100 Days of Dharma: The Bodhisattva Path of Ven. Pomnyun Sunim

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100 Days of Dharma: The Bodhisattva Path of Ven. Pomnyun Sunim

By Craig C Lewis
May 5, 2025

As an exemplar of socially engaged Buddhism in the spirit of Thich Nhat Hanh of Vietnam and Preah Maha Ghosananda of Cambodia, the revered Korean monk Venerable Pomnyun Sunim has become a contemporary beacon of Buddhist wisdom and compassion in a troubled world. Sharing the Buddhadharma freely and living it unflinchingly, he embodies the ideals of the bodhisattva path that seeks to put wisdom into action and compassion into practice, working to alleviate suffering and empowering people and communities to become the agents of their own happiness and liberation.

Ven. Pomnyun Sunim has founded numerous organizations, initiatives, and projects across the world that stand as living expressions of Buddhist compassionate engagement: JTS, an international humanitarian relief organization working to eradicate poverty and hunger; Jungto Society, a volunteer-based community that aspires to embody the Buddhist ideal by promoting a simple lifestyle centered on social engagement and sustainable living; EcoBuddha, which promotes environmental ethics and sustainable living informed by Buddhist principles; and Good Friends, which fosters reconciliation and cooperation between the North and South Korea. Ven. Pomnyun Sunim also serves as patron to the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB).

In recognition of his decades of selfless dedication to reducing the suffering of oppressed and disadvantaged communities, Ven. Pomnyun Sunim received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Peace and International Understanding in 2002 for his compassionate action to mitigate the human cost of the division of North and South Korea and for his work toward reconciliation and reunification. In 2020, the Niwano Peace Foundation in Japan presented him with the 37th Niwano Peace Prize for his international humanitarian work, environmental and social activism, and his intensive efforts to build trust and goodwill across cultural and religious boundaries toward the aspiration of world peace.*

More recently, after many weeks and months of extended international travel to deliver in-person Dharma teachings across Asia, Europe, and North America—and to spearhead vital humanitarian projects on behalf some of the world’s most vulnerable communities in locations as diverse as Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Syria, Thailand, Türkiye, and the Philippines—Ven. Pomnyun Sunim turned his attention homeward to deepen his connection with his sangha in South Korea. On 16 February, he conducted a formal opening ceremony for the 2025 Dharma Talk Festival: 100-Day Dharma Talks—a special period of focused Dharma teachings and practice running from 17 February–1 June that builds up to celebrations for the birth anniversary of Shakyamuni Buddha being observed this year on 5 May.

As the relentless chill of a particularly fierce Korean winter surrendered to the gentle fragrances and warm colors of spring—mirroring the bodhisattva heart: a turning toward warmth and renewal, nurturing seeds of hope and thawing icy fetters—BDG had the privilege of sitting down with Ven. Pomnyun Sunim to talk about his aspirations as a socially engaged monastic, the guiding values of his work, and the intentions behind this rare and powerful 100-day Dharma practice period.

BDG: You have been extremely busy over a considerable period with your overseas teaching schedule and socially engaged outreach in various countries. Now you’re spending an extended period in Korea for 100 days of Dharma teachings and practice. How did this come about?

Ven. Pomnyun Sunim: It has been about five years since Jungto Society, our community of practitioners, switched to an online format for Dharma gatherings and group practice sessions.

The first reason for this coming together is because, while the online transition has come with many advantages, it also has shortcomings. The most significant deficiency is the loss of opportunities for people to join together in person, to practice side by side—not only for practitioners and Dharma teachers, but also among Dharma friends; we no longer have the same opportunities to be inspired by one another.

As a consequence, faith has weakened and the motivation to practice and engage in social action has diminished. Naturally, when people listen to Dharma talks at home, it becomes easier to multitask or be distracted, which reduces concentration. Therefore, in order to help people engage more deeply with their practice and be more socially engaged, we wanted to create opportunities for more in-person gatherings.

We built the Jungto Social and Cultural Center here in Seoul to provide a cultural and social venue that would be a focal point to revitalize practice and social engagement. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we migrated to an online format before Jungto Center was completed so we were prevented from fully utilizing the center’s potential.

In order to have more engaging in-person activities, we organized this offline 100-Day Dharma Talks event to strengthen spiritual practice and to enhance practical implementation. To truly “activate” this building, I needed to give Dharma talks in person, so the main purpose is to revitalize our offline activities and practice.

