편집자 주     본지에서는 전세계 외국인 독자들을 대상으로 한국의 역사와 문화를 정확하게 소개하기 위해 김정기 변호사의 칼럼을 영문판으로 연재를 시작합니다.

한국의 역사와 문화에 관심있는 전 세계인들에게 도움이 되길 바랍니다.

한국어 독자들은 한국어로 번역된 화면이 보이므로 반드시 사이트 상단에서 원문보기로 설정하셔야 영문판으로 보실수 있습니다.
 

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☆김정기 총장 주요 약력☆

 
● 학력
- 뉴욕주립대학교(StonyBrook) 정치학과 수석졸업
- 마케트대학교(Marquette) 로스쿨 법학박사
- 하버드대학교(Harvard) 케네디스쿨 최고위과정
- 베이징대학교(Peking) 북한학 연구학자

 
● 경력
- 제8대 주상하이 대한민국 총영사(13등급 대사)
- 2010 상하이엑스포 대한민국관 정부대표
- 아시아태평양지방정부네트워크(CityNet) 사무국 대표
- 세계스마트시티기구(WeGO) 사무국 사무총장
- 밀워키지방법원 재판연구원 
- 법무법인 대륙아주 중국 총괄 미국변호사
- 난징대학교 국제경제연구소 객좌교수
- 베이징대학교 동방학연구원 연구교수
- 국민대학교 정치대학원 특임교수
- 동국대학교 경영전문대학원 석좌교수
- 숭실사이버대학교 초대 총장

 
● 저서
- 대학생을 위한 거로영어연구[전10권](거로출판사)
- 나는 1%의 가능성에 도전한다(조선일보사)
- 한국형 협상의 법칙(청년정신사)
- 대한민국과 세계 이야기(도서출판 책미듬)

(NewsKorea=Seoul) Digital News Team = Hero and Sage Story 6 - ● The Spirit of Water: Learning from Laozi and Siddhartha

The highest good is like water. Water benefits all things and does not compete. It stays in places people disdain. Thus, it is close to the Way(Tao).
 
I like this passage from Laozi’s Tao Te Ching. I have always liked water. Maybe it’s because I grew up in Geoje Island? In my childhood, I spent summers by the sea, fishing and swimming. When the weather turned cold and I could not enter the water, just looking at the vast blue sea would clear my mind. Even as an adult, watching flowing water or listening to the sound of water makes me feel at ease. Among Laozi’s many teachings, this passage about the highest good being like water must have particularly resonated with me. If even an ordinary person like me finds peace in water, it’s needless to say that Laozi, a sage, saw the Way(Tao) in water 2,500 years ago. Throughout the Tao Te Ching, Laozi makes considerable effort to explain the Way(Tao), while at the same time confessing the futility and emptiness of trying to express the Way with words.

 
If you call the Tao Tao, it is no longer Tao.
If you call a name a name, it is no longer a name. 

Laozi saw the form of the Way(Tao) in water. Among countless things, why specifically water? The Way(Tao) could have been metaphorically compared to the sky, the earth, clouds, or the wind. However, Laozi chose water as a metaphor. Just as Jesus used the vineyard to illustrate heaven, sages who reached the ultimate spirit had no other way to explain the essence than through metaphors.

Laozi describes water as the highest good. The highest good, or the most perfect, is like water. Water has no fixed shape, so it can be contained in any vessel. Water always flows from high places to low places, which is exactly opposite to where people's minds tend to go. Water can be seen as rain or snow, as ice or clouds, existing everywhere in the world while merely changing its form. On Earth, water is the source of life and life itself.

Laozi particularly noted that water remains in places people dislike. Water willingly stays in cold, damp, low, and dark places that people avoid. It lowers itself and sacrifices, taking joy in being in places that benefit all life, rather than seeking immediate satisfaction or glory. Saying that water is close to the Way(Tao) means that the nature of the Way(Tao) is close to the nature of water. 

Laozi is not the only person who sought the Way(Tao) in water. Beyond the ages, modern German writer Hermann Hesse, fascinated by Eastern Buddhism, struggled to embody its essence in his work and eventually encountered “water.” He used water to explain the spirit of Buddhism in his novel Siddhartha.
 
While Westerners approach truth through contemplation and analysis, Easterners’ attitude towards truth is experiential. Perception and experience are different. No matter how much one explains the taste of food, it is not known until one tastes it. Tasting a spoonful of food is a much clearer way to know it than describing it in a hundred books. Buddhism is particularly compelling in this regard. Hesse, who pondered how to incorporate the Buddhist spirit into a novel, finally settled on water.

In Siddhartha, Hesse depicts Siddhartha, who sets out to find the "truth without a higher form," eventually becoming a ferryman after experiencing the flow of life, and reveals a simple truth. “Look at the river. Listen to the sound of the flowing river.” The old ferryman says, water that constantly changes yet always retains the same face, always the same but never exactly the same, shows the relationship between the individual and the whole. He saw the unity of individual and whole, the collapse of subjective and objective barriers, in the river. That place is enlightenment and the Buddha’s world. Hesse seems to have understood Buddhism to that extent, whether he grasped it well or not. Regardless of whether Hesse’s understanding of Buddhism was perfect or not, I admire him for the idea of explaining truth through flowing water.

