The Buddha: A True Revolutionary

Through the Buddha’s Eyes, Through His Life

Beopryun 지음

정토출판 2025년 04월 30일 출간 국내도서 : 2025년 04월 30일 출간

작품소개

책소개

These were the questions that troubled a twelve-year-old boy named Siddhartha as he witnessed the suffering of people in the world. He left behind his royal life and set out into the world in search of answers. The man who came to be known as the Buddha lived his entire life as a seeker of truth and a revolutionary in a world filled with discrimination and violence, working to create a world where everyone could be happy! In this book, Ven. Pomnyun Sunim traces the footsteps of the human Buddha, expressing his deep reverence for his teacher along the way.

After leaving the palace, Siddhartha began a path of extreme asceticism in search of answers to his questions. Through the Law of Dependent Origination and the Middle Way, he ultimately attained the supreme enlightenment that no one had found before. Thus, he became Buddha, the Enlightened One.
The Buddha did not stop at his own enlightenment. He devoted his life, until the moment of his passing, to helping all sentient beings who were suffering. However, the era he lived in was oppressive, and society was merciless. Endless wars broke out among the more than 300 large and small kingdoms. One’s social class was considered fate, and for most people, it was an inescapable yoke. Women, even those with talent and wealth, were denied rights. It was a world where "building one's happiness upon others' suffering" was taken for granted. The Buddha refused to accept this as the way things had to be.

"In the Buddha's Dharma, all are one."
"Love your people as you would your only child."
"Allow women to be ordained."
"Do not spill precious human blood over something as trivial as water."
The Buddha recognized the rights of women, rejected class discrimination among his disciples, urged kings to place their people first, and preached the pursuit of peace. His words and actions challenged the oppressive and merciless world order of his time.

"Anyone who attains enlightenment can become a Buddha." Furthermore, he taught that by escaping ignorance and attaining enlightenment, one could be liberated from all suffering. While the Buddha’s personal enlightenment was extraordinary, this declaration itself was truly revolutionary. His teachings were revolutionary and shook the foundation of the existing social order.

Upon reflecting deeply on the life of the Buddha, Ven. Pomnyun Sunim realized that the Buddha was a revolutionary who transcended the limitations of his time and opened a new world. The Buddha's life embodies both personal practice and social engagement. This is the teaching that the revolutionary Buddha offers us. To share this insight with the public, Ven. Pomnyun Sunim gave a series of Dharma talks on EBS, which have been compiled into this book. Through this book, I hope you can imagine the world that the revolutionary Buddha aspired to create and be inspired to take just a small step toward realizing it. That, indeed, is how we carry on the legacy of the Buddha’s teachings.

목차

Preface _ Meet the Revolutionary Buddha

Chapter 01_ In a Life of Abundance, Anguish Begins
The Birth of the Buddha
India’s Natural Environment and History
The Anguish of Young Siddhartha

Chapter 02_Siddhartha Realizes the True Nature of the World
Siddhartha’s Ascetic Practice
Attainment of Enlightenment

Chapter 03_The Buddha Begins to Spread the Dharma
to Liberate Sentient Beings
The First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma
Laying the Foundation for Spreading the Dharma
The Ordination of the Great Disciples

Chapter 04 _Equality, the Right of All Human Beings
Women Are Half of the World
Spreading the Dharma with Equality and Compassion
Steps Toward Peace
Not Wavering in the Face of Criticism and Slander

Chapter 05_When You Meet the Buddha, You Are the Buddha
Freedom from Old Age, Sickness, and Death: The Path to Nirvana
Formation of the Buddhist Order and the History of the Spread of the Dharma
If You Free Yourself from Anguish, You Are a Buddha

책 속으로

It is said that Siddhartha's critical awareness began at age twelve when he participated in a farming festival. Following his father outside the palace for the first time, he was shocked by the scenes of ordinary life he encountered. Farmers were plowing the fields, but they appeared extremely emaciated, covered in dirt, wearing torn clothes, and their faces were distorted with suffering. They were nothing like the people Siddhartha had seen in the palace. Saddened, Siddhartha asked the farmers, “Why are you living in such suffering?” It was then that he vaguely realized that the comfort and abundance he had enjoyed were not simply given but built upon the suffering of others.

Siddhartha decided to renounce the world. However, knowing it would be impossible to gain his parents’ permission, he secretly left home at night and began the life of an ascetic. Having finally become a practitioner, which he had wanted to for over 10 years, he thought he would soon attain enlightenment. He endured the harsh sounds of wild animals, was bitten by insects, and suffered through hunger and cold. Memories of warm beds and nourishing food crept into his mind. As time passed, he was increasingly consumed by doubt and regret. When Siddhartha recognized his own feelings of remorse, he rebuked himself. Reflecting on his inadequacies and foolishness, Siddhartha decided it would be difficult to practice alone and set out to find a teacher.

