Buying a new Pair of Rubber Shoes

In this month's Kyeongyang Magazine, a philosophy professor in the Suwon Seminary reflects on the meaning of possessions in our life. He asks if our happiness depends on the number of things we possess. Although he admits we can't say they have nothing to do with happiness, they can't  in themselves make us happy.  Happiness is not extrinsic to the self but comes from the self. As we know, two persons can have the same external circumstances and yet one is happy and the other is not.

He recalls a Buddhist monk who picked the name 'No Beginning', composed of two Chinese ideographs. He has known the monk from the time they met as students in the U.S., and have remained in touch since returning to Korea. The monk explained that the name means denying  oneself and ridding oneself of greed. Avarice, he said, occurs when one leaves the right path and lives  in a manner exceeding what is necessary; it will then interfere with our happiness. He illustrated the point with the following anecdote:

          Years ago there was a monk and a disciple who lived in Gangwon-do. The disciple was in training, and his rubber shoes had  holes in them, so he asked a friend to buy him a  new pair.
          He was happy with his new pair of rubber shoes and  showed them to the monk.

        "Teacher aren't these rubber shoes beautiful?"

         "Idiot, you must be out of your mind to have bought a new pair of shoes."

         The young man whose rubber shoes had holes after their long use couldn't understand why the monk was so angry.
         "Teacher, why in the world are you so upset at me for buying a pair of rubber shoes after the other pair has worn out?"

        The monk then appeared not to understand the question and shouted at the young man.

 "You don't know how dangerous what you did is.  Soon you will be buying some new socks and you will be searching for new clothes. But that is not all. Your mind will become restless, and you will be dreaming of opportunities to go outside.

             "The young man was not satisfied with the explanation, and it showed in his face.  

        The monk further explained, "With the new clothes, instead of looking at books you will look at a mirror and lose the taste for study and  improvement. How can you say that a new pair of rubber shoes is of no consequence?"

 In this digital age, we give much importance to living well and eating well. It is difficult to deny that the  attitude of humility and emptying oneself is disappearing. Our ancestors were close to the earth, and any small thing was an opportunity to be thankful.

The above anecdote gives us some food for thought. The monk's thoughts on emptying oneself are important in this fast-paced  world of little reflection. Eradicating greed and emptying ourselves are necessary for the life of happiness and peace, we all desire.

Protestant Catholic Retreat

On the 13th of this month twelve Protestant and eight Catholic clergy met for three days in a Catholic Retreat House to promote Christian unity. Written up in one of the secular papers a few days ago, this second retreat was held in the  Kwangju Retreat Center at the base of Mount Jiri. The first retreat, at the invitation of the Protestants, was held last year at the Benedict Meditation Center in Pusan. 

Since 2000, Catholic and Protestant clergy have been meeting for lectures and discussion but last year they met for the first time for a retreat.  Also present  was the president of the Bishops Committee for Promoting Christian Unity and Interreligious Dialogue, Bishop Hyginus Kim Hee-joong. 

During the three days, they had six meetings  for  meditation and prayer in silence. It was time, they agreed, to experience their brotherly relationship rather than talk about what separates them. The first sermon was given by an Anglican priest. And a priest from the Kwangju Seminary gave a lecture on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. A Presbyterian minister said, "Last year at the retreat house in Pusan, I was deeply moved during the common retreat. I became familiar again with some of the religious exercises that we Protestants have lost. It is a time to reflect on our common religious tradition and our personal commitment to our faith.

They visited a Buddhist Temple, a 5-minute walk from the retreat center, where they heard a lecture on Buddhist ascetic practices.

An Anglican priest said there have been big changes in the atmosphere of the meetings. It is now very rare to see any open disparaging of the other in our meetings.

The day ended with the praying of the Holy Office.  In the beginning it was difficult but with the directions given by the leader of the prayer everything turned out correctly. In one of the prayer gatherings, one of the participants said, "During our meetings many words have been used but we have to hear God's word. We have to get over divisions and conflict, and come closer together and have a meeting of hearts."

Loving LIke Jesus Would Love

In one of the Catholic magazines, a priest-director of a diocesan counseling center for foreign workers recalls his experience with a Vietnamese worker who was near the end of his stay in Korea. Would he return to  Vietnam or become an illegal alien?  the priest wondered.

The young man entered Korea in 2005 and after working for just one month became sick. Afraid they would send him back to Vietnam, he dropped out of sight. It was in 2007, as an unregistered foreign worker, that he appeared at the counseling service to receive free medical treatment. We made arrangements, said the priest, for an operation at a government hospital. The exam showed there was blood in the brain so he was sent to a larger hospital for the operation. This required a lot of money and the counseling service had to ask for financial assistance to cover the costs.

