The ShinsungHwa of Great Bodhisattva Sukhyeonbul Myoeom Yun Bong-soon (2019)
A Brief Description of Great Bodhisattva Myoeum Yoon Bong-soon’s ShinsungHwa
Creating the ShinsungHwa of Great Bodhisattva Myoeum Yoon Bong-soon filled me with profound reverence for someone who has achieved such spiritual accomplishment through dedicated practice. The infinity symbol that emerged at her spiritual core was rendered with extraordinary density and detail, requiring over an hour to complete this single element alone.
At the crossing point of this infinity symbol, explosive spiritual exchange took place during the creation process. In the material realm depicted beneath her feet, a prominent symbol of light manifested – signifying her role in bringing great spiritual illumination to the world. Throughout the entire creative process, I felt the intense energy of her 72 years of devoted practice – 24 hours daily of chanting the Lotus Sutra and invoking Shakyamuni Buddha and Vairocana Buddha with unwavering determination.
The Golden Sarira Prophet: A Remarkable Buddhist Master’s Story
“I received a divine prophecy from Vairocana Buddha five years ago, so there will be a golden sarira (sacred relic) between my eyebrows. Remember this—at 5:20, I will ascend to Tusita Heaven to help all living beings.”
Myoeum Bodhisattva, a revered Korean Buddhist nun (Sunim—a Korean honorific for Buddhist monks and nuns), founded the Tathagata Order (Yeorae-jong) in Korea. She made an incredible prediction: she would pass away on February 15th at exactly 5:20 PM. And that’s exactly what happened. When her body was cremated—a traditional Buddhist rite for monks and nuns—something amazing occurred: over 30,000 sarira (sacred relics, crystalline beads believed in Korean Buddhism to manifest from the ashes of highly realized practitioners) appeared, though news reports mentioned around 1,000. Among these was one special golden sarira that glowed with white light. This was extraordinary because even the most revered monks in history typically left behind only about 200 sarira.
Whether there were many relics or few doesn’t matter as much as this: after a lifetime of hardship and devoted spiritual practice, no one could question her pure heart and dedication. Perhaps the Buddhist community, focused on large established orders and sometimes overlooking women, hadn’t given her the recognition she deserved.
She left behind these words: “After I pass away, I will show myself to all beings. Monks and nuns must practice even harder, and lay practitioners who see me should strengthen their faith and keep their vows. This will prove that anyone—whether ordained or lay, man or woman—can achieve enlightenment equally. Watch carefully.”
Today, you can still visit Myoeum Bodhisattva’s sarira at several temples: about 15,000 at Yaksa Temple in Namhansanseong, around 10 each at temples in Anyang and Seongnam, and another 15,000 at Daeyaksa Temple in Okcheon. These temples welcome visitors who want to see the relics for themselves. For anyone seeking spiritual inspiration through prayer and chanting, her story serves as a shining example.
Two Divine Dreams That Changed Everything
Myoeum Bodhisattva lived with remarkable discipline. Every night at midnight, she would wake up, bathe for purification, and meditate for five hours. Throughout each day, whether lying down, sitting, or walking, she constantly chanted “Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha” while repenting her past actions and dedicating her merit to helping all beings.
Two years before her passing, something extraordinary happened. One night, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva appeared to her from the heavens with this message: “Your earthly connections are now complete. Cut your ties and come up to us. But to enter Tusita Heaven Palace, you must receive the precepts three times.”
After receiving the precepts three times, she gathered her Buddhist followers in December when she was 95 years old. She told them: “I will enter Nirvana on February 15th (Buddha’s Nirvana Day) at 5:20 PM. I received a prophecy from Vairocana Buddha five years ago, so there will be a golden sarira between my eyebrows. Remember this—at 5:20, I will ascend to Tusita Heaven to help all living beings. After my passing, I will reveal myself to everyone. All ordained practitioners must practice with even greater determination, and lay practitioners who look to me as an example should strengthen their faith and keep their precepts well. This will demonstrate that ordained and lay people, men and women alike, can all achieve enlightenment equally. Even after my death, I will continue to save beings who suffer in the cycles of worry and pain. Watch carefully.”
True to her word, she passed away at exactly the day and time she had predicted.
