Gautama Buddha taught impermanence, not-self, and dependent arising. His life placed him among others as an equal who begged for food rather than declaring himself supreme. When impermanence and not-self are genuinely understood, the fire of ego that seeks elevation should diminish.
Some practitioners undergo a major awakening, repent of the past, and change direction. Yet even when they want to share what they discovered, remaining ego can communicate superiority rather than sincerity. A practitioner must therefore cultivate humility. Standing rigidly in the conviction “I know” before complete understanding becomes an obstacle to awakening.
Jinje’s claim to be the seventy-ninth Dharma heir
Supreme Patriarch Jinje presents himself as the seventy-ninth heir in a transmission supposedly unbroken for 2,500 years from Śākyamuni Buddha. Those unfamiliar with Buddhism may regard this as immense authority. I call it a literary construction rather than historical fact. Lineages repeatedly broke, and connecting names on paper does not prove awakening.
Only a few generations above Jinje’s own line stands Gyeongheo, who reportedly lamented that no teacher was available to examine and guide his awakening. From whom, then, did Gyeongheo receive certification? Jinje nevertheless says, “Without a teacher, one naturally becomes a demonic outsider.” The claim conflicts with the history of the very lineage used to authorize him.
A teacher cannot transfer awakening
A teacher is not an indispensable owner of enlightenment. As the injunction to make oneself and the Dharma one’s lamps suggests, a person examines the teaching and awakens through personal seeing. A teacher can explain the path and identify mistakes, but cannot hand over awakening as an object or certify another person’s inner state by decree.
Jinje has displayed a sheet containing a transmission verse and pursued its designation as cultural property. But paper does not authenticate enlightenment. Neither a teacher’s writing nor a retrospective genealogy can prove the quality of a mind. If Jinje underwent a great awakening, it should appear in ordinary speech and conduct.
Awakening appears as quietness and peace
Those near a genuinely quiet person inevitably sense something of that quietness. A few actions can be staged and misunderstood, but over time speech and behavior reveal desire. Someone who understands not-self should show less need to rise above others and receive recognition.
Yet Jinje rose to the highest office, loudly claimed awakened succession, and erected a statue of himself while alive beside statues of his teachers. The monument says, “I too am one of these awakened masters.” I see in it not the disappearance of self but strong attachment, pride, and conceit. The need to advertise awakening is itself far from inward quiet.
Jinje should leave the patriarch’s seat and repent with the mind of full prostration for misleading the Order. A title cannot convert noise into realization.
Jaseung’s power remained after his office ended
The second figure is former president Jaseung. I have not seen him explicitly claim enlightenment, but his influence remained visible after formal office. News reports showed politicians visiting his temple before a presidential election. One must ask what unofficial power made him a center of such activity.
His Sangwol Seonwon retreat was one conspicuous project. A tent was erected for a winter retreat with unusual publicized rules about remaining inside and avoiding ordinary washing. It was promoted under the banner of reviving Buddhism. I saw instead a strong desire to display oneself. Why must quiet practice be advertised as extraordinary austerity?
A pilgrimage saying, “I am different”
Jaseung later undertook a pilgrimage to the three jewel temples while growing his hair, visibly distinguishing himself from monks who shave their heads. A pilgrimage can be made quietly. At each temple, however, the abbot and an assembled crowd received him, and seated abbots bowed from the floor while he occupied a chair.
The ceremony enacted a hierarchy: “I stand above the abbots of these temples.” What office entitled him to receive such obeisance? Whether the abbots acted voluntarily or under pressure, the image of one man elevated above several monks represents power, not humility or equality.
The deeper the practice, the lower the self
Did respected practitioners of earlier generations stage ceremonies like these? Deep practice should not elevate oneself and lower others. Insight into impermanence and not-self makes relationships more equal and weakens the desire to be honored.
A man seated on a chair while three abbots sit on the floor and bow before an audience is far from awakening. It exposes ordinary ambition. Though called a movement for Buddhist revival, the conduct reverses the teaching it invokes.
Do not be deceived by the appearance of a great monk
Many Buddhists see the title of supreme patriarch, a seventy-nine-generation lineage, a transmission verse, an exceptional retreat, or a pilgrimage and conclude that they must be looking at a great master. Buddhism, however, does not prove awakening through paper, office, austerity, and ceremony. A noisy mind does not become awakened because its owner makes the claim from a high seat.
If realization is genuine, quietness and peace become perceptible to those nearby. Over time one can see whether greed, anger, and delusion have weakened. People cannot hide the mind indefinitely. When conduct contradicts proclamation, conduct deserves greater trust.
This is accountability for public power, not a private grudge
I bear no personal grudge against Jinje or Jaseung. I criticize them because they are public figures with symbolic or practical authority over the Jogye Order. The supreme patriarch represents the Order, while Jaseung continued to influence politicians and abbots without formal office. Their behavior affects the direction and credibility of the Buddhist community.
This is why reform is necessary. In a structure where a patriarch promotes his statue and lineage while a former president elevates himself through performances of practice and receives bows from abbots, humility and equality lose their place. Power replaces Dharma, and appearance replaces awakening.
Return to the original resolve and repent
When these two men first renounced ordinary life, they likely intended to leave worldly desire and follow the Buddha’s path. Even after taking a mistaken road, they can turn back. Repentance is not a defensive speech. It is relinquishing office and power and changing conduct.
Jinje should stop hiding behind lineage and title and examine his actions. Jaseung should release unofficial power and self-display and return as one equal person among monks and lay Buddhists. Humility is not an ornament of Buddhism; it is foundational.
A person in whom the fires of greed, anger, delusion, and ego have cooled does not require ceremonies of self-elevation. I hope the two return to their first resolve, repent, and allow the Jogye Order to be governed by the community rather than personal power. The purpose is not destruction of two individuals but revival of living Buddhism.
This article was edited by AI solely from the supplied video captions and description. No external sources were used.