Today I bring you day 1, part 2 of my meetings with the Venerable Jung Bong Mu Mu from South Korea. For those of you who missed the first one, https://thewingmanspath.com/perfect-emptiness/, this is the second installment of my conversations with him. These exchanges took place from March 5th to March 9th at various temples in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
In the first installment, we learned that perfect emptiness is the starting point to “heaven on earth”. In this video, 
the Zen Master discusses the 5 precepts of Buddhism and, how if we all keep them, we’ll have world peace.
If you don’t have time to watch, no worries, here’s the cliff note version…
1. Do not kill. This doesn’t only mean to not kill, but also to not harm another sentient being. That means being a vegetarian. Wait, what? No more cheese steaks. If you watch, you’ll see me trying to get around this by asking the same question in a few different ways.
Yep, I’m back on the plant-based path.
I’ll be home in May, and while I know Philadelphia has become a mecca for great vegetarian restaurants, I’m really hoping one of them can sate my desire for my favorite sandwich that I’ve been missing dearly.
2. Do not steal. Not only things, but also don’t rob others of their joy, excitement or passion.
3. No sexual misconduct. I’m guessing everyone has his or her own definition of this. Let’s just leave it at… you know what’s right.
4. Do not lie. Most importantly, do not lie to yourself.
5. Do not drink or do drugs. Do nothing that distorts your mind. This might be a tough one for me but I’ve been keeping it going since I met with him. This was another one I asked about in a few different ways. He was very clear, actually, he said this is the worst of the 5 precepts because it leads to many poor decisions and much heartbreak for families.
If we all start today, perhaps we’ll not only have world peace, but I’ll see you in Nirvana.
I’ll be the one eating the vegetarian cheese steak,
Michael
