Korea awaits me next week as I travel more than a thousand miles to find myself and discover reasons why I am still here on planet earth.

Yes, I’m joining a group from Philadelphia, New York and Chicago that will fly to Seoul, South Korea, to take part in the centennial celebration of the WON Buddhism founding by its master on April 28th, 1916. More than fifty of us Americans will squeeze into a bus and tour the countryside where the WON Buddhist holy man found enlightenment. He practiced meditation and shared his “awakening” with followers who recorded his teachings and spread his word throughout the word.

The formal celebration will be on May 1, 2006, but I’ve already begun my festivities by going within and meditating while seeking answers to the age old questions: “Why am I here?” “What’s the purpose of life?”

‘The Buddha is everywhere. Everything is an offering’

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Well, a small voice inside of me answered. It came from that of a child. The one that I had buried so many years ago upon reaching adulthood. The one I pushed way below the surface during my rebelling adolescent years and sought answers to those questions somewhere outside of myself.

The purpose, my unadulterated and guileless young friend told me, is to “Serve God.”

How do you do that? I asked.

“By Serving Others,” the child Michael J whispered.

But first you got to get to know Him. God that is, or whatever you know in your heart is the Higher Force that you go to when you need the unconditional love from the Universe. Get to know Him and love Him as if your whole heart and soul depended on it. (It does, it really does!)

Read about Him in the holy books and writings. Seek out an instructor well-versed in the teachings and then hang out with like-minded people.

Once you tap into the teacher, the teachings and the community, you’re on your way to a love that is more than a love. It is the energy that created this universe and sustains everyone and everything in its existence.

By serving others with the love of your Higher Self you will answer any and all questions posed by the world and anything in it, no matter where you might fly into next week or next year!