[One Sip of a Book] ‘Mamgosaeng Cream Cake’ Written by a Priest Running an Internet Cafe

Some sentences encapsulate the entire content of the book itself, while others instantly reach the reader's heart, creating a connection with the book. We introduce such meaningful sentences excerpted from the book. - Editor's note

This book is a collection of early morning meditation writings by Father Jo Myeong-yeon, who has been serving as the dedicated priest of the Gapgot Martyrdom Sanctuary in Ganghwado and running the internet cafe "Padaking Father and Opening the Dawn" for over 20 years. The cafe has about 25,000 members. When he started the cafe, middle school students gave him the nickname "Padaking" because his voice sounded smooth, and he still uses it today. He lost both of his parents in the past two years. Although he has witnessed many deaths and conducted funeral masses as a priest, he confesses that in the face of his parents' deaths, he could only realize that he was a weak and imperfect human being.

Pain in Latin is "Passo." From this Latin word, the derivative "Passion" comes, meaning zeal or enthusiasm. This word makes us think that passion cannot arise without pain. In fact, passion and pain move in the same direction. It is just that passion grows so much that it is not perceived as pain.

From "Another Word for Pain"

What we see before our eyes now may be factual but cannot be called the truth. Truth does not reveal itself within a specific time and space. Therefore, one should not think that their current judgment is absolutely correct. Hence, a mindset of thinking and judging once more is always necessary. Within that mindset lies the seed of the world that will unfold in the future.

From "The Eye That Sees Truth, Not Fact"

How happy we are now determines our future happiness. Those who are happy now are likely to be happy in the future, and those who are unhappy now are likely to remain unhappy. Therefore, we must seek happiness right now. We must break free from the misconception that sacrificing today will make the future happy. Groundless anxiety and fear about the future, as well as overly optimistic attitudes, are monsters that gnaw away at and grow within our present lives.

From "The Monster Called Fear"

Mamgosaeng Cream Cake | Written by Jo Myeong-yeon | Param Book | 280 pages | 15,500 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.