WEBVTT 00:00:07.712 --> 00:00:10.266 <Not Commiting to One Church> 00:00:10.266 --> 00:00:16.470 (Questioner) Hello Sumin, I watch your video. 00:00:16.470 --> 00:00:21.117 I can guess how busy you are every day. 00:00:21.117 --> 00:00:28.362 I have been going to church for over two years after moving to a new area. 00:00:28.362 --> 00:00:36.987 I went with a friend. But this Spring, there was a conflict in the church 00:00:36.987 --> 00:00:40.850 and the church split into two sides. 00:00:40.850 --> 00:00:48.078 And half of the people left and they opened a new church. 00:00:48.078 --> 00:00:57.686 One or two of the members close to me kept on telling me to come visit their church. 00:00:57.686 --> 00:01:07.044 They asked me to come just once but I know that that one time is just the beginning. 00:01:07.044 --> 00:01:10.591 The "attend that church." 00:01:10.591 --> 00:01:13.206 I do not belong to any church and 00:01:13.206 --> 00:01:18.734 now I am satisfied with Happy School and teachings 00:01:18.734 --> 00:01:23.247 and I am learning well. 00:01:23.247 --> 00:01:31.207 If people telling me to come to church I feel bothers me, 00:01:31.207 --> 00:01:37.868 please tell me how can I manage my mind calm. 00:01:37.868 --> 00:01:41.797 The more I learn about Buddha's teachings, 00:01:41.797 --> 00:01:48.409 the more I reflect on myself and become humble. 00:01:48.409 --> 00:01:54.086 And so I love it. I don't want to go to church. 00:01:57.883 --> 00:02:04.310 (Sunim) It's your choice. 00:02:04.310 --> 00:02:11.837 It's okay for you not to go to church. There's absolutely no problem. 00:02:11.837 --> 00:02:21.030 Or you can just choose one of the two churches and go there occasionally, 00:02:21.030 --> 00:02:26.925 or you can go to both churches. 00:02:26.925 --> 00:02:32.936 You don't have to tie down to one church, 00:02:32.936 --> 00:02:36.932 nor do you have to deny both churches. 00:02:36.932 --> 00:02:41.878 You can just be free. 00:02:41.878 --> 00:02:47.107 The more you study Buddhism, 00:02:47.107 --> 00:02:56.631 you also have to open your minds up to other religions like Christianity. 00:02:56.631 --> 00:03:01.877 The same thing with Islam. 00:03:01.877 --> 00:03:06.340 I'm not saying that you have to like it, 00:03:06.340 --> 00:03:12.868 because each religion and tradition has its own unique nature. 00:03:12.868 --> 00:03:23.109 But it's up to you because you're free to choose, 00:03:23.109 --> 00:03:25.575 not because you don't like the other traditions, 00:03:25.575 --> 00:03:30.885 but you're free to choose whatever draws you. 00:03:30.885 --> 00:03:42.292 Basically this is not a problem of your friends 00:03:42.292 --> 00:03:47.804 or your former church goers telling you or asking you to come visit their church. 00:03:47.804 --> 00:03:52.482 It's the problem that you don't want to hear them, that invitation. 00:03:52.482 --> 00:04:05.406 The same thing when you get invited to a party, you want to go, you don't want to go. 00:04:05.406 --> 00:04:12.383 Or your family member asks you to do something you don't want to do, you just don't want, sometimes. 00:04:12.383 --> 00:04:25.737 You resist, you're hesitant because you're always calculating, 00:04:25.737 --> 00:04:30.217 what if I say no, I might lose that relationship, or something. 00:04:30.217 --> 00:04:33.214 It might cause a loss to me. 00:04:33.214 --> 00:04:43.521 But after all, they have the freedom to invite you to their church, 00:04:43.521 --> 00:04:47.534 and you have the freedom to not go. 00:04:47.534 --> 00:04:56.293 So just as your freedom is precious to you, their freedom is precious to them. 00:04:56.293 --> 00:05:02.454 (Questioner) I understand what you're saying. 00:05:02.454 --> 00:05:11.529 I didn't say 'don't tell me come to your church' but I just say, refuse nicely. 