Sister Hae-in Lee, who always welcomes us at Haein Bookstore, the Benedictine Sisters of Olivetano Monastery in Suyeong-gu, Busan. Even though she is old enough to be called a grandmother in the secular world, she still has the same girlish charm. It is even more surprising to learn that she was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2008 and went through a severe battle with cancer, receiving 30 chemotherapy injections and 26 radiation treatments, and is still living with cancer cells. When she was young, as the worldly light became brighter, she became a difficult person in the monastery, and there were times when she had to become a “monk too distant for the public to approach.” However, as she went through a near-death experience and her gray hair grew, she seemed to have broken free from the shackles of worldly success, and as I encountered her unabashed freedom, I felt disarmed and my long-standing illness seemed to disappear. As soon as I cleaned up Haein Bookstore’s desk, it was filled with complaints of pain and sadness. The storage behind Haein Bookstore is filled with piles of letters like that. There is a letter from a young man who has no more hope of living in this world. There is a letter from a lonely middle-aged man who has been sentenced to death and struggles with the moment of death every day. When you read all that suffering, will his body survive? Sister Hae-in squeezes out every bit of her strength to write heartfelt comfort and encouragement poems and letters to those who say life is hard, that it is difficult, that she will die, so that they can somehow survive. Sister Hae-in even made fun of herself and led a pleasant conversation, as if to say, “Happiness is not the absence of pain, but cancer, that you can be happy even with pain.” She can now tell us about her memories with Monk Beopjeong, with whom she occasionally bickered while engaging in literary exchanges, as she has become like an older sister to her, Chrysanthemum. Sometimes, she does not impose on those who are struggling at a dead end, unable to do anything about their sins, the ethics of a ceremonial monk. She says that life is not enough to just hug them, rather than whip them. Even my ugly appearance is accepted and embraced as it is rather than nagged and scolded by Sister Hae-in, who is generous, and it seems that even my wounds bloom like flowers when I spend time with her. #SisterLeeHaeIn #SisterLeeHaeInPoem #ShinChangWon ---------------------------- Jo Hyun TV Hyesimjeong Jo Hyun Hankyoreh Shinmun Religion Specialist Reporter [email protected] What do you want to have? Lots of money, high position, solid power, good family and friends, joy and happiness. When you become wise with an open attitude, many things are given as a bonus. Hyesimjeong is a place where you put down religion, ideology, stereotypes, and prejudice, open your heart, learn, become wise and mature, and become happy together with others. The wisdom to accept what cannot be changed, and the courage to change what can be changed! *Jo Hyun TV Hyesimjeong does not generate revenue because it does not request advertising on YouTube. Therefore, it is created through talent donations from the interviewer, interviewee, photographer, and editor. (Since Jo Hyun mostly does interviews with her phone mounted on a tripod, please excuse the lack of sound, etc.) **The interview article is on Hyesimjeong (well.hani.co.kr). If you subscribe to reporter Jo Hyun on Naver News (naver.me/F5uVPaKk), Jo Hyun’s articles will be delivered to you. ***It would be a great help if you support the Hankyoreh (support.hani.co.kr) or subscribe to the newspaper. (Please contact me by email if you have supported me. Please contact me by email if you would like to subscribe to the Hankyoreh. Jo Hyun’s email is [email protected]) May you be healthy and happy! May you be loved and respected! May you be the creator of a beautiful world!