Hamhyeon: Touch my head, and I’m going to paradise.

Venerable Ham Hyeon, a leading Korean Seon Buddhist monk who served as abbot of Bongamsa Temple, has announced that he will follow the path of a Pure Land practitioner and published a guide to Buddhist chanting to lead all beings toward Pure Land faith. In this expanded edition of his 2022 book, Let Me Touch Your Head Once—you’re Going to Paradise, Venerable Ham explains why he devoted himself to chanting practice rather than Seon meditation and introduces chanting practices to guide all beings to Amitabha Buddha’s assembly. Pure Land faith is the belief that by trusting in Amitabha Buddha’s original vows and chanting “Namu Amitabul,” one can be reborn in the Western Pure Land, the Land of Ultimate Bliss, in the next life. In Korean Buddhism, which has long emphasized Seon practice, however, Pure Land faith has often been dismissed as faith relying on the power of another or as a practice for people of lesser capacity. Yet the Chinese Seon master Yongming Yanshou warned, “If you practice only Seon and not the Pure Land, nine out of ten will lose their way.” Great Master Wonhyo also taught that one can be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss through ten recitations. These teachings show that many Seon masters throughout East Asian history practiced chanting as well. Chapter 1, “Ham Hyeon’s Self-Admonitions,” contains the repentance and vows Venerable Ham offered to the Buddha, along with verses to Amitabha. It conveys his firm resolve not to abandon the original aspiration that led him to leave home, and to escape the long cycle of rebirth through repeated chanting. Chapters 2, “The Sutra of Questions and Answers,” and 3, “Encouraging Rebirth in the Pure Land,” draw on the three Pure Land sutras—the Amitabha Sutra, the Infinite Life Sutra, and the Contemplation Sutra—as well as Pure Land writings and sayings of wise teachers, to present the merit of chanting, methods of chanting practice, and the mindset of a chanting practitioner. Two papers explaining the origins of Pure Land faith and practice are included in the appendix to deepen readers’ understanding of chanting and Pure Land practice.

Korean title: 머리 한번 만져 보게나, 극락 간다네

Korean author: 함현

Korean publisher: 담앤북스

ISBN-13: 9791162014622