Monk Spreads Buddhist Philosophy With 140-Character Tweets
Buddhist monk Haemin Sunim became Twitter-famous with his tweets about faith and mindfulness. His book, a compilation of tweets, went viral in South Korea, and the American edition is out now.
February 11, 20176:23 PM ET
Heard on All Things Considered
LAKSHMI SINGH, HOST:
It's a tale as old as Twitter. In a spare moment maybe in the elevator or at work or waiting in line at the grocery store, you open up a social media app on your phone and suddenly the floodgates are open, a deluge of memes, news alerts, complaints, annoyances - not exactly a place to find your zen, unless perhaps you've discovered Haemin Sunim's page. The Buddhist monk is a sensation in South Korea where his daily 140-character tweets promote peace and mindfulness on the otherwise hectic social media platform.
Haemin Sunim's tweets are available offline, too, in his book "The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down." South Korean book sales have taken off with his ideas in paperback as viral as his tweets. Now the books hit the U.S. market. Haemin Sunim is with me now from the Buddhist radio station in Seoul. Thank you for joining us.
HAEMIN SUNIM: Thank you.
SINGH: So this book is in part a collection of 140-character or less tweets, and they read almost like haikus. So can you share with us one of your tweets from this week?
SUNIM: OK. (Reading) Do only one thing at a time. When you walk, just enjoy walking. When you listen, really listen. You will become happier and more center.
http://www.npr.org/2017/02/12/514731706/things-you-see-when-you-slow-down
7:09 audio at link.