmond-va.wonbuddhism.org