Wongong So
In Nature, Our True Nature
April 10-13
3 Nights
$195 ($95 deposit) Dana
Meditation helps us to be healthy, harmonizing and balancing the energy in our body and mind, cultivating calm awareness, and letting the light of our true nature shine.
Won-Buddhism is a religious movement founded in South Korea in 1916. The founder, Sotaesan, realized that while material progress has become increasingly present in today’s world, the minds and spirits of human beings have weakened. So, it is critical to develop our spirituality in equal measure.
As a model of spiritual awakening, Won-Buddhism enshrines IlWonSang (“One Circle Image”). This symbolizes our original true nature which all sages, saints, enlightened ones and living beings awaken in us, guiding us to the great oneness and truth of the universe.
"Being changes into non-being and non-being into being, turning and turning again. But in the Ultimate Reality, being and non-being are both void. And the void contains everything and is perfect."
This retreat will include periods of meditation while moving, sitting, chanting, walking, working, dharma speaking (speaking from the heart and one’s true nature), chanting, journal writing, and green tea meditation all within the context of finding our oneness with nature.
Most programs/times are observed in silence except dharma speaking, chanting and sharing times.
Rev. WonGong So (Won: “Circle” + Gong: “True Void”) was ordained in 1994 as a Won-Buddhist Priest. She completed her novice and undergraduate training and her graduate/internship experience in Korea, majoring in Won-Buddhist religious studies. She served in the Gang-Nam Temple in Seoul before moving to the US in 1997, where she was assigned to the Rockville Temple in Maryland. She completed her Master's in Social Work at the University of Maryland in 2002. Currently, WonGong is the head priest at the Won-Buddhism Temple in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. There she develops and leads meditation programs and short- and long-term retreats, bringing cultural and spiritual enrichment to the community and beyond. In particular, she has led cultural exchange programs for Korean children and youth. She has served in interfaith programs both in the US and internationally and also provides services as a therapist in social work for children and their families.
Won-Buddhism Meditation Retreat at Southern Dharma (April10- April13, 2008) |
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April 10 (Thursday) | April 11 (Friday) | April 12 (Saturday) | April 13 (Sunday) | |
| 6:30 AM | Retreat Theme
In Nature,
Our True Nature | Morning meditation (sitting, walking) | ||
| 8-8:40 AM | Breakfast | |||
| 8:40-9:30 | Meditation in work | Cleaning, packing |
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| 9:30/12 PM | Guided Meditation
(Danjon breathing, stretching, lying down, sitting) | Closing meditation
* Reflection: how we apply the retreat experience to life in the world. |
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| 12-1 PM | Lunch |
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| 1-1:30 PM | Arriving* |
Happy work in nature (optional) | Coming down from the mountain
for timeless and placeless Zen |
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| 1:30-2:30 | Green tea, walking |
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| 2:30-4PM | Entering Samadhi |
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| 4:30-6 PM | Introduction, orientation*
| Contemplation
on dharma passages | Contemplation
on Whadu |
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| 6:00 PM | Sitting, dharma talk | Dinner |
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| 7:00 PM | Dinner | Dharma speaking from heart and true nature* |
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| 8-9 PM | Evening meditation (chanting, sitting, evening prayer song*) |
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| 9-10 PM | Dharma journaling, reflecting upon the day |
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| 10:00 PM | Meditation in sleep |
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*All programs/times are observed in silence except those marked with an asterisk.