Pomnyun

Venerable Pomnyun (Korean: 법륜스님, Hanja: 法輪; born 11 April 1953) is a Seon master, author, and activist.

Venerable Pomnyun is the founder of Jungto Society, an organization dedicated to applying the Buddha's teachings on daily mindful practice, environmentalism, and world peace. He addresses the role Buddhism has played in defining modern Asia's religious, cultural, social, political, and economic dynamics. Venerable Pomnyun has also established the Peace Foundation which aims to engage experts in analyzing how best to bring about peace between the two Koreas and between North Korea and the United States, as well as bringing together Buddhists and Christians in dialogue on the subject of world peace. He also established Good Friends for Peace, Human Rights, and Refugee Issues, an organization that aims for peace in North Korea. Through his work, thousands of people in North Korea have received aid during times of famine.

When Good Friends began publishing its newsletter in 2004, it became a source of information smuggled out of the isolated country. Venerable Pomnyun has worked extensively to supply humanitarian aid to famine victims in North Korea and to defend the human rights of North Korean refugees in China.

In September 2002, Venerable Pomnyun was a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Peace and International Understanding.

In October 26, 2020, Venerable Pomnyun was the recipient of the Niwano Peace Prize.

Early life and education
Venerable Pomnyun attended Gyeongju High School and was initially interested in becoming a scientist. However, while he was studying for his semester finals in the 10th grade, he had a chance encounter with the Buddhist monk, Venerable Domun, who later became his Buddhist teacher. Venerable Domun was a disciple of Venerable Yongsung, who was one of the 33 leaders of the Korean independence movement in 1919, and Venerable Pomnyun also became heavily influenced by Venerable Yongsung's nationalistic views. At the age of 16, Venerable Pomnyun took his vows as a Buddhist novice under Venerable Domun's tutelage.

After finishing high school, he became involved in peasant movements and Buddhist educational programs during the dictatorship of President Park Chung Hee. In 1979, he was once arrested and tortured on the suspicion that he was sending money to an activist group. To, Venerable Pomnyun, the arrest and torture was an important awakening moment for him.

"In the past, I was a warrior for democracy, fighting for social justice. I hated dictators and in protesting against them, I was prepared to sacrifice myself for the realization of justice. I was frequently voicing complaints about other people, as my mind was always in darkness. When I truly awakened to the teachings of the Buddha and could see the world as it really is, however, I realized that it did not matter who was right and who was wrong because these were just different points-of-view. Dictators, military leaders, imperialists, exclusionary religious organizations, and groups pursuing their own selfish interests.... they are not enemies to defeat, they are simply people or groups whose point-of-view is different from mine. I came to understand that from their position, they are also doing what they think is best."

Jungto Society
In 1988, at the age of 35, Venerable Pomnyun was convinced that "the time has come for social activism and Buddhism to become one" so he established Jungto Society. Jungto Society is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization that operates several programs:

JTS ("Join Together Society") is an international NGO relief organization with the aim of fulfilling the goals that: #1) The hungry should have food. #2) The sick should receive treatment. #3) Children should have access to education.

Ecobuddha is a corporation originally established in 1994 under the name "Korean Buddhist Environmental Education Institute" that applies the teachings of the Buddha towards environmental preservation.

Good Friends was established in order to promote reconciliation and cooperation between the North and South Koreans, provide humanitarian aid to North Korean residents suffering from extreme economic hardship, carry out activities to improve the human rights situation of North Korean refugees, and advance peaceful reunification of the two Koreas through cooperation with Koreans living overseas.

The Peace Foundation focuses on ways to resolve North Korea's nuclear weapons stance, human rights issues, and to study how best to prepare for the unification of the two Koreas, including specifics of the systematic approach to achieving unification and building a unified Korea.

Awards

 * 2011: POSCO TJ Park Prize, POSCO TJ Park Foundation