An Open Question to Supreme Patriarch Seongpa
I am Yoon Deok-man, operator of the Barobul Buddhist channel. This video letter asks one question: How does the supreme patriarch judge the violence committed by Jogye Order monastics against a layperson outside Bongeunsa, and what will the Order do?
On August 14, while the newly selected administrative leader Jinwoo visited Seongpa, violence unfolded outside the temple. The leadership spoke of harmony and discipline while people connected to the institution assaulted a worker.
Former Employee Park Jeong-gyu’s Protest
Park had worked for the Order for decades and was a union member. After a ruling that his dismissal was unfair and an order to reinstate him, the Order still did not return him to work. He continued a one-person protest, calling for reinstatement and an end to former leader Jaseung’s influence.
He said he protested while reciting the Mettā Sutta, wishing that all beings be peaceful and happy. He condemned injustice without relying on a wish to harm. I saw the conduct of a Buddhist practitioner in that attitude.
Monastics Who Seized a Sign and Threw Filth
Monastics and associates were waiting at the site, with concealed faces and containers of filth. They seized Park’s sign, struck and kicked him when he asked for it back, threw excrement on him, and shouted severe abuse.
Others joined the attack instead of stopping it. Preparations, waiting participants, and coordinated escalation make the event difficult to dismiss as an accidental scuffle. The visible assault may be only the tip of a deeper structure of power.
Who Behaved Like a Practitioner?
Which side was Buddhist: the lay worker reciting loving-kindness while protesting injustice, or ordained monks assaulting him? Park appeared far more like a practitioner.
Even when criticizing wrongdoing, Buddhists should guard against the wish to injure. How can people who received more precepts than lay practitioners strike, curse, and humiliate a civilian? The event forces us to ask what ordination means.
Lies and Institutional Silence
The accused monk reportedly claimed mutual violence after police detention. If violence was followed by a lie, both non-harming and truthfulness were violated. The institutional response determines whether this remains an individual offense or reveals collective corruption.
For nearly ten days, no responsible public position appeared. Brief reports of an individual apology or resignation are not an investigation or an institutional answer. Silence protects violence and deepens suspicion.
Repeated Violence Is Structural
This was not the first such incident. A monk who tried to report Jaseung’s gambling was previously dragged away and severely beaten. Now similar violence targeted a lay employee.
The Order must disclose who prepared, coordinated, and enabled the assault and what power relations made it possible. Otherwise people will reasonably ask whether the Jogye Order is a Buddhist institution or an organization of violence.
Repentance Requires Public Action
Preventing recurrence requires apology and restoration for the victim, investigation, discipline, and sustained examination of the culture that permits violence. Institutional power must serve truth and recovery rather than concealment.
Covering the past is not harmony. A community moves forward only by facing wrongdoing, cutting out corruption, and repenting. Compassion protects victims and changes the conditions that reproduce harm.
Harmony, Pure Discipline, and Benefit for Beings
At his elevation, Seongpa called for harmony, pure discipline, and benefit for all beings. If those words were not empty, this event demands an answer.
Who protects discipline? Can harmony be achieved by asking the assaulted to remain silent? The future cannot be reached while the past is covered and present corruption ignored. Supreme Patriarch Seongpa, who will uphold the precepts of the Jogye Order?
This article was edited by AI solely from the supplied video captions and description. No external sources were used.