In 784 A.D., the fifth year of King Seondeok's reign, aster Doui crossed the sea to visit the Tang Dynasty with ambassadors Han Chan-ho and Kim Yang-gong. Upon their arrival, he immediately went to Mt. Wutaishan whereupon he received a divine vision from the Bodhisattva Manjusri. Following this experience, and after visiting many other regions, he went to Baotan Temple in Guangfu, where he took the full monastic precepts. He then went to Mt. Caoxi (Kr. Mt. Jogye) in Guandong Province to pay homage to the shrine of Huineng, whereupon he had a most mysterious experience. On his arrival, the door to the shrine opened of its own accord, and after he bowed three times in obeisance, the door then closed again on its own.

Following this, Master Doui received instructions on meditation from Master Xitang Zhizang (735~814) at Kaiyuan Temple in Hongzhou, Jiangxi Province. As a disciple studying under Master Mazu Daoyi, Master Xitang Zhizang was the pre-eminent Chan monk of his age. In order to request Xitang Zhizang to become his master, he had to unravel the bundle of doubts that hindered him, until he finally bore through the obstacles blocking his progress. Seeing him overcome this struggle, Master Xitang Zhizang was overjoyed, as if finding a beautiful jewel in the rough or a pearl within an oyster, saying, “truly, if I cannot transmit the dharma to a man like this, there is nobody I could transmit it to.” He then renamed the Master with the appellation “Doui” (“Path of Righteousness”). Subsequently, Master Doui set out on the path of purification and went in search of the dwelling place of Master Baizhang Huaihai (749~814) at Mt. Baizhangshan to study under his tutelage. Much impressed with him, Master Baizhang is said to have lamented, “the entire Chan lineage of Mazu Daoyi is returning to Silla!”

In 821 CE (the 13th year of King Heondeok), Master Doui returned to Silla to propagate the teachings of the Chinese Southern Chan School. However, as the tradition of Scholastic (or Doctrinal, gyo) Buddhism had become firmly entrenched within Silla at that time, people looked upon Master Doui’s Seon method as rather absurd. Accordingly, judging that the circumstances were not yet ripe for the acceptance of his teachings, Master Doui retired from the world to Jinjeon-sa Monastery in Mt. Seoraksan, where he cultivated a line of disciples. In this way, his Seon method passed through his disciple Yeomgeo and bloomed in the next generation through his dharma grandson Master Chejing (804-880), leading to the establishment of the Gajisan school, one of the Nine Mountain Seon schools of the Goryeo period.

2. Doctrinal Distinction

Because no detailed materials or writings were passed down, it is difficult to definitively grasp the Seon doctrine of Master Doui. However, from the glimpses of his thought that we are able to catch from materials such as the memorial inscriptions of his disciples, as well as the knowledge that the Master’s doctrine is linked to the lineage of sixth Patriarch Huineng’s teachings, we can assume they followed the lines of the Southern Chan School of Buddhism.

In continuation with the dharma taught by Master Doui, the writings of Chejing, founder of the Gajinsan School, express the Master’s Seon doctrine as “the tenet of unconditioned spontaneity.”

In Chan teachings, the idea of “unconditioned spontaneity” refers to the way of life of following one’s original mind as it is, devoid of attachment or entanglement within the totality of existence, transcending the law of life and death, without any contrived artificiality of discriminating thought. Master Mazu, coining the term for this original mind as “ordinary mind,” asserted that “ordinary mind is precisely the way in which truth naturally functions.” Namely, if the original mind is not lost and all matters are allowed to take their course according to each situation, all things would be real and truthful and exist without contrived artificiality or entanglement. This idea is indicative of a religion of everydayness, seeking the development of a sincere life within the ordinary confines of humanity’s day-to-day existence.

In addition, we can also discern something, however fragmentary, of Master Doui’s notion of “unconditioned spontaneity” from the dialogue between him and the Head Monk Jiwon (Seungtong) of the Hwaeom School, as introduced in the Seonmun Bojangnok compiled by the Goryeo era monk, Cheonchaek.

The contents of this dialogue can largely be divided into two parts. The first part is a criticism of Scholastic Buddhism. Criticizing that Scholastic Buddhism, bound in its own dogma, was unable to ascertain the fundamental basis of the mind’s essence, Master Doui denied the tenet of the “Four Dharma Realms” as well as the "teachings of the fifty-five sages," written in the Huayan (Kr. Hwaeom) Sutra, the basis of the Hwaeom School. In addition, he emphasized that it is only within the conditions of the immediate moment that we should look to see our own nature. The second part pertains to the establishment of the Mind-seal Dharma of the Patriarchs. In establishing his idea of the Mind-seal of the Patriarchs, Master Doui speaks about the system of cultivation based on “faith, discernment, performance, and assurance” to address the Patriarchal Seon tenet of “no thought, no practice” as follows.

“The rationality behind ‘no thought, no practice’ is nothing more than the concept of ‘faith, interpretation, performance, and evidence.’ The wisdom of the dharma taught by the Patriarch School, that does not distinguish between the ‘Buddha’ or ‘sentient beings,’ is nothing but the direct realization of the fundamental truth of reality. As a result, the Mind-seal dharma of the Masters was transmitted separate from the Five Teachings of the Hwaeom School. The reason behind the appearance of the Buddha’s material form is nothing more than an expedient means, a temporary apparition conjured for the sake of those who are unable to understand the true principles of the Patriarchs. Even though one were to spend many years reading the sutras, if that was the method one were to utilize in pursuit of realizing the Mind-seal Dharma of the Patriarchs, the goal would be difficult to obtain even if an eon were to pass.” (from the dialogue between Master Doui and Jiwon Seungtong)

The “no thought theory” mentioned here refers to the undeluded and essential original mind, using the representative doctrine of the Southern Chan School as advocated by Huineng and his disciple Heze Shenhui (684~758).

The notion of “no practice” is the idea that there is no requirement for practice on the path to enlightenment. This is a refutation of the practices that seek to perceive the mind through artificial meditation or to perfect oneself on the path of gradual cultivation. Like other Chan theories, the “no practice theory” was already elucidated by Huineng and had been well developed and widely accepted, owing to the efforts of successive generations of great masters of Patriarchal Chan, including Shenhui, Mazu, Baizhang, Huangbo, and Linji, among others.

As such, we can see how in emphasizing the “no thought, no practice” theory that joins the ideas of Mazu’s “ordinary mind” and Shenhui’s “no thought theory,” Master Doui’s core tenet of “unconditioned spontaneity” is tied to the traditional thought of the Southern Chan School.

Memorial Ceremony held in honor of Seon Master Doui, founder of the JOKB    

The Argument on Seon in Late Joseon Period  

From Book "Seon Thought in Korean Buddhism", 1998

Written by Han Ki-tu

Professor

Dept. of Buddhist Studies

Won-gwang University

A. Preface

Ever since Seon was introduced to Korea, there was a drive to prove the superiority of Seon over Kyo throughout the Korean Buddhist world, especially in the late Goryeo Dynasty.

After the seventh century CE, when Seon had taken root in China and was well established, various disputes arose within the Seon School. These arguments began with the difference of opinion between Master Huineng of Southern Seon and Master Shenxiu of Northern Seon. Then the conflict between the Mahayana Seon claimed by the Northern Order and Seon of the Tathagata (Kor. Yeorae Seon) of the Southern Order became prominent in the Seon world. That is, Master Heze Shenhui claimed that the Seon of the Tathagata is superior to Mahayana Seon, and the former is named so, for it is equal to the Tathagata.

But the newly established Hongzhou Order of Master Mazu's lineage criticized Master Shenhui, calling him a master of mere intellectual understanding, one who searches for meaning and rea­son. And the Hongzhou Order developed an independent Seon pur­port, which investigates the Dharma transmitted by Master Bodhidharma This is the Seon of the patriarchs (Kor. Josa Seon), and this Seon was claimed as being superior to and surpassing the Seon of the Tathagata.

This claim is based on the idea that Seon is superior to Kyo. The realization of Seon as being “a direct transmission, outside the texts, not relying on words and letters, direct transmission from mind to mind, seeing into one's nature and attaining Buddhahood” is not achieved through texts but through a transmission from mind to mind. Here, the awakening of the Tathagata is the center in the Seon of the Tathagata, but what is more important is the Seon purport of the patriarchs in the Seon of the patriarchs. This pur­port of Seon later even influenced academic lecturers who studied Kyo, so that these Kyo scholars who did not have any Seon prac­tice emphasized the superiority of Seon.

In Korea, the main dispute was started by scholarly monks who lived in the southern and southwestern areas of the peninsula of Korea. They published personal records on various theories of Buddhism in 18th century and from this the disputes arose in the Seon families during the reigns of King Jeongjo (r. 1777-1800), King Soonjo (r. 1801-1834), King Heonjong (r. 1835-1849), King Cheoljong (r. 1850-1863) and King Gojong (r. 1864-1907).

The leading roles were taken by Master Baekpa Geungseon (1767-1852), Master Choui Uiseon (1786-1856), lay scholar Chusa (1786-1856), Master Udam Honggi (1822-1881), Master Seoldu Yuhyeong (1822-1881), Master Chugwon Jinha (1861-1926) and lay scholar Jeong Dasan (1762-1836), each one partic­ipating more or less directly. Beginning with Master Baekpa's Hand Glass of Seon Literature (Kor. Seonmun-sugyong), the monks took up and started arguing about Seon. Let us investigate the main point of their argument.

B. The Beginning: Master Baekpa Geungseon's Hand Glass of Seon Literature

Master Baekpa wrote Hand Glass of Seon Literature in order to lay out a standard by which to discriminate the relative superi­ority of the various forms of Seon. The book considers three phrases of Master Linji's teaching as the standard, depending foe its source mainly on Records of Linji. In addition there are other ref­erences such as Master Chiso's Insight of Man and Heaven (Kor. Incheon-anmok), Master Hwanseong Jian's Essentials of Five Or­ders of Seon (Kor. Seonmun-ojong-kangyo), Master Cheonchaek's Precious Storehouse of Seon (Kor. Seonmun-bojang-nok), and Essentials of Seon (Kor. Seonmun-kangyo).

Before we examine whether the Seon thesis revealed in Hand Glass of Seon is a correct way of looking at things or not, it is important to first understand the general idea of the book.

The book reveals that all Seon can be originally discriminated into three kinds, that is, Seon of the patriarchs, Seon of the Tathagata, and Seon of meaning and reason (Kor. Uiri Seon), a theory derived from the Seon teachings of the three phrases of Linji. Mas­ter Baekpa evaluates and analyses the phrases, coming to the con­clusion that the first phrase is the Seon of the patriarchs, the sec­ond phrase is the Seon of the Tathagata, and the third is the Seon of meaning and reason.

1) The “Three Phrases of Master Linji” is the Standard of Seon

Master Baekpa goes on to argue that this correct view of the three phrases solves all problems of searching for standards of Seon. The first phrase is the phrase before host and guest are divided and it is achieved when a practitioner has insight into the true void and sublime existence. Such a practitioner has a high faculty, and becomes a master of Buddhas and patriarchs, when attaining the first phrase. It is a stage of Seon of the patriarchs.

The second phrase is such in which confrontation is ceased and which removes any clue of argument. It is to reach the "three mysterious gates" of Linji, and they are the mystery in the word, the mystery in the function, and the mystery in the mystery. The first signifies the essence of language, the second the final use of language, the third the place where no language is to be found. The third phrase started from theory, but there is no language found in the end, hence the final mystery is analyzed by Master Baekpa to be that of the true stage.

The background of the true stage of the mystery is a place of truth where there is no foolishness. The three mysteries show that the way of Son starts from language and reaches the stage which cannot be expressed by language.

The third phrase is bound by form and conception. It signifies dealing with expedient means. To borrow the expression of Re­cords of Linji, it is “giving speech to arahats when they meet arahats, and to hungry ghosts when they meet hungry ghosts.” This describes the stage of teaching sentient beings in endless ways, and finding that these beings firmly believe the ways that they are being taught in.

The third phrase corresponds to the Buddhist logic of "being, non-being, and in between." This stage is the Seon of meaning and reason.

2) Master Baekpa's Interpretation

Having delineated the three phrases and accepted them as the standard, Master Baekpa classifies Seon traditions. One of the char­acteristics of the Seon tradition is the system of transmission which the Buddha used with Mahakasyapa. This method is the mind-to-mind transmission at three different locations and it is this that is the theory of Extraordinary Seon.

But Master Baekpa thinks that the description of Extraordi­nary Seon consists of elements from the Seon of the Tathagata and the Seon of the patriarchs.

According to Master Baekpa, the first phrase corresponds to Vulture's Peak, where the Buddha held up a flower and Mahakasyapa smiled, and it is the principle reason of Seon of the patri­archs. The second phrase falls under Stupa of Many Sons, where the Buddha sat with Mahakasyapa, and it is the principle of Seon of the Tathagata The last phrase corresponds to the Sala Tree Grove at Kusinara, where Mahakasyapa saw the Buddha's feet, and it is the stage of both Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata.

This idea caused many arguments. But it was not only Master Baekpa who began the idea.

(1) New Influence and Original Duty

"New influence" means "practice newly." It signifies ignorant new practice depending on the expedient means of the Buddha, for the practitioner's faculty is low. Accordingly, practice only by new influence produces results which are bounded by "corrupt practice," that is, practice which is the result of the dirt of habit.

"Original duty" signifies finding out how to be a Buddha through reflection, without separate cultivation, and to develop the true aspect of original duty. Therefore, one is bounded by the practice of dirty habit if there is only new influence, but can pos­sibly reach the original stage of Seon if one finds out one's original duty by reflection. It is a state of abiding in original duty, and it is regarded by Master Baekpa as being included in the Seon of the Tathagata

Master Baekpa explains that when one reaches the stage of firm progress of one's original duty, then it is possible to reach the Seon of the patriarchs. That is, when new influence exists along with the vitality of original duty to overcome old habits, this is the Seon of the Tathagata In addition, to achieve the key point in one's Nature is Seon of the patriarchs. The Seon of meaning and reason is a state of only new influence without finding one's origi­nal duty.

(2) Live Sword and Dead Sword

The expressions "live" and "dead" are one of the important family treasures of the Seon family. These expressions come from a Seon phrase accepted as one of the Linji tradition which is revealed in The Blue Cliff Records (Kor. Pyogam-nok). "Dead sword" sig­nifies the cutting of all defilements and erroneous thoughts with one sword and making all equal, and the "live sword" is to save all people with a sword that is kept in its scabbard.

Master Baekpa revealed that the "dead sword' signifies the Seon of the Tathagata, and the "live sword" Seon of the patriarchs. And "to use both dead and live" is a stage of both the Seon of the Tathagata and the Seon of the patriarchs. He further stated that this view has continued right from the time of the Buddha up to the time of the Sixth Patriarch Master Huineng.

Master Baekpa also pointed out that Master Huineng transmit­ted the Seon of the patriarchs of the "live sword" to his disciple Master Nanyue Huairang, and the Seon of the Tathagata of the "dead sword" to Master Qingyuan Xingsi.

(3) Analysis of a Stanza of Diamond Sutra

Master Baekpa analyzes a stanza of four lines of Diamond Sutra as follows:

Those who by my form did see me,

And those who followed me by voice

Wrong the efforts they engaged in,

Me those people will not see.

"Those who by my form did see me corresponds to mystery in the function" of the three phrases of Seon of the Tathagata, and the phrase of "being" in the Seon of meaning and reason. "And those who followed me by voice" corresponds to "mystery in the essence" and the in between phrase. 3" Wrong the efforts they engaged in" corresponds to "mystery in the mystery" and the phase of non-being. Last Me those people will not see" corresponds to the Seon of the Tathagata.

(4) The Analysis of the Four Vows

The Four Vows are the fountainhead of Mahayana Buddhism. The Four Vows are as follows:

I vow to save all beings.

I vow to end all sufferings.

I vow to learn all Dharma teachings.

I vow to attain Enlightenment.

Master Huineng has advised us to discover the Four Vows in our Self Nature. To that Master Baekpa gives the following analy­sis.

“I vow to save all beings” teaches us not to ponder the three poisons of our own mind. For this, Master Baekpa's quotes the teaching of Master Huineng, "Do not think of good or evil."

"I vow to end all sufferings" teaches us to cut off defilements by not, thinking of good.

"I vow to learn all Dharma teachings” teaches us that to vow to attain awakening is the greatest vow of learning.

"I vow to attain Enlightenment" teaches us to vow to at­tain Buddhahood. The way to vow is completed only when one from the stage of the true void reaches sublime existence.

(5) The Division of the Five Orders of Seon into Three Kinds of Seon

Insight of Man and Heaven and Essentials to Five Orders of Seon are books which generally focused on revealing the family tradi­tions of the Five Orders. However, many Seon families criticized this attitude. In order to see this problem clearly, the family tradi­tions of identification of the main traditions of general Seon need to be considered objectively. Especially Korean Seon students regard­ed this understanding of the Seon traditions of the Five Orders of Seon as one process in and a part of Seon study.

Master Baekpa used the division of the three categories of Seon in order to discriminate their relative superiority. This certainly caused a problem to the Buddhist world of the time and to later generations as well. Also Master Baekpa's evaluation of other orders was totally based on his understanding of the attitude taught in Linji Seon, so it was not objective.

The Five Orders are Fayan Order (Kor. Beoban), Weiyang Order (Kor. Wiang), Caodong Order (Kor. Jodong), Yunmen Order (Kor. Unmun), and Linji Order (Kor. Imje). The first three are of the lineage of Master Qingyuan Xingsi, and they are consid­ered to belong to the Seon of the Tathagata. The last two are of the lineage of Master Nanyue Huairang, and they are classified as belonging to the Seon of the patriarchs. The Five Orders, according to Master Baekpa have different family tradition as follows:

1)    Fayan Order reveals "Mind Only."

2)    Weiyang Order reveals "essence and function."

3)    Caodong Order reveals the way of elevation.

4)    Yunmen Order reveals cutting.

5)    Linji Order reveals the crux and function.

What is notable here is that the Heze Order (Kor. Hataek) or Southern Order of Master Heze Shenhui is omitted Master Baekpa thought that this order belongs to the Seon of meaning and reason, which is centered around mere logic. This order does not seek original duty but merely depends on new influence.

(6) The Core Point of Hand Glass of Seon Literature

To summarize the content of Hand Glass of Seon Literature, the book explains the three kinds of Seon on the basis of three phrases of Linji. Both Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata are regarded as the principle of Extraordinary Seon, but the Seon of meaning and reason falls under the limitation of logic. Accordingly, Seon of meaning and reason is nothing but a theory of expedients through study. Hence it is nothing but a view of Seon, which is not different from Kyo study.

C. The First Refutation of Hand Glass of Seon Literature:

Master Choui Uisun's Four Defenses and Random Words

When Master Baekpa's Hand Glass of Seon was introduced to the Buddhist world, Master Choui Uisun of Taedun-sa Monastery first criti­cized Master Baekpa in his Four Defenses and Random Words (Kor. Sabyeon-maneo).

In this book, Master Choui pointed out Master Baekpa's fault of merely judging the superiority of the various types of Son according to language, saying, "Old masters said that Seon is Buddha Mind So when one achieves the mind, both teachings of masters and all worldly noises are the purport of Seon, and if one loses one's mind, then both 'The Buddha held up a flower and Mahakasyapa smiled' and 'a direct transmission outside the texts' of Seon are merely traces of Kyo."

(1) The Real Meaning of the “Three Phrases of Master Linji”

Master Baekpa reveals that the ranks of all of Son are, through the three phrases of Linji, divided into three different types of Son. And he provides, for the first phrase, the Son of the patriarchs, for the second phrase the Son of the Tathagata, and for the third phrase the Son of meaning and reason, and he proposes an argument on Son to substantiate his claim.

In answer to this, Master Ch'oui interprets the meaning of the three phrases from fundamentally different viewpoints. Unlike Mas­ter Baekpa who understood the three phrases separately, Master Ch'oui regarded the third phrase as a phrase in which the first and the second phrases join together. Hence, according to Master Ch'oui, the third phrase is valuable, and should not be regarded as a mere dead phrase which can be thrown away.

(2) The Origin of Seon of the Patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata

From where do the Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata originate? Master Baekpa finds the origin in a discussion between Master Yangshan Huiji and Master Xiangyan Zhixian, the disciples of Master Weishan Lingyou who is the fifth generation of Master Nanyue Huairang. Master Yangshan divided Seon of the pa­triarchs and Seon of the Tathagata and he valued the former high­ly.

But according to Master Choui, there is really no way to distinguish between the two. Unlike Master Baekpa's position, Master Choui does not consider the two in a relationship of su­periority and inferiority.

(3) The Origin of Extraordinary Seon and Seon of Mean­ing and Reason

Master Choui points out that Master Baekpa commits an error of changing the traditional purport of Seon on his own authority without any proper reason. Master Choui indicates that Seon of the patriarchs is Extraordinary Seon, and Seon of the Tathagata is Seon of meaning and reason. Hence one can traditionally divide Seon into Ex­traordinary Seon and Seon of meaning and reason, and into Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata. This idea was already asserted by Master Hoam and Yeondam earlier to Master Choui.

Thereby, according to Master Choui, it is false to divide Seon into Seon of the patriarchs, Seon of the Tathagata, and Seon of meaning and reason, because the last two Seon fundamentally agree with each other. He claimed that one should not make the mistake of regarding the Seon of meaning and reason as inferior to Seon of the Tathagata,

D. The Second Refutation of Hand Glass of Seon Literature:

Master Udam Honggi's Records of Right Awakening of Seon Family

Master Udam Honggi was the 10th generation after Master Buhyu, and the Dharma grandson of Master Baekpa because Mas­ter Udam was taught by Master Hanseong Pungmyeong, the disciple of Master Baekpa But Master Udam realized that Master Baekpa's position was wrong and wrote Records of Right Awakening of Seon Family (Kor. Seonmun-jeungjeong-nok).

(1) About the Titles of Seon

Master Udam agreed with Master Baekpa's opinion and both of them regarded the first and second phrases of Linji as Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata, respectively. But he, like Master Choui, claimed that Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata should be regarded as the reasoning of Extraordinary Seon and of Seon of meaning and reason, respectively.

(2) The Metaphor of Son: Live Sword and Dead Sword

Live and dead swords are one of basic traditional metaphors used in Seon. To kill with the sword means to kill the thief of ignorance, and to make alive in order to represent the Buddha of Dharma-body. But Master Udam pointed out that Master Baekpa applied "dead" and "live" to the Seon of the Tathagata and Seon of the patriarchs respectively and in this way he made the direction of the Seon tradition unclear.

Master Udam found these expressions used as standard descrip­tions in the records of Master Shitou and Master Mazu. In Records of Shitou, it is written that "It is not achieved by doing this or by not doing this. Hence it is a dead sword." And in Records of Mazu, it is written, "It is achieved by doing this and by not doing this. Hence it is a live sword."

Hence Master Udam thinks that if the phrase of Master Shitou "It is not achieved by doing this" belongs to the third phrase, then the phrase "or by not doing this" belongs to the first phrase. Therefore, the first phrase contains the dead sword. And in the case of Master Mazu, "It is achieved by doing this" belongs to the third phrase and "and by not doing this" belongs to the first phrase. Hence both the first and the third phrases are "live sword" and they can coexist.

Master Udam finally concludes that both dead and live phrases belong to the first phrase of Linji, and it was wrong of Master Baekpa to distinguish certain aspects as belonging to the Seon of the Tathagata or to the Seon of the patriarchs.

(3) The Beautiful Coloring of Seon

In the Diamond Sutra, it is revealed that "there is no fixed Dharma which is 'the utmost, right and perfect enlightenment.'" Therefore, Master Udam thinks that the teachings of the Buddha and the patriarchs are not bound by anything, and it is the beauti­ful coloring of the Buddha and patriarchs, that they are free.

Master Udam considers that the coloring of the Buddha and patriarchs are divided into three; the substance, the function, and in between. And the original names for the three phrases of Linji consist of the substance, the function and in between. The mean­ings of these three essentials are arranged by meaning and reason which, because they are difficult to be revealed by mere words, are seen as three mysteries.

Meaning and reason vary according to the level of faculties of the people involved To people of high faculty, meaning and rea­son are revealed as essentials and called the first phrase of Linji. The second phrase of Linji reveals three mysteries as well as reflection on the first phrase. But the reflection (the second phrase) and the body (the first phrase) for Master Udam are inter­connected, and both of them are finally one.

E. The Defense of Hand Glass of Seon Literature:

Master Seoldu Yuhyong's Origin of Son and the Course

Master Seoldu Yuhyong is the fourth generation after Master Baekpa. Master Seoldu claimed that the Seon views of Four Defenses and Random Words and Records of Right Awakening of the Seon Family are all wrong when one looks at the origin of Seon, and that a practitioner will finally come back to Master Baekpa's position. Accordingly, Master Seoldu wrote Origin of Seon and the Course (Kor. Seonwon-soyu) with the aim of searching for the origin of Seon. As he reveals in the preface, he claims that one should search for the origin of Seon and return to the spirit. And when the origin is revealed, it will be seen that the origin is not the position of Master Choui, but the three kinds of Seon claimed by Master Baekpa.

1) The Three Kinds of Seon

Master Seoldu claims that it should be noted that there are two aspects to Seon: the "purport of Seon" and the "explanation of Seon." The purport of Seon signifies the realization of the Buddha Mind through Seon. As Master Seosan expounded in Mirror of Seon, "If one gets lost in speech, even 'holding up a flower and smiling' is all just the reactions of Kyo." It shows the “explanation of Seon.” But “On the other hand, if one realizes it within one's own Mind, then all of the crass words and refined talk of the world become the Seon teaching of ‘a direct transmission outside the texts.’” This is the purport of Seon.

The above quotations of Master Seosan were also already used by Master Choui when he refuted Master Baekpa. But quoting the same content, Master Seoldu puts a different commentary to it, that one should not, in fact, cast aside the “explanation of Seon” at random. Because we are able to understand the writings with the help of the "explanation of Seon" and we have an opportunity to clearly understand through these writings. This claim is meaningful in the sense that Master Seoldu developed the idea of Master Baekpa further.

Anyway, what is regarded as the most important of the "explanation of Seon" for Master Seoldu is the three kinds of Seon; Seon of the Tathagata, Seon of the patriarchs, and Seon of meaning and reason. Master Seoldu defends Master Baekpa's division of Seon into the three, saying that it is inevitable and the normal course of action to divide Seon and use it to explain and measure the facul­ties of sentient beings.

According to Master Seoldu, the logic that Seon of meaning and reason is not Extraordinary Seon is only right, hence it is also right that the Seon of meaning and reason is not regarded as equal to the Seon of the Tathagata or the Seon of the patriarchs. In this sense, it is right to divide Seon into these three kinds.

2) The Theory of “Transmission of the Mind in Three Places”

Master Baekpa interpreted the theory of transmission of the mind at three places as follows.

1)     The First Place: The Buddha was giving a Dharma talk to the masses in the heaven and in the world at the Stupa of Many Sons when Mahakasyapa appeared. Then the Buddha sat with Mahakasyapa. This sitting is expressed as dead sword, for it is a place where no trace of Dharma is found.

2)     The Second Place: The Buddha was giving a Dharma talk at Vultures' Peak, when the rain of many flowers fell from the sky. The Buddha held up a flower and only Mahakasyapa smiled. It is the principle of live sword, for the holding up of a flower is the Buddha's live Dharma speech to Mahakasyapa.

