I have used many names for my blog, but I’m sure I’ll come down with the right name. One name was “An American Taoist in S. Korea”. I’m not a Taoist in the Chinese sense of the word. I don’t practice Qigong like the Chinese, and I don’t focus on the teaching Lao Tzu.
However, in the big picture of East Asia meditation, the concept of “Doh”(Korean word for Tao, 도) or “Tao” has been one of the key concepts of meditation. It has many meanings, but one of the main meanings is “road”, that is, to travel the road to oneself. Meditation is that journey. But while meditation is important, it’s also important to “study” yourself as much as possible.
Yesterday I was talking with one of my Korean family members, a young girl, who just entered college. She entered a Buddhist college in Seoul, as that was the easiest school to get into in the capital, where everyone wants to study. It was interesting, that in her program they study “mind introspection”, and she was reflecting on the meaning of “her mind”. I realized there is an advantage to studying at a Buddhist college, as a normal college would not bring up the topic of studying one’s mind, thoughts, emotions – that is, what’s happening within one’s inner mind.
However, there is nothing more important than studying one’s mind, and knowing oneself. Even though it’s a long journey, there can be nothing more satisfying than knowing oneself in detail. It is only then you can feel Doh or Tao – because something starts to call you from within.
The Korean family member seemed happy to talk about the mind. I asked her, “What is the most important thing in life?” She thought the question was too big. But I answered, “It’s knowing who you are, it’s knowing as much detail about yourself as possible. Then you can be truly happy inside.” She made a big smile. She said, “I always pretend to be happy, but in my inner mind, but now I see I haven’t found happiness yet. I will look into my mind…”