Siddhartha entered Dungeshwari, a forest near Gaya where corpses were abandoned, and devoted himself to six years of extreme asceticism. Despite his intense practice, he was unable to attain enlightenment. At that point, Siddhartha reflected deeply on his life. In his youth before renouncing the world, he had simply followed his desires. Although satisfying those desires brought joy and pleasure, the path of hedonism did not lead to true liberation from suffering. After renouncing the world, he then swung to the opposite extreme, walking the path of asceticism, denying and suppressing all desires. However, Siddhartha realized that both indulging in desires and suppressing them were extremes and not the true path to liberation. It was then that he discovered a third way of letting go of both extremes. This is called the "Middle Way."

Having discovered a new path and a new perspective, the Buddha sat beneath a Bodhi tree in a lush forest across the river, on a seat of Kusha grass given by a shepherd boy, and practiced diligently. The Buddha no longer practiced with rigid determination, firm resolution, and tension. Instead, he practiced with ease, maintaining a clear awareness. Under the Bodhi tree, he entered deep meditation in a state of peace. In the stillness of the early morning, when the morning star appeared in the sky, he finally attained enlightenment. It was as if a light had been turned on in the darkness, revealing the true nature of the world. Until then, the world had seemed like a collection of countless independent entities, competing with one another for survival. But when the Buddha attained enlightenment, he saw that the true nature of the world was not like that. All beings are not separate and independent; they are all interconnected. This is known as “dependent origination.”

Upon realizing the Law of Dependent Origination and seeing the true nature of reality, all the questions the Buddha had as a child were resolved. In the Indian caste system, it was believed that Brahmins and royalty were inherently separate from commoners and slaves. However, the Buddha saw that all beings were interconnected. Similarly, in any society, nobles and commoners are not inherently distinct; they exist in relation to one another. If commoners disappear, nobles also disappear; if nobles vanish, so do commoners.

Thus, the Buddha taught that notions of superiority and inferiority are not intrinsic to beings themselves but are merely errors in human perception. At the time, this realization was profoundly revolutionary. He expressed it this way: "This exists because that exists; this ceases because that ceases. This arises because that arises; this perishes because that perishes."

Venerable Ananda, who attended to the Buddha, once approached him and asked, "Can a woman not attain enlightenment if she renounces the world and practices diligently?" The Buddha answered that women, too, could achieve enlightenment through dedicated practice.
Ananda then asked again, "Then why do you not allow women to renounce the world and join the monastic order?"
Persistently, Ananda continued, "Please allow women to enter the monastic community under your precepts and teachings." The Buddha eventually said, "I allow the ordination of women." Thus, women's ordination was permitted.

The Buddha’s decision to allow women to join the monastic community was truly groundbreaking for the time.
Even today, in the 21st century, Catholic nuns cannot be ordained as priests. In India, gender discrimination remains even more severe than caste discrimination. Allowing women to be ordained 2,600 years ago in such a society was far more revolutionary than we might imagine. The ordination of women can be seen as the beginning of women's liberation and gender equality. In particular, the fact that women could have their own names, independent of being someone’s daughter, wife, or mother, was a remarkable achievement. Through ordination as bhikkhunis, women were able to claim their own identity for the first time. The Buddha was truly a pioneer of women’s liberation.

The Buddha did not discriminate against the untouchable outcastes, who were believed to be impure and capable of tainting others through physical contact. Instead, he taught them the Dharma and guided them with compassion. One of the most well-known examples is the story of Nidai, a man who carried human waste. One day, the human waste Nidai was carrying splashed not only on his own clothes but also on the Buddha’s robes. Horrified, Nidai fell to his knees and begged for forgiveness, believing he had committed an unforgivable offense. However, the Buddha gently took his hand, helped him up, and led him to a river. After washing their clothes together, the Buddha asked, “What happened after washing the clothes?” Nidai answered, “They became clean.” The Buddha then said, “Exactly. This cloth was not inherently dirty. It became dirty because something unclean stained it, but once washed, it became clean again. In the same way, no person is born impure. People only become tainted by impurities. Just as we wash dirt off cloth, you can cleanse impurities from your heart.”

A young man was struggling with his practice. He went to the Buddha and asked, "The Brahmins say that no matter how many sins a person commits, if they bathe in the Ganges River, all their sins will be washed away, and they will be reborn in heaven. Is that true?" Hearing this, the Buddha smiled and said, "If what the Brahmins say was true, then the fish living in the Ganges would be the first to be reborn in heaven."

Ananda asked the Buddha, "We have gained great merit by offering alms to you, but where should we make offerings to gain great merit after you enter nirvana?" The Buddha replied, "Ananda, do not worry. There are four ways in this world to gain the same merit as making offerings to the Buddha. First, offer food to the hungry. Second, give medicine to those who are ill and help them heal. Third, support and comfort the poor and the lonely. Fourth, protect and support those who practice with purity."