3)     The Third Place: The Buddha was in Final Nirvana at the Sala Tree Grove at Kusinara, when Mahakasyapa arrived seven days after the Buddha's passing away. Mahakasyapa tapped the coffin three times and the Buddha stuck out his two feet and Mahakasyapa vowed three times. It is Seon purport which shows the Buddha's bestowing of both live and dead forms.

Master Seoldu explains that generations of patriarchs who received transmission of the mind at the three places did not distinguish between the “dead” or “live” sword. But it is after the Sixth Patriarch Huineng that the swords were divided and transmitted separately, for the faculties became varied. Hence the transmission was divided into “dead,” “live,” and "in between."

F. The Last Refutation of Hand Glass of Seon Literature:

Master Chugwon Jinha's Records of Reawakening of Seon Family

Master Chugwon Jinha was the last one who joined the argument over Seon. He learned the texts from masters Baekpa and Seoldu, but he developed his own logic of Seon, in which he criti­cizes the two masters in his Records of Reawakening of Seon Family (Kor. Seonmun-chaejeung-nok). He believed that the Seon thought of masters Choui and Udam was correct and that their arguments were right.

The master lived at a time in which national prestige was at a very low level because of annexation of the country to Japan. To Master Chugwon, the issue of the Seon argument could fall into the category of a leisurely discourse which was not right for the time. Hence it seems that he tried to reveal the problem of this argument on Seon in the sense of adjusting and arranging it rather than adding to and criticizing the problem. His position was simply to reveal the Seon position of masters Choui and Udam again as a form of conclusion.

1) The Problem of the Three Phrases and the Three Seon

Traditionally, masters have been used to the words of the Seon of the Tathagata and Seon of the patriarchs on the one hand, and Seon of meaning and reason and Extraordinary Seon on the other. But it is only Master Baekpa who put the first two Seon together and regarded them as Extraordinary Seon, looking down on the Seon of meaning and reason. Besides, Master Baekpa gave the wrong explanation about the three phrases of Linji because he arranged them wrongly and it seems wrong to contend for the superiority or the inferiority of the three Seon.

Master Chugwon pointed out that the titles Seon of the patri­archs and Seon of the Tathagata themselves are not correct. The very concept of Seon of the Tathagata being the teacher of humans and those in the heaven, and Seon of the patriarchs being for the Buddhas and the patriarchs seems wrong.

Master Chugwon emphasized that the superiority of Seon can­not be distinguished by revealing it, whether it is Seon of the patri­archs or Seon of the Tathagata, and Extraordinary Seon or Seon of meaning and reason. There must only be a difference whether the Seon is in a live phrase or in a dead phrase, and one cannot differentiate Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata.

2) The Problem of Seon of Meaning and Reason

In Seon, the expression "direct transmission outside the texts" is often used. Master Chugwon thought that Master Baekpa regarded “outside the texts” the same as the "extraordinary" of "Extraordi­nary Seon." But Master Chugwon considered Master Seoldu's "out­side the texts and "extraordinary" the same from one point of view and different from another. According to Master Chugwon, Master Seoldu considered both Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata to be “outside the texts” and   “extraordinary.”

Here, Master Chugwon thought that though the Seon of mean­ing and reason are not "extraordinary," it should be regarded as “outside the texts.” The Seon of meaning and reason is, in the strictest sense, “a direct transmission outside the texts.”

What matters here is whether Seon is free from every trace of Kyo or not. When the road to reason is cut off, there opens a road to the "extraordinary." Hence the way left for the Seon of meaning and reason is to cut the meaning and reason.

3) The Problem of "Live and Dead"

“Dead sword” and, “live sword” mean “sitting with Mahakasyapa” and “holding up a flower” respectively. Masters Baekpa and Seoldu explained that “sitting with Mahakasyapa” signifies the Seon of the Tathagata, and "holding up a flower" signifies the Seon of the patriarchs. Master Chugwon, here criticizes that "dead" and “live” should be in the same family, and they must not be separated from each other.

G. Conclusion

1) The Starting Point of the Seon Argument

The argument on Seon in the late Joseon Dynasty was started by Master Baekpa Geungseon of Seonun-sa Monastery. Master Baekpa's idea of dividing Seon into three kinds created a dispute in the Korean Buddhist world which lasted through the 18th and 19th centuries. This argument can be criticized because it stirred up a problem of a pointless argument which was nothing but a desk theory. But it is certainly significant in the sense that the argument made the issue of searching for our Original Nature to be the Seon logic of the general Buddhist world.

Therefore, it is right to value the argument as a process of stretching for Korean Buddhist thinking before its modernization. The material on the basis of which the argument was begun was The Essence and the Songs of Seon (Kor. Seonmun-yeomsong) writ­ten in 1226 by Goryeo National Teacher Jingak Hyeshim. This book includes 1,125 hwadus and it is they that became the basis for reaching the way to awakening. On the basis of this book, there were various movements according to the different periods of time to search for simpler, better and newer methods for practicing the way.

The time of Master Baekpa was not exceptional. Master Baekpa wished to discriminate and show the superiority of Seon in order to reveal its true stages. To this end he wrote Hand Glass of Seon literature to arrange the basic texts of Seon which were most often used by students. The texts are: Master Chiso's Insight of Man and Heaven, Master Hwanseong Jian's Essentials of Five Orders of Seon, Master Cheonchaek's Precious Storehouse of Seon, and Essentials of of Seon.

2) The Application of Seon of the Patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata

Master Baekpa established three ways of reaching the final stage of Seon of the patriarchs. He identified three kinds of facul­ties, that is, high, middle, and low faculties with the first, second, and third phrases of Linji respectively. In addition he regarded the characteristics of these three phrases to be expressed as Seon of the patriarchs, Seon of the Tathagata, and Seon of meaning and reason.

What is very particular here is that Master Baekpa put Seon of the patriarchs in a higher place than Seon of the Tathagata. But this position caused a fundamental problem in that everyone won­dered how the Tathagata, that is, Sakyamuni Buddha, can be con­sidered inferior to the patriarchs.

This position that Seon of the patriarchs is superior to Seon of the Tathagata has several meanings in Seon. Firstly, Seon sees that which has been transmitted by the patriarchs as superior to the stage which the Tathagata attained Secondly, the stages of true void and sublime existence should be realized together in Seon, and the former is the stage of Seon of the Tathagata, and the latter is of Seon of the patriarchs. Thirdly, the principles of the Seon of the patriarchs and of the Seon of the Tathagata are divided and explained separately in texts. Fourthly, the Flower Garland study also distinguishes the Seon of the patriarchs from the Seon of the Tathagata.

3) The Problem of Seon Argument of Master Baekpa's Lineage

Master Baekpa gave the explanation that Linji and Yunmen orders belong to the Seon of the patriarchs, and that Caodong, Weiyang, and Fayan orders belong to the Seon of the Tathagata, and Heze Order to Seon of meaning and reason. But these distinc­tions were very troublesome. Each of the Seon orders had its own family tradition, and it is not right to try to evaluate the superior­ity or inferiority of the different orders. Hence it is natural that Master Baekpa's idea was severely criticized.

In this sense, lay scholar Chusa Kim Jeong-hui criticized Master Baekpa saying that “The truth of Seon is like a light new dress without stitching, just like a heavenly dress. But the dress is patched and repatched by the inventiveness of humans, and so be­comes a worn-out piece of clothing.” Chusa thought that one can only reveal the traditions of the Seon orders, but to discriminate between their relative superiority and inferiority is like fighting for food which has been begged for by a beggar. To discriminate between the Five Orders of Seon is to destroy the real meaning of Seon.

4) The Problem of Seon Argument of Master Choui's Lineage

As Master Baekpa made a mistake, masters Choui and Udam also committed an error. They claimed that Seon should be divided into Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata on the one hand, and into Extraordinary Seon and Seon of meaning and reason on the other. Then, it should be accepted by the masters that the Seon of meaning and reason and Seon of the Tathagata of the three phrases of Linji are the same. But they thought that the third phrase contains both Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata, and then it is not clear whether Seon of the Tathagata and Seon of meaning and reason fundamentally agree or not. If the source of Seon is nothing but the overcoming of opponents, then it only creates a misunderstanding of the true quality of Seon.

In this sense, any of the positions of Master Baekpa or those of Master Choui are not something for us to agree with. But in the process of searching for solutions to the problems created by this argument, we can develop an important and significant way to realizing the essence of Seon. Hence, the masters were pioneers who cultivated the way to understanding the purport of Seon. It was a new development in a new direction of Seon on a new stage through a new way of practice, just when the Korean nation faced a period of extreme hardship, and it is for this reason that the argument was so important in the Korean Buddhist world.

He recommended “a retreat community dedicated to the development of samadhi (contemplation or meditation) and prajna (wisdom).” As there was no resulting meeting, Bojo went down to Cheongwonsa Temple at Changpyeong, and diligently studied various texts; in particular, he read The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch. Eventually he had his first awakening and so made greater efforts to form a retreat community. In 1885, he moved to Bomunsa Temple on Mt. Hagasan and read the entire Tripitaka (Three baskets of the Buddhist texts). He turned to the study of the Avatamsaka Sutra for three years, and, when he came across a passage in “Appearance of the Tathagathas” chapter, he had his second awakening. In 1188 (the 18th year of King Myeongjong), he stayed at Geojosa Temple and founded a retreat community called “The Retreat Community of Samadhi and Prajna.” After some time he moved to Sangmujuam Hermitage, and continued with the retreat community for three years. When he read on The Record of Dahui, he attained complete enlightenment.

From that time on, he left his hermit-like life-style and participated in ordinary life, thus enacting the reality of bodhisattva action – compassion towards all beings.

In 1200 (the 3rd year of King Sinjong), he settled at Gilsangsa Temple on Mt. Songgwangsan(present-day Songgwangsa Temple on Mt. Jogyesan), and taught three primary types of meditation practice based on the philosophical view of sudden awakening and gradual cultivation. The three meditation types are “Seongjeok deungjimun,” “Wondon sinhaemun (faith and understanding according to the complete and sudden teachings),” and “Ganhwa gyeongjeolmun (Shortcut approach to observing the hwadu),” which are practices combining Seonand the Buddhist Doctrine. Bojo taught the union of practices to the Buddhist community through chanting, repentance and dharma talks depending on individual capability. King Huijong of Goryeo, who respected National Teacher Bojo, ordered a change in the name of the Mt. Songgwangsan to Jogyesan, then the name of the temple was changed from Gilsangsa to Suseonsa; King Huijong bestowed a special stele as a mark of his respect.(faith and understanding according to the complete and sudden teachings),” and “g (Shortcut approach to observing the hwadu),” which are practices combining Seonand the Buddhist Doctrine. Bojo taught the union of practices to the Buddhist community through chanting, repentance and dharma talks depending on individual capability.

In 1210 C.E. (the 6th year of King Huijong), Bojo put on his robe and delivered a series of lectures. During one of his dharma talks, he passed away (attained final nirvana) while holding his staff of office. The pagoda named “Sweet Dew” was set up and he was given the title of “National Teacher.”

Among his disciples, there were many who became national teachers. They included Jingak Hyesim, Jeongseon, Suu, and Chungdam.

2. Writings

National Teacher Bojo’s writings are Advisory writing on the Retreat Community of Meditation and Wisdom (Gwonsu jeonghye gyeolsamun); Moguja’s Secret of the Practice of the Mind (Moguja susimgyeol); Straight Talk on the True Mind (Jinsim jikseol); Admonitions to Beginning Students (Gyecho simhak inmun); Exposition of the New Translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra Vol.3 (Hwaeomnon jeoryo); Excerpts from the Dharma Collection and Special Practice Record with Personal Notes (Beopjip byeolhangnok jeoryo byeong ipsagi); Essay on the Complete and Sudden attainment of Buddhahood(Wondon Seongbullon); Studies of Ganhwaseon (Ganhwa gyeoruiron); Essential Approaches to Recollecting the Buddha (Yeombul yomun); and A Selection of the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (Yukjo dangyeong balmun). In addition, he wrote Jinul’s Formal Dharma Lectures (Sangdangnok) and Verses of Dharma and Moguja’s Poems which have unfortunately been lost. Debates of Solving Doubts in Ganhwa was compiled after Jinul’s death in 1215. This book emphasized the pursuit of true knowledge as followed by the Seon and the Doctrinal schools. We know that Bojo managed to quell the long-term argument that had waged between the Seon and the Doctrinal schools, and led the Seon to accept the Doctrinal School, at the same time he founded a new system of Seon teaching, as testified to in his book.

3. Characteristics of His Thought

National Teacher Bojo set up “The Retreat Community of Meditation and Wisdom” at Suseonsa Temple. This community was a movement for restoring the foundations of practice through the three learnings -- precepts, meditation and wisdom; the philosophy that inspired the community came from his three awakenings. As a result of his experience, he taught three meditative techniques: Seongjeok deungjimun for general Seon practitioners, which is based on The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch’; faith and understanding according to the complete and sudden teachings (Wondon sinhaemun) for people having doctrinal knowledge especially Huayan thought; the shortcut approach of observing the hwadu (Ganhwa gyeongjeolmun) for Ganhwaseon practitioners based on The Record of Dahui.

Bojo believed in the theory of Sudden Awakening and Gradual Cultivation and so developed the practices of the Three Gateways as the practical methodology. The meaning of this philosophy is to awaken the mind first to its True Nature and then gradually to cultivate the mind.

Bojo thought that sudden awakening and gradual cultivation is the best way of practice. In Secrets of Cultivating the Mind he said, 

“One should awaken to the fact that one’s mind is truly the Buddha, and the nature of mind is no different from that of the buddhas…. Although one has awakened to the fact that one’s Original Nature is no different from that of the buddhas, the habit energies are extremely difficult to remove and so one must continue to cultivate while relying on the awakening experienced.”

He emphasized again the importance of gradual cultivation.

Bojo said the mind, which is the object of sudden awakening, is void, calm and the numinous.  

“Since all dharmas are like dreams or phantoms, deluded thoughts are originally calm and the sense-spheres are originally void. At the point where all dharmas are void, the numinous is not obscured. That is, in this mind of void and calm, numinous awareness is the Original Face.”

He said that though there are many ways to cultivate the mind after awakening, all of them involve meditation and wisdom. The core is characterized by the essence and function of Self Nature; this is the very “mind of void and calm and the numinous awareness.”

The characteristics of Bojo’s Seon thought are as follows:

1. The first is the communicating mind. As is clear from his words, “the teaching consists of the words spoken by the World Honored One, while Seon is what the great masters transmitted.” In this way, he pursued the standard points with Seon as the essence and teaching as the function. Master Uicheon sought the standard points of Seon and Doctrine by teaching. It was Bojo who combined the Nine Mountain Schools of Korean Seon into the Jogye and, as the tradition of the Jogye was highly valued, his efforts gave rise to the inner unification of Buddhism in Goryeo, together with the Cheontae (Tiantai in China) School; these were the two directions that Buddhism took during the Goryeo Period.

2. The rejuvenation of Buddhism based on “The Retreat Community of Meditation and Wisdom” and the foundation of cultivating Buddhism.

3. The establishment of various ways of practice depending upon individual capability.

4. He was the first monk to introduce and adopt Dahui’s Kanhuachan. Great Master Dahui Zonggao (1088-1163 C.E.) was the seventeenth patriarch of the Linji school. The great master was the first person to teach Ganhwaseon(Kanhuachan in Chinese) with the question and answer system based on gongan (koan), a methodology that had been conventionally practiced in the Chinese Chan lineages (Five Families and Seven Orders). Bojo vigorously introduced this Kanhuachan to Korea, and it was later fully established by his disciples and called “Ganhwaseon.”

5. He formulated the rules of Seon and made the Jogye Order into a direct Seon tradition. This is evident from Admonitions to Beginning Students which became the required rules for “The Retreat Community of Meditation and Wisdom.” This work came to be seen as a compass to help practitioners to follow the discipline of the Buddha and it became an important dimension of the formation of the Jogye Order’s image and reputation.

Bojo called the cultivation of the mind after awakening “Action of the ox herd after awakening.” This means that even though one initially has had a sudden awakening, if defilements or delusions arise, one should get rid of them until they completely disappear, then this state can be called “complete awakening.” As previously mentioned, Bojo claimed and also demonstrated a truly practical form of cultivation in his Retreat Community of Meditation and Wisdom, and so he called himself an ox herder.

Secrets on Cultivating the Mind (修心訣 Susim kyeol)  

SECRETS ON CULTIVATING THE MIND, an outline of basic Seon practices, was written by Chinul between 1203 and 1205 to instruct the throngs coming to the newly completed Suseonsa monastery. A seminal text of the Seon school, Secrets presents simple yet cogent descriptions of two important elements of Chinul's thought―sudden awakening/gradual cultivation and the simultaneous practice of samadhi and prajna―interspersed with edifying words to encourage Buddhist students in their practice. Although Secrets was lost in Korea after the destruction wrought by the Mongol invasions two decades after Chinul's death, it was preserved in the Northern Ming edition of the tripitaka, produced in the early fifteenth century. Reintroduced into Korea around that time, it was translated in 1467 into the Korean vernacular language using the newly invented han 'gul alphabet. It remains one of the most popular Seon texts in Korea today.

Chinul, Susim kyol (Secrets on Cultivating the Mind). Translation from Robert E. Buswell, Jr., The Korean Approach to Zen: The Collected Works of Chinul, pp. 140-159. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1983. Reprinted with the permission of the translator. For other translations of Chinul’s works, see Robert E. Buswell, Jr. Tracing Back the Radiance: Chinul’s Korean Way of Zen. Kuroda Institute Classics in East Asian Buddhism, no. 2. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, A Kuroda Institute Book, 1991.

He returned to Guamsa Temple in 1830 at the age of 63 and continued to deliver Seon lectures and guide his students; from the age of 73 on, he stayed at Hwaeomsa Temple, and there he died in 1852 at the age of 85.

When he passed way, the great neo-Confucian scholar, Chusa Kim Jeonghui (1786-1856 C.E.), wrote an epitaph “Hwaeom jongju Baekpa daeyulsa daegi daeyong jibi” which means “The tomb of the founder of the Hwaeom School, Great Precept Master Baekpa.” In this way Chusa praised Master Baekpa calling him a master of Seon as well as of doctrine – a great compliment.

In the first month of 1352 he returned to Venerable Shiyu where he meditated the whole day on his doubts and realized independently the true meaning of no-mind, no-thought. Venerable Shiyu praised Baegun’s spiritual achievement and gave his sanction. After his return to Goryeo in the 3rd month of 1352, while practicing with other monks of Seonggaksa Temple, he achieved great awakening. He recorded this event with these words: 

“In the year of Gyesa (1353), on the seventeenth day of the first month, as I was seated in meditation, Great Master Yongjia’s words in the Jeungdoga (Poems on the Essence of Chan) spontaneously came to me: ‘Do not try to abandon false thoughts, do not try to grasp the True Mind. The real nature of ignorance is Buddha Nature, and the illusive empty body is the Dharma body.’ While focusing on these words, suddenly I experienced no-mind. I had no-thoughts; I was cut off from the past and from the future. When I reached this state, I suddenly saw the entire world within myself.”

In the sixth month of the following year (1354) Venerable Shiyu’s disciple Venerable Fayan brought Shiyu’s deathbed verse from China and presented it to Master Baegun. 

“Buying white clouds [Baegun means “white cloud”], selling fresh wind, empty houses poor to the core of their bones. As a small thatched hut fortunately remains, before I left I gave it to the child who played soldiers with me (another meaning of Baegun).”

Venerable Shiyu asked Fayan to carry this verse to Baegun which suggests that Venerable Shiyu considered Baegun to be his true dharma heir and not Master Taego. Afterwards, Baegun lived and taught for 11 years at Anguksa Temple in Haeju, Hwanghae-do Province. He also taught at Singwangsa Temple in Haeju and Chwiamsa Temple in Yeoju. His final verse reads as follows: 

“Originally I had no body, and no place to stay of my own either.

So spread my ashes in the four directions

Do not keep my remains in the ground belonging to some donor.”

2. Writings

Up to today, we only have “The Record of Venerable Baegun’s Sayings” and “Baegun hwasang chorok buljo jikji simche yojeol.” The former book was written by his disciples Seokchan and Daldam. It is a book which is so beautifully written that it is highly regarded. A preface to each of the two sections has been added by Yi Saek and Yi Gu.

Baegun hwasang chorok buljo jikji simche yojeol is a compilation of sayings of the Buddha and his disciples of inspiration in the study of Seon. It is an invaluable source for studying the Seon of No-Mind as taught by Master Baegun. This book is sometimes called Buljo jikji simche yojeol or Jikji simgyeong (Sutra of Pointing Directly to the Mind); it is comprised of two volumes. A copy using the newly found metal printing type was produced in 1377 at Heungdeoksa Temple in Cheongju; today one volume is in the collection of the National Library of France; it is the oldest book printed using metal printing type in the world, and in September 2001 it was designated The Memory of the World Register by UNESCO.

3. Characteristics of his Thought

The most unique aspect of Baegun’s thought is the concept of No-Mind, No-Thought. Though Baegun declared himself a descendant of the lineage of Linji Chan, he also stressed hwadu practice and the Seon of No-Mind. When he taught hwadu to his disciples he stressed “Mu” (nothingness), “Ten thousand dharmas return one,” and the hwadu “What were you before your parents were born?” One of his main teachings was that doubt produces great results. However, his most characteristic phrase was “No-Mind, No-Thought,” the teaching of which is well reflected in his poem “Musimga” (“The Song of No-Mind”): 

“As the nature of things is silent originally, it does not say ‘I am blue’ or ‘I am yellow.’ People say this is good or this is bad and their mind distinguishes. If your mind is the same as clouds and water, you are free, even though you live in the world. If your mind does not name or distinguish things, nothing good or bad arises. Foolish men try to put differentiation out of their mind, yet they do not put their mind out of their mind, while wise men try to put their mind out of their mind, yet they do not put their differentiated mind out of their mind. As mind is forgotten, the differentiated mind becomes silent by itself; as the differentiated mind is silent, mind does not arise. This is the real No-Mind.”      

In the days of Venerable Baegun, Seon practice using hwadu was popular. That he emphasized on “No-Mind, No-Thought” Seon practice was to bring more attention to the Seon tradition, whose attachment to hwadu Seon had become so strong that it was an obstacle. This was the result of the influence of Venerable Shiyu’s No-mind chan. 

Baegun considered “No-Mind, No-Thought” as the ultimate state of Seon. “No-mind” is not a state of mind in which there is no consciousness of soil, rocks and woods (the world). He constantly admonished people not to have the wrong view of No-Mind. He taught that attachment to the letter and attachment to hwadu were illnesses to be avoided; true practice is letting go. Therefore “No-Mind, No-Thought” should be studied carefully and then energetically cultivated. If you have No-Mind, you will not always be full of delusion.

From Book "Seon Thought in Korean Buddhism", 1998A. Preface

Written by Kwon Kee-jong

Professor

Dept. of Buddhist Studies

Dongguk University

A. Preface

Master Baegun Gyeonghan (1298-1374) was a Seon master who lived in the late Goryeo Period, and a contemporary of masters Taego Po-u (1301-1382) and Naong Hyegeun (1320-1376). These three great masters had a deep and close relationship with one an­other and they also shared the common experience of having gone to Yuan and learned Seon under masters Shiwu Qinggong and Pingshan Chulin, and then introduced the Linji Order (Kor. Imje) to Silla. In addition, they all tried to reform the declining Seon Dharma of the time and to correct the many faults of the samgha thus setting it on the right track again.

But though they studied Linji Seon and lived at the same time and in the same society, the characteristics of their Seon traditions differ. In order to understand this, we need to examine the study of Master Baegun and the characteristics of his Seon Dharma. One of the best ways of doing this is to look at his sayings.

B. The Philosophical Background

The background of the later Goryeo Period, especially the reign of King Kongmin (r. 1352-1374), can be considered from two viewpoints. The first is the social aspect which shows that this was a time of strong political agitation, and the second is from the philosophical point of view, Buddhism was on the decline includ­ing the Seon Order. Of the two, the second viewpoint is of special importance to us because through it we can understand the philo­sophical background of the transmission of Linji Seon.

Goryeo society, due to the influence of ceremonial Buddhism, often held various Buddhist meetings such as the taking of Eight Precepts (Kor. p'algwan-hoe) and Giving Life (Kor. panseung). Most activities were for the good fortune of the participants and the social effect of this reached a maximum during the reign of King Kongmin. In the fourth year of his reign, Master Seongeun who belonged to the royal temple inside the palace (Kor. Naewon-tang), violated his precept of celibacy but the king released him. When Master Yeonguk of the Chaeun Order wanted to punish him, he rebuked Master Yeonguk by saying, "if you are going to punish me, you should demolish the whole of Buddhism. Is there any monk who is not like me?" The refutation enables us to guess at the level of corruption prevalent at the time.1 Accordingly the new social tendency of persecuting Buddhism and promoting Confucian­ism can be considered to be the outcome of the criticism of the degradation of Buddhism.

Korean Neo-Confucianism (Kor. Seongni-hak) was established by scholars Yi Che-hyon, Yi Saek, Chong Mong-chu, Yi Seung-in and Chong To-chon in the late Goryeo Period. They openly criti­cized Buddhism and cited the general degeneration as the basis of their criticism. A memorial presented to the king by Confucian scholar, Yi Saek, who believed in Buddhism, is a good example of the situation of the time.

At the time that our founder, King T'aejo, established the nation, Buddhist temples and ordinary houses were not distinguishable from one another and their relationship was unclear. After the middle period, Buddhist followers greatly increased, so that the Five Schools (of Yeolban, Namsan, Hwaom, Peopsang and Peopseong) and the Two Orders (of Seon and Kyo) maintained temples everywhere which merely became breeding places of profiteering and self-interest. Now the followers become con­temptible and everyone has become lazy; sensible people everywhere should be greatly concerned.

The Buddha was an attained spiritual leader, but he must be ashamed of his present day followers. I, your Majesty's ser­vant, reverently bow and humbly ask you to prepare a provi­sion according to the following restrictions: Please give monk's licenses to already ordained monks and nuns. Please send monks with no identification to the army. Please remove any newly built temples and punish monks who do not obey. Please do not grant permission to ordinary people to be ordained as monks or nuns.2

This memorial indicates how corrupt both Seon and Kyo orders hadbecome at that time. But is not irrelevant to consider King Kongmin's character in the context.

Master T'aego Po-u, in a speech in the fifth month of the sixth year of the reign of King Kongmin, severely pointed out the uselessness to the nation as a whole of the king's blind faith in Buddhism.

The way of a king lies in educating people by practicing the Buddha Dharma, setting an example and teaching it, but not in blind belief in Buddhism, which is not necessary. If a king is not able to govern the nation with virtue, though he believes in Buddhism intrinsically, what will be the benefit? ... The king should give up the wrong and follow the right for the nation to be free from hardship.3

This was also the time when Yuan and Ming dynasties were replaced. The uncertainty of the policy of the foreign ministry along with the trend of distrusting Buddhism after the affair of Master Shindon, who gained favor with King Kongmin and subse­quently became in charge of national administration, led to the way. Confucianism was thus able to openly criticize Buddhism and get established as the new religious direction of the nation. The Confucianism of that time had already passed the stage of its early acceptation of Buddhism by passing the following remark displaying its attitude of negotiation, "Religion is Buddhism and the study of the principles of government is Confucianism." In this way Confu­cianism showed itself to be the new religion with a new metaphys­ical doctrinal system.

