Ven.Pomnyun_Sunim's Dharma Talk

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A Ven. Pomnyun's Answer to "Worldly Life Versus InwardLife Selection from a Dharma Q&A session at Google (Nov. 10, 2014) 🔹Question : In your first answer that was a really beautiful. You talked about the importance of the how instead of the what. And I was wondering as people try to go down this path and look more inwards, how do you advise them in terms...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A 2019. 12. 24. 🔹Question : I’ve always been a curious person ever since I was a little boy. For example, when there was an ant’s nest, I would watch to see where the ants are going, where they’re getting their food and the trails they make. Now in English speaking cultures, there’s a saying ignorance is bliss. Actually I’ve found curiosity to be one of the more posit...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A 2023. 8. 5 🔹Question : I have a goal of impacting the world on a global scale which has involved several reliminary teps including becoming a positive influence for everyone I meet and encounter. I found that impacting veryone around me has been necessary for my own growth because the people I interact with can influence me as well. I have successfully motivated man...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A 2019. 7. 2 🔹Question : I’m struggling between pursuing my dream and wanting to be with the person I’m in love. Just to tell you a little bit about myself, I’m a student studying in the States, and I’m just here for the summer vacation. And my boyfriend is in Korea right now. Would it be unreasonable or ridiculous to follow my heart and decide to be with my boyfriend...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A 2024. 11. 18 🔹Question : I have a hard time trusting in relationships, especially, in romantic relationships. I have a hard time trusting men because my dad had affairs growing up when I was a child. So, I became pretty certain that I don't want to get married because I subconsciously think that marriage is the path to misery. But because I'm human, I still want to...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A 2023. 11. 8 🔹Question : I am in Dharma school and learning Buddhism. I learned that we seek happiness which comes together with sufferings. I wonder what are those examples of happiness that comes with suffering and are there any happiness that doesn't come with suffering? 🔻Jungto Dharma School (Introduction to Buddhism): https://www.jungtosociety.org/jungto-dh...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A 2022. 3. 25. 🔹Question : I have a question about how to deal with the relationship between my girlfriend and my parents. Here’s the situation where I struggled a lot. So my personality is a bit introverted and independent and my parents, they also don’t express their care a lot. But I can feel, I know they care about me, they love me. But sometimes my girlfriend wil...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A 2024. 7. 15. 🔹Question:  (Questioner) Hello, I just have a quick question. You talked about the climate change and that people need to change. For me, it seems clear that people should or even must love and care about each other. But, at the same time, it's painfully clear that we don't. I have some personal experience that I was engaged in some activism. My experie...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A 2024. 10. 27 🔹Question : On my wife’s Buddhist calendar in the house, there’s a statement about not hating or blaming people at all is enlightenment. My question is, why does this society justify the incarcerated people that continually commit crimes? Aren’t they to blame? 🔻Jungto Dharma School (Introduction to Buddhism): https://www.jungtosociety.org/jungto-dharma...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A Selection from a Dharma Q&A session at George Washington University (Oct. 8, 2014) 🔹Question:   I believe that human desires to be successful is unlimited. I understand why people around you expect so much from you. Sometimes because of this stress I feel that I'm being chased by life rather than taking for granted. I wanted to hear your opinion on how I can bet...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A Selection from a Dharma Q & A at Harvard University Sep. 20, 2017 🔹Question:   I am a third year undergraduate. This is my first year back after serving two years in the Korean military. I thought, after two years hiatus, I'd be older and wiser. I was in a situation where I didn't have any phone, I didn't have any alcohol. I was surrounded by a bunch of guys all...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A 2024. 10. 7 🔹Question: My question was, as you get older, you look back on things you have done with regrets. People talk about mental health and depression, and I think regrets have something to do with it. How can you work on that? 🔻Jungto Dharma School (Introduction to Buddhism): https://www.jungtosociety.org/jungto-dharma-school-online-course/   🔻 Find more at...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A 2024. 12. 