A Prophetic Dream About Danger
Originally, Myoeum Bodhisattva and her only son, Inwang Sunim (a Korean Buddhist monk), built Yaksa Hermitage on Inwang Mountain in Seoul. While living there, she had a vivid dream in October 1967. An elderly monk appeared in the temple hall carrying a traveling bag and said: “There will be religious persecution on January 1, 1969. I’m going to Mandeok Mountain first, so you and your son should also come to Mandeok Mountain.” He pointed southeast and walked toward a mountain surrounded by fortress walls.
Puzzled by this dream, she searched southeast of Inwang Mountain for a mountain with fortress walls and discovered Namhansanseong. In May 1968, she traveled there and asked local residents about a place called Mandeok Mountain. They told her that between Namhansanseong and Geomdan Mountain stood a peak called Mandeok Mountain. According to local legends, when the fortress was built, a diamond-strong warrior emerged from that mountain to help build the walls and lived in a cave there. That cave, big enough for one person, still exists today.
This led her to establish a temple site in what was then called Persimmon Tree Valley, creating the current Yaksa Temple.
The Prophecy Comes True
Sure enough, on January 1, 1969, after midnight, gunshots rang out from the Segeomjeong area beyond Inwang Mountain. By 7 AM, soldiers and police arrived at mountain temples to conduct searches. The cause was Kim Shin-jo’s group—about 30 armed North Korean infiltrators who had been sent to attack the Blue House (the Korean presidential residence). After several days, only Kim Shin-jo surrendered while the rest were eliminated. Following this incident, hermitages throughout the Inwang Mountain area were demolished in May.
Buddha had foreseen these events and guided his disciple to find both a safe retreat and a permanent location for spreading the true teachings.
A Life of Remarkable Courage
Myoeum Bodhisattva was born on May 9, 1906, in Yongdong Village at the foot of beautiful Misung Mountain in Goryeong County, North Gyeongsang Province, when Korea was suffering under Japanese rule. She was the eldest of four children born to Yun Gyeongsik and Gang Ingok Bodhisattva. After receiving both traditional family education and modern schooling, she married Shin Eulyong in spring 1926 when she was 20. At age 21, on December 18, 1927, she gave birth to a son who would later become Inwang Shin Panseok, head of the Korean Mahayana Buddhist Tathagata Order.
However, happiness was short-lived. When she was just 24, her husband died, leaving her with serious concerns about her only son’s education and their survival. Family elders showed little interest in helping, and she couldn’t find any solutions to their financial struggles.
With great determination, she made a bold decision. Taking her seven-year-old son Panseok, she boarded a government ferry, crossed the Korea Strait, and moved to Nagoya, Japan. For eleven years, despite facing all kinds of hardships, she worked various jobs and ran businesses to build a foundation for their future and ensure her son’s proper education and growth.
Though Japan had stolen Korea’s sovereignty and was their enemy, it was also a developed nation that had embraced Western civilization before Korea. Those eleven years in Japan opened both mother and son’s eyes to modernization, laying the groundwork for him to later become an outstanding religious leader.
After Korea’s liberation on August 15, 1945, and the end of World War II and the Pacific War, they returned home in fall 1948 when her son was 19.
Building a Spiritual Legacy
After spending about ten years in their hometown navigating the turbulent post-war period, they moved to Seoul. There, her Buddhist faith deepened as she devoted herself completely to serving the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha). The result was remarkable: she established six temples including Namhansanseong Yaksa Temple, creating the foundation for a new Mahayana Buddhist order—the Korean Mahayana Buddhist Tathagata Order (Yeorae-jong), officially founded in 1988.
She spent over 30 years at Namhansanseong Yaksa Temple, establishing the order’s foundation. When she passed away on March 9th at age 96, she left behind an unexpectedly vast number of full-body sarira that no one had anticipated, powerfully demonstrating how thorough and admirable her spiritual practice had been. In life, the awakened Buddha Myoeum Bodhisattva was a mother who surpassed even the legendary Shin Saimdang in excellence, and to her followers and neighbors, she was a great Bodhisattva who demonstrated compassion through action.
Her story shows us that with dedication, faith, and perseverance, anyone can achieve spiritual greatness—regardless of their gender or background. The thousands of sacred relics she left behind continue to inspire visitors today, serving as tangible proof of a life lived in complete devotion to helping others find their way to enlightenment.
English 
한국어 