Especially Neo-Confucianism was founded with a strong, hid­den inclination towards the persecution of Buddhism so that it was inevitable that Neo-Confucianism would attack anything it could in Buddhism in order to strengthen its own position.4

With all of this in mind, let us take a look at this attack. Buddhism responded to the confrontation by concentrating in two directions. The first was internal and aimed at correcting the ruined moral fiber of the monks and establishing a pure samgha, and the second was to promote the Seon tradition through introducing the new Seon Dharma. Examples of the first include various belief and practice communities in the middle and late Goryeo periods, and integration of the second was the introduction of Linji Seon. The two, of course, cannot be completely separated from each other. But when we keep the latter in mind, the three great masters T'aego Po-u, Naong Hyegeun and Baegun Gyeonghan are of central impor­tance.

These three masters were great Buddhist philosophers who gave direction to the middle and the late 14th century with their fine thinking. They shared the common experience of having all returned after studying the Dharma of Linji Seon in Yuan, even though their aims were different. Master Po-u went to Yuan in 1346, the second year of the reign of King Ch'ungmok, and returned after he had learned from Master Shiwu Qinggong, the 18th generation of the Linji Order.5 Master Naong went to Yuan in 1348, the fourth year of the reign of the same king and returned after he had received the Dharma of Master Pingshan Chulin who had studied with Master Shiwu Qinggong under the same teacher.6 Master Baegun went to Yuan in 1351, the third year of the reign of King Ch'ungjeong and came back after receiving the Dharma of Master Shiwu Qinggong.7

At that time the Linji Order was divided into the Huanglong (Kor. Hwangnyong) and the Yangqi (Kor. Yangji) orders, and the order which the three masters introduced was the latter.   The Yangqi Order was the most popular in China because its central thought proclaimed was the idea of “the natural true person.”

The Seon tradition of the Linji Order was not, of course, first introduced to Korea in the time of these three masters;8 it had already been proclaimed by Master Pojo Chinul (1158-1210). The Linji approach of “the shortcut gate” (Kor. kyeongjeol-mun) of in­vestigating the "principal topic" called "hwadu' (literally head (topic) of speech") originates from the Sayings of Dahui, and Master Dahui Zonggao belonged to the Yangqi lineage of the Linji Order.9

The core of the tradition of the Linji Order lies in the Seon of investigating the hwadu (Kor. Ganhwa Seon), and it was contin­ued in books such as The Essence and the Songs of Seon (Kor. Seonmun-yeomsong) of Master Hyeshim; Stories of the Essence and the Songs (Kor. Yeomsong-seolhwa) of Master Kagun; The Assembly of the Essence and the Songs (Kor. Yeomsong-sawon) of Master Iryon; and Second Edition of the Assembly of the Essence and the Songs (Kor. Chung-pyeon-yeomsong-sawon) of Master Hon-gu. These teachings were also found in Resolving Doubts about Observ­ing the Principal Topic (Kor. Ganhwa-kyeorui-ron) of Master Chinul, and in this way the main stream of Korean Seon was finally established.10of Master Chinul, and in this way the main stream of Korean Seon was finally established.

But the existing streams of Seon introduced to Korea and incorporated into the Nine Mountains of Seon included elements of confrontation and conflict, and the reality of these problems became exaggerated and even reached the level of a national issue.

Nowadays monks of the Nine Mountains of Seon rely on the support of their own Dharma families, seriously distin­guishing between the families and judging their superiority; this leads to fights. Recently the struggle is getting more violent. They hold spears and shields in their hands and hedge fences, hence they destroy the harmony and break the good Dharma Alas! Seon was originally one family but men have made it into many families. Where can the truth of the Buddha be found? Where is equality and no-self, the pure family tradition of no formality which was continued through succeeding gene­rations of masters? Where is the will to protect the Dharma and comfort the nation of the late kings?11

Subsequently, Master Po-u presented a memorial to the king to unite all sects and strictly purify the dignity of the samgha by setting up the Pure Rules of Baizhang. Master Po-u's proposal was adopted, so the Department of Harmonization (Kor. Wonyung-pu) was established at Kwangjo-sa in the same year.12 All monks were forced to study for the monks' examination (Kor. kongbuseon) at Hoeam-sa under the supervision of Master Hyegeun in 1370, the 19th year of the reign of King Kongmin,13 and this constituted an effort at accomplishing the philosophical integration of the Five Schools and Two Orders. This effort speaks of the deep effect of the conviction of the masters that the active nature of Linji Seon could be the mental background for governing the nation.14

This introduction of Linji Seon and the advice of masters Po­ll, Naong and Baegun can be regarded as a presentation of the new ideology based on reforming declining Buddhism in the late Goryeo Period. It also performed the double service of making a Buddhist contribution to the nation even though it was a failure and had little effect. This was partly due to the fact that the political char­acter of the time was conservative, and the corruption of the samgha was having such a deep influence that hardly anything could be done about it.15

The series of reformations which were actively pursued, like the union of the Nine Mountains and the transfer of the capital to Hanyang (present day Seoul) from Gaegyong by Master Po-u was stopped by various political upheavals. For example, King Kongmin who had initially tried to establish a national identity through an anti-Yuan policy, allowed his understanding of Buddhism to become warped in later life as he worked hard for good fortune alone. Due to this he was killed in 1374 by some influen­tial families, showing that the sovereign power of Goryeo was actually controlled by them and not necessarily by the king.

The new movement of Goryeo Buddhism, without maturing into a philosophy for saving the nation, was overwhelmed by the strong arguments used by Confucian scholars to reject Buddhism, and so Buddhism had to walk with a declining nation towards the sun setting on its former glory and the result was a dark period of political suppression during the 500 years of the Joseon Dynasty.16

Still the introduction of Linji Seon in the late Goryeo Period had significant philosophical repercussions in its three main aspects of introspection by the samgha itself, presentation of the basic principles for the purification movement and proclamation of the Son tradition as a means of spiritual life in peaceful times.

C. The Life and Writings of Master Baegun

Master Baegun Gyeonghan was born at Kobu of Jolla-do Province in 1298, the 24th year of the reign of King Chungyeol. He was ordained early and received the pen name of Kyeonghan. He did not have a fixed teacher but wandered around Korea It is not certain when he went to Yuan but it seems that he stayed there for a year between 1351 and 1352.17 As in the case of Mas­ter Naong, he also asked Master Zhikong about the Dharma and received it from Master Shiwu Qinggong. He was recommended by Master T'aego to King Kongmin and called to a special post by the king in 1357, the sixth year of his reign but refused courte­ously. Eight years later, in 1365, the 14th year of the reign of the same king, he was again recommended by Master Naong and ac­cepted to be chief monk of Shin-gwang-sa. In 1368, he occupied the position of chief monk of Heungseong-sa, which was built as a royal temple for the king's dead Queen Noguk-kongju from Yuan. He took charge of the monks' examinations in the 19th year of the reign, and then stayed in various small hermitages. He passed away at Chwiam-sa in Yeoju at the age of 77 in 1374, the 23rd year of King Kongmin.

Some count the year of his death as 1375. Because they have consulted the record of Yi Ku in the preface of the Sayings of Master Baegun (Kor. Baegun-hwasang-eorok) where it is written "I have seen his greatness when I met him at Shin-gwang-sa in the fall of the year of the snake (1365), and he left ten years later." If so, the year of his death becomes 1375, and the year of his birth is 1299 because of the record which states that he lived for 77 years.18 But then the "after ten years" mentioned in the preface could be 1374 if one counts the ten years from 1365. Hence the date of his death could be either 1374 or 1375.

The Sayings of Master Baegun is recorded by Master Seokchan, Master Baegun's assistant, in which the prefaces of Yi Saek and Yi Ku are recorded along with the Dharma speeches, hymns, poems and letters of Master Baegun. The book was published in two volumes. Of particular interest is the Excerpts of Direct Point­ing to the Mind Essentials: Abstracted by Master Baegun (Kor. Baegun-hwasang-chorok-jikji-simche-yojeol), two volumes which is now preserved in Paris. It is the world's first book printed with movable metal type and is therefore of great importance in the history of printing.

The Excerpts was edited when the master was 75 years old. He chose these essential writings for "direct pointing to the human mind, so as to behold the Buddha-nature and become a Buddha" from books like Jinde Records of the Transmission of the Lamp (Ch. Jinde chuandeng lu, Kor. Kyeongdeok-jeondeung-nok) and Col­lections of the Five Lamps (Ch. Wudeng huiyuan, Kor. Odeung-hoewon). It includes Dharma speeches and hymns from the seven past Buddhas through generations of masters. Though some of the ideas of the editor, Master Baegun, are included in the book, as it is a collection of excerpts, it can not be regarded as representative of the Master Baegun's teachings.

D. The Characteristics of Master Baegun's Seon Thought

1) The Problem of Tradition of Order

Master Baegun together with masters Po-u and Naong instigat­ed a new Seon tradition in the late Goryeo Period. However, as Master Baegun had certain characteristics which were special to him alone, he set up a unique family tradition which differs from other Korean Seon families.

In the Sayings of Master Baegun the expression "tradition of order" (Kor. chongp'ung, literally "wind of the order") often ap­pears. What order does the word "order" refer to? Does it mean the general Seon Order, the one that differs from Kyo in the Seon and Kyo two orders, or some other specific order? It is necessary to examine this, because this inquiry is closely related to the ques­tion of whether Master Baegun's lineage is legitimate Linji Seon or not.

In the Sayings of Master Baegun, first volume, there is a con­versation between Master Baegun and a monk. There Master Baegun says, "I am going to fan the wind of the order of 1,000 years old, so that it blossoms in good fortune in the Three Han States (Kor. Samhan)." And the monk asks, "What tune are you singing and whose wind of order are you succeeding?" Hereby Master Baegun answers, "I sold fresh wind to the bones and bought white clouds casually."19

The phrases "fresh wind" and "white clouds" were used in the death hymn of Master Shiwu, which was sent to Master Baegun. Yi Ku wrote in his preface to the Sayings of Master Baegun in 1377 as follows:

Master Shiwu at his death sent a hymn to Master Baegun.

I bought white clouds ("Baegun" literally means white clouds) and sold fresh wind,

So the whole house is empty and poor to the bone.

To a barely remaining straw-thatched cottage,

Fire was set when I left it.20

This enables us to know that Master Shiwu transmitted his Dharma to Master Baegun.

Hence the phrase of buying white clouds and selling fresh wind signifies the transmission of the Dharma from Master Shiwu to Master Baegun, and Master Baegun's answer indicates that the tradition of his order was that of Master Shiwu. Considering the fact that Master Shiwu was of the 18th generation after Master Linji, it can be guessed that Master Baegun had the tradition of the Linji lineage as his tradition. Moreover, the same question which the monk asked Master Baegun is also found in the Records of Linji (Ch. Linji lu, Kor. Imje-rok)as below.

(A monk) asked, What tune are you singing and whose wind of order are you succeeding?" Master Linji answered, "I asked Master Huangbo three times and was struck three times."2I

The characters of the question are exactly the same as the one given to Master Baegun. Here, Master Linji, by telling that he asked Master Huangbo three times and was struck three times, re­veals that he is designated as the successor of the order of Master Huangbo and sings of Master Huangbo's family tradition. We can also definitely conclude, through the same question and answer, that Master Baegun succeeded the tradition of the order of Master Shiwu and sang Master Shiwu's family song. In addition, this re­cord shows us that Master Baegun showed his preference for Mas­ter Linji when he compared the different family traditions of the various Seon families. After he assessed the family traditions of var­ious people like Flower Garland scholar Li Tongxuan, Master Weiyang, masters Shitou and Yaoshan, he added:

(They) sometimes hit with sticks or shout, and sometimes they become the guest or the host, sometimes they take and sometimes they leave and they wielded practicality like thun­der. Hence masters Linji and Deshan alone surpass all others.22

This attitude of Master Baegun towards Master Linji continued in the relationship with Master Shiwu. Therefore Master Baegun, in the following letter to Master T'aego, wrote that both of them are disciples of Master Shiwu.

This follower planted good seed in his past life so he could join with you, great master, and so both of us are disci­ples of Master Shiwu. ...Now in the world of today, apart from Master Zhikong, it is rare to see such a great master as Master Shiwu. Though the master has already passed away, his "Seon precedent" (or "case," Kor. kongan) remains.23

But there are several problems in regard to Master Baegun as the legitimate successor of Master Shiwu. Professor Suh Yoon-kil thinks that Master Baegun did not succeed Master Shiwu's Dharma lineage though it is certain that Master Baegun did study under Master Shiwu.24 The reason lies in the fact that Master Baegun attained awakening while he was reading from "Song of Enlighten­ment" of Master Yongjia Xuanjue one year after his return from Yuan and not while he was studying under Master Shiwu. Therefore Professor Suh concludes that the meeting between Master Baegun and Master Shiwu was not an opportunity for awakening but one in which the Dharma succession was established. In spite of this, Master Baegun is still of the same lineage as Master Shiwu according to Professor Suh.

Even though Master Baegun is not regarded as a legitimate successor of the Linji lineage, the expressions which he reveals in his Sayings enable us to guess that the family tradition mentioned by him was that of Master Shiwu who succeeded Master Linji, and so we have to accept his claim that "both of us are disciples of Master Shiwu.

2) True Teaching of No-mind

Though both masters Baegun and Po-u were disciples of Mas­ter Shiwu who succeeded Master Linji's Dharma tradition, the two masters were quite different from each other in spreading the tradi­tion. Master Po-u himself does not use the word "Linji tradition," and he had already attained awakening by investigating the hwadu "No" (Kor. Mu) of Master Mazu before he went to Yuan and met Master Shiwu. When he met Master Shiwu, he presented what he had realized along with his "Song of the Ancient Hermitage" (Kor. T'aego-am-ka). Master Shiwu responded by saying, "Looking at what you have realized, your study is right and your view is clear. But leave all of them." Master Po-u replied, "It has been a long time since I have left them."25 Master Po-u, after his return, was consistent with the teachings of the Son of investigating the hwadu.

But in the case of Master Baegun, he did not make "investi­gating the hwadu" a subject of discussion. He only once mentioned the hwadu.

This mountain monk wandered around the south and north of the Yangzi River (of China) and visited all good masters last year. They taught students using hwadus like "No" of Master Mazu, "all Dharmas return to the one" and “look for your original face before the birth of your parents” ... there was no other teaching.

Finally I visited Master Shiwu at Tienhuan hermitage on Mt. Xiawushan and assisted him several days. There I learned the “true teaching of no-mind” and completely realized the utmost sublime truth of the Tathagatas.26

Considering this, Master Baegun seems to have studied investi­gation of the hwadu under Master Shiwu and realized the "utmost sublime truth" of the "true teaching of no-mind." Master Baegun talked about the utmost sublime truth when he gave a Dharma talk.

The ways and means of old sages are as many as the sands of the Ganges River. But the Sixth Patriarch said “It is neither the wind nor the flag but the mind which moves”, and this is the utmost true teaching which transcends the main thesis as well as all forms.27

Here, "the movement of the mind" is a concept opposite to that of "no-mind," and Master Baegun grasped not "no-mind" but "the movement of the mind" as the focus of the problem. Accordingly, "no-mind is the "utmost true teaching" and it is the es­sence of Master Baegun's main Seon thesis. The reason that he quoted the above phrases of Master Huineng several times was to emphasize no-mind.

Subsequently, Master Baegun expressed his view of the truth as the “utmost mental impression”, 28 the “utmost sublime truth”29 or the “true teaching of no-mind and no-thought,”30and said I have already realized the 'no-mind' and I wish that unenlightened people may attain the same realization as I have done."31 He again emphasized:and said I have already realized the 'no-mind' and I wish that unenlightened people may attain the same realization as I have done." He again emphasized:

If I had not learned the true teaching of no-mind, how could this great liberation of today be possible? The phrase, “no-mind,” is something which surpasses myriads of causes between a teacher and a disciple, and is not to be neglected. Nothing can pay for this enormous kindness, though I try to exert myself to the utmost.32

This saying shows how ardent the shock of “no-mind and no-thought” made him become. His enthusiasm is clearly shown in his letter to the king written in the ninth month in the year of the dog, when he was asked by the king to take charge of the exami­nations. There he mentions, "This is the utmost sublime means, Sometimes it is called no-mind or sometimes no-thought."33 Master Baegun's method of reflecting on his study is to avoid the following nine things.

What is reflecting on study?

It is not necessarily investigating the hwadu,

nor is it necessarily considering the hwadu,

nor is it necessarily speaking as a substitute for the sayings of old masters,

nor is it necessarily speaking,

nor is it necessarily reading sutras,

nor is it necessarily writing or studying commentaries,

nor is it necessarily wandering all around searching for teach­ers,

nor is it necessarily getting away from noisiness and searching for calmness,

nor is it moving the mind and looking outside, nor is it clear­ing the mind and silently looking inside.

If you follow your own direction, being influenced by such things, then please realize that what you are doing has nothing to do with reflection on study.34

And then he gave a definition of reflection on study using old sayings that sincere students should keep in mind. "Reflection on study should be done faithfully, and awakening should be attained faithfully. One should learn no-mind and effortless action and be always free from thoughts and awake. No-thought sees the original person."

The conclusion of Master Baegun's thinking is that all means of investigating the hwadu and reading the sutras and studying the commentaries are inferior to no-thought. But Master Baegun warned of the misunderstanding of no-mind, saying that no-mind and no-thought do not indicate a consciousness that is similar to the earth, to a tree, to a tile or to a stone.35 Therefore he sang in his “Song of No-mind” (Kor. Mushim-ka):

If mind is deserted

Conditions become calm by themselves.

And when conditions become calm

Mind does not move by itself.

That is the so-called

True teaching of no-mind.36

As we have examined so far, Master Baegun only realized the true teaching of no-mind and no-thought and declared them as the best way. Though masters Po-u, Naong and Baegun were contem­porary masters who studied under Master Shiwu, their family tradi­tions were not the same. Especially Master Baegun claimed, “This old monk came into the world trying to hit the Dharma drum and straighten out the already disintegrated principles. You look at it closely.” The claim well shows his will to revive the Goryeo Bud­dhist world of no-principle by introducing a new line of Seon thinking and development.

3) The Stage of Awakening

The emphasis of the true teachings of no-thought are general­ly found in the Seon thought of Master Baegun. In his Dharma talk "Minor Talk on Entering HeungSeong-sa, 37 he explains equal­ity. Assuming that Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, or total awakening is equality and that there is neither high nor low, he went on to describe this equality as not being the cutting off of the legs of a crane and then joining them to a duck, or the breaking of a mountain in order to fill up a valley. Therefore, long ones are Dharma-bodies as they are, and short ones are Dharma-bodies as they are. Dharma sticks are Dharma sticks, mountains are mountains, Water is water,  holiness is holiness, and worldiness is worldiness.

And he added that wise people can understand this but ignorant people just cling to the sayings.

Here, the stage of awakening after all indicates the stage of equality where discrimination is cut off. Accordingly, it can be considered that no-thought does not mean no thinking but it signi­fies the absolute equality of no discrimination. That is why real equality regards mountains as mountains and water as water, and never makes mountains into water or water into mountains.

Master Baegun thought that the stage of equality of no-thought is understood differently according to the different faculties. When he gave a Dharma speech, he held up a Dharma stick and showed it to his students, asking “What do we call this? Should we call it a Dharma stick, or not?” Then he answered himself:38

Ordinary men say it exists,

The two vehicles (Skt. dviyana, Kor. iseung) say it does not exist.

The self-enlightened Buddhas (Skt. Pratyeka-buddha, Kor. yeon-gak) say it a phantom,

Bodhisattvas say it is something whose present body is empty.

But such an explanation is the judgment of Kyo, and Seon never regards things in that way. The attitude of Seon is as below:

The Dharma stick is a Dharma stick,

And the Buddha hall is a Buddha hall.

Mountains are mountains, water is water and the mundane is the mundane. Why is it so?

The suitable place for all Dharmas is of itself the truth, calm­ness, extinction (Skt. Nirvana) and liberation.39

Master Baegun also thought that Seon and Kyo originally are not two. But he understood this level of awakening from the attitude of the Seon of no-thought, and he emphasized that belief is first needed above all to attain that stage. When the Buddha said "People of mind can surely attain Buddhahood," he meant to give rise to clear thinking free from error and defilements, the utmost awak­ened mind. The reason that students think it is hard to do so is because of their lack of "belief in determination." He emphasized that the belief in determination comes from the will for determi­nation," and that this belief is the start of entering the truth.40

4) Presenting Dharma of Son of the Patriarchs and Means of No-mind

Master Baegun, in his writing called "Seon of the patriarchs" (Kor. Chosa Seon) explained the Seon that the patriarchs teach and use to guide their students and what it means to practice a subject of discussion. According to him, traditional Seon is the Seon of the Tathagatha (Kor. Yeorae Seon), and the Seon of the patriarchs is the Chinese style of Seon which was a new form which had not existed previously in India at the time of the Buddha.

He maintained that the main thesis of the Seon of the patri­archs is expressed by color, sound and language, and a practitioner attains awakening through these means. He explained through these examples:41

Representing the Dharma through speech can be done in this way: "Have you eaten your rice porridge?" "I have." Then Wash your bowl. To attain awakening at that time is done like that.

Representing the Dharma through speech and sound is: “Do you hear the sound of the stream?” “I do.” Then immedi­ately, “Enter into it.” To attain awakening at that time is done like this.

Representing the Dharma by sound is this: It is to attain awakening by listening to "the sounds of crows, magpies, donkeys and dogs which are all turning the wheel of the Tathagata."

Representing the Dharma by color and sound is: Various actions like lifting a stick, standing up a switch42, snapping the fingers and scolding are all the Seon of the patriarchs. Thus when the sound is heard, that is the time of awakening, and one attains awakening when one sees colors.

Hence Master Baegun thought that Master Lingyun attained awakening by color, Master Xiangyan by sound, and it is great that Master Yunmen was troubled with a leg and Master Xuansha with a foot.

That was the explicit explanation of the characteristics of the Seon of the patriarchs and its ways of representing the Dharma. Master Baegun, when he was in-charge of the examinations in 1370, the 19th year of the reign of King Kongmin, carefully de­fined his ways of explaining the Dharma in his writings to the king. There he wrote that the utmost sublime means of practicing the hwadu and the state of no-mind are as follows:

To express my opinion concerning study, students' medita­tion can be examined using the hwadu, making an announce­ment, and using color, sound and speech.43

On this assumption, he then gave precise instructions and ex­amples explaining:

Firstly, the hwadu is like the "No" of Master Mazu, "all Dharmas return to the one" and look for your original face before the birth of your parents."

Secondly, make an announcement like “the big pine in the garden," three keun (Ch. jin) of yams” and "a dried shit stick."

Thirdly, representing the Dharma by color is like lifting a stick or standing up a switch.

Fourthly, representing the Dharma by sound is like beat­ing it down with a stick or shouting.

Fifth, representing the Dharma by speech is like this: "Do you hear the sound of water?" "I do." "Enter into it."

Sixth, there is no-mind and no-thought.

This "no-mind and no-thought" were added later and they be­long to the Seon thought of Master Baegun. Explaining the sixth, he considers it the most sublime means and explains:

There is a most sublime means, namely, the teaching of no-mind and no-thought. That is according to the sayings of the Sixth Patriarch, "If one does not think at all of any good or evil, then he/she automatically enters into the original place of the mind. This state is always calm and sublime like the sands of the Ganges River," of Master Huangbo; "If one, as a student of truth, cannot be mindless he/she cannot accomplish anything at all though he/she practices for several lives," of Zhuoxianggong; "If a single thought does not arise, the whole appears" of the teachers like Li Wenhe; "Proceed on a straight path to the utmost awakening and do not be concerned with right and wrong."44

Master Baegun, quoting the sayings of various people, said that no-mind or no-thought are the utmost sublime means. To him the greatest way of representing the Dharma in the Seon of the patri­archs is not the hwadu but no-mind or no-thought.

E. Conclusion

As we have seen, it is difficult to draw a conclusion as to whether Master Baegun was a legitimate successor of Master Linji or not. But what can be said for sure is that he was faithful to the family tradition of linji Seon and served Master Shiwu as his teacher. As far as investigating the hwadu, though he mentioned little about it, he did not emphasize it as much as Master Po-u did. Instead, he stressed on Seon of no-mind and no-thought, similar to the concepts of "the noble man of no work" or "the true man of no rank' which are seen mainly in the Sayings of Linji For him, awakening is a stage of equality of no-thought, that is, a stage of considering mountains as mountains and water as water.

Subsequently, he properly classified and explained the ways of representing the Dharma of the Seon of the patriarchs and the means of guiding and teaching students. According to him, no-mind and no-thought are the most sublime ways above all other ways of the hwadu, making an announcement, through color, sound, speech, speech and sound, and color and sound. Once again, he considered the means of no-mind or no-thought more sublime than investigating the hwadu in the practice of the Seon of the patriarchs and in the training of young aspirants. These are the unique characteristics of Master Baegun's teachings.

NOTES

1.      History of Goryeo (Kor. Goryeosa)38; article of the sixth month, the fourth year of the reign of King Kongmin; and Yi Neung-hwa, Compre­hensive History of Korean Buddhism (Kor. Joseon-bulgyo-tongsa) 1, p. 312.)38; article of the sixth month, the fourth year of the reign of King Kongmin; and Yi Neung-hwa, (Kor. J) 1p. 312.

2.      Ibid. 115, chapter "Successive Records" (Kor. Yeoljeon), article on Yi Saek.

3.      Ibid. 38, chapter "Distinguished Family" (Kor. Sega), article on King Kongmin.

4.      Yi Chong-ik, "Criticism of Jeong Do-jeon's Theory of Avoiding Buddhism" (Kor. Jeong-Do-jeon-ui-pyeoksa-ron-pip'an), in Collection of Theses of Eastern Thought (Kor. Dongbang-sasang-nonchong), 1977, pp. 308-310.

5.      "Stupa of National Teacher Wonjeung of T'aego-sa" (Kor. Taego-sa-wonjeung-kuksa-tap-bi), in Whole Survey of Korean Monumental Inscriptions (Kor. Joseon-keumseok-chongnam) 1, p.526.p.526.

6.      Monument of King's Teacher Seon-gak of Hoeam-sa (Kor. Hoeam-sa-seon-gak-wangsa-bi), in Ibid., pp.500-501.

7.      Yi Ku, "Preface of Sayings of Master Baegun" (Kor. Baegun-hwa-sang-eorok-seo), in Whole Collection of Korean Buddhist Texts (Kor. Han-guk-bulgyo-jeoonseo) 6, p.637.

8.      Suh Yoon-kil, "The Acceptance of Linji Seon in Late Goryeo Period" (Kor. Gorywo-mal-imje-swon-ui-suyong), in Study of Korean Seon Thought (Kor. Han-guk-seon-sasang-yeon-gu)the Korean Buddhist Research Insti­tute, Dongguk Univ. Press, 1984, pp.202-208.

