He is the best-selling author in the Buddhist world.
Buddhist study instructor Wonyoung
The third installment of the 'Now I Understand' series!

The life I'm living now feels so bleak
If you are suddenly overcome with anxiety and worry about the future,
There's no better time to study the Diamond Sutra!

The Diamond Sutra is the primary sutra of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and, along with the Heart Sutra, is the most widely recited and studied sutra.
But even without that reason, the thoughts and wisdom contained in the Diamond Sutra are worth reading and studying, not only by Buddhism but by all people.
The teaching in the Diamond Sutra to dismantle all notions and ideas teaches all those who are anxious, fearful, and troubled the 'great freedom' of living unshaken by anything.
So, although it is said to be empty, it is filled with teachings.
Monk Won-yeong, a 'daily lecturer in Buddhist studies' who kindly explained the core teachings of Buddhism through his previous works, 'Buddhism Now Understood' and 'Heart Sutra Now Understood', has now explained the 'Diamond Sutra' in a way that anyone can easily read and understand.
It is written in everyday language instead of difficult terms, and with relatable examples and anecdotes instead of complex explanations, making it easy to read and understand right away.
This will help you know exactly what kind of mindset you should have when life feels bleak and you are tormented by anxiety and worry about the future.

Anyway, the Diamond Sutra tells us what kind of mindset we should have as we live in this world.
It teaches us how to empty our minds and not to cling to any views or positions.
I encourage you to live the life of a bodhisattva, constantly practicing letting go of attachments in life.
To lead such a life, we guide you to have the insight to face reality without making hasty judgments or verbally condemning others.
--- p.8

Just because you have the mind of a Bodhisattva, it doesn't mean that your mind will easily obey.
Life is not always smooth sailing.
Just because we have the mind to do so doesn't mean we can suddenly save all living beings like Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.
(Omitted) No matter how much you vow to save all living beings, as long as you have a physical body, you will still live in pain and control your mind.
Therefore, we must constantly discipline our minds.
In order to fill every capillary with the mind of Bodhisattva, we must let go of our desires and move forward step by step in this mirage-like life.
--- p.37~38

Life becomes a little easier when you realize that all phenomena are illusions.
The behavior of wanting and pursuing something can be reduced, and the wounds received from others can be avoided.
The image I created can either create a door leading to a harsh world or, conversely, destroy that door.
Either way, it's up to my own choice.
--- p.58

People are constantly asking questions and trying to differentiate.
They can't accept things purely and start to think about everything.
Discrimination always follows.
They are deeply immersed in the narrow-minded thinking created by their own accumulated karma, and they become swayed by inaccurate and false information, making them quarrelsome and judgmental.
This is the world we live in.
Even Barda is so absorbed in his thoughts that he often judges, criticizes, and criticizes others.
So, the reward for what is right cannot be considered pure.
--- p.88

All things in the world are phenomena that were created naturally through the encounter of fate, and the combination of those phenomena.
That's why Buddhism dislikes nouncing anything and giving it a name.
In other words, it refuses to name and give meaning to it.
The point is to stop creating labels that continue to instill subjective perceptions.
Because it only adds to the difference in discrimination.
--- p.104

If one has aroused the mind toward the highest enlightenment, there should naturally be no place to stay.
Don't be obsessed and don't be upset.
But if it ended there, it would be nice and simple, but the Diamond Sutra does not stop there.
He says that we must raise our minds again.
Don't confine yourself to a specific frame, but rather let your mind arise without being bound to anything.
To raise the mind without dwelling.
It does not teach the mind to be swayed by objects, but rather teaches the way to become the master of any object.
Ultimately, it seems to be based on the premise that what we must do is to embrace all living things with a heart of love and compassion.
Because each and every person is a part of all.
--- p.131

Natural landscapes such as mountains, rocks, and the sea existed before I was born.
It is certain that even after I disappear from this earth, it will still exist without much change.
No matter how great an achievement one of us may leave behind, his or her traces will not remain intact in this great nature.
I think our minds have already expanded tremendously if we can just look at everything we see with an open mind.
However, if we let go of our stereotypes and look at things with an open mind, we will see that most of the worries we face in our daily lives are actually trivial.
Perhaps it's because the little things in life seem so trivial that we can sometimes become reckless, and we can smile and do our best even in things that have a high chance of failure.
--- p.177

What makes life difficult for us is not that we haven't achieved what we want.
I am suffering because I cannot let go of the desires I have.
Our minds create our heavens and hells, our minds create the boundaries and situations we find ourselves in.
--- p.211

Just as if you imagine a large room in your mind and then see a small room, the concept of big or small arises, so the thought of something being short creates the thought of something being long, and the thought of something coming creates the thought of something going.
New ideas are born based on the conditions each person creates in their head.
Big and small, short and long, all of this is a result of acting, and there was no such thing in the first place.
That is why it is said that all things in the world are empty.
--- p.220

In Buddhism, truth is often likened to the 'moon', and explaining truth is often likened to a 'finger'.
And yet, they all unanimously emphasize, “You must look at the moon, not the finger pointing at the moon.”
The finger here is the 'name' mentioned in the Diamond Sutra.
A finger can point to anything.
You can point to the stars in the sky while talking about your dreams, or you can point to someone with a critical glare.
You can point to all kinds of things, but you can't point to the 'finger' itself that you're pointing at.
So there is no need to be obsessed with the name.
Names only create stereotypes.
--- p.224~225

If you say, 'Everything changes,' then there is no one who would not understand this.
However, in the process of applying it to reality and living, the 'hope that mine will not change' only creates problems.
Even though you know this, when your heart is not in control, you must often come into contact with wise words.
It's like when you don't know the way, you have to listen carefully to the person who gives you directions.
If you want to know where the moon is, you have to follow the finger pointing to the moon.
--- p.259

When you go to a temple, you don't bring your status or position.
The same goes for churches and cathedrals.
I think the same goes for fortune tellers.
Likewise, it is impossible to enter the world of enlightenment with anything differentiated.
The thoughts created by living beings do not illuminate everything clearly.
Therefore, although you may study Buddhism and wander through the world of enlightenment, you can never cross over without cutting off your discriminatory mind.

--- p.295