Message from the President of the Taego Order

The Taego Order has inherited over the last 1,600 years a number of valuable traditions and an unbroken lineage.  This makes the Taego Order one of the most important, authentic, Buddhist Orders in Korean.  

We study all the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, including all of His fundamental ideas.  These include self-enlightenment, teaching the path to enlightenment to others and using wise conduct paired with amicable sense.  The Taego Order’s ultimate target is to use authentic Dharma to educate the people, to serve the community, to purify the suffering of all beings and to follow the Bodhisattvayana (Mahayana).  

The Taego Order respectfully follows the teachings of Taego Bowoo, which focus on combining the teaching and Zen schools and also on the integration of samadhi and prajana.  The Taego Order broadly recommends to any Buddhist practitioner to find his or her own method for self-cultivation, such as meditation, study of the sutras, chanting, etc..  Moreover, the Taego Order encourages all practitioners to focus above to obtain the Bodhi (awakening) and to focus below to alleviate the suffering all others, and this embracing of the Bodhisattva commitment is one of the main tenets of our Order.  The Taego Order’s main sutras are the Diamond Sutra and the Flower Ornament Sutra.  The Diamond Sutra’s main teachings are to encourage people to establish the bold wheel of intention and wisdom in order to comprehend that all existence is impermanent.  The Flower Ornament Sutra’s main teachings are based on examining emptiness to understand that the whole is selfless, and therefore, that the wheel of the Dharma follows the law of dependent origination, which inspires people to make their lives unhindered.  

In the last fifty years the Taego Order has had many hardships as a result of the government implementing policies that attempted to break down Buddhist communities.  Under those policies, the Taego Order has lost many monasteries that were the centers of practice for many Monks.  Ultimately, the Taego Order has had to face many obstacles that tried to block the education of the people, the carrying out of community service regarding social issues and the ability for its Monks to self-cultivate.  Nevertheless, the Taego Order has never abandoned its Mission and its responsibility as a traditional, Mahayana School.  The Taego Order will continue its Mission to spread the Buddha-Dharma and to purify the mundane world.  

Presently, the Taego Order has decided to open an official website, albeit a bit later than many other orders, and the motivation for this website is the belief that it will further support the spread of Mahayana beliefs as well as aid in rescuing suffering beings from agony.  This form of multimedia is one of the most modernized implements that can easily support the happiness and convenience of the people, and we will use this modern tool to manifest a modern form of the Dharma, the true Mission for 21^st century Buddhist Orders.  

Venerable In Gong Park

President of the Korean Buddhist Taego Order