After the operation, the young man's medical problems began to disappear, and although he had to continue taking medicine he only had to show up once a year for tests. His parents were invited to come to Korea to stay with him, and he was given a place to say while recuperating. His recovery was going well and our efforts on his behalf seemed justified.

But not everything turned out well, however. The relationship with his wife, who sacrificed in taking care of him, turned sour, and she left him to return to Vietnam.   His younger brother, who was in Korea, was also causing him problems with his erratic behavior.

Because the young man was an unregistered alien, the priest went to the immigration office to ask permission to continue with his therapy, assuring them he would stand as surety. He did this every year during the period of therapy, until he finally was given six months to prepare to leave the country. He agreed and said he would buy his own ticket. But from that day on he disappeared. 

No word has been received from him, and the priest has no idea what happened to him. He believes he is still in the country, but rather than checking with the office of immigration to find out for sure, he prefers to believe that he left the country. He admits to feeling at times like a fool, betrayed and used by  the worker, but most of the time he reminds himself that he didn't help the man to have him do his will. He  helped him because he believed he was doing the will of Jesus.  He felt he learned a great deal from the incident and is convinced that he  loved in the way Jesus would have wanted.

Toasting to Success With Poison

The Desk Columnist of the Catholic Times rarely has time for TV dramas but did see enough of the popular drama "Miss Ripley," which is now being viewed in Korea, to share his thoughts with his readers. The theme is taken from a 1960 French Film "Plein Soleil" (Full Sun) and also on events in recent Korean history.  The film focuses on the protagonist's pursuit of his dream world  until it all  comes crashing down.

The drama takes place in the  world of hotels, where one can find extraordinary success and failure, greed and love, all making for griping melodrama. Our heroine is the girl next door--no money, no school credentials nor any luck. So when something unfortunate comes her way all she can  do is run away or suffer outrage;  she has no recourse to society.

Without thought and unexpectedly she lied and lo and behold up until then no matter how hard she worked she was a nobody, but with the lie all the doors opened.

Laughable as it is and contrary to all the teaching of our popular moral codes, everything works out well. In this scenario, the ones who are deceived are the fools and the ones deceiving are the laughing victors.

Why is this  drama so popular in our society? He answers that it could be that society is familiar with the many irregularities of our mendacious society and waits for it all to fall apart. However, at the same time, our uncaring society helps to  foster this mendaciousness, knowing that material success is often achieved by the help of lies--a wonderful tool for the unscrupulous.

The drama is based on the French film in which a poor young man named Ripley kills his rich friend and replaces him in society with all the perks that  come with being someone who is rich. The film, based on a book, gave birth to the "Ripley Syndrome." The columnist explains that it is an attempt to make what you want the world to be, the world in which you live. You deny reality  and with your lies make that your  reality-- a pathological condition.

The columnist concludes that not only in society but in the church we have many Mr. and Miss Ripleys.  Why should this be so? The answer is simple. Those who are able to see and judge with the sensitivity of Jesus are few. The  Ripleys  of the world are making  a world  of sweetness with their lies and  are celebrating their success with a toast of poison.

Hwang Kan Church Fire

The word 'Hwang Gan'  caught my attention when reading the Catholic Times' editorial recently. It's the name of a parish that was built by one of our Maryknollers some 54 years ago. The church was almost completely guttered by fire on the 4th of this month; it was a case of arson by a man who wanted to commit suicide, a reckless act that stunned everyone.  Failing to kill himself, he was arrested. Fortunately no one was hurt. The incident caused much wonderment among the Catholics who witnessed the meaningless destruction.

The editorial uses the occasion to remind us that there is much we can learn from this random act of  destruction. It brings to mind that the act of this man who  was fighting  his inner demons and attempting suicide was not an act of a  person on the Galapagos Islands unrelated to society and Church. Something similar happened in 1998 when the oldest western style church in Korea was set on fire by a man who had been drinking. The editorial wants us to give thought to those who are having difficulty with life and feel left out from what is going on in society. It is our job, the editorial says, to wipe their tears and give them strength.

The number of suicides in Korea are many and not all have anything to do with the economic situation or societal problems but are caused by personal problems that can't be overcome with the present state of mind of the victim. The ripple effect of suicide is  great and the family of the individual would suffer the most possibly because of the failure to read the signs.

