(LEAD) Late Ven. Jaseung's additional notes on last will found at his residence

▲ This photo shows part of Late Ven. Jaseung's will, unveiled by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. (Yonhap)

▲ Kim Gi-hyeon (C), leader of the ruling People Power Party, pays tribute to the late Ven. Jaseung, a former head of the Jogye Order, South Korea's largest Buddhist sect, at Jogye Temple in Seoul on Dec. 1, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) Buddhist monk death-will

(LEAD) Late Ven. Jaseung's additional notes on last will found at his residence

(ATTN: UPDATES with content of late monk's last will in paras 2-9; ADDS photo)

SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- Additional notes of the will from the late Ven. Jaseung have been found at his residence, the country's largest Buddhist sect, the Jogye Order, said Friday.

Ven. Jaseung, who served as the president of the Jogye Order from 2009 to 2017 and assumed key positions at other religious groups, was found dead at a burnt dormitory at Chiljang Temple in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday.

A day later, the Jogye Order officially confirmed the death as self-immolation, a Buddhist practice of burning oneself alive as an offering to Buddha.

The police later discovered notes from the monk's car that implied he was about to end his life.

Unveiling details of the newly discovered notes Friday, the Jogye Order said it contained a request for the order's current head to continue making efforts for the order's future, along with an expression of regret for "not being able to be with him until the end."

He also left a message of gratitude and respect for all members of the Buddhist community.

In an apparent reference to the burnt building, Ven. Jaseung asked his four disciples to fund the expenses for restoring it by 2025, according to the Jogye Order.

The existence of the additional notes was revealed earlier in the day when Ven. Jinwoo, the incumbent leader of the sect, told visitors to the memorial altar for the late monk at Jogye Temple in Seoul about the notes.

"Ven. Jaseung had always pursued nirvana, the world of enlightenment, and I think he decided to come to that moment by himself," Ven. Jinwoo was quoted as telling them.

"Given the various circumstances so far, I think he had considered the option for a long time and believed it was the right time (to act on it)," he said

Ven. Jaseung "seemed to have entered into the ultimate state of enlightenment" with his decision, he stressed, seemingly in an effort to tamp down speculation surrounding the influential monk's sudden death.

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