9.      Heo Heung-shik, "Revival of Goryeo Seon Order and Development of Ganhwa Seon" (Kor. Goryeo-seonjong-ui-buheung-gwa-ganhwa-seon-ui-jeon-gae), Gyujanggak 6, pp.11-18.pp.11-18.

10. Ko Ik-chin, "Nation-protecting Development of Goryeo Buddhist Thought" (Kor. Goryeo-bulgyo-sasang-ui-hoguk-jeok-jeon-gae) 2, in Memoirs of Buddhist Studies (Kor. Bulgyo-hakpo) 14, pp.52-53.

11. Sayings of Master Baegun (Kor. Baegun-hwasang-eorok), in Whole Collection of Korean Buddhist Texts 6, p.698.

12. Ibid.

13. Monument of King's Teacher Seon-gak, in Whole Survey of Korean Monumental Inscriptions 1, p. 501.

14. Ko Ik-chin, Ibid, p.55.

15. Min Hyeon-ku, "Shindon's coming to Power and Political Characteristics" (Kor. Shindon-ui-chipkkwon-gwa-keu-jeongchi-jeok-seongkkyeok), in Memoirs of History (Kor. Yeoksa-hakpo) 38 and 40, 1968.

16. Chae Sang-shik, “Developmental Phase and Tendency of Buddhist Histo­ry in Late Goryeo Period” (Kor. Goryeo-hugi-bulgyo-sa-ui-jeon-gae-yangsang-gwa-keu-kyeonghyang), in Historical Education (Kor. Yeoksa-kyoyuk) 35, 1984, p. 136.

17. Sayings of Master Baegun, in Whole Collection of Korean Buddhist Texts 6, p.656.

18. Whole Collection of Korean Buddhist Texts 6, article on "death hymn" p.668.

19. Sayings of Master Baegun I, in Whole Collection of Korean Buddhist Texts 6, p.636.

20. Ibid., p.637

21. Seoong trans., Records of Linji (Kor. Imje-rok), Dongseo-munhwasa, 1974, p.63.

22. Sayings of Master Baegun (Kor. Baegun-hwasang-eorok) 1, in Whole Col­lection of Korean Buddhist Texts 6, p.641.

23. Ibid, p. 663.

24. Suh Yoon-kil, "The Acceptance of Linji Seon in Late Goryeo Period (Kor. Goryeo-mal-imje-seon-ui-suyong), in Study of Korean Seon Thought, the Korean Buddhist Research Institute, Dongguk Univ. Press, 1984, p.229.

25. Yu Chang, "Records of Master Taego" (Kor. Taego-hwasang-haengjang), in Whole Collection of Korean Buddhist Texts 6, p.697.

26. Sayings of Master Baegun, in Whole Collection of Korean Buddhist Texts 6, p. 649.

27. Ibid, p. 642.

28. Ibid, p.646.

29. Ibid.

30. Ibid, p.657.

31. Ibid.

32. Ibid.

33. Ibid., p.656.

34. Ibid, p.652.

35. Ibid, p.639.

36. Ibid, p.663.

38. Ibid.

39. Ibid., p.641.

40. Ibid., p.641.

41. Ibid., p.654.

42. This is a yak's tail mounted on a wooden stick which is a sign of the office and position held by special monks.

43. Ibid, p.656.

44. Ibid., p.656.

After enlightenment, he went to Yuan China in 1346 C.E. (the 2nd year of King Chungmok) at the age of 46 and there he met the great master of the Linji school, Shiyu Qinggong at Cheonhoam(Tianhu in Chinese), and received his approval. After that he taught Buddhism at the request of the Yuan king, and then returned to Goryeo in 1348 C.E., becoming a teacher of the royal family in 1356 C.E. (the 5th year of King Gongmin). Master Taego Bou set up the Ministry of Union, a special office dedicated to the unification of the Nine Mountain Schools of Korean Seon at Gwangmyeongsa Temple. In this way he contributed to the settling of problems which had arisen in the different schools of the Buddhist communities. In 1382 C.E. (the 8th year of King U), he died and entered into final Nirvana at the age of 81; he had been a monk for 69 years. He had more than one thousand disciples, among whom were famous masters such as Hwanam Honsu, Mogam Chanyeong, Myoeom Joi. 

2. Writings

There are two volumes of Bou’s writings: The Record of the Master Taego’s Sayings, which is composed of “sangdang” (the patriarch’s dharma talks), “sijung” (admonitions), other dharma talks, songs, chanting, verses or “chanbal,” and an appendix. These writings clearly explain Bou’s thoughts on Seon as well as other matters.

3. Characteristics of His Thought

In The Record of the Master Taego’s Sayings, the master writes that he considered Ganhwaseon, especially, Mu gongan to be important practices. 

“The word ‘Mu’ means neither ‘non-existence’ of ‘existing or not existing,’ nor ‘nothingness.’ If this is so, then what is it? In this questioning state, the practitioner doesn’t think of anything at all, not even the thought of not thinking! When a person does not think and does not even have consciousness of thinking, then a state of great calm and emptiness is reached. Do not think to much.” (The Record of the Master Taego’s Sayings)

Here, the question “What is it?” increases the level of doubt and leads to Master Zhaozhou’s “Mu kongan” (“No letter” gongan). As can be seen, Master Bou’s method of Ganhwaseon developed the process further than its initiator Dahui, the founder of Kanhuachan, and other Seon masters.

The main thrust of Master Bou’s thought was aimed at unifying other tendencies into a harmony based on Seon. First of all, he deepened the unification process of the Seon and Doctrinal schools. He thought that the understanding of the sutras is not in opposition to the practice of Seon, nor is it equal; doctrine (Gyo) is an expedient means for attaining states the lowest and middle states of consciousness which are a proto-state for gaining the subtle state. “Japhwa samaega (Verses of Samadhi on Various Flowers)” is poetry which helps to clarify the master’s views on Seon and doctrine; these poems are found in The Record of the Great Master Taego’s Writings. “Japhwa” (various flowers), here means the Avatamsaka Sutra (Flower Garland Sutra); “Japhwa samae” is “Haein-samae” (“The Ocean Seal Concentration” a meditative state). Here is a short quotation from Bou’s verses: 

“On the day the dharma talk was delivered at the center of the Bodhimanda (the bodhi site),

During the ocean seal contemplation, sayings were said without saying.

Who heard them, and who transmitted them?

These are the tongues of Manjusi (the Bodhisattva of Wisdom) and Samantabhadra(the Bodhisattva of Action).

What paths were followed and heard by these Bodhisattvas?

Being in the deep concentration ocean (Samadhi hae), hidden Virochana samadhi!”

This verse implies that even in the world of the Avatamsaka Sutra it has to be admitted that the flower garlands are not in the sutra, but in the world of writing and speaking, or beyond, which is a world of release and emancipation, a world of enlightenment. Though Master Bou studied the sutras, his realization of the limits of that study made him return to Seon practice. This shows that even though he did not oppose the doctrines, his final choice was Seon.

In addition to consolidating Seon and Doctrinal schools, he also brought Pure Land and other philosophies to an agreement with Seon theory as well. For instance, he taught that recollecting Amitabha Buddha is not for rebirth in the Western Paradise by the power of the mantra, but for reminding us of the nature of Amitabha’s characteristics. When the name of Amitabha Buddha is chanted for a whole day, the mind and the chanting become one. Our True Nature, then, can be found through this practice. This chanting or the recollecting of the Buddha is not the same as that of Pure Land Buddhism, but it is similar to the investigation of the gongan. This shows that different practices are fused in Seon practice rather than being considered to be in opposition to each other.

Since the Buddhist community had become confused and corrupted at the time of Master Bou, he established the Ministry of Union which aimed at the unification of the Nine Mountain schools. He, then, set up a new Buddhist tradition by introducing Chiksu baekjang cheonggyu (The Rules and Method of Management of a Seon Monastery) and Chimun gyeonghun (Admonitions and Teaching for Monks).

As has been already stated, Master Bou established the new system of Ganhwaseon, and unified the Seon and doctrinal approaches to Buddhism based on Seon. In addition, he taught that chanting is like the investigation practice of Seon. Due to these measures, the Buddhist community settled down and the current Buddhist practice tradition came to be Ganhwaseon as had been taught by the patriarchs of the Seon tradition. Even though he was a great master, he did not live a life away from the world in a hermitage, he made constant efforts to spread Buddhism and to help all human beings. He really showed all the true traits of a national teacher.

At the age of 27, in 1347, Master Naong went to study in the State of Yuan, staying at Fayuan-si in Yanjing. There, he studied under the Indian Master Zhikong for two years. Master Zhikong, known as the 108th dharma-descendants of Mahakasyapa, was a master of high regard and revered as one of the “108th Great Patriarch of India." Following his study with Zhikong, Naong went to Jingci Temple where he was instructed in the dharma by the 18th Patriarch of the Linji School, Pingshan Chulin, and received his flywhisk, signifying the approval of his enlightenment. In May 1351, he also received the approval of dharma transmission from Master Jigong along with his robes, a flywhisk, and letter written in Sanskrit. In this way, Master Naong had the rare occasion to inherit the trust and confidence of two masters.

In 1355, on the authority of Yuan Emperor Shundi, he resided at Guangji Temple as a missionary, and also received golden brocade robes and a flywhisk made of ivory from the Crown Prince.

Upon his return to Goryeo in 1358, he stayed at many temples, including Sangdu-am Hermitage at Mt. Odaesan, and in 1361, following the order of King Gongmin, he did propagation work at temples such as Singwang-sa, Cheongpyeong-sa, and Hoeam-sa. At this time he supervised the Grand Assembly of Seon Study. 

The monk's examinations, which were regarded as prerequisites for conferral of the dharma precepts, had suffered from the stagnation brought on by various squabbles after the reign of King Gojong. However, during the reign of King Gongmin, under the supervision of Naong, the tradition of "examinations for the practice and study of Seon" was once again re-established. This holds a particularly important meaning, because the reimplementation of the monk’s exam, which was suspended after the expulsion of Shin Don, greatly helped in reinvigorating the atmosphere of Buddhism and in stimulating the spirit of the sangha. 

In 1371, he became a royal monk and served as abbot of Suseon-sa (later Songgwang-sa). Later he became abbot of Hoeam-sa, and through his temple renovation efforts he greatly promoted the teachings of the dharma, receiving ceaseless visits from people in the capital and the neighboring areas.

In 1376, while Naong was in the process of moving to Youngwon-sa in Milseong (present day Miryang) on the king's authority, he passed away at Silleuk-sa in Yeoju on May 15 at the age of 56, after 37 years in the sangha. Among his 2000 plus disciples were Hwanam Honsu (1320-1392) and Muhak Jacho (1327-1425), the latter being known for his great contributions to the foundation of the Joseon dynasty.

2.    Writings

Master Naong's extant literary output includes a volume work titled Sayings of Master Naong and another one volume text, Odes of Monk Naong, and beyond that, a number of texts self-published at his temples.

In 1363, Sayings of Master Naong, a collection of 61 literary gems, in the form of representative Seon sermons, commentaries on koans, letters, and Seon instructions, was compiled by Naong's disciple Gangnyeon and proofread and published by Honsu.

3.    Intellectual Distinction

Master Naong's intellectual distinction is his consciousness of admonition to his age, based on the foundation of thought labeled, "one mind, three treasures" ilsim sambo.  In Buddhism, the Buddha, his teachings, and the community that follows those teachings are known as the three treasures, and Naong's teaching puts faith and devotion to these three treasures at the very center of Buddhist practice. However, these three jewels weren't to be found someplace outside, they were said to be found in the minds of all sentient beings, and that we were to revere the three treasures in our own minds.

Moreover, he said that each being must have a clear faith in their own being, and that awakening will only ripen when, based on this confidence, one does not become attached to anything else. Based on this idea of “one mind, three treasures,” Master Naong wanted to enlighten the whole world. As everyone is possessed of the ability to become a Buddha, he focused on the fact that we must diligently give all our efforts to become aware that we maintain this capability. This was precisely his spirit of admonishment to society.

Master Naong strove to make known far and wide that it wasn't power or profit in the mundane world, nor was it the pursuit of worldly fame that stood as our most urgent task, rather, in this present life it was the cultivation of mind that was our dire purpose. Since he claimed that anyone who practiced diligently could become a Buddha, he sincerely appealed to society, asking why they weren't practicing. 

With this spirit of warning as his basis of Seon thought, he taught various ways to examine one’s level of study through the Assembly of Examination Seon. Moreover, through the restoration work of Hoeam-sa, he served the masses, exemplifying the concrete works he was doing to create happiness and fortune.

It is also important to note that Naong's way was not to employ difficult dogma, but rather he pulled at heartstrings, appealing to people's sensitivity using popular language through poems and songs in order to save all beings. This aspect of the Master's spreading the strong feeling of enlightenment to the masses earned him great respect extending into the Joseon dynasty, and it was said that he must have been a reincarnation of Shakyamuni Buddha.

All you who seek fame and love profit / your greed never satisfied, in vain your head has turned grey

Fame and profit are gates full of fire / from time immemorial, how many thousands have perished in their flames?

From “Gyeongse,” Sayings of Master Naong

Relying entirely on mindfulness of the Buddha, striving assiduously / abandon your lust and fancies and enter into Nirvana

From “Sijeyeombul-in,” Sayings of Master Naong

Especially in his practice, Master Naong never made distinctions between the men or women among the sangha, leading everyone on the path such that they could study the dharma. Therefore, he made a checklist of ten stages to examine oneself along the path, the “10 steps of Practice." By adopting a diverse practice regimen, emphasizing not only Ganhwa Seon but also the practice of Buddha recitation, he displayed an intellectual tolerance that was not localized within the characteristics of only one sect.

While Seon is a self-powered practice aimed towards becoming a Buddha though the awakening to one’s own mind, Pure Land is an “other power” practice based on the power of Original Vow of Amita Buddha that helps those who wish to be reborn in the Pure Land.

Based on the teaching of “one mind, three treasures” and the idea that the “mind only is the Pure Land,” he allowed for the “other-powered” practices of “contemplating the Buddha's image” and “chanting the Buddha’s name” in order to present a diversity of practice methods applicable to the various levels of spiritual capability.

In this way, just as the essence of different metals are reborn in the melting process forged in a blast furnace, through the advocacy of a diversity of practices to work in accord with the diverse needs of the people, Master Naong embraced the masses with a light of hope during the political and social strife that

A genius well acquainted to the principle texts of Confucianism, Unhak quickly flew through the Tripitaka, the Buddhist Canon. In here he didn't find the ethical values of filial piety, ritual, five relationships, benevolence, and virtue as represented in the Confucian classics; in the Tripitaka, he found concepts like mind, nothingness, the world of truth, facts, the law of cause and effect, impermanence, without attributes, without self, and the like, complicated philosophies and systems of thought. Unhak's mind was shaken, as if he had taken a blow to the head from a small metal rod. “In the midst of eternity, humanity exists within the instant of each moment. Within this boundless universe, humanity is nothing more than a single speck of dust. And here I swagger as if I know it all, acting impudently." The friends who had accompanied Unhak on this journey returned to Seoul but Unhak remained, taking on Sungin as his teacher, beginning his life as a supplicant, and vigorously studying the scriptures. He learned seon from Master Buyong, who had become enlightened solely through the practice of Seon meditation without engaging in formal doctrinal study. Though Unhak had obtained liberation of wisdom (jihye haetal) through his sagely understanding of the meaning of 'mind,' 'no attributes,' and 'emptiness,' he had still not attained liberation of the mind (sim haetal). Therefore, he remained bound and attached to matter and appearances, unable to act freely, with his mind frustrated. The more he exerted himself trying to escape his attachments to these empty names and false appearances, the more entangled he became. It was in this state that one night he suddenly heard the cries of a cuckoo and from his meditative state (samadhi), he awakened to a world of sublime truths, totally indescribable through words or text, a beautiful Buddha world that appeared to the eye as if a mountainside of blooming spring flowers. Unhak thus finally shaved his head, and with his ordination, was born again.

At the age of 32, Master Hyujeong placed the top of his class on the examination of the monastic curriculum, and he ascended to the highest position in the Buddhist order, the master arbiter of both the order of Seon and doctrinal study (Gyo). However, thinking it wasn't a monk's part to take administrative office within the sangha, he resigned his post, returning to Mt. Geumgangsan where he gave his undivided attention to his practice and guiding the younger monks, while at the same time producing important writings revealing his Seon thought.

In 1592 (the 25th year of Seonjo's reign), when Master Hyujeong was 72 years old and living on Mt. Myohyangsan, Joseon, the Land of Morning Calm, was invaded by the Japanese in the year of Imjin. He recalled the reality where Buddhism had faced only heaps of scorn and contempt owing to the violent policy of Buddhist suppression promulgated by the Confucian scholars of the Joseon court. Nevertheless, Hyujeong felt that though the nation had renounced Buddhism, Buddhism could never reject the nation, as the nation was where countless sentient beings needed saving through great compassion. Thus, he ultimately took to the battlefield. Even at his advanced age of 72, on his own accord he took command of a monk militia, and together with troops from the Ming Dynasty, he recaptured Pyeongyang and fought to the bitter end, until the war met its completion with the consummation of a peace treaty with Japan.

After leading his troops to military victory, Hyujeong bequeathed all of his military authority to his disciples and then headed back to the mountains where he devoted himself entirely to the cultivation of his practice. In January, 1604, with snow piled high around Wonjeogam Hermitage, Hyujeong concluded his sermon on the hwadu that had filled his entire life, the 'mind' hwadu, brought out his portrait, wrote the following lines as a final transmission to his disciples, and then assumed the lotus position, entering into nirvana. His worldly age was 84, and his age in the sangha (beomnap), 67.

80 years ago, that thing was me

80 years later, and now aren't I that thing!

Hyujeong left behind over 1000 disciples and among them, there are at least seventy outstanding figures. Among these, four disciples in particular, Samyeong Yujeong (1544~1610), Pyeonyang Eongi (1581~1644), Soyo Taeneung (1562~1649), and Jeonggwan Ilseon (1533~1608), stand out as the most representative, as they were the leaders of the four main groups within the community of Hyujeong's disciples.

Writings

Master Hyujeong's written output includes a four volume, two book set of his collected works, Cheongheodangjip (collected works of Ven. Cheongheo), as well as the Seongyogyeol (Essence of Seon and Gyo), Simbeop yocho (Summary of the Mind Dharma), Seongyoseok (Interpretations of Seon and Gyo), Unsudan [a book of Buddhist rituals], Samga gwigam (Reflections on the Three Religions, i.e. Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism), Seolseon ui (Manners of Lecturing on Seon Meditiation) and the Jesandan Uimun, among others.

Intellectual Distinction

Hyujeong used the 'mind' as the object of his lifelong hwadu. The topic of Hyujeong's many books, including the Samga gwigam, Seongyoseok, Seongyogyeol, and others, is 'mind.' 

In the Samga gwigam, he represented “mind” in terms of it being “a single thing” (ilmul). His view was that mind alone was the mother of the universe, that it was the foundation of humanity, heaven and earth. He noted how it was within the mind that the division of good and evil, along with all ideologies and assertions began, and that it was in that mind that the Buddha and all sentient beings began as well.

Starting from the main premise that “Seon is the Buddha's mind, Gyo (doctrinal study) is the Buddha's word,” Hyujeong advanced the idea that with Seonas principal and Gyo as subordinate, one could proceed to enlightenment, and thus he placed Seon superior to Gyo. Seon is the arrival at the wordless truth, accomplished through silence, without a word. Gyo is the arrival to the wordless world, accomplished through edification in the scriptures. Therefore, he noted that Gyo is a method that, following the teachings of the Buddha, examines every dharma, and teaches the principles of emptiness. Seon is entering directly into this principle of emptiness and experiencing it, and Patriarchal Seon, in particular, cuts into the space where meaning takes place, forming the principle of emptiness in the mind's foundation.

In terms of practice, Master Hyujeong especially advocated Ganhwaseon. Ganhwaseon is one of the methods used in the Seon practice of investigating hwadu. A hwadu is a highly original and powerfully emblematic word problem created by the awakened Patriarchs to guide their disciples on the path to awakening, namely, a hwadu is “a mass of doubt.” Investigation here means thinking about the hwadu while practing Seon mediation. Accordingly, he said that if one investigates their hwadu with the sincerity that a thirsty person thinks about water, the mind would be awakened. However, stressing that Seon meditation practiced in a foolish mind would bring no benefit and only aggravate more foolishness, he argued that cultivation without an awakened mind was not true cultivation. Here he was inheriting Master Bojo Jinul's dictum of seono husu (first, awakening, then cultivation), particularly the idea of dono jeomsu, “sudden awakening followed by gradual practice,” in speaking of the cultivation that is founded upon awakening.

Moreover, he warned that no matter how diligently one practices Seon, without precepts,only evil wisdom could be created, and though monks and nuns may focus on the practice of Seon meditation in order to achieve enlightenment, it was critical for them to work together in maintaining our mind's fundamental precepts, those that help each of us guard against the temptations of one's environment, as well as those that help us collectively purify our thoughts, words and deeds.

He also addressed yeombul, the practice of changing the Buddha's name, and said that chanting was a practice that made it easier for your mind not to forget, but be mindful of the Pure Land of Amita Buddha. He defined yeombul as using the synchronization of mouth and mind, through the sincere and focused practice of calling out the Buddha's name while keeping mindfulness on the Pure Land, clearly and without any confusion. He said that although foolish people engage in yeombul to be reborn in the Pure Land, to learned people it would do nothing but cleanse their own minds.

In these ways, Hyujeong displays the distinct mark of his thought. It begins with a sense of doubt about the mind, and then uses that mind to harmonize various methods of ascetic practice.

2. Writings

Master Baekpa’s written works include: Jeonghye gyeolsamun (The Retreat Community of Meditation and Wisdom); Seonmun sugyeong (Hand Mirrors of Seon Practice); Yukjo daesa beopbo dangyeong yohae (Commentary on the Sixth Patriarch’s Short Platform Sutra); Taegoam gagwa seok; Sikjiseol; Ojong gangyo sagi; Seonmun yeomsong sagi, 5 volumes; Geumganggyeong palhaegyeong; Seonyogi; Jakbeop gwigam (Mirrors of Ritual)2 volumes; and Baekpajip (Essays of Baekpa).

3. Characteristics of His Thoughts

All of his writings are related to Seon as the core of his philosophy was concerned with Seon. As he was considered to be the founder of the Hwaeom Order by Chusa Kim Jeonghui, it is presumed the teachings of Hwaeom were equally important to him.

From his dharma lineage, the doctrines of Hwaeom and of Seon practice were accepted together and this then became one of the characteristics of the Seon tradition of the Joseon period. He defined Seon and the doctrine as follows: 

“The doctrine consists of dead words, while Seon is alive. The nature of the mind is pure at its origin; it is illusion that is empty. As you awaken, the mind is the Buddha and so you practice with this mind: this is the ultimate Seon. And so practicing and cultivating yourself continuously, you will attain samadhi.” 

Here, it is emphasized that Seon is better than mere doctrine; this view point is clearly stated in his book Seonmun sugyeong (Hand Mirrors of Seon Practice). The book explains the methods and theories in a very logical way by passing through 23 items which are categorized according to the ability of the practitioners. He opined that, though all practitioners do the same practice, the results are not the same. That is, the ability of practice depends on the individual and, keeping in mind this fact, the true Seon state of samadhi can be reached. His aim in classifying the procedure of practice and its results was to recognize the ability of the individual and so to find ways of overcoming the limitations of each one.

The book, Seonmun sugyeong, divides Seon into three different types: Patriarch Seon (Josaseon), Tathagatha Seon (Yeoraeseon), and Rational Seon (Uriseon in Korean). He wrote about meditation and divided it up into three different categories. There were Josaseon, the first phase, Yeoraeseon the second phase, and Uriseon, the third phase. Josaseon, the highest, is a state of enlightenment of true emptiness and indescribable beingness, so that the usual mind is comprehended as being nothing but the Buddha Mind. Yeoraeseon, the second level, is also a state in which everything is gathered together and so there is only concern with the One Mind. In the state of Yeoraeseon, there is the conviction of the existence of Mind Only. The third kind of Seon, Uiriseon, the lowest one, in which there is discrimination of phenomena and essence, existence and emptiness, in which reason is present, is not a state of Mind Only; Uriseon is merely spoken Seon.

He differentiated the “Five Houses” of the Seon School, after the sixth patriarch, Huineng, by the Three Seons. The reason he identified three types of Seon was to set up, once again, the right Seon tradition. In this way he created a classification for establishing the correct tradition once and for all. As the title of the book indicates, Seonmun sugyeong is a book for Seon practitioners to keep constantly with them just like a handy mirror for checking our appearance.

As soon as his book was published, there was a very strong reaction. One of the greatest masters of that time, Master Choui, argued against Master Baekpa in a book called Seonmun sabyeon maneo. He was not alone as several other recognized masters who were all influenced by new-Confucianism criticized the book severely. Seonmun sugyeong became the source of intensive philosophical debates at that time which failed to reach an outcome due to the strong opinions on all sides. Though Seonmun sugyeong began with a simple personal opinion, it is evaluated as a major motif for the developmental history of Seon. Thus the analysis of the approach to the nature of enlightenment, through the understanding of Seon, contributed to the development of Korean Buddhism.

2. Writings

Master Baekpa’s written works include: Jeonghye gyeolsamun (The Retreat Community of Meditation and Wisdom); Seonmun sugyeong (Hand Mirrors of Seon Practice); Yukjo daesa beopbo dangyeong yohae (Commentary on the Sixth Patriarch’s Short Platform Sutra); Taegoam gagwa seok; Sikjiseol; Ojong gangyo sagi; Seonmun yeomsong sagi, 5 volumes; Geumganggyeong palhaegyeong; Seonyogi; Jakbeop gwigam (Mirrors of Ritual)2 volumes; and Baekpajip (Essays of Baekpa).

3. Characteristics of His Thoughts

All of his writings are related to Seon as the core of his philosophy was concerned with Seon. As he was considered to be the founder of the Hwaeom Order by Chusa Kim Jeonghui, it is presumed the teachings of Hwaeom were equally important to him.

From his dharma lineage, the doctrines of Hwaeom and of Seon practice were accepted together and this then became one of the characteristics of the Seon tradition of the Joseon period. He defined Seon and the doctrine as follows: 

“The doctrine consists of dead words, while Seon is alive. The nature of the mind is pure at its origin; it is illusion that is empty. As you awaken, the mind is the Buddha and so you practice with this mind: this is the ultimate Seon. And so practicing and cultivating yourself continuously, you will attain samadhi.” 

Here, it is emphasized that Seon is better than mere doctrine; this view point is clearly stated in his book Seonmun sugyeong (Hand Mirrors of Seon Practice). The book explains the methods and theories in a very logical way by passing through 23 items which are categorized according to the ability of the practitioners. He opined that, though all practitioners do the same practice, the results are not the same. That is, the ability of practice depends on the individual and, keeping in mind this fact, the true Seon state of samadhi can be reached. His aim in classifying the procedure of practice and its results was to recognize the ability of the individual and so to find ways of overcoming the limitations of each one.

