Creating a Compassionate and Vegetarian Global Village

Korea

Seoul

A Wave of Vegetarianism in Korea

By Seoul News Group (Originally in Korean)

“2006 Life & Peace –Environment-friendly Farming Festival” was held on October 29, Golden Year 3 (2006) with about 70 organizations, including vegetarian ones, joining to inform the public of the importance of environmental-friendly and organic farming, and the best diet to follow.

Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Seoul Center brothers and sisters also joined the well attended event and very actively carried out Alternative Living promotions. They provided free vegetarian sampling, distributed flyers, and collected signatures from people for vegetarianism and non-abuse of animal campaigns.

After trying out vegetarian foods, many people were very surprised to know of the great variety and delicious taste. So many came to us that the foods we prepared ran out before closing time, but even without sampling, people still continued to pay great attention to our exhibits.

There were many young people and university students very actively joining our signature collection campaign: “Love Life - 10 Million-Signatures Collecting Campaign.” The aims of the campaign are (1) to have one vegetarian meal a day, (2) to make a vegetarian option available in group settings such as schools, companies, armies and prisons and (3) to enforce the animal protection law. Even without our invitation, people voluntarily came and signed, with as many as 1,500 signatures collected on that day, which was record-breaking in this campaign.

Alternative Living project has been in Korea for about 9 months; now we are seeing great changes. When we first began the promotion, we suggested “one vegetarian meal a day saves the earth” to better appeal to people, but now the public are ready to hear “Change to be vegetarian for good.”

The very next day of the event, October 30, a major Korean TV station broadcasted a shocking program called “Human Mad Cow Disease.” It introduced the fact that cows raised with feed containing animal ingredients can have mad cow disease, and if humans eat the meat, they can also be infected. It also showed a hellish scene of how beef is produced. This created a huge response from Korean people who say they want to change to be vegetarian immediately. Also parents suggested children not eat meat at school meals.

People are having a drastically different understanding about meat. Korean sister and brothers are clearly noticing the big wave of changes to vegetarianism and the Golden Age. To accelerate the speed, of course they will continue to spread more of Master’s Alternative Living message.

Busan

Dandelion Love Warms Korea

Monk Doota	Old and homeless people having free meals

Dandelion Restaurant, which provides free meals to homeless and low-income old people, has been operated by Buddhist Monk Doota since August, 2005 to share his love with the poor. It began with a very small space but now has two locations, providing food for 130 people with support from the public and its volunteer workers.

In July, Golden year 3 (2006), Monk Doota happened to see a Quan Yin Method flyer brought to him by the wind. The flyer had a stamp advertising Master’s painting exhibition schedule. “While I was receiving donations, I found the flyer at my back. It must be affinity.” Monk Doota said, “The Buddhist scripture said when you reach the state where the intellectual thought is gone and outer speech is discontinued, you will hear the sound of nothingness and emptiness. I hear the sound sometimes, especially these days very often and without interruption. The flyer explained about the inner sound. So I came to the painting exhibition to know more.” At the exhibition he determined to be initiated and change his restaurant to be completely vegetarian.

 

Local newspapers report on Monk Doota about his changing Dandelion restaurant into vegetarian.

“Initially I thought protein was necessary for old people and did not know vegetarian meats and other soy protein products existed. People who come here have many diseases, and a vegetarian diet is better for them.” So, Dandelion Restaurant was reborn as the first free supplier of vegetarian meals in Korea.

However, volunteer workers were not familiar with vegetarian cooking. Some even quit the work. Sisters and brothers of Busan Center helped to fill in, but all the volunteer workers needed to learn the benefits of vegetarianism, and even better, of changing to a vegetarian diet at home.

A vegetarian seminar for Dandelion restaurant volunteer workers.	Trying the vegetarian food prepared by initiates.

Upon Monk Doota’s request, Busan Center brothers and sisters held a special vegetarian seminar on September 8, Golden year 3 (2006), for about 100 volunteer workers. First they played a TV program introducing the harm of eating meat. When the TV showed chickens and cows being raised in a miserable situation, people heaved a sigh. When it showed children with adult diseases due to too much meat consumption, parents were very concerned.

After watching the video, there were explanations about the benefits of the vegetarian diet for health, safety, compassion and spiritual progress. The audience understood this as the aim of the restaurant had been to put Buddhist teachings into practice.

After the seminar, the volunteer cooks sampled a lot of delicious vegetarian food, treated as guests for the first time. They inquired about ingredients and ways of cooking them. One volunteer remarked, “I am very honored to have such a good event today. First I had worries about providing vegetarian foods, but now I think Monk Doota did it very well.” Volunteer Service Team leader Kim Kyung-Hee said, “I am determined to have vegetarian diet in usual days too.”

Financial Manager Kim Nam-Soon commented, “It was very good because I learned a lot of things that I did not know before, and came to know that meat is not necessary at all. I will also recommend it to my family. The video was so miserable that I could hardly see it but I hope more people see, feel, and know it.” All the participants of the event received Alternative Living flyers and CDs containing vegetarian-related information.

Monk Doota told us later that the seminar had a very positive influence on volunteer workers, and everything is running more smoothly now.

The beautiful services continue. An initiated brother is providing all the soy-meat products required by the restaurant free of charge. Sisters and brothers of Busan Center are in charge of Tuesday service every week to provide warm meals and a warm heart to the needy people.

Sangju

A Teacher’s Efforts Draw Attention to Vegetarianism

Sister Kim, an initiate, teaches dance at Sangju Woman’s Middle School and has incorporated the concepts of vegetarianism and spiritual practice into her teaching. She also brought her home-grown organic vegetables to school to share with the staff. As a result, they have come to know more about the importance of the food they eat as well as of the environmental problems caused by the meat based diet and the need to be vegetarian.

From October 19 to October 21, Golden Year 3 (2006), an annual autumn festival was held at her school. Its authority willingly granted her permission to hold a vegetarian sampling event during the festival. In response, initiates from Seoul, Andong and Youngdong prepared vegetarian skewered delicacies for the entire school.

The students and staff were more than delighted with the delicious vegetarian food. Folders with the Alternative Living message printed on them were eagerly accepted by all. The teachers were given more vegetarian food to bring home. They commented that their children would love it and inquired about where to buy the ingredients so that they could prepare it again for their families.

After the event, the students and teachers had changed their attitude toward vegetarianism because they came to realize that they did not have to sacrifice good taste and variety in food to be vegetarian and it is more helpful to human beings, animals and the environment.

It is inspiring to see how one teacher’s initiative can influence an entire school. Her next challenge is to try to put a vegetarian option on the lunch menu. It is not an easy task to change the group menu but she feels positive that it will happen soon.

Pictures Tell Stories

1. Alternative Living message in Youngdong railway station began in November, Golden Years 3 (2006), and will continue for one year.

2. Seoul initiates decorated the Center’s van with Alternative Living messages.

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