Even just the attributes, forms, and changes of water can inspire a rich imagination, enough to write a book. Among the many qualities of water, I especially appreciate its ability to give without looking back. Water flows everywhere and seeps into all places, giving life and abundance. Though not easy, I have tried to practice this spirit of water in my daily life.

I first try to help those in need without any expectations. At first, it was really difficult. However, once I realized that doing so was beneficial for me too, it became somewhat easier. But, since I am still imperfect, I sometimes expect something in return. When there is even a small expectation in my heart, it quickly turns into a hell. "How could they ignore my efforts?" "They didn’t realize how crucial my help was…" "They might not understand now, but they will appreciate it someday." Before the other party recognizes it, I imagine various scenarios and expectations. Eventually, if there is no reaction, I feel disappointed and angry. On the other hand, when I help people without expecting anything, there is no stress or anguish. To remain healthy, unscathed, and free, one should not seek anything other than the joy of giving. This is not about becoming a monk or sage practicing non-possession, but about living as a healthy member of society, helping and receiving help from others. 

Occasionally, I hear stories of people who, without expecting anything in return, donate organs to those suffering from long-term illnesses through newspapers or TV. For ordinary people who haven’t experienced it, it may be hard to understand why someone would make such a “sacrifice” for a stranger. There was a report about a series of kidney donations for patients with chronic kidney disease, where four people recovered their health, which was truly moving. It vividly demonstrated what results come from selfless giving.

The first person to start the relay of love was Mrs. Shin, whose husband had chronic kidney disease for three years. Mrs. Shin willingly donated her kidney to Mr. Son, who had the same illness at the same hospital. The close friend of Mr. Son then donated his kidney the next day to a young man also suffering from the same illness. Subsequently, the young man’s brother stepped up to donate his kidney. His kidney was donated to Mr. Cho, who had suffered from kidney disease for ten years. Then Mr. Cho’s wife expressed her intention to donate a kidney, and tests showed that it could be transplanted to Mr. Shin’s husband. In the end, four people received kidney transplants and regained their health.
 
For organ transplants, the tissue of the donor and recipient must match, which often doesn’t even happen among relatives. Therefore, help from strangers is desperately needed. When Mrs. Shin decided to donate to a stranger, she probably didn’t expect such a good outcome. She might have hoped someone would donate an organ to her husband, but since no one could guarantee such a thing, she could not promise it as a condition for donation. However, having seen her husband’s suffering, she knew how painful the illness was and, in a shared suffering situation, wanted to help others with the same condition. Miraculously, her selfless act of donating a kidney to a stranger led to a series of donations that eventually benefited her own family. 

Selfless giving has the characteristic of not ending with a single act but spreading further. If A gives to B, B will give to C in some form, C to D, and D to E, continuing indefinitely. Ultimately, Z, who received kindness from Y, will give back to A. I call this the "domino of giving." Just like flowing water, giving circulates and returns to its original place.

Of course, in human relationships, the calculation is not so simple. Just because I gave 100 to someone does not mean it will necessarily return as 100. The more people are involved, the more what I gave multiplies and returns many times over. In my life, I have had several such experiences. While I have helped others with a pure heart, there were also people who came to help me without expecting anything when I was in desperate need. Whether it was finding a new job, struggling while writing a textbook, or needing a leap in life, those who helped me with a pure heart, even if they may have forgotten, I cannot forget them.

No matter how capable and diligent a person is, there are things that cannot be accomplished alone. After doing one’s best, luck must also be on one’s side. In that regard, I am a lucky person. Although I have faced difficulties, they were within my capacity, and I was able to find what I wanted and leap to appropriate heights when needed. I do not think this was possible just because I am talented or have worked hard. It was due to the help of those around me and the luck that followed.
 
However, I believe that luck is ultimately something you create yourself. When you give without expecting anything in return, it circulates and eventually returns to you in the form of opportunities, often multiplying many times over. When I had little and could only give very little, the small acts of giving eventually came back to me as significant opportunities. This has become an immense force in my life.

☆ Author:  Atty Jeong-kee Kim ☆

● Education
- Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Summa Cum Laude, State University of New York at Stony Brook
-  Doctor of Jurisprudence, Marquette University Law School
- Senior Executive Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
- Research Scholar in North Korean Studies, Peking University

● Experience
- Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai
- Commissioner General for the Korean Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo
- CEO, Asia-Pacific Local Government Network for Economic and Social Development (CityNet)
- Secretary General, World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization(WeGO)
- Law Clerk, Milwaukee Circuit Court, USA
- Senior Attorney-at-Law, Dr & Aju LLC
- Distinguished Visiting Professor, World Economy Research Institute, Nanjing University
- Research Professor, Institute of Oriental Studies, Peking University
- Distinguished Professor, Graduate School of Political Science, Kookmin University
- Chair Professor, Graduate School of Business, Dongguk University
- First President of Soongsil Cyber University

● Publications
- Georo English Studies Series for College Students [10 volumes] (Georo Publishing)
- I Challenge the Possibility of One Percent (Chosun Ilbo)
- The Art of Negotiation (Cheongnyonneongsin Publishing)
- Korea and the World (Chekmidum Publishing)