00:05:11.529 --> 00:05:14.677 Okay maybe next time, not this moment 00:05:14.677 --> 00:05:19.124 I don't feel like to go right now, maybe future, 00:05:19.124 --> 00:05:22.565 I think about it. I all the time say that. 00:05:22.565 --> 00:05:30.492 I went to church since I immigrate to USA on and off over 25 years. 00:05:30.492 --> 00:05:35.220 If I attend one time they right away welcome me, 00:05:35.220 --> 00:05:41.431 they are kind extremely and then they are looking for 00:05:41.431 --> 00:05:46.677 what would you like to do and then oh, let's study Bible study 00:05:46.677 --> 00:05:51.556 Why don't you join this volunteer Why don't you join like a chorus? 00:05:51.556 --> 00:05:57.834 And they asked me more and more and then see you next Sunday 00:05:57.834 --> 00:06:03.978 and then they asked more and if I just go one time and stop 00:06:03.978 --> 00:06:10.588 to me, it's foolish because I know I'm not going to go. 00:06:10.588 --> 00:06:18.049 So I just don't want to start go to church. 00:06:18.049 --> 00:06:25.631 And the reason the split is too sided is very complicated. 00:06:25.631 --> 00:06:33.042 They are 45 years of one church member but one issue they make split. 00:06:33.042 --> 00:06:37.404 So I'm just tired of what they're doing. 00:06:37.404 --> 00:06:43.948 Yesterday they were like all church member, we're family and brother and sister 00:06:43.948 --> 00:06:48.395 and then after conflict it's become enemy 00:06:48.395 --> 00:06:54.672 I don't want to involve that both church. I don't want to go to church. 00:06:54.672 --> 00:07:02.134 Since I learned the Buddha's teaching, I'm very joyful and find a more peaceful mind. 00:07:02.134 --> 00:07:10.343 Even I attended the church over 20 years, I never had that feeling. 00:07:10.343 --> 00:07:12.456 So I don't want to go there. 00:07:12.456 --> 00:07:16.421 I want to just keep continue learning Buddha's teaching. 00:07:16.421 --> 00:07:21.349 I think that's more fit to me my personality, character and quiet peaceful 00:07:21.349 --> 00:07:27.045 and I just want to stick with this side. 00:07:27.045 --> 00:07:40.783 (Sunim) It's a good thing that studying Buddha's teachings brought you peace in your mind. 00:07:40.783 --> 00:07:51.090 But you have not really truly studied deeply yet 00:07:51.090 --> 00:07:56.451 because you still feel tension from watching the conflict within the Church. 00:07:56.451 --> 00:08:04.927 Conflicts and divisions is a natural phenomenon. 00:08:04.927 --> 00:08:20.298 Now you see two different sects emerging from the same Judeo Christian tradition. 00:08:20.298 --> 00:08:28.390 And from within the Christianity itself 00:08:28.390 --> 00:08:33.685 you see the schism between the Catholicism and Protestantism. 00:08:33.685 --> 00:08:44.026 And within the same Protestantism, you get Presbyterians, you get Baptists, 00:08:44.026 --> 00:08:48.805 Episcopalians, you get all different sects. 00:08:48.805 --> 00:09:04.392 You feel discomfort because you were there at the church when it was one, 00:09:04.392 --> 00:09:06.639 then it split into two 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:08.505 but somebody else who joined the church after it split 00:09:08.505 --> 00:09:13.584 will not share the same discomfort. 00:09:13.584 --> 00:09:21.923 We have a lot of divorced couples who are raising kids 00:09:21.923 --> 00:09:26.237 who get divorced even after having kids and raising kids by themselves. 00:09:26.237 --> 00:09:30.383 So we see separations and divisions, conflicts everywhere. 00:09:30.383 --> 00:09:33.497 So why is that a special problem? 00:09:33.497 --> 00:09:43.689 It's almost as if you're acting like little kids 00:09:43.689 --> 00:09:48.002 who are seeing their parents divorce and opposing and being resentful 00:09:48.002 --> 00:09:49.468 that the parents are divorcing 00:09:49.468 --> 00:09:54.112 although parents themselves might have a good reason to separate. 