Beopjeong

Beopjeong (1932–2010) was a Korean Seon monk, essayist, and environmentalist whose literary voice and philosophy of radical simplicity made him one of the most beloved public figures in modern Korean Buddhism. He ordained at age twenty-four at Haeinsa Temple and practiced under several Seon masters, but it was through his writing rather than his formal dharma lineage that he exerted his greatest influence. His 1976 book "Musoyu" (Non-Possession) became one of the bestselling works of Korean nonfiction, articulating a philosophy of voluntary simplicity that struck a deep chord in a rapidly industrializing society.

Beopjeong spent much of his life at small, remote hermitages, including Burilam on Mount Songni, living with almost no possessions and refusing donations beyond what was needed for basic subsistence. He was a passionate advocate for environmental protection, seeing the destruction of the natural world as both a moral failing and a symptom of the spiritual disease of attachment. Despite — or perhaps because of — his withdrawal from public life, his essays on mindful living, the beauty of nature, and the freedom of non-attachment reached millions of readers. Before his death, he requested that all his books be taken out of print and that no memorial be built for him, a final enactment of the non-possession philosophy he had taught throughout his life.