[One Thousand Characters a Day] Hwaeomgyeong for Humanities Readers <2> - The True Self of 'Na'

Editor's NoteThe is regarded as a guideline for practice and a foundation for life that anyone following the teachings of Buddhism should rely on. Numerous Buddhist scriptures teach that the true self is to be rightly seen through non-self (無我) and dependent origination (緣起) to be freed from all suffering, but the states that the true self thus found is none other than the Buddha himself. Furthermore, it discusses why and how the 'self' is the Buddha, and if so, what the 'self' should do. Park Boram, professor of philosophy at Chungbuk National University and author of , mainly researches the and the philosophy of the Hwaeom school formed in East Asia based on it. In particular, she focuses on the Tathagata manifestation theory, which states that the 'self' here and now, as discussed by Monk Uisang and his Dharma heirs who form the core of Korean Buddhism, is a Tathagata without any deficiency, striving to understand its meaning and realize it in life. Word count: 812.

If the is said to perfectly expound the Buddha, the true nature of all beings, then what best reveals the true nature of the 'self'? It is none other than the 'self' itself. Just as the apple and the pen in front of my eyes right now best represent their true nature, the 'self' existing here and now most vividly and perfectly reveals its true nature as the 'self' itself. Therefore, the 'self' is the . By the same logic, the apple, the pen, this book you are reading, you, and all phenomena in the universe are all the in the sense that each vividly reveals its own existence.

Although the 'self' is said to be the , in Buddhism, which teaches the law of dependent origination that all things arise conditioned by causes and relations, if the 'self' were always the regardless of conditions and relations, then it would neither be Buddhism nor the . For the 'self' to be the , there must be the realization that the 'self' best reveals its true nature, and that true nature is none other than the Buddha. Therefore, if one fully realizes that the 'self' is the Buddha without any deficiency, that 'self' is the , which in early Hwaeom teachings is also called the Dharmakaya Buddha Vairocana. By the same logic, if I see or hear you and fully realize that your true nature is the Buddha, then you are the and the Dharmakaya Buddha Vairocana, and the same applies to the apple and the pen. That is why it has been said since ancient times, "Every single phenomenon is none other than the true Dharmakaya Vairocana." This is the original aspect of the as understood in early Hwaeom teachings.

- Park Boram, , Bulgwang Publishing, 16,000 KRW

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