Second, Korean society is currently in a state of confusion. To help stabilize society, I felt it necessary to encourage our members to practice more, and for me to be more active in South Korea for at least 100 days, rather than traveling abroad to give teachings and attend to our socially engaged projects.

Besides the ongoing tensions between North and South Korea, there has been marked polarization and antagonism among political factions within South Korea. To alleviate these conflicts, we need to pray sincerely and also engage in direct dialogue with social and political leaders to help them understand the opposing side. This is why I postponed all overseas activities until after June to commence the 100-Day Dharma Talks in February. Through these efforts, I hope to play even a small role in bringing peace to the Korean Peninsula.

BDG: Does this mean that many of the public Dharma talks have focused on social stability?

Ven. Pomnyun Sunim: Yes, my public talks include social stability and social topics, but because the format of my Dharma talks is usually based on people’s questions, we continue to focus on personal problems as understood through the lens of the Dharma.

We also have Dharma studies for practitioners: Introduction to Buddhism; our Sutra Course, which explores the Diamond Sutra and Heart Sutra; Buddhist Social Engagement, which teaches about social issues from a Buddhist perspective—the topics include Buddhism and democracy, Buddhism and human rights, and others. Every Friday morning and evening, we have Dharma Q&As. Every Saturday we conduct a special 1,080-prostration ceremony. And each Sunday morning we have extended meditation sessions.

More than 5,000 people are participating in the practice sessions: around 1,500 people attend in person at Jungto Center, with the rest joining in online.

BDG: The political and economic landscape around the world and in Korea and is becoming increasingly polarized and adversarial. How favorable now is the outlook for peace and stability in Korea, in your view?

Ven. Pomnyun Sunim: We are seeing a re-stratification and realignment of international powers. After World War II, there were two main geopolitical blocks, but there was still a lot of cooperation among smaller regions and countries during that period. Then, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, global geopolitics was reorganized under a single superpower. But now we have multiple giant powers and it looks like they are all maneuvering for their own position and power. As a consequence, I think we can expect more conflicts as we move toward the beginning of the establishment of a new world order. Old power structures are breaking down, but we’ve yet to definitively see the emergence of what will replace it. I think that because of this level of uncertainty in the socio-political order, we can expect more confusion in the near future.

This is our current reality. We need to acknowledge it and see what we can do within this new reality.

If we look at the situation on the Korean Peninsula, it’s not completely negative. Resolving tensions between North and South Korea was very difficult under the previous geopolitical order—in particular, North Korea’s relationships with the US and Japan. Under the previous status quo, North Korea was referred to as an evil, totalitarian state. As the new world order takes shape, there is a possibility that the situation on the Korean Peninsula could improve—of course, there’s also the possibility that it could get worse, but it may very well get better!

Economically speaking, the situation for South Korea is likely to be challenging. The economy is important, of course, but peace is more important. So I’m also working to address the peace issue amid this climate of confusion, because we haven’t been able to resolve it in the past 80 years.

Globally speaking, the climate of confusion is likely to worsen, but for Korea we have a new chance to do things differently in terms of achieving peace.

BDG: Moving the conversation to Myanmar: Jungto Society and JTS have been heavily engaged in humanitarian projects related to the Rohingya refugee crisis. The ongoing civil resistance against Myanmar’s ruling military junta and the earthquake in late March has made life for many vulnerable communities even more difficult. How will this affect engaged Buddhist activities in Myanmar?

Ven. Pomnyun Sunim: Before the earthquake, JTS was having difficulty working within Myanmar so we retreated from direct engagement there because the military government prevented us from doing anything. Instead, we focused our efforts on supporting refugees along the Thai border and on helping Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

We’ve heard that there are serious food shortages in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, and we’ve been trying to find ways to provide food to the region via Bangladesh. Then the March earthquake happened. After the earthquake, the military government gave permission for us to enter Myanmar for humanitarian purposes, however our visa applications were delayed. We were recently able to send a small team, but the government has not allowed them to travel from Yangon to Mandalay—it has been blocking all foreigners from entering Mandalay. But once we’re finally able to enter Mandalay, we’ll assess the situation and see what we can do in cooperation with our allies on the ground. If it becomes viable for us to be active and provide aid within Myanmar, then we’ll try to do so, but if that’s not possible we’ll continue to provide support from across the border in other countries, and by cooperating with the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) in Bangkok.

BDG: There has been a lot of progress on JTS’s community projects in rural Bhutan. Are your plans for sustainable development there coming to fruition?

