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DESCRIPTION
A sage of old said, “Proprieties are the fabric of celestial principles and the rules of human rituals.” Without proprieties, a person would be devoid of the highest of human qualities and public morals and social order would hardly be maintained; therefore, laying down the rules of propriety is a matter of vital importance in human life.
Due to the changes of times and borders, however, traditional proprieties from the past may be considered no longer proper in the present and what may be accepted as politeness in one country may not be in another country; hence the need for a person to adopt only what is proper arises. While proprieties, when first laid down, may seem carelessly done due to their procedural simplicity, adding volumes of supplementary expositions as time passes, on the contrary, would create troublesome practices that may not correspond well with people’s daily life; therefore the need for a person to adopt moderation without excess or deficiency is called for. As laying down the rules of propriety relates heavily to external matters, namely relations between people and those between people and things, a person ignorant of the fundamentals of propriety is likely to think that merely following formalities and keeping up appearance with whatever means according to time and place is all there is to practicing propriety. This is why a person should train himself from within, in pursuit of the fundamentals.
Consequently, what are the fundamentals of propriety? The first is to show far-ranging respect, which is always having respect for all things in the universe. The second is to show humility, which is always humbling yourself and honoring others. The third is to never compare nor reckon up, which is always asking yourself whether you have been improper in anyway and not reckoning up the improprieties of others.
Moreover, as the rules of propriety deals heavily with distinction of rank and seniority, a person may easily think that merely elucidating ways of distinction according to ranks and seniority with whatever means is the true nature of propriety. According to the principle, however, the way for a person to train himself in propriety as a whole is to first seek the mind, and then to have the mind rest in the place devoid of distinction, and finally to apply the ways of distinction in dealing with the matters of external nature. Only after having trained himself this way, will his conduct coincide with the fundamentals and will he be able to avoid being concerned with issues of minor or of no importance when dealing with matters.
The Won-Buddhist order, in consideration of all such points, compiled the Book of Rituals, the collection of necessary rules of propriety selected from both the old and the new, in which general propriety is first elucidated, followed by proprieties with regard to family affairs as well as the rites and rituals of the order that meet the needs of the times based on fairness and reason. Those who faithfully put them into practice as prescribed will truly be versed in the order of things in propriety and contribute to improving the world.
CONTENTS
기원 독경 …
01. 경종10타 02. 일상수행의 요법 03. 입정의 노래 04. 영주21독
05. 일원상서원문 06. 반야심경 07. 휴휴암좌선문 08. 청정주 21독
09. 솔성요론 10. 수도인의 세가지 일과 11. 아침 기도의 노래
12. 경종10타 13. 날마다 지켜야 할 세가지 14. 세가지 반조공부
15. 심고가 16. 일원상서원문 17. 참회문 18. 금강경 19. 계문
20. 참회계 21. 저녁 기도의 노래
