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Sotaesan, the Founding Master |
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 The Great Master Sotaesan,
who was enlightened to
the Truth of Il-Won
The Great Master Sotaesan founded Won Buddhism as the new religion for the new age. In this new age, the development of scientific civilization has led material civilization to dominate the mind and weaken the human spirit. The Great Master Sotaesan founded Won Buddhism to lead all sentient beings drowning in this sea of suffering to a vast and immeasurable paradise. Great Master Sotaesan was born to a common peasant family on May 5, 1891 in Young-Kwang, country Cheon-Nam, province Korea. From early in his childhood he asked a great many questions about the universe, nature, birth, old age, sickness, and death. At the age of 26 on April 28, 1916, he attained enlightenment after 20 years of having taken the path of an ascetic in search of truth.
“All beings are of one Reality and all things and principles originate from one source, where the truth of no birth and no death and the principle of cause and effect operate on an interrelated basis as a single, perfect organ.”
- Won Buddhism started with his great enlightenment to the universe and human life. It is a religion which has formed to lead the new world to a new, awakened civilization.
The Great Master Sotaesan, who founded the new religious order with his nine disciples, offered visions and hopes for a future society of popularized buddhist practice and living, and he made efforts for practicalization, popularization and modernization of Buddha-dharma under the founding motto:
“With this Great Unfolding of material civilization,
Let there be a Great Unfolding of Spirituality.”
As the spiritual leader of Won Buddhism for 28 years, during the dark historical period of World War II, he built a strong spiritual and material foundation of Won Buddhism from the three main undertakings of the order: edification, education, and charity.
Sotaesan, the Great Master, presented a model of communal life with the spirit of selfless sacrifice by constructing Chong-Bu, the main center of Won Buddhism. He lived as an enlightened sage and completed the basic doctrine of Il-Won, the dharmakaya Buddha, the fourfold grace, the four essentials, the threefold study, and the eight articles at Bongrae Monastery.
On June 1, 1943, he entered into nirvana at the age of 53 after he transmitted the verse of Truth to his disciples:
“Being into nonbeing and nonbeing into being, Turning and turning-in the ultimate, Being and nonbeing are both void, Yet this void is also complete.”
His last name was Park, his first name, Chung-bin, and his Dharma title was Sotaesan.
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