Ven. Pomnyun Sunim: This has been a pilot project for a five-year undertaking. In June, we’ll begin our main project. We’ve drawn up a budget and a plan for the communities we will work with. In December last year and in January this year, I personally visited each village that we’ll be working with. As we traveled deeper into more remote and mountainous rural areas, we found that living conditions were increasingly poor. We realized that we will need to help build more houses than we had anticipated, and that we will have to simplify the types of projects we are taking on.

The first project is building homes for those people and families without proper housing. The second project is renovating homes that are in poor condition, with a focus on kitchens and toilet facilities. The third project involves paving village roads that are prone to becoming unstable, dangerous, or even impassable during the monsoon season. The fourth project is building water pipelines to help irrigate farmland. Our fifth project centers on ensuring the communities have a reliable supply of clean drinking water. And our sixth agenda is building fences and enclosures to protect farm crops from incursions by wild animals.

For the roads it’s not feasible to pave them entirely, of course, so we want to make sure we can protect or reinforce those sections that are especially steep or prone to erosion. We are working in close cooperation with the village residents on all of these projects.

At the same time, we’re conducting research on the medical needs of vulnerable community members, such as the elderly, who have issues with their eyesight, hearing, or oral health. We’re also looking at improving the facilities at elementary schools and bringing in additional school supplies.

This is the scope of the first phase of our plan.

The second phase involves helping village communities to increase their incomes, for example, by cultivating cash crops in addition to subsistence farming—produce such as fruit, cardamom, tea, and so on. We’re also working to improve access to high-quality rice and corn seed varieties to help farmers boost their crop yields, and by introducing methods to improve agricultural efficiency.

Increasing their income isn’t easy. A lot of young people have been leaving these rural communities, moving to cities or even outside of Bhutan. A relatively large number of people are now living overseas compared with the size of Bhutan’s population: from a total population of some 800,000 people, 150,000 now live overseas—and this number is growing. Even people with better jobs, such as teachers and public officials, are moving abroad. This is a big social problem that has been enabled because Bhutanese education is conducted in English from elementary school.

So I’m trying to impress upon the people of rural Bhutan that it’s unwise to dream about becoming rich, but instead to recognize and embrace the treasures they already have: very good air, clean water, and a pristine natural environment. The housing problem is an issue, but that can be fixed; otherwise they live in very good conditions. So I encourage them not to move to cities or migrate abroad; living in these villages can be a wonderful thing in this time of environmental crisis.

I think we’ll be able to see the outcomes of these projects within the next couple of years. We can’t make these communities rich, but we do want to help make their lives more comfortable and more sustainable.

BDG: Besides the issues we’ve already spoken about, what else do you think needs to be addressed most urgently now?

Currently, rebuilding Syria is a major task. Although the Assad dictatorship has been overthrown, cities have been devastated by 12 years of civil war, and the country also suffered massive damage in the 2023 earthquake, making nationwide reconstruction a challenging task. There are insufficient sources of income domestically, coupled with a lack of international support. Half of the population has fled the country as refugees, and even if they were to return, their homes are destroyed, schools are gone, there’s no electricity, and hospitals are non-existent, making it impossible to sustain livelihoods.

Much like Koreans, Syrians value education highly, so their first request was for help to restore their schools. We are in talks with the Syrian government about rebuilding schools and hospitals, however, the country is big and there’s only so much we can do.

The countries that I think need the most attention now are North Korea, as food shortages for its people remain unresolved. Second, Myanmar is facing food shortages and the people are suffering in the aftermath of the earthquake damage. Third, Syria is experiencing profound difficulties in national reconstruction, and we are discussing how we might be able to help. They are all facing deep-rooted difficulties.

BDG: Thank you very much, Sunim, as always, for your generosity and your time.

* Buddhist Monk Ven. Pomnyun Sunim Awarded the 37th Niwano Peace Prize (BDG)

Craig C Lewis

Craig Lewis grew up in a transplanted Scottish family in southern England before setting off against all advice to seek light and wisdom in far-off places, rather than staying put and looking within. After repeated encounters with the Buddhadharma as a journalist in Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and across Asia, he eventually found refuge as senior editor at BDG, where he reports and writes on the diversity of contemporary manifestations of the Dharma. Craig is also a keen mountain trekker and photographer, finding particular inspiration in the peoples, cultures, and Buddhist expressions of the Himalaya. In his column for BDG, “Chasing Light,” Craig seeks to document encounters, experiences, and epiphanies resulting from his own tentative and faltering path toward liberation. Contact: [email protected]

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