One-Minute Reflection: The Role of Modern Buddhist Temples

One-Minute Reflection: The Role of Modern Buddhist Temples

Historically, Korean Buddhist temples were spaces of supplication, praying for national peace and bliss in the afterlife. Even today, monastics (Sramana) often fulfill priestly roles, tending toward making Buddhism an "absolute religion." However, a temple culture leaning toward authoritarianism and a self-exalting attitude of "self-importance" (Jajon) blocks communication with the public and could deepen the crisis of Buddhism.
In this light, relying on "quasi-Buddhist" programs such as secular meditation is not a fundamental alternative for the future of Buddhism. Temples must move away from being closed practice sites or purely solemn, sacred spaces and be reborn as "resting places" and "refuges" where the public can stay in comfort. Specialized education should be transferred to professional institutions within the Buddhist community, while monastics on the ground should communicate closely with the people as guides who have set down their authority.
If only the practitioners at the temples greet the world with humility and friendliness, the temple will become a space where anyone can rest comfortably and truly become the foremost refuge needed by the world.

Paramita

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