The book, Seonmun sugyeong, divides Seon into three different types: Patriarch Seon (Josaseon), Tathagatha Seon (Yeoraeseon), and Rational Seon (Uriseon in Korean). He wrote about meditation and divided it up into three different categories. There were Josaseon, the first phase, Yeoraeseon the second phase, and Uriseon, the third phase. Josaseon, the highest, is a state of enlightenment of true emptiness and indescribable beingness, so that the usual mind is comprehended as being nothing but the Buddha Mind. Yeoraeseon, the second level, is also a state in which everything is gathered together and so there is only concern with the One Mind. In the state of Yeoraeseon, there is the conviction of the existence of Mind Only. The third kind of Seon, Uiriseon, the lowest one, in which there is discrimination of phenomena and essence, existence and emptiness, in which reason is present, is not a state of Mind Only; Uriseon is merely spoken Seon.

He differentiated the “Five Houses” of the Seon School, after the sixth patriarch, Huineng, by the Three Seons. The reason he identified three types of Seon was to set up, once again, the right Seon tradition. In this way he created a classification for establishing the correct tradition once and for all. As the title of the book indicates, Seonmun sugyeong is a book for Seon practitioners to keep constantly with them just like a handy mirror for checking our appearance.

As soon as his book was published, there was a very strong reaction. One of the greatest masters of that time, Master Choui, argued against Master Baekpa in a book called Seonmun sabyeon maneo. He was not alone as several other recognized masters who were all influenced by new-Confucianism criticized the book severely. Seonmun sugyeong became the source of intensive philosophical debates at that time which failed to reach an outcome due to the strong opinions on all sides. Though Seonmun sugyeong began with a simple personal opinion, it is evaluated as a major motif for the developmental history of Seon. Thus the analysis of the approach to the nature of enlightenment, through the understanding of Seon, contributed to the development of Korean Buddhism.

The Argument on Seon in Late Joseon Period  

From Book "Seon Thought in Korean Buddhism", 1998

Written by Han Ki-tu

Professor

Dept. of Buddhist Studies

Won-gwang University

A. Preface

Ever since Seon was introduced to Korea, there was a drive to prove the superiority of Seon over Kyo throughout the Korean Buddhist world, especially in the late Goryeo Dynasty.

After the seventh century CE, when Seon had taken root in China and was well established, various disputes arose within the Seon School. These arguments began with the difference of opinion between Master Huineng of Southern Seon and Master Shenxiu of Northern Seon. Then the conflict between the Mahayana Seon claimed by the Northern Order and Seon of the Tathagata (Kor. Yeorae Seon) of the Southern Order became prominent in the Seon world. That is, Master Heze Shenhui claimed that the Seon of the Tathagata is superior to Mahayana Seon, and the former is named so, for it is equal to the Tathagata.

But the newly established Hongzhou Order of Master Mazu's lineage criticized Master Shenhui, calling him a master of mere intellectual understanding, one who searches for meaning and rea­son. And the Hongzhou Order developed an independent Seon pur­port, which investigates the Dharma transmitted by Master Bodhidharma This is the Seon of the patriarchs (Kor. Josa Seon), and this Seon was claimed as being superior to and surpassing the Seon of the Tathagata.

This claim is based on the idea that Seon is superior to Kyo. The realization of Seon as being “a direct transmission, outside the texts, not relying on words and letters, direct transmission from mind to mind, seeing into one's nature and attaining Buddhahood” is not achieved through texts but through a transmission from mind to mind. Here, the awakening of the Tathagata is the center in the Seon of the Tathagata, but what is more important is the Seon purport of the patriarchs in the Seon of the patriarchs. This pur­port of Seon later even influenced academic lecturers who studied Kyo, so that these Kyo scholars who did not have any Seon prac­tice emphasized the superiority of Seon.

In Korea, the main dispute was started by scholarly monks who lived in the southern and southwestern areas of the peninsula of Korea. They published personal records on various theories of Buddhism in 18th century and from this the disputes arose in the Seon families during the reigns of King Jeongjo (r. 1777-1800), King Soonjo (r. 1801-1834), King Heonjong (r. 1835-1849), King Cheoljong (r. 1850-1863) and King Gojong (r. 1864-1907).

The leading roles were taken by Master Baekpa Geungseon (1767-1852), Master Choui Uiseon (1786-1856), lay scholar Chusa (1786-1856), Master Udam Honggi (1822-1881), Master Seoldu Yuhyeong (1822-1881), Master Chugwon Jinha (1861-1926) and lay scholar Jeong Dasan (1762-1836), each one partic­ipating more or less directly. Beginning with Master Baekpa's Hand Glass of Seon Literature (Kor. Seonmun-sugyong), the monks took up and started arguing about Seon. Let us investigate the main point of their argument.

B. The Beginning: Master Baekpa Geungseon's Hand Glass of Seon Literature

Master Baekpa wrote Hand Glass of Seon Literature in order to lay out a standard by which to discriminate the relative superi­ority of the various forms of Seon. The book considers three phrases of Master Linji's teaching as the standard, depending foe its source mainly on Records of Linji. In addition there are other ref­erences such as Master Chiso's Insight of Man and Heaven (Kor. Incheon-anmok), Master Hwanseong Jian's Essentials of Five Or­ders of Seon (Kor. Seonmun-ojong-kangyo), Master Cheonchaek's Precious Storehouse of Seon (Kor. Seonmun-bojang-nok), and Essentials of Seon (Kor. Seonmun-kangyo).

Before we examine whether the Seon thesis revealed in Hand Glass of Seon is a correct way of looking at things or not, it is important to first understand the general idea of the book.

The book reveals that all Seon can be originally discriminated into three kinds, that is, Seon of the patriarchs, Seon of the Tathagata, and Seon of meaning and reason (Kor. Uiri Seon), a theory derived from the Seon teachings of the three phrases of Linji. Mas­ter Baekpa evaluates and analyses the phrases, coming to the con­clusion that the first phrase is the Seon of the patriarchs, the sec­ond phrase is the Seon of the Tathagata, and the third is the Seon of meaning and reason.

1) The “Three Phrases of Master Linji” is the Standard of Seon

Master Baekpa goes on to argue that this correct view of the three phrases solves all problems of searching for standards of Seon. The first phrase is the phrase before host and guest are divided and it is achieved when a practitioner has insight into the true void and sublime existence. Such a practitioner has a high faculty, and becomes a master of Buddhas and patriarchs, when attaining the first phrase. It is a stage of Seon of the patriarchs.

The second phrase is such in which confrontation is ceased and which removes any clue of argument. It is to reach the "three mysterious gates" of Linji, and they are the mystery in the word, the mystery in the function, and the mystery in the mystery. The first signifies the essence of language, the second the final use of language, the third the place where no language is to be found. The third phrase started from theory, but there is no language found in the end, hence the final mystery is analyzed by Master Baekpa to be that of the true stage.

The background of the true stage of the mystery is a place of truth where there is no foolishness. The three mysteries show that the way of Son starts from language and reaches the stage which cannot be expressed by language.

The third phrase is bound by form and conception. It signifies dealing with expedient means. To borrow the expression of Re­cords of Linji, it is “giving speech to arahats when they meet arahats, and to hungry ghosts when they meet hungry ghosts.” This describes the stage of teaching sentient beings in endless ways, and finding that these beings firmly believe the ways that they are being taught in.

The third phrase corresponds to the Buddhist logic of "being, non-being, and in between." This stage is the Seon of meaning and reason.

2) Master Baekpa's Interpretation

Having delineated the three phrases and accepted them as the standard, Master Baekpa classifies Seon traditions. One of the char­acteristics of the Seon tradition is the system of transmission which the Buddha used with Mahakasyapa. This method is the mind-to-mind transmission at three different locations and it is this that is the theory of Extraordinary Seon.

But Master Baekpa thinks that the description of Extraordi­nary Seon consists of elements from the Seon of the Tathagata and the Seon of the patriarchs.

According to Master Baekpa, the first phrase corresponds to Vulture's Peak, where the Buddha held up a flower and Mahakasyapa smiled, and it is the principle reason of Seon of the patri­archs. The second phrase falls under Stupa of Many Sons, where the Buddha sat with Mahakasyapa, and it is the principle of Seon of the Tathagata The last phrase corresponds to the Sala Tree Grove at Kusinara, where Mahakasyapa saw the Buddha's feet, and it is the stage of both Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata.

This idea caused many arguments. But it was not only Master Baekpa who began the idea.

(1) New Influence and Original Duty

"New influence" means "practice newly." It signifies ignorant new practice depending on the expedient means of the Buddha, for the practitioner's faculty is low. Accordingly, practice only by new influence produces results which are bounded by "corrupt practice," that is, practice which is the result of the dirt of habit.

"Original duty" signifies finding out how to be a Buddha through reflection, without separate cultivation, and to develop the true aspect of original duty. Therefore, one is bounded by the practice of dirty habit if there is only new influence, but can pos­sibly reach the original stage of Seon if one finds out one's original duty by reflection. It is a state of abiding in original duty, and it is regarded by Master Baekpa as being included in the Seon of the Tathagata

Master Baekpa explains that when one reaches the stage of firm progress of one's original duty, then it is possible to reach the Seon of the patriarchs. That is, when new influence exists along with the vitality of original duty to overcome old habits, this is the Seon of the Tathagata In addition, to achieve the key point in one's Nature is Seon of the patriarchs. The Seon of meaning and reason is a state of only new influence without finding one's origi­nal duty.

(2) Live Sword and Dead Sword

The expressions "live" and "dead" are one of the important family treasures of the Seon family. These expressions come from a Seon phrase accepted as one of the Linji tradition which is revealed in The Blue Cliff Records (Kor. Pyogam-nok). "Dead sword" sig­nifies the cutting of all defilements and erroneous thoughts with one sword and making all equal, and the "live sword" is to save all people with a sword that is kept in its scabbard.

Master Baekpa revealed that the "dead sword' signifies the Seon of the Tathagata, and the "live sword" Seon of the patriarchs. And "to use both dead and live" is a stage of both the Seon of the Tathagata and the Seon of the patriarchs. He further stated that this view has continued right from the time of the Buddha up to the time of the Sixth Patriarch Master Huineng.

Master Baekpa also pointed out that Master Huineng transmit­ted the Seon of the patriarchs of the "live sword" to his disciple Master Nanyue Huairang, and the Seon of the Tathagata of the "dead sword" to Master Qingyuan Xingsi.

(3) Analysis of a Stanza of Diamond Sutra

Master Baekpa analyzes a stanza of four lines of Diamond Sutra as follows:

Those who by my form did see me,

And those who followed me by voice

Wrong the efforts they engaged in,

Me those people will not see.

"Those who by my form did see me corresponds to mystery in the function" of the three phrases of Seon of the Tathagata, and the phrase of "being" in the Seon of meaning and reason. "And those who followed me by voice" corresponds to "mystery in the essence" and the in between phrase. 3" Wrong the efforts they engaged in" corresponds to "mystery in the mystery" and the phase of non-being. Last Me those people will not see" corresponds to the Seon of the Tathagata.

(4) The Analysis of the Four Vows

The Four Vows are the fountainhead of Mahayana Buddhism. The Four Vows are as follows:

I vow to save all beings.

I vow to end all sufferings.

I vow to learn all Dharma teachings.

I vow to attain Enlightenment.

Master Huineng has advised us to discover the Four Vows in our Self Nature. To that Master Baekpa gives the following analy­sis.

“I vow to save all beings” teaches us not to ponder the three poisons of our own mind. For this, Master Baekpa's quotes the teaching of Master Huineng, "Do not think of good or evil."

"I vow to end all sufferings" teaches us to cut off defilements by not, thinking of good.

"I vow to learn all Dharma teachings” teaches us that to vow to attain awakening is the greatest vow of learning.

"I vow to attain Enlightenment" teaches us to vow to at­tain Buddhahood. The way to vow is completed only when one from the stage of the true void reaches sublime existence.

(5) The Division of the Five Orders of Seon into Three Kinds of Seon

Insight of Man and Heaven and Essentials to Five Orders of Seon are books which generally focused on revealing the family tradi­tions of the Five Orders. However, many Seon families criticized this attitude. In order to see this problem clearly, the family tradi­tions of identification of the main traditions of general Seon need to be considered objectively. Especially Korean Seon students regard­ed this understanding of the Seon traditions of the Five Orders of Seon as one process in and a part of Seon study.

Master Baekpa used the division of the three categories of Seon in order to discriminate their relative superiority. This certainly caused a problem to the Buddhist world of the time and to later generations as well. Also Master Baekpa's evaluation of other orders was totally based on his understanding of the attitude taught in Linji Seon, so it was not objective.

The Five Orders are Fayan Order (Kor. Beoban), Weiyang Order (Kor. Wiang), Caodong Order (Kor. Jodong), Yunmen Order (Kor. Unmun), and Linji Order (Kor. Imje). The first three are of the lineage of Master Qingyuan Xingsi, and they are consid­ered to belong to the Seon of the Tathagata. The last two are of the lineage of Master Nanyue Huairang, and they are classified as belonging to the Seon of the patriarchs. The Five Orders, according to Master Baekpa have different family tradition as follows:

1)    Fayan Order reveals "Mind Only."

2)    Weiyang Order reveals "essence and function."

3)    Caodong Order reveals the way of elevation.

4)    Yunmen Order reveals cutting.

5)    Linji Order reveals the crux and function.

What is notable here is that the Heze Order (Kor. Hataek) or Southern Order of Master Heze Shenhui is omitted Master Baekpa thought that this order belongs to the Seon of meaning and reason, which is centered around mere logic. This order does not seek original duty but merely depends on new influence.

(6) The Core Point of Hand Glass of Seon Literature

To summarize the content of Hand Glass of Seon Literature, the book explains the three kinds of Seon on the basis of three phrases of Linji. Both Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata are regarded as the principle of Extraordinary Seon, but the Seon of meaning and reason falls under the limitation of logic. Accordingly, Seon of meaning and reason is nothing but a theory of expedients through study. Hence it is nothing but a view of Seon, which is not different from Kyo study.

C. The First Refutation of Hand Glass of Seon Literature:

Master Choui Uisun's Four Defenses and Random Words

When Master Baekpa's Hand Glass of Seon was introduced to the Buddhist world, Master Choui Uisun of Taedun-sa Monastery first criti­cized Master Baekpa in his Four Defenses and Random Words (Kor. Sabyeon-maneo).

In this book, Master Choui pointed out Master Baekpa's fault of merely judging the superiority of the various types of Son according to language, saying, "Old masters said that Seon is Buddha Mind So when one achieves the mind, both teachings of masters and all worldly noises are the purport of Seon, and if one loses one's mind, then both 'The Buddha held up a flower and Mahakasyapa smiled' and 'a direct transmission outside the texts' of Seon are merely traces of Kyo."

(1) The Real Meaning of the “Three Phrases of Master Linji”

Master Baekpa reveals that the ranks of all of Son are, through the three phrases of Linji, divided into three different types of Son. And he provides, for the first phrase, the Son of the patriarchs, for the second phrase the Son of the Tathagata, and for the third phrase the Son of meaning and reason, and he proposes an argument on Son to substantiate his claim.

In answer to this, Master Ch'oui interprets the meaning of the three phrases from fundamentally different viewpoints. Unlike Mas­ter Baekpa who understood the three phrases separately, Master Ch'oui regarded the third phrase as a phrase in which the first and the second phrases join together. Hence, according to Master Ch'oui, the third phrase is valuable, and should not be regarded as a mere dead phrase which can be thrown away.

(2) The Origin of Seon of the Patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata

From where do the Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata originate? Master Baekpa finds the origin in a discussion between Master Yangshan Huiji and Master Xiangyan Zhixian, the disciples of Master Weishan Lingyou who is the fifth generation of Master Nanyue Huairang. Master Yangshan divided Seon of the pa­triarchs and Seon of the Tathagata and he valued the former high­ly.

But according to Master Choui, there is really no way to distinguish between the two. Unlike Master Baekpa's position, Master Choui does not consider the two in a relationship of su­periority and inferiority.

(3) The Origin of Extraordinary Seon and Seon of Mean­ing and Reason

Master Choui points out that Master Baekpa commits an error of changing the traditional purport of Seon on his own authority without any proper reason. Master Choui indicates that Seon of the patriarchs is Extraordinary Seon, and Seon of the Tathagata is Seon of meaning and reason. Hence one can traditionally divide Seon into Ex­traordinary Seon and Seon of meaning and reason, and into Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata. This idea was already asserted by Master Hoam and Yeondam earlier to Master Choui.

Thereby, according to Master Choui, it is false to divide Seon into Seon of the patriarchs, Seon of the Tathagata, and Seon of meaning and reason, because the last two Seon fundamentally agree with each other. He claimed that one should not make the mistake of regarding the Seon of meaning and reason as inferior to Seon of the Tathagata,

D. The Second Refutation of Hand Glass of Seon Literature:

Master Udam Honggi's Records of Right Awakening of Seon Family

Master Udam Honggi was the 10th generation after Master Buhyu, and the Dharma grandson of Master Baekpa because Mas­ter Udam was taught by Master Hanseong Pungmyeong, the disciple of Master Baekpa But Master Udam realized that Master Baekpa's position was wrong and wrote Records of Right Awakening of Seon Family (Kor. Seonmun-jeungjeong-nok).

(1) About the Titles of Seon

Master Udam agreed with Master Baekpa's opinion and both of them regarded the first and second phrases of Linji as Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata, respectively. But he, like Master Choui, claimed that Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata should be regarded as the reasoning of Extraordinary Seon and of Seon of meaning and reason, respectively.

(2) The Metaphor of Son: Live Sword and Dead Sword

Live and dead swords are one of basic traditional metaphors used in Seon. To kill with the sword means to kill the thief of ignorance, and to make alive in order to represent the Buddha of Dharma-body. But Master Udam pointed out that Master Baekpa applied "dead" and "live" to the Seon of the Tathagata and Seon of the patriarchs respectively and in this way he made the direction of the Seon tradition unclear.

Master Udam found these expressions used as standard descrip­tions in the records of Master Shitou and Master Mazu. In Records of Shitou, it is written that "It is not achieved by doing this or by not doing this. Hence it is a dead sword." And in Records of Mazu, it is written, "It is achieved by doing this and by not doing this. Hence it is a live sword."

Hence Master Udam thinks that if the phrase of Master Shitou "It is not achieved by doing this" belongs to the third phrase, then the phrase "or by not doing this" belongs to the first phrase. Therefore, the first phrase contains the dead sword. And in the case of Master Mazu, "It is achieved by doing this" belongs to the third phrase and "and by not doing this" belongs to the first phrase. Hence both the first and the third phrases are "live sword" and they can coexist.

Master Udam finally concludes that both dead and live phrases belong to the first phrase of Linji, and it was wrong of Master Baekpa to distinguish certain aspects as belonging to the Seon of the Tathagata or to the Seon of the patriarchs.

(3) The Beautiful Coloring of Seon

In the Diamond Sutra, it is revealed that "there is no fixed Dharma which is 'the utmost, right and perfect enlightenment.'" Therefore, Master Udam thinks that the teachings of the Buddha and the patriarchs are not bound by anything, and it is the beauti­ful coloring of the Buddha and patriarchs, that they are free.

Master Udam considers that the coloring of the Buddha and patriarchs are divided into three; the substance, the function, and in between. And the original names for the three phrases of Linji consist of the substance, the function and in between. The mean­ings of these three essentials are arranged by meaning and reason which, because they are difficult to be revealed by mere words, are seen as three mysteries.

Meaning and reason vary according to the level of faculties of the people involved To people of high faculty, meaning and rea­son are revealed as essentials and called the first phrase of Linji. The second phrase of Linji reveals three mysteries as well as reflection on the first phrase. But the reflection (the second phrase) and the body (the first phrase) for Master Udam are inter­connected, and both of them are finally one.

E. The Defense of Hand Glass of Seon Literature:

Master Seoldu Yuhyong's Origin of Son and the Course

Master Seoldu Yuhyong is the fourth generation after Master Baekpa. Master Seoldu claimed that the Seon views of Four Defenses and Random Words and Records of Right Awakening of the Seon Family are all wrong when one looks at the origin of Seon, and that a practitioner will finally come back to Master Baekpa's position. Accordingly, Master Seoldu wrote Origin of Seon and the Course (Kor. Seonwon-soyu) with the aim of searching for the origin of Seon. As he reveals in the preface, he claims that one should search for the origin of Seon and return to the spirit. And when the origin is revealed, it will be seen that the origin is not the position of Master Choui, but the three kinds of Seon claimed by Master Baekpa.

1) The Three Kinds of Seon

Master Seoldu claims that it should be noted that there are two aspects to Seon: the "purport of Seon" and the "explanation of Seon." The purport of Seon signifies the realization of the Buddha Mind through Seon. As Master Seosan expounded in Mirror of Seon, "If one gets lost in speech, even 'holding up a flower and smiling' is all just the reactions of Kyo." It shows the “explanation of Seon.” But “On the other hand, if one realizes it within one's own Mind, then all of the crass words and refined talk of the world become the Seon teaching of ‘a direct transmission outside the texts.’” This is the purport of Seon.

The above quotations of Master Seosan were also already used by Master Choui when he refuted Master Baekpa. But quoting the same content, Master Seoldu puts a different commentary to it, that one should not, in fact, cast aside the “explanation of Seon” at random. Because we are able to understand the writings with the help of the "explanation of Seon" and we have an opportunity to clearly understand through these writings. This claim is meaningful in the sense that Master Seoldu developed the idea of Master Baekpa further.

Anyway, what is regarded as the most important of the "explanation of Seon" for Master Seoldu is the three kinds of Seon; Seon of the Tathagata, Seon of the patriarchs, and Seon of meaning and reason. Master Seoldu defends Master Baekpa's division of Seon into the three, saying that it is inevitable and the normal course of action to divide Seon and use it to explain and measure the facul­ties of sentient beings.

According to Master Seoldu, the logic that Seon of meaning and reason is not Extraordinary Seon is only right, hence it is also right that the Seon of meaning and reason is not regarded as equal to the Seon of the Tathagata or the Seon of the patriarchs. In this sense, it is right to divide Seon into these three kinds.

2) The Theory of “Transmission of the Mind in Three Places”

Master Baekpa interpreted the theory of transmission of the mind at three places as follows.

1)     The First Place: The Buddha was giving a Dharma talk to the masses in the heaven and in the world at the Stupa of Many Sons when Mahakasyapa appeared. Then the Buddha sat with Mahakasyapa. This sitting is expressed as dead sword, for it is a place where no trace of Dharma is found.

2)     The Second Place: The Buddha was giving a Dharma talk at Vultures' Peak, when the rain of many flowers fell from the sky. The Buddha held up a flower and only Mahakasyapa smiled. It is the principle of live sword, for the holding up of a flower is the Buddha's live Dharma speech to Mahakasyapa.

3)     The Third Place: The Buddha was in Final Nirvana at the Sala Tree Grove at Kusinara, when Mahakasyapa arrived seven days after the Buddha's passing away. Mahakasyapa tapped the coffin three times and the Buddha stuck out his two feet and Mahakasyapa vowed three times. It is Seon purport which shows the Buddha's bestowing of both live and dead forms.

Master Seoldu explains that generations of patriarchs who received transmission of the mind at the three places did not distinguish between the “dead” or “live” sword. But it is after the Sixth Patriarch Huineng that the swords were divided and transmitted separately, for the faculties became varied. Hence the transmission was divided into “dead,” “live,” and "in between."

F. The Last Refutation of Hand Glass of Seon Literature:

Master Chugwon Jinha's Records of Reawakening of Seon Family

Master Chugwon Jinha was the last one who joined the argument over Seon. He learned the texts from masters Baekpa and Seoldu, but he developed his own logic of Seon, in which he criti­cizes the two masters in his Records of Reawakening of Seon Family (Kor. Seonmun-chaejeung-nok). He believed that the Seon thought of masters Choui and Udam was correct and that their arguments were right.

The master lived at a time in which national prestige was at a very low level because of annexation of the country to Japan. To Master Chugwon, the issue of the Seon argument could fall into the category of a leisurely discourse which was not right for the time. Hence it seems that he tried to reveal the problem of this argument on Seon in the sense of adjusting and arranging it rather than adding to and criticizing the problem. His position was simply to reveal the Seon position of masters Choui and Udam again as a form of conclusion.

1) The Problem of the Three Phrases and the Three Seon

Traditionally, masters have been used to the words of the Seon of the Tathagata and Seon of the patriarchs on the one hand, and Seon of meaning and reason and Extraordinary Seon on the other. But it is only Master Baekpa who put the first two Seon together and regarded them as Extraordinary Seon, looking down on the Seon of meaning and reason. Besides, Master Baekpa gave the wrong explanation about the three phrases of Linji because he arranged them wrongly and it seems wrong to contend for the superiority or the inferiority of the three Seon.

Master Chugwon pointed out that the titles Seon of the patri­archs and Seon of the Tathagata themselves are not correct. The very concept of Seon of the Tathagata being the teacher of humans and those in the heaven, and Seon of the patriarchs being for the Buddhas and the patriarchs seems wrong.

Master Chugwon emphasized that the superiority of Seon can­not be distinguished by revealing it, whether it is Seon of the patri­archs or Seon of the Tathagata, and Extraordinary Seon or Seon of meaning and reason. There must only be a difference whether the Seon is in a live phrase or in a dead phrase, and one cannot differentiate Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata.

2) The Problem of Seon of Meaning and Reason

In Seon, the expression "direct transmission outside the texts" is often used. Master Chugwon thought that Master Baekpa regarded “outside the texts” the same as the "extraordinary" of "Extraordi­nary Seon." But Master Chugwon considered Master Seoldu's "out­side the texts and "extraordinary" the same from one point of view and different from another. According to Master Chugwon, Master Seoldu considered both Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata to be “outside the texts” and   “extraordinary.”

Here, Master Chugwon thought that though the Seon of mean­ing and reason are not "extraordinary," it should be regarded as “outside the texts.” The Seon of meaning and reason is, in the strictest sense, “a direct transmission outside the texts.”

What matters here is whether Seon is free from every trace of Kyo or not. When the road to reason is cut off, there opens a road to the "extraordinary." Hence the way left for the Seon of meaning and reason is to cut the meaning and reason.

3) The Problem of "Live and Dead"

“Dead sword” and, “live sword” mean “sitting with Mahakasyapa” and “holding up a flower” respectively. Masters Baekpa and Seoldu explained that “sitting with Mahakasyapa” signifies the Seon of the Tathagata, and "holding up a flower" signifies the Seon of the patriarchs. Master Chugwon, here criticizes that "dead" and “live” should be in the same family, and they must not be separated from each other.

G. Conclusion

1) The Starting Point of the Seon Argument

The argument on Seon in the late Joseon Dynasty was started by Master Baekpa Geungseon of Seonun-sa Monastery. Master Baekpa's idea of dividing Seon into three kinds created a dispute in the Korean Buddhist world which lasted through the 18th and 19th centuries. This argument can be criticized because it stirred up a problem of a pointless argument which was nothing but a desk theory. But it is certainly significant in the sense that the argument made the issue of searching for our Original Nature to be the Seon logic of the general Buddhist world.

Therefore, it is right to value the argument as a process of stretching for Korean Buddhist thinking before its modernization. The material on the basis of which the argument was begun was The Essence and the Songs of Seon (Kor. Seonmun-yeomsong) writ­ten in 1226 by Goryeo National Teacher Jingak Hyeshim. This book includes 1,125 hwadus and it is they that became the basis for reaching the way to awakening. On the basis of this book, there were various movements according to the different periods of time to search for simpler, better and newer methods for practicing the way.

