On the morning of Liberation Day, Center One in Haebangchon held a “8.15 meditation meetup” to mark its second anniversary. With the theme of freedom of the mind and a creative life, a range of events ran from morning into the afternoon.
An uplifting morning with singing bowls and a cup of tea
On the basement level, the gallery Sa:yu hosted a wellness market throughout the day alongside the exhibition works. In the lobby on the first floor, as part of the opening anniversary, there were siru tteok, fruit skewers, lemon tea and potted plants to celebrate the opening.
At 10.30am, two sessions ran simultaneously. In a spot by the window where the trees outside were brought almost into the room, there was a singing-bowl performance by Kim Ja-hye, director of Raum Art Centre. I had always thought it was almost impossible to match the musical scale precisely with brass singing bowls made by hand, but director Kim filled the space with singing bowls tuned to the right notes. Together with Choi Sun-hee, a specialist singing-bowl instructor, the harmonious singing-bowl performance—quite different from the singing-bowl meditation that had previously been led by a single person—left a deep impression on the hearts of participants in the meditation hall.
In the adjacent space, teacher Park Dan-a led tea meditation. The sound of water boiling, hands warming the cup, pouring the tea, then pausing for a moment of stillness. It was a time spent fully focusing on the five senses: sound and stillness, the way you look at a dawan (tea bowl) and its aroma.
Dhamma talk “AI in the age of AI, talking about meditation”
At 2pm, the sitting hall on the fourth floor filled up without a single gap. The Dhamma talk featured Jeong Sun-il, emeritus professor at Wonkwang University, and Asi (No Sang-chung, the centre’s representative), the centre’s founder.
Standing on the lectern under the theme “The AI that finds answers, and the human that finds oneself”, Professor Jeong introduced himself as someone who has lived through all of the first to the fourth industrial revolutions, and said he believes the fifth revolution will be a spiritual revolution. He said an experience he had at the age of 17 at a railway station back home became a life-long subject of reflection, and that it took him 20 years to compile the insights he gained after studying Buddhist philosophy and searching for scriptures and teachers into a book. The book is due to be published two weeks after this lecture.
The starting point of his thought was the proposition that “the human is a microcosm”. Even the Earth, which spins at 100,000km per hour, is only a speck of dust within the solar system; yet humans are parts that possess the same properties of the wider cosmos. If the cosmos expands from a single point and returns to a single point again, calling that breath “reincarnation”, then the birth of a microcosm human is a small-bang, and death is a small-crunch. Professor Jeong divided life into two kinds: passive reincarnation, in which one simply goes along with life, and active reincarnation, in which one reduces the total amount of suffering and aligns with the wider cosmos.
The longest-lasting part of the talk was the story of the cheetah. Even when the brain is at rest, it consumes 20% of the energy used by the body. Zebras stop responding to danger once the cheetah disappears from their sight, but humans continue to run the system at full capacity even after the threat has gone. It is the reason worries become stomach ulcers—and it is also why, even in a safe state, people cannot escape the circuit of stray thoughts. He added that smartphones intensify this situation.
He also laid out a clear distinction about concentration. Concentration in the heightened excitement of chasing games or social media right up until the moment you fall asleep is closer to showering in adrenaline: it is far from practice. True concentration, like being absorbed in reading, is what allows you to take the initiative in the deeper seat of consciousness. Professor Jeong said meditation is “erasing the cheetah of the past and future”, and identified “sati”—not attention to thoughts but attention to breath—as the method. He concluded by saying meditation is no longer a matter of choice but a necessity.
“Retreat is a lifestyle, not a place”
The story by representative No Sang-chung began with his personal history. Before he encountered meditation at 15, he said he was a boy whose body would stiffen even if he tried to force himself to smile in front of a mirror. He said people often tell him they see him laughing a lot now, and he recalled that once he learned the truths of the mind, his facial expression loosened of its own accord.
He found the dangers of the age of AI in human alienation. His diagnosis was that an old concept—humans becoming subordinate to what they have created and drifting away from their own nature—becomes a renewed problem in an AI era that comes with the surplus of time. It is not about whether or not you have material things; how you take the lead in the remaining time determines the quality of life. The solution he offered was the concept of a retreat as a lifestyle. The era in which practice requires leaving for somewhere is over; instead, the time on the commute, the time for a cup of tea, and the time after you get off work all become your retreat. He emphasised the power to observe the mind and stay within it, whether for one minute or ten, and the practice of turning your light back to shine on your own mind, a reflection back upon the self (hoegwang banjo).
From the tips of your toes back to your body, and then to the wellness market
At 3.30pm, teacher Jeong Hyun-hee held toe-yoga. As participants lay side by side on their mats and set their knees upright while following the sensation in their toes, the only sound left in the room was breathing. It was striking how the session brought you back into your body starting from the furthest end. At the same time, teacher Park Hye-jin also led an aroma meditation session.
Turning a special day into everyday life
I felt that the real value of Liberation Day itself was not just understanding with your head through a single session and a lecture; it depended on how well you could reflect it in daily life and blend it into a lifestyle. While AI can come up with an answer in a few seconds, the act of finding oneself still requires time and repetition. The same message that both speakers delivered in different languages that day was that we should carry out that repetition not in a special place, but in the seat you occupy every day.
With Center One setting its goal on training leaders, it is taking shape as “a place members want to visit often”. It was a day filled with expectations for the many varied events Center One will continue to stage around “meditation to be woven into everyday life”.