Up to this point, we have reexamined the life of the human Buddha from a modern perspective-a person who lived as a practitioner, an enlightened one who showed compassion to the marginalized, and a revolutionary who transcended his era. By reflecting on the life of Siddhartha who lived as a man within the society of ancient India, we come to realize that the Buddha was a true revolutionary. He was not a revolutionary who changed t

출판사 서평

"A Human, Not a God: The Revolutionary Thinker Who Sparked a Quiet Rebellion"

In The Buddha-A True Revolutionary, Ven. Pomnyun Sunim, known for his Dharma Q&As invites us to reflect through the life of the Buddha: “Why have we stopped asking questions? Why have we ceased to think deeply?”

This book does not portray the Buddha merely as a mediator or a religious symbol. The Buddha confronted suffering head-on, attained enlightenment, challenged the social structures of his time, and brought changes through his actions. He allowed women to be ordained, built a community without class distinctions, and changed the world through critical thinking.

In this book, Ven. Pomnyun Sunim strips away the myths surrounding the Buddha and portrays him as a practitioner, a thinker, and an activist. Retelling the Buddha’s life in today’s language, the book ultimately asks us, living in the present, a profound question: "After enlightenment, what will you do?"

The Buddha said that anyone who attains enlightenment like he did can become a Buddha. We perceive only as much as we know and understand only as much as we perceive. Thus, before discussing abstract ideas beyond our grasp, we must first understand the Buddha as a human being and a practitioner within the three-dimensional world we live in.

From this perspective, Ven. Pomnyun Sunim reveals the Buddha as a revolutionary. It is easy to accept that the Buddha’s life was revolutionary, both personally and socially: Despite his position as a prince that guaranteed a comfortable life, he suffered from existential suffering. He eventually left home to live as an ascetic, subsisting on alms and sleeping under the open sky. He explored every path without hesitation to attain enlightenment, including six years of extreme asceticism. Ultimately, he attained enlightenment and became the Buddha.

The Buddha's subsequent social revolution truly transcends his era. The society of the Buddha's disciples and practitioners evokes the ideal democratic society we strive for today but have yet to perfect. His teachings to the people likewise embodied social engagement as a natural extension of enlightenment. Considering the rigid caste and monarchical systems of ancient India, the very existence of such a community was nothing short of a revolution. Perhaps it was only possible because of the Buddha.

Ven. Pomnyun Sunim says that it was his discovery of the "revolutionary Buddha" that caused him to turn back from abandoning his path as a monk. Disillusioned with the reality of institutional Buddhism, he almost walked away, but the Buddha’s revolutionary spirit reignited his commitment.

In The Buddha-A True Revolutionary, presents Ven. Pomnyun Sunim’s complete account of the Buddha’s life, from birth to parinirvana. Without relying on mythical elements, it sheds light on the Buddha as a human being and a practitioner who lived within the historical realities of India 2,600 years ago.

Anyone who reads this book will surely discover the revolutionary spirit in the Buddha’s life. Meeting him again in the context of our times, readers will be inspired to ask: What teachings would the Buddha offer to awaken and transform us in the face of today’s challenges of climate crisis, the threat of war, widening inequality, rampant materialism and consumerism, and rising collective selfishness?

작가정보

저자(글) Beopryun

Ven. Pomnyun Sunim is a peace activist who delivers messages of peace and reconciliation, an activist supporting developing countries, a thinker working toward the transformation of human civilization, and an awakened practitioner. In 1988, he founded Jungto Society, a community of practitioners dedicated to living the bodhisattva path-vowing to become a person who is free and without suffering and helps their neighbors and the world.

Ven. Pomnyun Sunim's Dharma teachings are simple and clear. He discusses enlightenment and practice at a level accessible to modern people. His words and writings go straight to the essence without any detours or unnecessary embellishments. He turns our outward gaze inward. Even the most difficult sutras come alive as practical teachings when interpreted through his wisdom, intuition, and insight.

Through his “Dharma Q&A” and the "Happiness School," Ven. Pomnyun Sunim guides people toward a life free from suffering-a life of true happiness. His Dharma Q&As alone have been held over 1,500 times both in Korea and abroad, and as of November 2024, the accumulated views on his YouTube channel have reached 1.6 billion. Since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, he has also met hundreds of thousands of people worldwide through online Dharma Q&As, including those specifically for international audiences.

Ven. Pomnyun Sunim also leads a wide range of peace initiatives based on the belief that personal practice and social engagement are inseparable. His efforts include promoting peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula, supporting refugees, carrying out international relief work, and fostering interfaith dialogue and cooperation. In recognition of these contributions, he was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award-often called the "Nobel Prize of Asia"-in 2002, and the 37th Niwano Peace Prize in 2020.
His published works include Things Are Good as They Are Now, The Human Buddha, Commentary on the Diamond Sutra, and Commentary on the Heart Sutra. He has also written books beloved by young people such as Words of Wisdom for Newlyweds, Happiness, and I Am a Decent Person; life guides for modern readers like Lessons for Life; practice manuals such as Prayer: Letting Go and Awakening Here and Now; a mindfulness book for teachers titled Practice Guidebook for Teachers; The River of Life Flows, which proposes solutions to environmental issues; and Why Is Unification Necessary? and A New Century, which present visions for peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula. In total, he has authored over fifty books.