The time of Master Baekpa was not exceptional. Master Baekpa wished to discriminate and show the superiority of Seon in order to reveal its true stages. To this end he wrote Hand Glass of Seon literature to arrange the basic texts of Seon which were most often used by students. The texts are: Master Chiso's Insight of Man and Heaven, Master Hwanseong Jian's Essentials of Five Orders of Seon, Master Cheonchaek's Precious Storehouse of Seon, and Essentials of of Seon.

2) The Application of Seon of the Patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata

Master Baekpa established three ways of reaching the final stage of Seon of the patriarchs. He identified three kinds of facul­ties, that is, high, middle, and low faculties with the first, second, and third phrases of Linji respectively. In addition he regarded the characteristics of these three phrases to be expressed as Seon of the patriarchs, Seon of the Tathagata, and Seon of meaning and reason.

What is very particular here is that Master Baekpa put Seon of the patriarchs in a higher place than Seon of the Tathagata. But this position caused a fundamental problem in that everyone won­dered how the Tathagata, that is, Sakyamuni Buddha, can be con­sidered inferior to the patriarchs.

This position that Seon of the patriarchs is superior to Seon of the Tathagata has several meanings in Seon. Firstly, Seon sees that which has been transmitted by the patriarchs as superior to the stage which the Tathagata attained Secondly, the stages of true void and sublime existence should be realized together in Seon, and the former is the stage of Seon of the Tathagata, and the latter is of Seon of the patriarchs. Thirdly, the principles of the Seon of the patriarchs and of the Seon of the Tathagata are divided and explained separately in texts. Fourthly, the Flower Garland study also distinguishes the Seon of the patriarchs from the Seon of the Tathagata.

3) The Problem of Seon Argument of Master Baekpa's Lineage

Master Baekpa gave the explanation that Linji and Yunmen orders belong to the Seon of the patriarchs, and that Caodong, Weiyang, and Fayan orders belong to the Seon of the Tathagata, and Heze Order to Seon of meaning and reason. But these distinc­tions were very troublesome. Each of the Seon orders had its own family tradition, and it is not right to try to evaluate the superior­ity or inferiority of the different orders. Hence it is natural that Master Baekpa's idea was severely criticized.

In this sense, lay scholar Chusa Kim Jeong-hui criticized Master Baekpa saying that “The truth of Seon is like a light new dress without stitching, just like a heavenly dress. But the dress is patched and repatched by the inventiveness of humans, and so be­comes a worn-out piece of clothing.” Chusa thought that one can only reveal the traditions of the Seon orders, but to discriminate between their relative superiority and inferiority is like fighting for food which has been begged for by a beggar. To discriminate between the Five Orders of Seon is to destroy the real meaning of Seon.

4) The Problem of Seon Argument of Master Choui's Lineage

As Master Baekpa made a mistake, masters Choui and Udam also committed an error. They claimed that Seon should be divided into Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata on the one hand, and into Extraordinary Seon and Seon of meaning and reason on the other. Then, it should be accepted by the masters that the Seon of meaning and reason and Seon of the Tathagata of the three phrases of Linji are the same. But they thought that the third phrase contains both Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata, and then it is not clear whether Seon of the Tathagata and Seon of meaning and reason fundamentally agree or not. If the source of Seon is nothing but the overcoming of opponents, then it only creates a misunderstanding of the true quality of Seon.

In this sense, any of the positions of Master Baekpa or those of Master Choui are not something for us to agree with. But in the process of searching for solutions to the problems created by this argument, we can develop an important and significant way to realizing the essence of Seon. Hence, the masters were pioneers who cultivated the way to understanding the purport of Seon. It was a new development in a new direction of Seon on a new stage through a new way of practice, just when the Korean nation faced a period of extreme hardship, and it is for this reason that the argument was so important in the Korean Buddhist world.

In 1801, Dasan Jeong Yakyong, the consummate scholar of the “practical knowledge” (silhak)school of late Joseon and exceptionally erudite author of a compendium exceeding 500 volumes on the fields of chemistry, history, politics, military affairs, economics and others, was exiled to Gangjin in Jeolla-do Province, accused of being a leading figure in the Catholic Church. Master Choui's life and thought were deeply influenced by Dasan. Through his relationship with Dasan, he learned Confucianism and matured in his prose and poetry, developing a close friendship in the process. Even after his thirties, Master Choui exchanged intellectual discussion and friendship with a wide range of the highest Confucian intellects of his age, men who had participated directly in the cultural and political history of late Joseon. One of his closest friends was Chusa Kim Jeonghui (1786~1856), scion of a prominent traditional Confucian family, and pioneer of the imported Qing culture, based primarily on the fields of epigraphy and textual study. Upon Chusa's banishment to Jejudo Island, Master Choui even went so far as to visit him five times to offer him consolation. Coming into his forties, as his own fame began to spread, Master Choui returned Daeheungsa Monastery in Mt. Duryunsan, where he built the Iljiam Hermitage on a valley on the east side of the Monastery. There, he spent roughly forty years writing and practicing samatha/vipassana (jigwan) meditation until on August 2, 1866, at the age of 80, he passed into nirvana.

Writings

The life works handed down by Master Choui are by no means scarce in quantity. Beginning in 1830, when the Master was 44, he wrote the Dasinjeon (Tales of the Tea Spirit), a work based on the original text of the “Chajing Caiyao,” a selection about tea taken from the Chinese classic, the Wanbao Quanshu. In 1837, at the age of 51, at the request of Haegeodoin Hong Hyeonju, he wrote the Dongdasong (Ode to the Tea of the East), referred to as Korea's “Tea Chronicles,” a composition of poetry about the history and excellence of Korean tea. Though only the preface written by Yeoncheon Hong Seokju (1774~1842) and Jaha Shin Wi (1769~1847) remains extant, we can infer that at 65, he compiled the Choui Sijip (The Collected Poems of Choui) a collection of the poetry he had written while on break from meditation and engaging in cultural exchanges with high government officials.

There are also many other surviving works written by Master Choui, whose time of composition is unknown. These works include the representative critique, the Sunmun Sabyeon Maneo; the Choui Seongwa (Choui's Seon Teachings), a gloss on the main points of Hyesim's Seonmun Yeomsong;the Jinmuk Josa Yujeokgo (A Biography of Master Jinmuk); and others. After the Master's death, a compilation of his prose works, the Iljiam Munjip (Collected Works from Iljiam), came out in 1890, and a two-volume collection of his poetry, called the Choui Sigo (Anthology of Poems by Master Choui), was published in 1906.  

Doctrinal Distinction

Master Choui's ideas can largely be separated between his ideas on Seon and his ideas on “the way of tea.” To begin with, we can examine his Seon thought through his Seonmun Sabyeon Man-eo, written as a critique of the Seonmun Sugyeong, a work written by his contemporary, Seon Master Baekpa (1767~1852), addressing practice methods and theories based on the capacities of practitioners. Master Baekpa's argument, based on his estimation of the respective merits of Seon, divides the “three categories of Seon” in a hierarchy of patriarchal Seon (Josa Seon), tathāgata Seon (Yeorae Seon), and theoretical Seon (Uiri Seon), and classifies patriarchal Seon and tathāgata Seon as “extraordinary Seon” (Gyeogoe Seon). It is this categorization itself that Master Choui refutes as fundamentally incorrect. He argued his difference of opinion with Master Baekpa, that there should be four categories of Seon—patriarchal Seon and tathāgata Seon, extraordinary Seon and theoretical Seon. The controversy regarding the different approaches to meditation that began in the late 1700s with Master Choui's critique of Master Baekpa's Seonmun Sugyeong would rage for almost a century.

Though the differences between their fundamental viewpoints were quite distinct, both of them shared a common goal to both sincerely clarify and offer solutions to the problems faced by the Buddhist community. They offered significant contributions in arousing an atmosphere committed to clarifying the core tenets of the sect and rediscovering the “Seon spirit.” Having developed this type of Seon theory, in being neither partial only to Seon meditation or doctrinal study (Gyo), Master Choui's practice of samatha/vipassana meditation (jigwan) reveals the distinguishing characteristic of his Seon thought. This fact is expressed in the following passage taken from Shin Heon's Choui Daejongsa Tapbimyeong (Stone Pagoda Engravings about the Lineage Master Choui):

The other day, a monk asked me, “Master, are you solely devoted to the practice of Seon?” to which I replied, “As there in no difference whether I devoted myself only to Seon or to studying the scriptures, why would I insist upon only Seon? For those who devote themselves only to the scriptures, it is very difficult not to forget the principles of the teaching, those who insist upon only practicing Seon, it is difficult to acquire the principles of Seon.”

In this way, Master Choui advocated the practice of jigwan together with a combination of doctrinal study and Seon, more than a devotion solely to the practice of Seon.

We can observe Master Choui's other main line of thought in his view on the way of tea,as expressed in the Dongdasong. As it was cast in the form of a Buddhist song (gesong, or gatha) that praised the tea (da) produced in Korea, which the Chinese referred to as Dongguk (Nation of the East), this work was called the Dongdasong, or Ode to the Tea of the East. With few references to the proper methods for preparing tea or the proper implements used therein, Master Choui reveals his intention to avoid the formalistic complexities of the tea ceremony. His “way of tea” was an ordinary routine of life that involved lighting a fire, boiling some water and then drinking the properly prepared combination of well-steeped water and quality tea. He noted also that the nature of tea was inherently unselfish and impartial to desires, and he said that this nature was something likened to a “pure original source.” 

Master Choui stated that it was in this way that tea possessed a sublime and exquisite essence, and if one did not become attached to that essence, one could arrive at a perfectly free state of transcendent perfection (Sanskrit: pāramitā). Accordingly, he stated, “Since you drink of tea's undefiled spirit and energy, the day of great enlightenment can’t be far off.'”

In addition, Master Choui said that tea and Seon are not two separate things and that in drinking a cup of tea, one must experience the “meditative bliss of experiencing the joy of the dharma” (beophui seonyeol). Such words reveal the thought in the dictum, “the one exquisite flavor of tea and Seon” (daseon ilmi). Like this, Master Choui's “way of tea” stands as a testament to his image as a sincere truth seeker, enjoying his Seon practice while simultaneously engaged in asceticism. We can say that this Seon master's modern attitude, one that does not separate but rather seeks to connect the world of enlightenment and the world of our daily life, shown to us by a Seon monk, is a Buddhist response to the modern thought that was being led by the Confucian school of silhak. Moreover, it could also be said that his Buddhist practice was a means by which the Buddhism that had previously been cast to the mountains and kept a distance from the mundane world, could creep just a little closer to the masses.

The Argument on Seon in Late Joseon Period  

From Book "Seon Thought in Korean Buddhism", 1998

Written by Han Ki-tu

Professor

Dept. of Buddhist Studies

Won-gwang University

A. Preface

Ever since Seon was introduced to Korea, there was a drive to prove the superiority of Seon over Kyo throughout the Korean Buddhist world, especially in the late Goryeo Dynasty.

After the seventh century CE, when Seon had taken root in China and was well established, various disputes arose within the Seon School. These arguments began with the difference of opinion between Master Huineng of Southern Seon and Master Shenxiu of Northern Seon. Then the conflict between the Mahayana Seon claimed by the Northern Order and Seon of the Tathagata (Kor. Yeorae Seon) of the Southern Order became prominent in the Seon world. That is, Master Heze Shenhui claimed that the Seon of the Tathagata is superior to Mahayana Seon, and the former is named so, for it is equal to the Tathagata.

But the newly established Hongzhou Order of Master Mazu's lineage criticized Master Shenhui, calling him a master of mere intellectual understanding, one who searches for meaning and rea­son. And the Hongzhou Order developed an independent Seon pur­port, which investigates the Dharma transmitted by Master Bodhidharma This is the Seon of the patriarchs (Kor. Josa Seon), and this Seon was claimed as being superior to and surpassing the Seon of the Tathagata.

This claim is based on the idea that Seon is superior to Kyo. The realization of Seon as being “a direct transmission, outside the texts, not relying on words and letters, direct transmission from mind to mind, seeing into one's nature and attaining Buddhahood” is not achieved through texts but through a transmission from mind to mind. Here, the awakening of the Tathagata is the center in the Seon of the Tathagata, but what is more important is the Seon purport of the patriarchs in the Seon of the patriarchs. This pur­port of Seon later even influenced academic lecturers who studied Kyo, so that these Kyo scholars who did not have any Seon prac­tice emphasized the superiority of Seon.

In Korea, the main dispute was started by scholarly monks who lived in the southern and southwestern areas of the peninsula of Korea. They published personal records on various theories of Buddhism in 18th century and from this the disputes arose in the Seon families during the reigns of King Jeongjo (r. 1777-1800), King Soonjo (r. 1801-1834), King Heonjong (r. 1835-1849), King Cheoljong (r. 1850-1863) and King Gojong (r. 1864-1907).

The leading roles were taken by Master Baekpa Geungseon (1767-1852), Master Choui Uiseon (1786-1856), lay scholar Chusa (1786-1856), Master Udam Honggi (1822-1881), Master Seoldu Yuhyeong (1822-1881), Master Chugwon Jinha (1861-1926) and lay scholar Jeong Dasan (1762-1836), each one partic­ipating more or less directly. Beginning with Master Baekpa's Hand Glass of Seon Literature (Kor. Seonmun-sugyong), the monks took up and started arguing about Seon. Let us investigate the main point of their argument.

B. The Beginning: Master Baekpa Geungseon's Hand Glass of Seon Literature

Master Baekpa wrote Hand Glass of Seon Literature in order to lay out a standard by which to discriminate the relative superi­ority of the various forms of Seon. The book considers three phrases of Master Linji's teaching as the standard, depending foe its source mainly on Records of Linji. In addition there are other ref­erences such as Master Chiso's Insight of Man and Heaven (Kor. Incheon-anmok), Master Hwanseong Jian's Essentials of Five Or­ders of Seon (Kor. Seonmun-ojong-kangyo), Master Cheonchaek's Precious Storehouse of Seon (Kor. Seonmun-bojang-nok), and Essentials of Seon (Kor. Seonmun-kangyo).

Before we examine whether the Seon thesis revealed in Hand Glass of Seon is a correct way of looking at things or not, it is important to first understand the general idea of the book.

The book reveals that all Seon can be originally discriminated into three kinds, that is, Seon of the patriarchs, Seon of the Tathagata, and Seon of meaning and reason (Kor. Uiri Seon), a theory derived from the Seon teachings of the three phrases of Linji. Mas­ter Baekpa evaluates and analyses the phrases, coming to the con­clusion that the first phrase is the Seon of the patriarchs, the sec­ond phrase is the Seon of the Tathagata, and the third is the Seon of meaning and reason.

1) The “Three Phrases of Master Linji” is the Standard of Seon

Master Baekpa goes on to argue that this correct view of the three phrases solves all problems of searching for standards of Seon. The first phrase is the phrase before host and guest are divided and it is achieved when a practitioner has insight into the true void and sublime existence. Such a practitioner has a high faculty, and becomes a master of Buddhas and patriarchs, when attaining the first phrase. It is a stage of Seon of the patriarchs.

The second phrase is such in which confrontation is ceased and which removes any clue of argument. It is to reach the "three mysterious gates" of Linji, and they are the mystery in the word, the mystery in the function, and the mystery in the mystery. The first signifies the essence of language, the second the final use of language, the third the place where no language is to be found. The third phrase started from theory, but there is no language found in the end, hence the final mystery is analyzed by Master Baekpa to be that of the true stage.

The background of the true stage of the mystery is a place of truth where there is no foolishness. The three mysteries show that the way of Son starts from language and reaches the stage which cannot be expressed by language.

The third phrase is bound by form and conception. It signifies dealing with expedient means. To borrow the expression of Re­cords of Linji, it is “giving speech to arahats when they meet arahats, and to hungry ghosts when they meet hungry ghosts.” This describes the stage of teaching sentient beings in endless ways, and finding that these beings firmly believe the ways that they are being taught in.

The third phrase corresponds to the Buddhist logic of "being, non-being, and in between." This stage is the Seon of meaning and reason.

2) Master Baekpa's Interpretation

Having delineated the three phrases and accepted them as the standard, Master Baekpa classifies Seon traditions. One of the char­acteristics of the Seon tradition is the system of transmission which the Buddha used with Mahakasyapa. This method is the mind-to-mind transmission at three different locations and it is this that is the theory of Extraordinary Seon.

But Master Baekpa thinks that the description of Extraordi­nary Seon consists of elements from the Seon of the Tathagata and the Seon of the patriarchs.

According to Master Baekpa, the first phrase corresponds to Vulture's Peak, where the Buddha held up a flower and Mahakasyapa smiled, and it is the principle reason of Seon of the patri­archs. The second phrase falls under Stupa of Many Sons, where the Buddha sat with Mahakasyapa, and it is the principle of Seon of the Tathagata The last phrase corresponds to the Sala Tree Grove at Kusinara, where Mahakasyapa saw the Buddha's feet, and it is the stage of both Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata.

This idea caused many arguments. But it was not only Master Baekpa who began the idea.

(1) New Influence and Original Duty

"New influence" means "practice newly." It signifies ignorant new practice depending on the expedient means of the Buddha, for the practitioner's faculty is low. Accordingly, practice only by new influence produces results which are bounded by "corrupt practice," that is, practice which is the result of the dirt of habit.

"Original duty" signifies finding out how to be a Buddha through reflection, without separate cultivation, and to develop the true aspect of original duty. Therefore, one is bounded by the practice of dirty habit if there is only new influence, but can pos­sibly reach the original stage of Seon if one finds out one's original duty by reflection. It is a state of abiding in original duty, and it is regarded by Master Baekpa as being included in the Seon of the Tathagata

Master Baekpa explains that when one reaches the stage of firm progress of one's original duty, then it is possible to reach the Seon of the patriarchs. That is, when new influence exists along with the vitality of original duty to overcome old habits, this is the Seon of the Tathagata In addition, to achieve the key point in one's Nature is Seon of the patriarchs. The Seon of meaning and reason is a state of only new influence without finding one's origi­nal duty.

(2) Live Sword and Dead Sword

The expressions "live" and "dead" are one of the important family treasures of the Seon family. These expressions come from a Seon phrase accepted as one of the Linji tradition which is revealed in The Blue Cliff Records (Kor. Pyogam-nok). "Dead sword" sig­nifies the cutting of all defilements and erroneous thoughts with one sword and making all equal, and the "live sword" is to save all people with a sword that is kept in its scabbard.

Master Baekpa revealed that the "dead sword' signifies the Seon of the Tathagata, and the "live sword" Seon of the patriarchs. And "to use both dead and live" is a stage of both the Seon of the Tathagata and the Seon of the patriarchs. He further stated that this view has continued right from the time of the Buddha up to the time of the Sixth Patriarch Master Huineng.

Master Baekpa also pointed out that Master Huineng transmit­ted the Seon of the patriarchs of the "live sword" to his disciple Master Nanyue Huairang, and the Seon of the Tathagata of the "dead sword" to Master Qingyuan Xingsi.

(3) Analysis of a Stanza of Diamond Sutra

Master Baekpa analyzes a stanza of four lines of Diamond Sutra as follows:

Those who by my form did see me,

And those who followed me by voice

Wrong the efforts they engaged in,

Me those people will not see.

"Those who by my form did see me corresponds to mystery in the function" of the three phrases of Seon of the Tathagata, and the phrase of "being" in the Seon of meaning and reason. "And those who followed me by voice" corresponds to "mystery in the essence" and the in between phrase. 3" Wrong the efforts they engaged in" corresponds to "mystery in the mystery" and the phase of non-being. Last Me those people will not see" corresponds to the Seon of the Tathagata.

(4) The Analysis of the Four Vows

The Four Vows are the fountainhead of Mahayana Buddhism. The Four Vows are as follows:

I vow to save all beings.

I vow to end all sufferings.

I vow to learn all Dharma teachings.

I vow to attain Enlightenment.

Master Huineng has advised us to discover the Four Vows in our Self Nature. To that Master Baekpa gives the following analy­sis.

“I vow to save all beings” teaches us not to ponder the three poisons of our own mind. For this, Master Baekpa's quotes the teaching of Master Huineng, "Do not think of good or evil."

"I vow to end all sufferings" teaches us to cut off defilements by not, thinking of good.

"I vow to learn all Dharma teachings” teaches us that to vow to attain awakening is the greatest vow of learning.

"I vow to attain Enlightenment" teaches us to vow to at­tain Buddhahood. The way to vow is completed only when one from the stage of the true void reaches sublime existence.

(5) The Division of the Five Orders of Seon into Three Kinds of Seon

Insight of Man and Heaven and Essentials to Five Orders of Seon are books which generally focused on revealing the family tradi­tions of the Five Orders. However, many Seon families criticized this attitude. In order to see this problem clearly, the family tradi­tions of identification of the main traditions of general Seon need to be considered objectively. Especially Korean Seon students regard­ed this understanding of the Seon traditions of the Five Orders of Seon as one process in and a part of Seon study.

Master Baekpa used the division of the three categories of Seon in order to discriminate their relative superiority. This certainly caused a problem to the Buddhist world of the time and to later generations as well. Also Master Baekpa's evaluation of other orders was totally based on his understanding of the attitude taught in Linji Seon, so it was not objective.

The Five Orders are Fayan Order (Kor. Beoban), Weiyang Order (Kor. Wiang), Caodong Order (Kor. Jodong), Yunmen Order (Kor. Unmun), and Linji Order (Kor. Imje). The first three are of the lineage of Master Qingyuan Xingsi, and they are consid­ered to belong to the Seon of the Tathagata. The last two are of the lineage of Master Nanyue Huairang, and they are classified as belonging to the Seon of the patriarchs. The Five Orders, according to Master Baekpa have different family tradition as follows:

1)    Fayan Order reveals "Mind Only."

2)    Weiyang Order reveals "essence and function."

3)    Caodong Order reveals the way of elevation.

4)    Yunmen Order reveals cutting.

5)    Linji Order reveals the crux and function.

What is notable here is that the Heze Order (Kor. Hataek) or Southern Order of Master Heze Shenhui is omitted Master Baekpa thought that this order belongs to the Seon of meaning and reason, which is centered around mere logic. This order does not seek original duty but merely depends on new influence.

(6) The Core Point of Hand Glass of Seon Literature

To summarize the content of Hand Glass of Seon Literature, the book explains the three kinds of Seon on the basis of three phrases of Linji. Both Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata are regarded as the principle of Extraordinary Seon, but the Seon of meaning and reason falls under the limitation of logic. Accordingly, Seon of meaning and reason is nothing but a theory of expedients through study. Hence it is nothing but a view of Seon, which is not different from Kyo study.

C. The First Refutation of Hand Glass of Seon Literature:

Master Choui Uisun's Four Defenses and Random Words

When Master Baekpa's Hand Glass of Seon was introduced to the Buddhist world, Master Choui Uisun of Taedun-sa Monastery first criti­cized Master Baekpa in his Four Defenses and Random Words (Kor. Sabyeon-maneo).

In this book, Master Choui pointed out Master Baekpa's fault of merely judging the superiority of the various types of Son according to language, saying, "Old masters said that Seon is Buddha Mind So when one achieves the mind, both teachings of masters and all worldly noises are the purport of Seon, and if one loses one's mind, then both 'The Buddha held up a flower and Mahakasyapa smiled' and 'a direct transmission outside the texts' of Seon are merely traces of Kyo."

(1) The Real Meaning of the “Three Phrases of Master Linji”

Master Baekpa reveals that the ranks of all of Son are, through the three phrases of Linji, divided into three different types of Son. And he provides, for the first phrase, the Son of the patriarchs, for the second phrase the Son of the Tathagata, and for the third phrase the Son of meaning and reason, and he proposes an argument on Son to substantiate his claim.

In answer to this, Master Ch'oui interprets the meaning of the three phrases from fundamentally different viewpoints. Unlike Mas­ter Baekpa who understood the three phrases separately, Master Ch'oui regarded the third phrase as a phrase in which the first and the second phrases join together. Hence, according to Master Ch'oui, the third phrase is valuable, and should not be regarded as a mere dead phrase which can be thrown away.

(2) The Origin of Seon of the Patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata

From where do the Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata originate? Master Baekpa finds the origin in a discussion between Master Yangshan Huiji and Master Xiangyan Zhixian, the disciples of Master Weishan Lingyou who is the fifth generation of Master Nanyue Huairang. Master Yangshan divided Seon of the pa­triarchs and Seon of the Tathagata and he valued the former high­ly.

But according to Master Choui, there is really no way to distinguish between the two. Unlike Master Baekpa's position, Master Choui does not consider the two in a relationship of su­periority and inferiority.

(3) The Origin of Extraordinary Seon and Seon of Mean­ing and Reason

Master Choui points out that Master Baekpa commits an error of changing the traditional purport of Seon on his own authority without any proper reason. Master Choui indicates that Seon of the patriarchs is Extraordinary Seon, and Seon of the Tathagata is Seon of meaning and reason. Hence one can traditionally divide Seon into Ex­traordinary Seon and Seon of meaning and reason, and into Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata. This idea was already asserted by Master Hoam and Yeondam earlier to Master Choui.

Thereby, according to Master Choui, it is false to divide Seon into Seon of the patriarchs, Seon of the Tathagata, and Seon of meaning and reason, because the last two Seon fundamentally agree with each other. He claimed that one should not make the mistake of regarding the Seon of meaning and reason as inferior to Seon of the Tathagata,

D. The Second Refutation of Hand Glass of Seon Literature:

Master Udam Honggi's Records of Right Awakening of Seon Family

Master Udam Honggi was the 10th generation after Master Buhyu, and the Dharma grandson of Master Baekpa because Mas­ter Udam was taught by Master Hanseong Pungmyeong, the disciple of Master Baekpa But Master Udam realized that Master Baekpa's position was wrong and wrote Records of Right Awakening of Seon Family (Kor. Seonmun-jeungjeong-nok).

(1) About the Titles of Seon

Master Udam agreed with Master Baekpa's opinion and both of them regarded the first and second phrases of Linji as Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata, respectively. But he, like Master Choui, claimed that Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata should be regarded as the reasoning of Extraordinary Seon and of Seon of meaning and reason, respectively.

(2) The Metaphor of Son: Live Sword and Dead Sword

Live and dead swords are one of basic traditional metaphors used in Seon. To kill with the sword means to kill the thief of ignorance, and to make alive in order to represent the Buddha of Dharma-body. But Master Udam pointed out that Master Baekpa applied "dead" and "live" to the Seon of the Tathagata and Seon of the patriarchs respectively and in this way he made the direction of the Seon tradition unclear.

Master Udam found these expressions used as standard descrip­tions in the records of Master Shitou and Master Mazu. In Records of Shitou, it is written that "It is not achieved by doing this or by not doing this. Hence it is a dead sword." And in Records of Mazu, it is written, "It is achieved by doing this and by not doing this. Hence it is a live sword."

Hence Master Udam thinks that if the phrase of Master Shitou "It is not achieved by doing this" belongs to the third phrase, then the phrase "or by not doing this" belongs to the first phrase. Therefore, the first phrase contains the dead sword. And in the case of Master Mazu, "It is achieved by doing this" belongs to the third phrase and "and by not doing this" belongs to the first phrase. Hence both the first and the third phrases are "live sword" and they can coexist.

Master Udam finally concludes that both dead and live phrases belong to the first phrase of Linji, and it was wrong of Master Baekpa to distinguish certain aspects as belonging to the Seon of the Tathagata or to the Seon of the patriarchs.