00:09:54.112 --> 00:10:03.571 The same thing with North and South Korea. 00:10:03.571 --> 00:10:09.433 Regular ordinary people actually have no reason to suffer the separations 00:10:09.433 --> 00:10:14.562 but the separation does serve a purpose for the ruling elite. 00:10:14.562 --> 00:10:23.007 So if you actually ask the leadership of your church 00:10:23.007 --> 00:10:26.921 whether you want to ask the deacons or actually ask the minister, 00:10:26.921 --> 00:10:33.231 they will have reasons to separate. 00:10:33.231 --> 00:10:42.090 So you feel discomfort over the split of the church 00:10:42.090 --> 00:10:49.051 because you're not a deacon or a minister not because you have this peace in your heart. 00:10:49.051 --> 00:11:01.607 So basically there's no problem here. Whether that church splits or not is their work, 00:11:01.607 --> 00:11:04.887 it's their scope, their decision , 00:11:04.887 --> 00:11:09.832 whether you go to that split church or not is your decision. 00:11:09.832 --> 00:11:18.208 We have thousands of Korean American churches in the US today 00:11:18.208 --> 00:11:23.119 and all these churches are probably split from each other. 00:11:23.119 --> 00:11:34.875 and even that church that you went to, probably resulted from 00:11:34.875 --> 00:11:40.071 somebody else actually splitting off from another church. 00:11:40.071 --> 00:11:43.933 So basically there's absolutely no problem here. 00:11:43.933 --> 00:11:48.514 Just stick to your own studies. 00:11:48.514 --> 00:11:56.042 Let their problems be their problems. 00:11:59.172 --> 00:12:02.015 (Questioner) One big thing that bothers me, 00:12:02.015 --> 00:12:06.502 the reason split is previously, 00:12:06.502 --> 00:12:14.390 my church belonged to United Methodist in New England area, 00:12:14.390 --> 00:12:22.668 the regulation and policy is the pastor is sent by union, 00:12:22.668 --> 00:12:30.594 but the pastor is a gay pastor. 00:12:30.594 --> 00:12:35.973 So that's why we split. Half member, we don't want to accept the pastor. 00:12:35.973 --> 00:12:42.184 The other half is okay, but to me God loves everybody. 00:12:42.184 --> 00:12:49.478 The gay pastor and straight pastor is all the God's children. 00:12:49.478 --> 00:12:52.808 But in the church members those split, 00:12:52.808 --> 00:13:00.951 that's comedy to me. It's very difficult to me. 00:13:00.951 --> 00:13:07.728 (Sunim) There are plenty of reasons. 00:13:07.728 --> 00:13:35.950 People make huge things out of the littlest thing, in Korean history, actually 00:13:35.950 --> 00:13:39.712 the whole kingdom almost collapsed because of political dissonance 00:13:39.712 --> 00:13:44.058 having to do with the split on how long you should be in mourning, 00:13:44.058 --> 00:13:51.136 how long you should be wearing your shroud to mourn a loved one. 00:13:51.136 --> 00:13:54.300 Whether it's three months, 6 months or 9 months. 00:13:54.300 --> 00:13:57.630 That was a huge political scandal almost brought down the kingdom. 00:13:57.630 --> 00:14:02.509 So discussion or splits or differences of opinion 00:14:02.509 --> 00:14:10.785 over a pastor being gay or not that merits a discussion, or a potential disagreement. 00:14:10.785 --> 00:14:25.340 And this issue actually not just roiling one small church. 00:14:25.340 --> 00:14:30.185 It is actually splitting huge denominations, 00:14:30.185 --> 00:14:34.798 as well as, it's still an issue in American politics today. 00:14:34.798 --> 00:14:40.909 No, I'm not saying that division or schism is a good thing. 00:14:40.909 --> 00:14:50.334 Same thing like parents have a reason to divorce from each other, 00:14:50.334 --> 00:14:54.164 but from a child's perspective, they don't understand why.