Baekbong Kim Ki-chu
Baekbong Kim Ki-chu, a layman rather than a monk,
achieved great enlightenment and spread the Supreme Dharma.
His wisdom and expedient methods were so exceptional that he was called "Korea's Vimalakirti."
Baekbong defined Buddhism as "knowing facts as they are, and acting accordingly."
He said the Buddhist Dharma are so rational and scientific that they cannot be denied,
or they cannot be rejected with a "no!",
therefore the Buddha's teachings shoud not be blindly accepted or believed,
Baekbong noted that scientific advancements have created this environment
in which the Buddha's teachings can be accepted without question, and furthermore,
that facts that previously became known through realization of Prajna,
are now understood by even middle school students.
For example,
- the earth floats in space.
- all objects we perceive are void.
- the organs that make up the physical body have no self-consciousness or wisdom.
Baekbong recognized the need for new methods of practice, building on what we learn in school and commensurate with these scientific advances. Furthermore, unlike monks who can devote themselves to the Hwadu(話頭, Koan), laypeople must cultivate their minds engaging in their daily business, and therefore, he believed lay people need methods other than the Hwadu. The methodologies he developed thus were Geosapung(Buddhism for Layman) and Saemalgui(Zen for Layman).
This site is run by disciples, who practice according to the teachings of Master Baekbong, to inform the world about his life, his Zen, and his main teachings such as the Geosapung, Saemalgui, and Declartion of True Life, and to provide information for fellow practitioners who wish to practice according to the expedient methods he developed.