(3) The Beautiful Coloring of Seon

In the Diamond Sutra, it is revealed that "there is no fixed Dharma which is 'the utmost, right and perfect enlightenment.'" Therefore, Master Udam thinks that the teachings of the Buddha and the patriarchs are not bound by anything, and it is the beauti­ful coloring of the Buddha and patriarchs, that they are free.

Master Udam considers that the coloring of the Buddha and patriarchs are divided into three; the substance, the function, and in between. And the original names for the three phrases of Linji consist of the substance, the function and in between. The mean­ings of these three essentials are arranged by meaning and reason which, because they are difficult to be revealed by mere words, are seen as three mysteries.

Meaning and reason vary according to the level of faculties of the people involved To people of high faculty, meaning and rea­son are revealed as essentials and called the first phrase of Linji. The second phrase of Linji reveals three mysteries as well as reflection on the first phrase. But the reflection (the second phrase) and the body (the first phrase) for Master Udam are inter­connected, and both of them are finally one.

E. The Defense of Hand Glass of Seon Literature:

Master Seoldu Yuhyong's Origin of Son and the Course

Master Seoldu Yuhyong is the fourth generation after Master Baekpa. Master Seoldu claimed that the Seon views of Four Defenses and Random Words and Records of Right Awakening of the Seon Family are all wrong when one looks at the origin of Seon, and that a practitioner will finally come back to Master Baekpa's position. Accordingly, Master Seoldu wrote Origin of Seon and the Course (Kor. Seonwon-soyu) with the aim of searching for the origin of Seon. As he reveals in the preface, he claims that one should search for the origin of Seon and return to the spirit. And when the origin is revealed, it will be seen that the origin is not the position of Master Choui, but the three kinds of Seon claimed by Master Baekpa.

1) The Three Kinds of Seon

Master Seoldu claims that it should be noted that there are two aspects to Seon: the "purport of Seon" and the "explanation of Seon." The purport of Seon signifies the realization of the Buddha Mind through Seon. As Master Seosan expounded in Mirror of Seon, "If one gets lost in speech, even 'holding up a flower and smiling' is all just the reactions of Kyo." It shows the “explanation of Seon.” But “On the other hand, if one realizes it within one's own Mind, then all of the crass words and refined talk of the world become the Seon teaching of ‘a direct transmission outside the texts.’” This is the purport of Seon.

The above quotations of Master Seosan were also already used by Master Choui when he refuted Master Baekpa. But quoting the same content, Master Seoldu puts a different commentary to it, that one should not, in fact, cast aside the “explanation of Seon” at random. Because we are able to understand the writings with the help of the "explanation of Seon" and we have an opportunity to clearly understand through these writings. This claim is meaningful in the sense that Master Seoldu developed the idea of Master Baekpa further.

Anyway, what is regarded as the most important of the "explanation of Seon" for Master Seoldu is the three kinds of Seon; Seon of the Tathagata, Seon of the patriarchs, and Seon of meaning and reason. Master Seoldu defends Master Baekpa's division of Seon into the three, saying that it is inevitable and the normal course of action to divide Seon and use it to explain and measure the facul­ties of sentient beings.

According to Master Seoldu, the logic that Seon of meaning and reason is not Extraordinary Seon is only right, hence it is also right that the Seon of meaning and reason is not regarded as equal to the Seon of the Tathagata or the Seon of the patriarchs. In this sense, it is right to divide Seon into these three kinds.

2) The Theory of “Transmission of the Mind in Three Places”

Master Baekpa interpreted the theory of transmission of the mind at three places as follows.

1)     The First Place: The Buddha was giving a Dharma talk to the masses in the heaven and in the world at the Stupa of Many Sons when Mahakasyapa appeared. Then the Buddha sat with Mahakasyapa. This sitting is expressed as dead sword, for it is a place where no trace of Dharma is found.

2)     The Second Place: The Buddha was giving a Dharma talk at Vultures' Peak, when the rain of many flowers fell from the sky. The Buddha held up a flower and only Mahakasyapa smiled. It is the principle of live sword, for the holding up of a flower is the Buddha's live Dharma speech to Mahakasyapa.

3)     The Third Place: The Buddha was in Final Nirvana at the Sala Tree Grove at Kusinara, when Mahakasyapa arrived seven days after the Buddha's passing away. Mahakasyapa tapped the coffin three times and the Buddha stuck out his two feet and Mahakasyapa vowed three times. It is Seon purport which shows the Buddha's bestowing of both live and dead forms.

Master Seoldu explains that generations of patriarchs who received transmission of the mind at the three places did not distinguish between the “dead” or “live” sword. But it is after the Sixth Patriarch Huineng that the swords were divided and transmitted separately, for the faculties became varied. Hence the transmission was divided into “dead,” “live,” and "in between."

F. The Last Refutation of Hand Glass of Seon Literature:

Master Chugwon Jinha's Records of Reawakening of Seon Family

Master Chugwon Jinha was the last one who joined the argument over Seon. He learned the texts from masters Baekpa and Seoldu, but he developed his own logic of Seon, in which he criti­cizes the two masters in his Records of Reawakening of Seon Family (Kor. Seonmun-chaejeung-nok). He believed that the Seon thought of masters Choui and Udam was correct and that their arguments were right.

The master lived at a time in which national prestige was at a very low level because of annexation of the country to Japan. To Master Chugwon, the issue of the Seon argument could fall into the category of a leisurely discourse which was not right for the time. Hence it seems that he tried to reveal the problem of this argument on Seon in the sense of adjusting and arranging it rather than adding to and criticizing the problem. His position was simply to reveal the Seon position of masters Choui and Udam again as a form of conclusion.

1) The Problem of the Three Phrases and the Three Seon

Traditionally, masters have been used to the words of the Seon of the Tathagata and Seon of the patriarchs on the one hand, and Seon of meaning and reason and Extraordinary Seon on the other. But it is only Master Baekpa who put the first two Seon together and regarded them as Extraordinary Seon, looking down on the Seon of meaning and reason. Besides, Master Baekpa gave the wrong explanation about the three phrases of Linji because he arranged them wrongly and it seems wrong to contend for the superiority or the inferiority of the three Seon.

Master Chugwon pointed out that the titles Seon of the patri­archs and Seon of the Tathagata themselves are not correct. The very concept of Seon of the Tathagata being the teacher of humans and those in the heaven, and Seon of the patriarchs being for the Buddhas and the patriarchs seems wrong.

Master Chugwon emphasized that the superiority of Seon can­not be distinguished by revealing it, whether it is Seon of the patri­archs or Seon of the Tathagata, and Extraordinary Seon or Seon of meaning and reason. There must only be a difference whether the Seon is in a live phrase or in a dead phrase, and one cannot differentiate Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata.

2) The Problem of Seon of Meaning and Reason

In Seon, the expression "direct transmission outside the texts" is often used. Master Chugwon thought that Master Baekpa regarded “outside the texts” the same as the "extraordinary" of "Extraordi­nary Seon." But Master Chugwon considered Master Seoldu's "out­side the texts and "extraordinary" the same from one point of view and different from another. According to Master Chugwon, Master Seoldu considered both Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata to be “outside the texts” and   “extraordinary.”

Here, Master Chugwon thought that though the Seon of mean­ing and reason are not "extraordinary," it should be regarded as “outside the texts.” The Seon of meaning and reason is, in the strictest sense, “a direct transmission outside the texts.”

What matters here is whether Seon is free from every trace of Kyo or not. When the road to reason is cut off, there opens a road to the "extraordinary." Hence the way left for the Seon of meaning and reason is to cut the meaning and reason.

3) The Problem of "Live and Dead"

“Dead sword” and, “live sword” mean “sitting with Mahakasyapa” and “holding up a flower” respectively. Masters Baekpa and Seoldu explained that “sitting with Mahakasyapa” signifies the Seon of the Tathagata, and "holding up a flower" signifies the Seon of the patriarchs. Master Chugwon, here criticizes that "dead" and “live” should be in the same family, and they must not be separated from each other.

G. Conclusion

1) The Starting Point of the Seon Argument

The argument on Seon in the late Joseon Dynasty was started by Master Baekpa Geungseon of Seonun-sa Monastery. Master Baekpa's idea of dividing Seon into three kinds created a dispute in the Korean Buddhist world which lasted through the 18th and 19th centuries. This argument can be criticized because it stirred up a problem of a pointless argument which was nothing but a desk theory. But it is certainly significant in the sense that the argument made the issue of searching for our Original Nature to be the Seon logic of the general Buddhist world.

Therefore, it is right to value the argument as a process of stretching for Korean Buddhist thinking before its modernization. The material on the basis of which the argument was begun was The Essence and the Songs of Seon (Kor. Seonmun-yeomsong) writ­ten in 1226 by Goryeo National Teacher Jingak Hyeshim. This book includes 1,125 hwadus and it is they that became the basis for reaching the way to awakening. On the basis of this book, there were various movements according to the different periods of time to search for simpler, better and newer methods for practicing the way.

The time of Master Baekpa was not exceptional. Master Baekpa wished to discriminate and show the superiority of Seon in order to reveal its true stages. To this end he wrote Hand Glass of Seon literature to arrange the basic texts of Seon which were most often used by students. The texts are: Master Chiso's Insight of Man and Heaven, Master Hwanseong Jian's Essentials of Five Orders of Seon, Master Cheonchaek's Precious Storehouse of Seon, and Essentials of of Seon.

2) The Application of Seon of the Patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata

Master Baekpa established three ways of reaching the final stage of Seon of the patriarchs. He identified three kinds of facul­ties, that is, high, middle, and low faculties with the first, second, and third phrases of Linji respectively. In addition he regarded the characteristics of these three phrases to be expressed as Seon of the patriarchs, Seon of the Tathagata, and Seon of meaning and reason.

What is very particular here is that Master Baekpa put Seon of the patriarchs in a higher place than Seon of the Tathagata. But this position caused a fundamental problem in that everyone won­dered how the Tathagata, that is, Sakyamuni Buddha, can be con­sidered inferior to the patriarchs.

This position that Seon of the patriarchs is superior to Seon of the Tathagata has several meanings in Seon. Firstly, Seon sees that which has been transmitted by the patriarchs as superior to the stage which the Tathagata attained Secondly, the stages of true void and sublime existence should be realized together in Seon, and the former is the stage of Seon of the Tathagata, and the latter is of Seon of the patriarchs. Thirdly, the principles of the Seon of the patriarchs and of the Seon of the Tathagata are divided and explained separately in texts. Fourthly, the Flower Garland study also distinguishes the Seon of the patriarchs from the Seon of the Tathagata.

3) The Problem of Seon Argument of Master Baekpa's Lineage

Master Baekpa gave the explanation that Linji and Yunmen orders belong to the Seon of the patriarchs, and that Caodong, Weiyang, and Fayan orders belong to the Seon of the Tathagata, and Heze Order to Seon of meaning and reason. But these distinc­tions were very troublesome. Each of the Seon orders had its own family tradition, and it is not right to try to evaluate the superior­ity or inferiority of the different orders. Hence it is natural that Master Baekpa's idea was severely criticized.

In this sense, lay scholar Chusa Kim Jeong-hui criticized Master Baekpa saying that “The truth of Seon is like a light new dress without stitching, just like a heavenly dress. But the dress is patched and repatched by the inventiveness of humans, and so be­comes a worn-out piece of clothing.” Chusa thought that one can only reveal the traditions of the Seon orders, but to discriminate between their relative superiority and inferiority is like fighting for food which has been begged for by a beggar. To discriminate between the Five Orders of Seon is to destroy the real meaning of Seon.

4) The Problem of Seon Argument of Master Choui's Lineage

As Master Baekpa made a mistake, masters Choui and Udam also committed an error. They claimed that Seon should be divided into Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata on the one hand, and into Extraordinary Seon and Seon of meaning and reason on the other. Then, it should be accepted by the masters that the Seon of meaning and reason and Seon of the Tathagata of the three phrases of Linji are the same. But they thought that the third phrase contains both Seon of the patriarchs and Seon of the Tathagata, and then it is not clear whether Seon of the Tathagata and Seon of meaning and reason fundamentally agree or not. If the source of Seon is nothing but the overcoming of opponents, then it only creates a misunderstanding of the true quality of Seon.

In this sense, any of the positions of Master Baekpa or those of Master Choui are not something for us to agree with. But in the process of searching for solutions to the problems created by this argument, we can develop an important and significant way to realizing the essence of Seon. Hence, the masters were pioneers who cultivated the way to understanding the purport of Seon. It was a new development in a new direction of Seon on a new stage through a new way of practice, just when the Korean nation faced a period of extreme hardship, and it is for this reason that the argument was so important in the Korean Buddhist world.

In spring of the next year, he moved to Cheonjangam Hermitage in Mt. Yeonamsan, and continued the practice which succeeds enlightenment. He said he was continuing the lineage of Yongam who was a successor of the Cheongheo and Hwanseong. At the age of 34, he recited his Nirvana poem. 

“ I heard about the cow with no nostrils,

 And suddenly the whole universe is my home.

Mt. Yeonamsan in June lies flat under the road.

A farmer, at the end of his work, is singing.”

For the next 20 years, from that time on, he founded many Seon training monasteries not only at Cheonjangam and Sudeoksa Temple, but also Beomeosa and Haeinsa in Gyeongsang-do Province, Songgwangsa and Hwaeomsa in Jeolla-do Province. He developed and spread the Seon tradition nationwide by teaching many Seon monks. He especially influenced the disciples of masters Mangong Wolmyeon, Hyewol, Suwol, Hanam and other Seon monks who have been instrumental in developing contemporary Buddhist history. These masters and monks, who succeeded the Seon tradition and lineage, made the foundation of the Jogye Order which is the center of Korean Buddhism today.

Master Gyeongheo suddenly disappeared from public view and the Buddhist world in 1905 C.E. when he was 59 years old. Up until then he had been involved in many projects, delivering a lot of dharma talks and attending many assemblies as a dharma teacher and an observer. He took to wearing secular clothes and he let his hair grow. He wandered around Ganggye in Pyeongan-do and Gapsan in Hamgyeong-do, and taught illiterate children. His disciples said that when he was 66 years old, on April 25th, 1912, he entered into final Nirvana. The following poem is his last hymn before his death. 

“Light from the moon of clear mind

Drinks up everything in the world

When the mind and the light both disappear,

What is this?”

 2.      Writings

The existing writings of Master Gyeongheo were compiled by his disciples rather than written personally by him. In 1942, thirty years after his death, his disciple Mangong collected the late Gyeongheo’s materials and published a book, A Collection of Gyeongheo. This included such chapters as “Master’s Dharma Talks,” “Preface,” “Records,” “Letters,” “Activities,” “Poems,” “songs,” and his disciple “Hanam’s Activities,” and “A Short Lineage” written by Manhae Han Yong-un. The dharma talks encompass his main ideas and include “The Weeping of a Muddy Ox,” and “ How to Live as a Monk.” “The Song” emphasized the way of Seon practice and aspects of spreading Buddhism to the public while “The Preface” and “The Record” included the aims and major characteristics of The Retreat Community of Samadhi (meditation)and Prajna (wisdom).

In 1981, The Dharma Talks of Master Gyeongheo was published and this book included new material which had never been published before. For instance, “Hymns of Mt. Geumgangsan Travels,” “The 40 Verses of Seon,” “The “Biography of Master Gyeongheo written by Master Hanam,” “Thirty-eight Amusing Anecdotes of Master Gyeongheo” were added to the this edition.

Seonmun chwaryo ( The Essential Sayings of the Seon House), a collection of the Seon Masters’ sayings and studies in China and Korea compiled by Master Gyeongheo in early 1900 C.E., is well known as a text of Seon.

3. Characteristics of His Thoughts

Master Gyeongheo showed himself as a mirror of Seon practice as he made special efforts to improve the Seon tradition through the foundation of a retreat community and the re-opening of many closed Seon monasteries. He was 53 years old when he founded the retreat community was in 1899 C.E. The community succeeded the tradition of The Retreat Community of Samadhi and Praijna of Master Bojo during Goryeo. The aim of the retreat community was the attainment of enlightenment. The main characteristic of this retreat community was to have a realistic view of liberation, with the vow of rebirth in the Trayastrimsa heaven (the heaven of the thirty-three gods). This is not for people who can attain enlightenment by themselves, but for the poor and the suffering whose only hope is through faith and vow.

In late Joseon, when Master Gyeongheo lived, the Seon tradition of the Seon Order which had been established in the late Silla period, was almost non-existent and practitioners were hard to come by. It was due to the retreat community of Master Gyeongheo that the Seon tradition was revived.

He continuously taught Seon, yet he was not limited to Seon practice; he openly enjoined the practices of chanting and mantra recitation and considered them as equally beneficial. In particular, he insisted on the unification of the Seon and Doctrinal approaches.

His thought was reflected in his other writings, “Song of the Ox Herd” and “Verses of the Ox Herd.” In these works he explains how the innate Buddha Nature is discovered and developed by using the symbolism of the ox. His view was different from those of other ox herd pictures popularized at that time, he didn’t even stick to the schematic pictures, nor even the number of ten scenes. He emphasized the innate place of Self Nature rather than simply showing the stages of evolution of the black ox into a white ox. In the final stage of the series, he would teach, “The ox herder, carrying his bag and ringing a hand bell, returns to the village; this is the final stage of an accomplished man.” This statement underlines the importance of drawing compassion into worldly life, thus benefiting all human beings and all other beings as well.

Master Gyeongheo was a reformer of Seon who made Seon practical and popular; he is revered as one of the great pioneers of Seon in showing the ultimate stage of enlightenment. He always extolled the virtues of Seon not only in his dharma talks but also in his dialogues and encounters of Seon questions and answers. His unusual behavior and written message were expedient means for spreading the teachings of Seon.

Seon Master's Episode  

1] Heavy Sacks

Gyeongheo and Mangong, his disciple, were returning to their temple in the evening after getting some rice for their food. Especially that day, they got rice full of sack. Apart from their satisfaction, the sacks were heavy and it was still distant to their destination. Mangong felt tired and got pain on the shoulder, so it was very difficult to follow his master. Noticing this, Gyeongheo said, "I will use one method to get fast. Please see." They were passing a certain village. Then, a beautiful young woman was coming from the opposit side of them with a water jar on the head. She was apparently a bride just over 20 years old. When Gyeongheo faced her, he held her both ears and kissed her lips. The woman screamed, dropped and broke the jar, and ran back into her house. A distubance arose. Villagers ran out of their houses with sticks or clubs and shouted, "Wicked monks, stop there." The two monks began to run away. They ran so desperately that villagers couldn't follow them to the last. After a while, when they took a rest, Gyeongheo said, "Was the sack heavy?" Mangong said, "Regardlessly, I don't know how I could run so long way with it." Gyeongheo said, "Don't I have talent?" They laughed together looking at each other.

2] A Preach for Mother

One day, Gyeongheo gathered people to preach for the sake of his mother and told his student to fetch her. His mother was very glad, so she dressed herself with new clothes and paid her respects to him, and took a seat. Thereupon, Gyeongheo took off his own clothes piece by piece until he became all naked. He said, "Mother, please look at me." His mother waiting for a great preach was very surprised, got angry and said, "How can you preach like this ? How outrageous !" She returned to her room right away and locked the door of her room. Then, he smiled bitterly and said, "How can she be my mother ? When I was a child, she took off my clothes, washed my body, hugged and kissed me. Why can't she do that now ? How pitiful are those worldly customs !" His students had to beg her parden saying that it had been a great and special preach.

3] A Leper

Master Gyeongheo was dwelling at Cunggyesa temple, when a leper woman knocked at the door of his room.He noticed that she had wandered lacking in love. He allowed her to enter his room. Since then, he shared his mattress together with her for a week, until his disciple Mangong said, "I notice your Dharma is supreme, but we can't endure it. Please have her get out of here." Gyeongheo said, "You seem to have many boundaries catching you. Then I can't help it." So he had to tell her to leave.

Contestations over Korean Buddhist Identities

The "Introduction" to the Gyeongheo-jip

Gregory Nicholas Evon

This article partly derives from research contained in a Ph.D. dissertation (Evon 1999), and it represents a re-articulation of certain basic points made therein. Here, the fundamental point I seek to make is simply this: there exists an inherent conflict between the assumptions that a self-conscious Korean Buddhist identity can be founded on the singular notion of purity, or celibacy, and that this singular notion of identity, in turn, reasonably can be judged to be nationalistic or patriotic in the context of the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945). Such a general notion of identity, I would argue, at once elides the contestation over identity among Korean Buddhists themselves during the colonial period and ultimately conflates religious for national identities. Further, such elision and conflation seem to be products of post-liberation discourse. Throughout this paper I will use the expression post-liberation in order to allow for a distinction suggested elsewhere: that post-colonialism ought to refer to all that follows the “beginning of colonial contact” (Ashcroft, Griffiths, Tiffin 1999: 2). In that sense, however, post-colonialism is inaccurate to the extent that it allows for little distinction between the colonial period and its aftermath.
Such a distinction is, in part, what this paper seeks to address?hence my employment of post-liberation. In this connection, it should be admitted that this paper makes some general claims in regard to post-liberation Korean Buddhist discourse without always staking these claims to definite examples. Yet as with all generalizations, these claims are not necessarily applicable to the entirety of specific cases, or to be exact, the entirety of the work of all scholars. On the other hand, at least this shortcoming can be explained partly in reference to Whitehead’s dictum that much
can be learned about an era through what it assumes rather than expresses. By the very definition of assumption, we are forced to deal with frameworks of inquiry in which ideas are embedded, or assumed. These frameworks and implicit ideas limit the questions asked and the answers given, thus demanding an “unearthing of silences” which requires “a project linked to an interpretation” so we may locate “the retrospective significance of hitherto neglected events” (Trouillot 1995: 58).1 In this paper, the neglected events to be addressed are those surrounding the publication of a Korean Buddhist text in the colonial period, and the silences are those of post-liberation scholarship on these events. This paper, then, is an interpretation.

Gyeongheo and Mangong's a episode  

Gyeongheo and Mangong, his disciple, were returning to their temple in the evening after getting some rice for their food. Especially that day, they got rice full of sack. Apart from their satisfaction, the sacks were heavy and it was still distant to their destination. Mangong felt tired and got pain on the shoulder, so it was very difficult to follow his master. Noticing this, Gyeongheo said, "I will use one method to get fast. Please see." They were passing a certain village. Then, a beautiful young woman was coming from the opposit side of them with a water jar on the head. She was apparently a bride just over 20 years old. When Gyeongheo faced her, he held her both ears and kissed her lips. The woman screamed, dropped and broke the jar, and ran back into her house. A distubance arose. Villagers ran out of their houses with sticks or clubs and shouted, "Wicked monks, stop there." The two monks began to run away. They ran so desperately that villagers couldn't follow them to the last. After a while, when they took a rest, Gyeongheo said, "Was the sack heavy?" Mangong said, "Regardlessly, I don't know how I could run so long way with it." Gyeongheo said, "Don't I have talent?" They laughed together looking at each other.

In 1907, at the age of 43, the Master headed for China. To a Chinese monk who arrogantly praised the superiority of Chinese Buddhism and disparaged Korean Buddhism, he replied, "Is the Sun and the Moon in the sky your country's alone? Buddhist dharma is a public truth of the world, so how can the public truth of the world be limited to China?" In this way, he defended the legitimacy of Korean Buddhism.

In 1910, he was invited to the position of Head Master of Chilburam Meditation Hall (Seonwon) in Mt. Jirisan, guiding and encouraging many monastics. He composed the first work that analyzed and criticized the teachings of Christianity from a Korean Buddhist perspective, Gwiwon Jeongjong (Correct Teachings Returning to the Origin). As a response to the growing strength of Christianity in Korea, which was more organized and successful in its outreach efforts, he set out on an effort to write books systematizing Buddhist doctrines and tenets, as well as translating sutras written in Classical Chinese into Korean native script (hangeul).

In 1911, he went to Seoul for the propagation of urban Buddhism. The following year, he established a Seon Center in Daesa-dong to lead a modernized propagation movement, and then later, he founded Daegaksa Temple in Seoul's Bongik-dong where he offered Buddhist instruction to the general public.

In 1919, during the March 1st Independence Movement against the Japanese colonial regime, together with Master Manhae, he served as a representative of the Buddhist community among the 33 national representatives, devoting themselves to the work of restoring the nation and serving as an encouragement to all Buddhists to join in the patriotic movement. As a result, he was apprehended by the Japanese police, put on trial, and endured three years of hardship in prison. Even after his release, he was put under constant surveillance by the Japanese authorities. During his three year confinement, upon seeing that another prisoner had a Bible that had been translated into the Korean script, he came to again recognize the necessity of translating the Buddhist scriptures into vernacular Korean. Thus, after his release from prison, he formed the "Tripitaka Translation Group" (Samjang Yeokhoe) and immersed himself in the work of translation, for the purpose of propagating Buddhism to the public. In addition, while serving as Head Master of the 10,000 days Meditation Hall (Manil Seonwon) at Naewonsa Monastery in Yangsan, he translated the 80 volumes of the Flower Garland Sutra, an effort regarded as an epoch-making accomplishment in the Korean translation of the Buddhist sutras.

In 1925, at the age of 61, he established the "Supreme Enlightenment Foundation" (Daegakgyo) at Daegaksa in Seoul, beginning new Buddhist and Public Education movements. A movement to arouse self-awareness in each of his fellow countrymen that they are truthful beings who possess infinite possibilities and wisdom, this activity was grounded in the idea of putting into practice the Mahayana Bodhisattva path of serving others and serving one's self.

Following this, he went to Longjing in Manchuria where he cleared the land in the Mt. Baegunsan to both manage the Hwagwawon, where he established a "Supreme Enlightenment Foundation", and spread the “Seon and Agriculture, Combined” (seonnong ilchi) movement. As a means of bringing about the economic independence of Buddhist temples, this movement especially emphasized agricultural cultivation and development alongside Seon meditation; the Master personally grabbed a hoe to join in the labor. In addition, to concentrate the activity of Buddhist propagation, together with Master Hanyeong he published the “Buddha Day” (Buril) magazine and inaugurated the practice of holding Buddhist services every Sunday. Furthermore, they brought about the complete translation and standardization of Buddhist rituals and recitations into vernacular Korean, and authored the “Chanbulga,” a series of odes to the virtues of the Buddha that could be sung in Korean.

Living with an unmatched intensity during these difficult times, Master Yongseong left to us a diversity of lifetime achievements, including his defense of traditional Buddhism, his reform and popularization of Buddhism, the simultaneous practice of Seon and Vinaya, the implementation of the Agricultural Seon movement, as well as the idea of “Supreme Enlightenment” and the advocacy of “Supreme Enlightenment Foundation” movements. Finally in 1940, at the age of 76, after 61 years in the sangha, he entered Nirvana. Among his disciples were Masters Dongsan Hyeil, Goam, Jaun, Deongheon, Gobong and others.    

Writings

The Master's written work includes twenty-one volumes, including the Gwiwon Jeongjong (Correct Teachings Returning to the Origin), Gakhae Illyun (The Sea of Enlightenment and the Circle of the Sun), Seonmun Yoji (Essential Teachings of Seon Buddhism), and others. He also produced a 22 volume work of translations and commentaries including the Suneungeomgyeong Seonhan Yeonui (Commentaries on the Suramgama-sutra in Korean) and his published essays which amounted to nine volumes, including Manil chamseon gyeolsahoe changnipgi (The Story of Establishing the 10,000 Days Seon Community), Hwalgu chamseon manil gyeolsa barwonmun (Dedication for the 10,000 Days Live Phrase Seon Meditation), Beomgye saenghwal-e daehan geonbaekseo (Admonition for the Keeping of the Precepts), and others.

