Sunim Meets With The Shakya Descendants

Sunim gave a Dharma talk at Sankassa to tens of thousands Shakya descendants. According to organizers, about one hundred thousand people gathered to listen to Sunim’s talk.

Sunim opened up his speech by saying although his face may look different, he’s also a descendant of Shakya because he carries the Buddha Dharma in his heart.

Sunim explained the meaning of Buddha Dharma and what it truly means to see the Buddha. He also talked about the origins of Korean Buddhism.

About 2000 years ago, an Indian royal blood turned Buddhist monk accompanied an Indian princess to the Korean peninsula to propagate Buddhism. The princess married the king of one of the city-states, Kim Suro and since then Buddhism has become a major religion in Korea. He also talked about how so many Korean monks benefitted from studying at Nalanda about 1300 years ago.

Sunim also talked about how he’s been waiting for self-driven efforts from Shakya descendants to establish a Dharma center in Sankassa since 25 years ago when he first visited.

Sunim explained that he’s built schools and hospitals for the Untouchables in the last 25 years but never the Dharma centre, because it’ll mean nothing unless the local population makes a self-driven effort. Sunim said he’s still waiting for the initiative and the will of Shakya descendants, and that he’s ready to donate the land he’s already prepared for this cause at any time.

Lastly, Sunim talked about reviving Buddhism in India and wished that Shakya descendants be the principal actors in bringing about such change.