First American Won Buddhism Believer Visits Korea

From the Joong Ang Ilbo:

Two weeks before New Year’s Day, Eun Deok Cultural Center was covered in snow. Located next to Changdeok Palace in Jongno District, central Seoul, the cultural center is the cradle of Won Buddhism – modern Korean Buddhism.

There, Dathane Turner, the first American believer in Won Buddhism’s 100-year history, sat quietly at a coffee table. He visited Korea to conduct a spiritual ceremony and was scheduled to fly back to the United States shortly after.

There was sadness in his family affairs.

The question “Why is my life is so arduous?” has lingered in his mind since he was a young boy, Turner said.

To find the answer, he tried to study positive psychology at graduate school and looked around asceticism centers.

But all those attempts turned out to be in vain.

One day when he searched for “meditation” on the Internet, he was randomly taken to a webpage that introduced him to Won Buddhism.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

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