There is a history to any act that only God knows. The Korean Catholic Church is trying to sensitize or better to conscientize (  to make someone or yourself aware of  important social issues)  the Catholics on the role of the Social Gospel  in society. This is readily seen by the number of articles that have appeared in the Catholic press. This year is the 120th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's encyclical "Rerum Novarum" (Of New Things). It was an attempt to clarify the Church's social teachings as society was trying to cope with the newly emerging industrial economy.

Pope Benedict XVI puts service to the poor and love of neighbor at the same level of essential activity of the Church as the administration of the Sacraments and the proclamation of the Word. This is what the Catholic Church in Korea will be working to inculcate in its new evangelization of Christians. 

Organic Farming in Korea

In the Catholic Times' "Window of the Ark" column, the  writer gives us something to think about for Farmers Day this Sunday. The Korean Catholic liturgical calendar pays tribute on this day to all the farmers of the world. Noah, according to the account in Genesis, after the flood was the first to  plant a grape vine. It was then a different type of farming from what we have now. And our columnist would like us to return to this environmentally friendly farming.

The ecological world thrives on balance among the various ecosystems, which is the natural state. Humans are the only ones that can break this harmony of  the environment. We can see much of the pollution that harms our environment, but when it comes to the pollution of the soil it takes a longer time for us to become conscious of what is happening. When we realize life that exists in the soil is 10 times greater than what we can see, we quickly appreciate its importance.

What Korea produces from its organic farming is less than 1 percent of the country's total food production. In Austria, it's 12 percent and in Germany 10 percent. When it  comes to raising livestock, farmers not using antibiotics would be under 1 percent. And about 90 percent of livestock manure does not go through a process of aging but is used fresh on the soil as compost. While this may seem that organic matter is being used, that is not the case. In reality, antibiotics, vaccines, growth promoting hormones, feed additives, and germicidal agents--all being excreted along with the fecal matter--are being spread on the soil.

Up until now, those using small amounts of pesticides, though otherwise farming organically, were considered organic farmers; this will change beginning in 2015 when there will be a strict understanding of organic farming.  During the last 10 years, organic vegetables  have grown 20 times from what was produced in 2001.  However, it must be acknowledged that inferior organic matter can be used as a fertilizer, and this can be harmful to those who eat the vegetables. The government will continue to help farmers who use environmentally friendly methods of farming.

For this change to take place as quickly and efficiently as possible, the city and the rural communities will have to come together and communicate their needs and intentions. Consumers and suppliers must have a common goal if we are to return to the way of farming of Noah and his descendants. The columnist would like to see our Christians take an active role as catalysts in bringing about this change. 

Catholic Cultural Arts Center in Kimpo, Korea

The  Inchon  Diocese is building a Cultural Arts Center in Kimpo, the first of its kind in the Catholic Church of Korea devoted exclusively to the arts,  a place where Catholic artists will be able to meet and share ideas. It will also be a sign, says the editorial in the Peace Weekly, of the Church's interest in building an infrastructure for the evangelization of the culture. The editorial mentions that although Catholics have gloried in their cultural assets and tradition, they have  little to show in its cultivation, structures, systems, or support compared to the other religious groups.

For over ten years solitary efforts have been made to work toward this day. The editorial thanks Father Paul Park Yu-jin, art director of the center, and others who have been working to realize this dream. There has been much talk about the evangelization of culture but implementing the talk has not been a prime concern.

Whenever the idea of a cultural center came up in the past, it was usually rejected by responses such as: "That is when you have a full stomach." However, culture in the world today is nearly as important as clothes, food and home; culture can change the way we think.

There is great hope for this new venture that will also serve as a research center for the arts. In an interview in the same issue of the paper, the director says, "The Cultural Art Center and research center will try to bring the spiritual values of Catholicism into our secular culture and art, and give Christian artists a spirituality that should influence their efforts."

The director, a priest, has been involved in this work since 1998 when he set up the Catholic Cultural Center to provide creative opportunities in music, dance, drama and other artistic fields. He has tried  with many different programs to celebrate and spread the inspiriting creativity of Catholic culture into  society. Affiliated with the center are the Catholic Symphony Orchestra, Liturgical Dance Team,  Theater,  Orchestra,  and  Chorus Groups. They are prepared for performances during any time of the year.

The Catholic Arts Center is a big dream and everyone who has worked to see the beginning of the project should feel great satisfaction. Ground-breaking ceremonies were held on July 3. Completion of the Center is expected next year. May the expectations of those who have worked so hard for the project see the successful completion of their work.