Dongguk University will host its first annual Seoul International Meditation Festival to overcome the COVID-19 crisis. Sponsored by the Seoul metropolitan government, the event’s theme will be “Meditation, Seoul On.” The event focuses on introducing various meditation techniques to overcome COVID-19 for those working tirelessly, such as medical staff, and those who are suffering from the disease, which would be accessible on websites such as YouTube.

On October 10, the main event of the festival, “Meditation Concert,” will be held at “Paljeongdo,” the central plaza of Dongguk University in Seoul. In the first part, a meditation talk concert on the theme “Us in the Coronavirus era” will be held from 2 pm. In the second part, which begins at 7 pm, a meditation music concert titled “The Coronavirus era, the time of warm melodies” will be held.

At the talk concert, Joan Halifax Roshi, head of the US-based Upaya Zen Center, Dr. Lee Dong-hwan, head of the Job Stress Institute, and Registered Nurses Park Wan-im and Lee Jung-hwa from Dongguk University’s Ilsan Hospital will introduce the practice of meditation for those who are committed to overcoming COVID-19. Dr. Alan Wallace of Crestone Mountain Zen Center in Colorado, Professor Kim Hyun-soo, head of Seoul’s COVID-19 Psychology Support Group, and Son Eun-ju, Konkuk Middle School in Busan, will deliver lectures on the topic “How to greet the new normal and meditate in the post-Corona era.” This will be followed with speeches delivered by Venerable Seo Kwang, Professor at Dongguk University, Cho Duk-sang, the head of academic affairs of Won Buddhism, and Bishop Yoon Jong-mo of the Anglican Church on the theme “Meditation to overcome the psychological pain of the Corona era.”

The event will aid in alleviating the stress and frustration experienced by several people because of the pandemic through meditation lectures and demonstrations, conducted by those active in the field, including meditation practitioners from overseas and religious figures. In the second part of the meditation music concert, “Damsone Craftshop” will play healing music, and Kim Na-Rae will play meditation music based on Zen and Korean traditional tune. A musical ensemble, “Sori-Gonggam,” will play music of consolation and hope.

Furthermore, the meditation lectures, which will be pre-released on YouTube, include a series of eight videos, such as the following: “The Corona era, the one-point meditation focusing the mind on one” by Venerable Subul, head of Ahnkook Zen Center, “The Corona era, the meditation of awakening the helpless body” by Venerable Seo Kwang, “When I am heartbroken from others’ and my pain” by Dr. Christopher Germer (clinical psychologist at Harvard Medical School), and “When I want to feel better” by Venerable Jae-Ma. Additionally, six meditation techniques that can be practiced in ordinary life, such as “Walking meditation” by Dongguk University students under the guidance of Venerable Hye-joo, and “Music meditation” by Lee Jeong-eun, director of the Music Meditation Institute, will be introduced.

“We have designed the meditation techniques to help overcome the frustration, and we have focused on conducting non-face-to-face online programs so that anyone can easily and safely access anytime, anywhere, especially nowadays when everyone talks about feeling ‘Corona blues’ and even ‘Corona anger’,” said the chairman of the Seoul International Meditation Festival, Venerable Jong-Ho, who is also the vice president of planning. He further added, “I hope that the meditation techniques will be beneficial so that anyone can use it to cope with the difficulties.”

“2020 Meditation, Seoul On” can be viewed online through the official YouTube channel of “2020 Meditation, Seoul On” or accessed in real-time through Zoom in accordance with the government’s social distancing guidelines. The details are available on the website “mind.dongguk.edu.”