Buddhism and Up (Karma): A Buddhist Priest's Wisdom to Help Suffering: A Conversation with Ji-Gong Bo-Sa

Abstract

When I met Buddhist priest Ji-Gong (Ji-Gong Bob-Sa* [Priest], Ji-Gong hereafter), it was a cold winter day in Seoul, South Korea. One of my Buddhist friends introduced him to me when I asked him if he knew any Buddhist monk he admired. I was, at the time, interviewing Koreans nominated by others as wise and moral individuals motivated to live a virtuous life. Ji-Gong graciously accepted my invitation to interview him, which I appreciated greatly because I knew how difficult it was to interview people like him. On top of that, Ji-Gong spent the bulk of the day with me, from 3 PM to 12 AM. He even graciously accepted my follow up questions for this article. It was really a great pleasure to meet someone who would happily devote their time to others. He has been sought by many who have heard that he has been helping individuals suffering from physical and emotional wounds. No wonder that he became the person to go to for help. Just judging from what I heard and what I observed, I can say that he is altruistically helping others who come to seek his help. Many times in our interview, he emphasized that he is following Buddha’s compassion.