2 🔹Question: Hello, Sunim. It's really nice meeting you in person. I have a question on my hand, but please bear with me looking through my question because I'm quite nervous. Currently, I'm between jobs and maintain a peaceful mindset despite life's uncertainty. While some people say that being desperate and driven is essential for getting a job or a goal...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A Selection from a Dharma Q&A (April. 3, 2022) 🔹Question : When my loved one is suffering because of a vicious person, is it okay for me to fight back and take revenge from the person for their actions?   🔻Jungto Dharma School (Introduction to Buddhism): https://www.jungtosociety.org/jungto-dharma-school-online-course/   🔻 Find more at the following links: http:...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A Selection from Casual Conversation with Ven. Pomnyun Sunim (October 10, 2021) 🔹Question: Sometimes at school, whenever my friends are hurt, I always go and may help them, but then some of their friends just get there, and then I slack. Can I help too? They just slack. I don't know what to do. If I try and tell the teacher, they just say. Sometimes I overreact, so wh...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A Selection from a Dharma Q&A session at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Sunnyvale, California (Nov. 8, 2014) 🔹Question: As we live, we encounter problems such as love and betrayal. We encounter people that betray you like friends, business partners or even your loved ones. For me, it's very hard to forgive regardless of what happened. A lot of my friends tell me t...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A Ven. Pomnyun's Answer to "Dealing with Difficult Colleagues” Selection from a Dharma Q&A session at Bethesda Chevy Chase Regional Service Center in Washington D.C. (September 18, 2019) 🔹Question : Hello Sunim. So in this [pressure] to perform world, how you can control and how you can keep yourself calm when you are with your aggressive colleagues that always wa...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A Ven. Pomnyun's Answer to "What Do You Recommend Us to Do in Life?" Selection from a Dharma Q&A session at Union Theological Seminary (Oct. 2, 2014) 🔹Question : If there is anything you would recommend any of us to do in our lifetimes. If there's one thing you would encourage us to do? 🔻Jungto Dharma School (Introduction to Buddhism): https://www.jungtosociety.o...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A Ven. Pomnyun's Answer to "I Am Really Bad at Anger Control " Selection from a Dharma Q&A session at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Sunnyvale, California (Nov. 8, 2014) 🔹Question : I am really bad at anger control. I think I am mature enough to recognize the moment that I lose my control, I just can’t suppress them. And I have a problem suppressing my anger, alth...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A Ven. Pomnyun's Answer to "What Should We Know about Marriage?" Selection from a Dharma Q&A session in UCLA (Nov. 16, 2014) 🔹Question : What should one know about marriage before deciding whether to participate in marriage? 🔻Jungto Dharma School (Introduction to Buddhism): https://www.jungtosociety.org/jungto-dharma-school-online-course/   🔻 Find more at the fo...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A Selection from a Dharma Q&A session at Harvard University (Sep. 20, 2017) 🔹Question : My question is about relationships. With people in our lives, there can be people who are very, for the lack of a better word, toxic. Sometimes we just give up, try to forgive them. At that point, we don’t hate them anymore. We don’t dislike them anymore. We just leave them out...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A Selection from a Dharma Q&A session at Jogye-sa Temple, Seoul, Korea (Jun. 15, 2018) 🔹Question: I'm an Australian university student and I come to Korea to see my parents because they moved here two years ago, after every semester. So I've lived in Australia since age one until now and I study there. The issue that I'm facing is that I love Australia, but I keep...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma Q&A Selection from a Dharma Q&A session at Southdale Library, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Sep 12, 2018) 🔹Question:  I have studied a lot of different philosophical spiritual practices and religions. I come to the conclusion that a lot of our sufferings are from fixation on materialism from my understanding. Attachment to things, attachment to homes, attachment to people...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharma  Q&A ⁠#understanding⁠ ⁠#friendship⁠ ⁠#difference⁠ ⁠#friendship⁠ ⁠#difference⁠ ⁠#understanding⁠ #forgive 🔹Question:   Bad things happen to good people. And I have tried to forgive and not think about it. But I continue to think about it and I can't let it go. I need to get peace. How do I achieve peace with what has happened to me that was not good. 🔻Jungto Dharma Schoo...

🔹Ven Pomnyun’s Dharm Q&A " Why Do We Get Bored of Things?” Selection from a Dharma Q&A session at Jogye-sa Temple, Seoul, South Korea (June 15, 2018) 🔹Question:   I was wondering about why we get bored of things. I have smart phone, I bought it last year, but now I'm bored of it. I have a girlfriend now. But maybe in one year or maybe in three years, I will be bored and maybe move on. I...