The retreat refers to monks staying at their place of practice for three months each year during winter and summer, advancing steadily without deviation. In summer it is called the summer retreat (ha-an-geo), and in winter, the winter retreat (dong-an-geo). It originated from the practice in India of remaining in a suitable location for three months during the rainy season to engage in meditation. This tradition naturally took root in East Asia's summer and winter seasons. The summer retreat begins on the 15th day of the fourth lunar month and concludes on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. On the release day, known as Baekjung (), people take a day off, sometimes giving money or new clothes to farm laborers during the agricultural lull, and celebrate with festivals at markets and other venues.
In Buddhism, on the day the retreat ends, memorial services are held to guide the spirits of deceased ancestors and parents toward liberation. Among these, the "Sutra on the Profound Kindness of Parents," often recited during the service, served as the foundation for the song "Parents' Grace," sung on Parents' Day.
Human death, views of the afterlife, reincarnation, and liberation are interpreted differently across eras and carry varying meanings. While long-standing traditions can be understood from multiple perspectives, they remain more than mere superstition or simple rituals; they represent a conscious effort by surviving family members to process and heal their emotions toward the deceased. Rather than excessive and draining ceremonies focused solely on form, rituals that appropriately express the wish for the departed's peace and comfort the hearts of the bereaved remain valid even in the 21st century.
Families who no longer hold ancestral rites are increasing rapidly. Even when held, such rites have become more simplified. Considering that human values and dignity must be increasingly reevaluated as artificial intelligence (AI) advances at a rapid pace, perceptions of ancestors and ancestral rites will also change dramatically. Religious counseling is now conducted through AI, and people find solace in it. The same applies to the profound contents of Buddhist scriptures. Although answers that deeply insight into the questioner's psychology and truth are still insufficient, psychological comfort and consolation continue to be provided.
So what should Buddhism and its practitioners do? The answer may lie in the retreat tradition that has continued for 3,000 years. The purpose of practicing during the retreat is to gain insight into the essence of the mind, attain enlightenment to live as a complete being, and share this with others while living together. Enlightenment has limits when conveyed through words alone. No matter how much one describes the red sun in writing, how can someone who has never seen it truly know the sun? Enlightenment is an existential reality that belongs to oneself. Moreover, the pure joy of sharing without seeking personal fame or status cannot be learned from AI. This is likely why the retreat practice has continued within monastic communities for three millennia.
While retreats are held at temples and hermitages across South Korea, approximately 100 meditation centers with over 2,000 practitioners focused primarily on seated meditation (seon) will lay down their death drums after the summer retreat concludes, taking a brief period of active engagement to prepare for the autumn or winter retreat. Through their own unique enlightenment, they will become a refreshing breeze in the world, offering rest to those weary from the heat.
The final image in the Ten Ox Herding Pictures, commonly seen on temple murals, is "Entering the Market and Lowering One's Hand" (입전수수). Just as a practitioner enters the marketplace with outstretched hands, the post-retreat engagement is not merely rest but an extension of practice. Only when the mind cultivated in the quiet mountains confronts the suffering of others in the complex world does it become living compassion. This is the true reward for a practitioner who has studied intensively for one season. In this way, Mahayana Buddhism regards oneself and the world with equal weight. Wisdom gained through practice must manifest as compassion, and that compassion seeks appropriate means. Furthermore, enlightenment can certainly be attained through empathy and reflection on the world. Thus, the Bodhisattva path itself is a route to enlightenment.
Because this is not easy, practitioners sit in meditation halls and advance for over ten hours daily. As AI continues to encroach upon human society, at the moment of concluding the summer retreat as the final bastion revealing the true nature of existence and a compassionate perspective toward the world, we join our hands in prayer that lotus flowers bloom before all practitioners on their paths ahead.
in OPINION
