Evolution of love

YOUR ESSENCE IS LIKE A VAST BOUNDLESS SEA

Q: In your recent publication ‘The Fundamental Landscape’ you stated that our total essence is that of the Great Light. Does that include even the essence of the wicked?

Ven. Song-chol: The eternal, boundless Great Light expresses itself absolutely, so everything in the universe is indiscriminately equal. The fundamental essence of the greatest people who ever lived, of the wickedest murderers and thieves, of the beautiful flowers, of the filthy pollution, are all equally the Great Light.

Let me give a small example. People can wear all different kinds of clothing, but that doesn't change the essence of the person. You can take pure gold and make a thousand useless things out of it, but the gold still remains pure. We purchase things with money, but the value of the money is the same whether the money is new, crumpled or tattered.

Q: Well, then, what in this world is bad?

Ven. Song-chol: The only bad thing is not ridding oneself of delusions.

Q: But contemporary society is increasingly scientific and materialistic, and it is becoming more and more difficult to live like a real human being.

Ven. Song-chol: That’s why I keep insisting on seeing things properly.

Your essence is like that of a vast, boundless sea, and materialism is only like the foam that keeps rising on the surface. In order to learn the true nature of the sea, you don't go chasing the foam.

We think that this planet earth is some really big thing, but it is only a tiny speck of dust in the vast universe. And if this planet is so insignificant, what about all of this materialism?
If you're going to live like a human being, first of all, you have to know the basic value of a human being. If you realize that you are pure gold, you won't go chasing after such dust as materialism. You won’t be dragged about by materialism, and you won't march around this insignificant planet like you're really something.