Although, strictly speaking, everything you do for spiritual growth is the Study of Practice, traditional Eastern spiritual practice has delineated three specific methods to facilitate the journey through this part of the process. We call these JiGam, JoShik, and KeumChok.

Third is the Study of Living, in which you practice enlightenment in your everyday life. Why do we need to do this? Why is meditating on mountaintops no longer enough? The reason we need this practice is to be able to measure the growth of our soul. The soul is invisible to the eye. So how can you tell how much it has grown? Observe your character, it is an accurate reflection of the maturity of your soul. We establish character through the process of interacting with others. During this process we make choices, are judged by them, reflect upon others’ judgments, and adjust ourselves accordingly. Although this is sometimes a painful process, it is an opportunity to nurture virtuous and harmonious character. Since we can only do this by co-existing with others, the Study of Living is crucial. The purpose of this study is to transform the principle of harmonious order into a principle of harmonious living.

JiGam, means to “Stop-Emotion”. It is a method used to train your mind to be clear and peaceful, uninfluenced by the winds of feeling and emotion. If you close your eyes for a second and listen to the chatter of your mind, you will realize just how busy, noisy, and jumbled it is. These noises of the mind, these thoughts that create emotions, go around in circles and do not go away just because you want them to. Conversely, the more you try to eliminate them, the louder they yell and the faster they move.

About Ilchi Lee