Doctrinal Distinction

To bring about the popularization and reform of Buddhism, Master Yongseong strove endlessly to find and implement the dynamic path of Buddhism, embodied in the idea of daegak “supreme enlightenment.”

Because the thinking of daegak as emphasized by Master Yongseong was advocated through the idea of jagak gakta, that the self-awakening to one's fundamental nature and the awakening of others are not two separate things, the combined notions of awakening to bongak (original enlightenment), sigak (initial enlightenment), and gugyeonggak (ultimate enlightenment) comprised the idea referred to as daegak (supreme enlightenment). Based on self-enlightenment (gak), it can be said that “Buddha” is nothing other than daegak and “Buddhism” is nothing other than the “teaching of daegak.”

Master Yongeong's thinking of daegak was an individualized and powerful Buddhist teaching that matched the spiritual capability rooted within each sentient being who lived and breathed just as he. His method was similar to treating patients with medicines that suit their disease, or how the Buddha always modified his dharma sermons to communicate the truth in accordance with the interpretive capabilities of his audience.

The epochal circumstances of Japanese colonization that brought an end to the Joseon Dynasty perhaps cut more deeply into the heart of Master Yongseong than anyone else, and he strove to make the 2500 year-old teachings of the Buddha relevant to the long-suffering Korean people, struggling under the Japanese colonial regime. As a result, he abandoned the life of “Buddhism in the mountains,” presenting for the first time an alternate model propagating Buddhism within an urban setting. Moreover, he perceived the obstacles for the public to approach Buddhism, due to the fact that ordinary Buddhist believers faced great difficulties in understanding the Buddhist sutras written in classical Chinese, he also began the immense undertaking of translating the sutras into Korean script (hangeul). The result of this undertaking was that numerous sutras were written in the vernacular, including the Diamond Sutra, the Flower Garland Sutra and others, and in this way he supplied a shortcut by which the public could more easily come into contact with the wisdom of Buddhism. This translation project was not his only propagation effort, as he also introduced the modern method of setting the framework for Buddhism's economic independence through the establishment and management of urban propagation groups.

In addition, within his practice, he gave weight to both the Vinaya and the practice methods of the "observing the hwadu" (Ganhwa) Method of Seon meditation, and through setting an example of exhaustive practice, he showed a path of guidance to those who sought the dharma.

Even under the sharp gleaming edge of the Japanese blade, poised as it was to annihilate Korean national culture, the unyielding strength of the Master, who always stood at the forefront of efforts to propagate of Buddhism to the public, was a result of the power of his practice and activities that literally put his life at stake. As a monk who had already transcended the boundaries of life and death, he was able to overcome each and every fear without hesitation.

The Way to Investigate the Hwadu

One student once asked,

"You told us to investigate and doubt the hwadu, but how should we investigate it?"

Yongseong answered,

"A person suddenly lost a treasure he had carefully carried on his person and cherished for a long time. At first, he didn't know he had lost his valuable thing, but one day he felt with his hands where he usually carried the treasure and noticed it missing. Thus, he wondered in suspicion and doubt where the treasure was. Your investigation into the hwadu should be like this.

Another person picked up a strange object from the ground near dawn, before sunlight had fully illuminated the world. Although he examined it closely, it was yet too dark to see clearly, so he was not sure what to make of it; stuck in a boundary between knowing and not knowing what it is, he is full of suspicion and doubt. The manner of one who investigates the hwadu is like this.

When you investigate the hwadu, it is sometimes like trying to force a donkey to drink, sometimes defilements arise like hot fire, sometimes the mind doesn't move at all as if it were a solid block of ice, sometimes it goes as well as a sailing boat in a favorable wind. But, whether your studying goes well or not, do not bear thoughts of joy or dissappointment at it; you ought to think only of your hwadu.

Also, do not take up practice for the clear and calm that arises when you sit; nor should you take exercise, speech, movement, or being calm as your practice. Do not practice with your mind like the thin air, nor should you make your mind like a wall; for studying with these attitudes is a heretical path that lead to emptiness and ruin, and the people who study thusly are dead even though they still breathe.

Therefore instead focus your investigation and doubt on this one thing that you don't fully understand. If you study hard with a consistently focused mind, the state of sight and hearing naturally become calm; forgetting both the thing and the self, the mountains, rivers, and the great earth dissappear, and the empty space melts down. When you reach this state, you will naturally destroy ignorance [chiltong, literally, pitch-black container]."

Another student asked Yongseong, "How can I get rid of the delusions that keep appearing to me?"

Yongseong answered,

"Whether delusions arise or not, leave them alone and do not try to get rid of them. Delusions have a tendency to arise all the more when you try to get rid of them. For example, when a cow tries to run away, if you draw the rein firmly toward you, the cow follows you by its own will. Like this, if you investigate the hwadu without being bothered whether a delusion arises or not, the delusion will disappear by itself.

Also, do not try to get rid of delusions using the hwadu; if delusions overcome you even though you focus only on the hwadu, immediately let go of the hwadu and relax your mind to its natural state. Then, if you resume the investigation, your mind will be new and clean.

When you investigate the hwadu, question it clearly with an always relaxed and comfortable mind and body. If you start on the hwadu in a hurry, because the mind that arises from bodily desire is shaken; you will feel pressure on your chest and have a headache, and bleed from your nose. These symptoms occur because your mind was too hurried.

On the other hand, if you are off your guard, you are likely to lose your hwadu. Neither should you investigate the hwadu too excessively and tensely, nor should you be too lax. If the strings of a lute are too loose, its sound is not right, and also it the strings of a lute are too tight, its sound is also not right; thus studying is the same way.

Figuratively speaking, it is as if when someone wanders into the deep mountains, when all of a sudden the mountain and river comes to an end. Facing this situation, if you set one foot forward with the strength to courageously sever your ties, you will be able to see a new world where the flowers are bright and the blossoms are emerald.

While all the other studies of the world are investigated with an analytical, categorizing mind that tries to know all things, this study consists of the questioning and investigation with a focused mind of this one thing that you do not know. If you try to approach this study with a categorizing and analyzing mind, you will be unable to know anything even after 10,000 years of questioning. When you investigate the hwadu, you should not seek fun in it, but rather keep an unceasing attitude, like a mosquito sitting on a cow made of iron. For if the mosquito breaks through the iron cow with life and limb in abandon, even its body will dive straight in.

Only investigate and doubt the hwadu with a focused mind, never bearing a mind of knowing or a mind of seeking. Like when the warm spring comes back, flowers bloom and leaves spread out, so when your study ripens you will naturally seek and know."

From the Susimjeongno (The Right Path to Cultivating the Mind)

The Fundamental Mind of Supreme Enlightenment (Daegak)  

What is the meaning behind Buddhism being called daegak (Supreme Enlightenment)?

I shall analyze this in two explanations. First, the things we commonly comprehend as the biggest things around us are the sky, the earth, the sea, the air, and the like. But what we call “big” in Buddhism are not those things. When we refer to the "bigness" of the original and natural mind in Buddhism, it is not big in the sense that the sky, the earth, sea or air can be compared with it; in fact, is it so big that nothing can become a thing that can be contrasted with it. Enlightenment is not something that can be stated, like "I am enlightened" or "I am becoming enlightened." Therefore, it is impossible to teach the fundamental mind of enlightenment with words or writings, or to show it with any concrete shape.

Even though the air is full of electric currents and the sea is full of salt, it's impossible to listen to the electric current in the air with our ears, or see the salinity of the sea with our eyes. Likewise, though there is definitely an essential nature of Supreme Enlightenment (daegak), since it doesn't have any specific name or form, you cannot see it with your eyes, hear it with your ears, or think about it with your mind.

Though it is said this essential nature of Supreme Enlightenment originally doesn't exist because it has no name or form, it doesn't mean that is really nonexistent. Because there's nothing, neither is it mind, nor Buddha, Dharma, or Sangha, nor is it a ghost, nor is it any thing, nor the sky or the earth. At the same time it is both immensely big, immensely small, immensely empty, immensely spiritual, immensely firm and strong, but immensely soft at the same time, so it's not analyzable through thinking.

Though this nature has no name or form, it links the past and the present, surrounds the universe, exists as a subject of the sky, the earth, and humans. As a king of all the laws, it is so big and broad that there's nothing comparable; so lofty that there is no equal. Also, it has been even before the heaven and earth, so there is no beginning, and it will exist even after the end of days, so there is no ending. This big and round essential nature of enlightenment shows that heaven and earth and the self have the same root and the universe and the self are the same body.

This nature is equal in every body. Just because some are sages, it doesn't mean they have more of this nature than ordinary men. Also, since there is no becoming, dying, any particular shape, or name for this nature, when it's in the sky it becomes a part of the sky, in the earth it becomes a part of the earth, and in humans it becomes a part of humans. This is the fundamental mind of attaining divine enlightenment.

Second, attaining divine enlightenment for oneself, then guiding other people to the way of enlightenment, are not two things but one, so it is called the final enlightenment. Every person is pure and undefiled just where s/he is, and it shows that the enlightenment itself is always there, inside of them. Even though enlightenment always exists inside of them, if s/he doesn't realize it, s/he is ordinary. Even though they realize it's there, if they don't strive, they also are ordinary. Why is that?

Even if something is gold, if it is not tempered several times, it cannot become pure gold. But after it becomes pure gold there is no change. Attaining the true mind through striving is like becoming pure gold. This is called actualizing enlightenment.

The original enlightenment (Buddhahood) and actualizing enlightenment are not two things, so it is the final enlightenment, and if somebody realizes everything mentioned above, now they can be said to have attained divine enlightenment.

The past life, who was I?

The next life, who will I be?

If I know that this thing now is me

In return, how can I search for myself in what is not me?

In the spring of 1914, at the age of 47, keenly aware that the revitalization of Joseon Buddhism depended on establishing rules for the Seon monastic community and its institutions, Master Hangmyeong visited China and Japan to examine their traditions. There he met with famous monks, engaging in Seon dialogue. His Seon dialogue with Shaku Sōen, the high minister of Japan's Rinzai Sect, who had engaged in dialogue with the likes of French existentialist philosopher Henri Bergson, is particularly famous. Master Sōen praised him, calling him the “ancient Buddha of Joseon.”

He returned to Joseon in 1915, becoming the abbot of Naesosa Monastery and Wolmyoungam Hermitage in Byeonsan. Then in 1922, he attended the first founding session of the “Friends of Seon Cooperative Society” (Seonu gongjehoe), taking upon himself one of its leadership roles. This group was formed with the aim of developing the economic independence necessary to overcome the difficult economic circumstances facing the maintenance of temple training centers at this time. In 1923, at the age of 56, he became the abbot of Naejangsa Monastery to restore it from its dilapidated state. There he founded a new meditation hall (Seonwon), led a number of Seon practitioners, and also reclaimed fields and rice paddies to establish the temple's self-sufficiency. In 1925, he served as the leader of the “10,000 days Seon Meditation Community,” and in 1927 he became the Head Master of the Gakhwangsa Central Seonwon, which is now Jogyesa, where he roused the Seon spirit.

Having poured his energy into the revitalization of Naejangsa, on March 27, 1929, Master Hangmyeong called to his dharma heir, Maegok and told him: “Today is the day I'm going to go to my original place.” After drawing six pictures of Bodhidharma, he instructed his disciple Ugok to recite the verses of the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment and then with a smile he silently passed into nirvana at the age of 63.

Writings

Master Hangmyeong expressed the state of mind of his awakening through 10 volumes of Seon poetry written in Classical Chinese. His Baegyangsanga (Song of Mt. Baegyangsan) speaks of the state of enlightenment using the terms of nature, giving shape to its perfectly free depth and pre-eminence from his own experience. He also expressed his perspective on the Seon revitalization movement through gasa, a style of narrative poetry developed in the early Joseon Dynasty, and it is through these 300 some verses that he came to renown. However, it is most regrettable that the compilation of his collected works, the Baengnong Yugo, (Posthumous Works of Farmer Baek)was lost just before it was printed. Today, only six of his works remain extant, including his Chamseongok (Song of Seon Meditation) and Haetalgok (Song of Liberation from Life and Death), published in the monthly magazine, Bulgyo.

Doctrinal Distinction

Master Hangmyeong's doctrinal distinction can be seen in his writing as well as the life he led in the meditation hall. Through his Seon poetry and Buddhist odes he did not merely glorify nature, but also expressed the transience of life. Particularly in his Chamseongok, he skillfully presents the Buddhist philosophy of impermanence. In this song, he speaks of the finite nature of each of our lives, depicting how every one of us lacks the means to escape the ravages of “birth, old age, sickness and death.” Namely, it is not simply warriors and patriots who die, but also Laozi and Jesus as well. As it was only the Buddha who laid forth the theory of “neither ceasing, nor arising,” he inspired us to fully undertake the effort of resisting our delusory slumber and instead fully awaken to reality. Because it is within Seon that the truest essence of Buddhism resides, the Patriarch Bodhidharma ventured more than 10,000 li to the west in order to transmit the Indian dhyana practice to China, where he clarified the truth of the Buddha's teachings through the Patriarchal Seon represented in the saying, “no establishment of words or letters.” Thus, he emphasized that if we want to awaken to this principle, we must come to understand that the only way that we can become Buddhas is if we put aside the sutras and instead awaken through the direct pointing to our own minds.

In addition, in order to bring about the economic self-sufficiency of temples, Master Hangmyeong inspired monks to take up agricultural labor, advocating the theory of “seonnong ilchi,” the idea that Seon practice and agricultural work should be combined. This distinction in his theory of seonnong ilchi is made directly evident in his establishment of the “Regulations of the Naejang Seonwon.” With the conviction to reclaim the Seon Buddhism of the Joseon period, he established this Seonwon at Mt. Naejangsan and gave all his energy to practice Seon meditation while simultaneously reclaiming barren wastelands in the mountainous regions around the monastery. This is why he called himself by his own nickname of Baengnong, “Farmer Baek.” Thus, he also taught his disciples a practice of “half Seon, half farming,” setting the perfect schedule as one that used the morning for scholarly studies, the afternoon for farming, and the evening for seated meditation. Utilizing the spirit of Baizhang Huaihai's dictum that “a day with no work is a day with no food,” he expounded the unique praxis of his ideas of “self-meditation, self cultivation” (Jaseon Jasu) and “self-subsistence by self-effort” (Jaryeok Jasik) This was due to his judgment that the traditional practice of seeking alms and benefactors in order to maintain the economic support of monasteries had created the laziness and dependent predisposition of the Buddhist community.

Regulations of the Naejang Seon Hall  

 (1) The goals of the Seon Hall are amended to focus on “Half Seon, Half Farming.”

(2)The doctrine of the Seon community will be based on the ideas of “Self Seon, Self Practice” and "Self Labor, Self Subsistence." Everyone with the ability to work is included, even those who have extensive practice experience.

① All food and clothing will be perfectly in accord with the regulations of the monastic community/grove (chongnim) (i.e. where the meditation hall resides.)

② The activities of the day will strictly follow a three part schedule: scripture study in the morning, labor in the afternoon, and seated meditation in the evening.

③ During the winter retreat, seated meditation will take priority. During the summer retreat, scripture study and labor will take priority. Retreat certificates will only be granted after three years.

④ For our songs in praise of the Buddha, we will study beompae [Buddhist ritual music], elegant and in accordance with the times. In addition, Buddhist praise, self-praise, conversion and homecoming songs will be newly composed and sung in the traditional style.

⑤ Violations of the precepts, improper behavior and other bad customs are all strictly prohibited.

His posture not easing even in the slightest, he continued his devoted practice and when dawn broke he went about as normal, carrying about the duties for the morning meal. He struck the temple gong, breaking the darkness, and recited a set of verses. “If you want to know all the Buddhas of the three worlds, you must come to know that all laws are created by the mind.” At that moment the boundaries of delusion fell away. In the sounds of the temple bell, the darkness that clouded his eyes revealed light. The sound of the gong had opened his eyes of wisdom. This was Master Wolmyeon's first enlightenment experience.

However, his master, Master Gyeongheo, cautioned him that this kind of awakening was not a complete enlightenment. He encouraged Wolmyeon to devote himself to investigating Zhaozhou's “MU” hwadu. What is Zhaozhou's "MU" hwadu? This hwadu is based upon a dialogue that occurred a long time ago, when a monk asked of Master Zhaozhou, “does a dog also have the Buddha nature?” Zhaozhou replied “Mu!” [Ch. wu, which can be interpreted as "not," as opposed to "no," hinting that the question itself is wrong; and also can be interpreted as an onomatopoeia of a dog's bark]. This exchange is the substance of one of the most powerful hwadu, as the “MU” hwadu stands out as one that has brought many masters to enlightenment.

Wolmyeon took on the "MU" hwadu and returned to his travels, touring many different meditation halls, always practicing always with ferocity. It was during this period, in 1901, that he came to the isolated Baegunam Hermitage, located on Mt. Yeongchuk in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do Province. It was here that one day, while caught in the monsoon and forced to spend a whole month doing absolutely nothing but meditation, the world came crumbling down in an instant as he heard the sound of the morning bell, until ultimately the orginal mind of the universe had appeared. At the age of 30, Wolmyeon finally had achieved his great awakening.

Following this, together with a dharma transmission verse, he received the name “Mangong” from his master Gyeongheo and became one of the main disciples inheriting his true dharma and core teachings. He was 33 at this time.

He then practiced at the major meditation hall of each famous mountain, starting with the Mahayeon Hermitage at Mt. Geumgangsan. While residing at Mt. Deoksungsan in Yesan, Chungcheongnam-do Province, he refurbished Sudeoksa, Jeonghyeosa and Gyeonseongam Hermitage and cultivated a sparkling coterie of disciples. With the renown of his efforts spreading far and wide, Master Mangong uttered these words in front of mirror after performing the evening meal offerings one day in 1946, “This guy Mangong! Though we've shared our lot for this past 70 some years, today is the last day. You've worked hard and done well.” At the age of 75, after 62 years as part of the sangha (beomnap), he entered nirvana.

His disciples, including the monks Bowol, Gobong, Hyeam, Jeongang, Geumo, Chunseong, Byeokcho, and Woldam and the nuns Beophui, Manseong, and Iryeop, among others, formed one of the major Seon lineages in the modern Korean Buddhist community. Especially notable here is the presence of nuns among his disciples. Based on the Buddha's teaching that if women practiced they could also become Buddhas, Master Mangong taught bhiksuni (female monastics, nuns) without discrimination. It created quite a stir when Iryeop, who at that time had become famous as a “new woman intellectual,” was influenced profoundly by Mangong and became ordained as a nun. In addition, the enlightenment of his disciple Beophui, the first nun to receive a dharma transmission, when compared with even the great male Seon masters, nothing was found wanting. In making it clear to us that on the journey to find one's true self, there is no separation between “man” and “woman,” and through understanding his disciple's capacities and his unstinting leadership and guidance, Master Mangong shows us his eyes of wisdom.

Writings

Mangong left behind not a single written work. The only thing left to us were his Seon teachings given to his many disciples. However, his disciples compiled a volume of his dharma talks, and from this we can catch a glimpse of Mangong's thought.

Doctrinal Distinction

Though there is a strong emphasis on “having to find 'I'” in the dharma lectures of Mangong.Since the Buddha rejected “I,” elucidating the idea of “no-self,” why would Mangong be saying, “You have to find your “I”? What is the “I” that must be rejected and what is the “I” that must be found? The intellectual core of Mangong lies precisely in knowing the true nature of this “I” that must be rejected and the “I” that must be sought.

The “I” that we usually think of is the “I” who answers back when someone calls out, “Hey you!” However, is the answering mouth "I"? Is the eye that sees other people, "I"? Am I my feet or legs? Is my brain "me"? If not, is the mind that thinks of "me," "me"? What in the world is the thing we call "me” and “I”?

Stepping back from this line of thought for a moment, let's take another look at an object we can often see in our daily surroundings, the bicycle. What is a bicycle? Is the front-wheel the bicycle? Is the chain the bicycle? Are the pedals or the handlebars the bicycle? What we call a bicycle is the thing made of the parts enumerated above, something a person mounts, puts both feet on, and then is propelled forward by the spinning of the wheels. Strictly speaking, "bicycle" is something that we all agree on to call such a thing. Thererfore, if for example, this thing were missing a front-tire, or the handlebar, or the chain, or any other one single thing, then it could not be a bicycle. You only call something a bicycle when all conditions for doing so are met. Suppose it has been thirty years now that this bicycle has been ridden. So, if I were to now dispose of this bike, could I call the wheels I separate from it a bicycle? What about the chain I saved, can I call that the bicycle? No. We don't call that a bicycle. That thing is simply a wheel or a chain. Because it now fails to meet the conditions for being a bicycle, there is now no longer a bicycle. This is precisely the “true nature” (silche) of a bicycle.

Now, let's return to the question of the "I." The "I" that says "yes" in response to the sound of someone calling, the "I" that is reading this right now. That's right. This "I" too is simply the name we give to a temporarily existing “I,” something arising only when the proper conditions are met. It's just like our bicycle, still briskly riding along.

Exactly as in the situation with the bicycle, when all of the parts come together a bicycle is formed, when each of the parts disappear the bicycle itself disappears, this arising and disappearing based on certain conditions is referred to in Buddhism as “dependent origination” (yeongi). As a result, when we think of this “I” that originated dependent on certain conditions instead as something that has a fixed and unchanging essence, it is here where our numerous attachments arise and intensify, and it is these things that are referred to as “afflictions” and “delusions.” Mangong said we should reject the clump-like “I” in this kind of fantasy and that the “I” we must search for is the “true I” or “true self.” This “true self” is not the self that is based on the conditions of dependent origination, it is “self” in name only, having no fixed essence.

This “self” is nothing other than the clear recognition of the fact that existence is dependently originated, this knowledge itself is the “true self.” Therefore, this “true self” is different from the atman concept of Indian philosophy. The atman is a concept from a philosophical perspective, meaning something like “ego,” or “individual self,” or soul. Having meaning as a “true form,” something “traversing the universe with immanent magical power,” it is an object that continues eternally. This draws a stark contrast with the conditions of dependent origination, so thoroughly discussed in Buddhist thought.

Now we know that the “I” spoken of by Mangong is something different from both the “I” that we normally think of as well as the atman spoken of in Indian philosophy. Mangong went on to also say that when one thought arises, the totality arises and that when one thought is extinguished, the totality is extinguished. He said that when the thought of “I” arises, in the time of one breath, a universe is created and destroyed. When there is thought, the entire universe appears, when thought disappears, the foundation of the universe is immediately returned to nothingness. The “one mind” (ilsim) is precisely reality. This is the totality of existence.

In order to ascertain this "true self," Master Mangong stressed that we must practice Seon meditation. Therefore, he exerted all of his energy leading his disciples in proper Seon practice. It is perhaps because of this, and also because of the dangers inherent in the tendency for the meanings of words and letters to become fixed, that Master Mangong left behind no written works.

Therefore, he settled upon the "observing the hwadu" (Ganhwa) method of Seon meditation that totally rejects theory and speculation and observes with the spirit of “no discriminating mind,” (musim), always teaching his disciples to investigate Zhaozhou's “MU.” In these anecdotes I've given you today, you caught but a glimpse of the Master's teachings, seeing how they aimed at leading his disciples to experience truth each for themselves, in the way that the Buddha personally experienced the truth of reality. As for the rest of his teachings, I'll have to promise that for the next time we have a chance to meet.

Leader of the Fifteen Month Silence at Gakhwa Temple, Gou Sunim  

Deep in the folds of the mountains, I asked a Seon Master the way. He replied, “There is only one way—good or bad it makes no difference.” Furthermore, “The solution to the wars of the world, ideology, the travails of the common-folk, and the cessation of discrimination between superiority and inferiority is in understanding ‘dependent origination’. Herein harmony abides.”

The moon shines brightest on the 15th day of the 10th lunar month (the 19th day on the solar calendar). Some two thousand revered monks enter ninety Seon meditation centers all over the nation for the winter meditation retreat. This retreat will last three months. But at Gakhwa Temple, in the Mt. Taebaeksan, in Gyeongsang-buk-do, from the 19th thirty six revered monks will begin to undergo an eighteen-hour per day meditation ordeal called “finding life through death”, which will last fifteen months.

On the 19th, I met Gou Sunim (68 years of age), who will lead this dauntless concentration of mind. He has commanded a unique respect since ascending to the rank of Venerable Master. With his whole face beaming with a smile, he says, “Although Korea’s tradition of hwadu Seon is up to the standards of Tibet, China, and Japan, it distresses me that our abbots do not display the confidence of one such as the Dalai Lama. Seon practice which is engaged only with hwadu and not real life does not represent the true nature of Seon. (Seon practice) should prepare one for life’s hard knocks. Herein lies the enlightenment preached by the Buddha”.

How must we practice Seon in modern times?

“Today’s government emphasizes a ‘get rich’ and ‘competition without end’ mentality. The Buddha stressed dependent origination. To discover the true value of oneself, one must cultivate health of mind and body. This teaches not ‘competition without end’ but ‘cultivating upward (to the source) without end’”.

Korean Buddhism imported in the West seems to lack the sense of social service of “practical Buddhism”.

“Mother Theresa’s wonderful system of service resulted from her understanding of Indian culture. Her service and austerities were a result of her freedom from ego. She worked happily until death in a manner equivalent to ‘snow falling into a well full of water’. In Seon, we compare this to a sky clotted with clouds, and the clouds thinning out. Seventy to eighty percent say they are happy to see the clouds clearing, only twenty to thirty percent recognize the sun shining through.”

What is the fundamental difference between Seon and other sects?

The biggest difference is that among the southern schools of Buddhism, all but Seon continue to seek knowledge through ‘polishing’ after achieving comprehension, whereas in Seon, after achieving comprehension, this ‘polishing’ for knowledge ceases. What this means is that, insofar as we already have original Buddha nature, there is no perfection beyond this. In his ‘Lecture on the Diamond Sutra’, Kim Yong-ok makes the unlivable classification of ‘mind as the dharma body’ and ‘body as sensual body’, but even the body is the perfect Buddha. All existence is conditional causation, while at the same time Buddha nature abides in all existence. Each scattered temple is not a nugget of gold, everything (in the universe) is a nugget of gold”.

“Before realizing the meaning of dependent origination, a monk thinks twelve times a day of returning to the layman’s world.” Master Gou says that if one understands the true nature of this dharma (of dependent origination), there is no end to perfectibility. While guiding the Gakwua Seon Center, Gou Sunim hopes to devote his merit to the salvation of others.

[Seon Master's Episode 4] Who is it ?

Mangong's a episode

A monk visited Master Mangong and said to him, "Where is the truth ?"
Answer : "It is in front of your eyes."
Question : "If so, why can't I see the truth ?"
Answer : "It's because there 'you' are."
Question : "Then, do you see it ?
Answer : "If there even 'I' am, it is more difficult for you to see."
Question : "If there neither you nor I am, is it possible ?"
Answer : "When there neither you nor I am, who is it that is trying to see ?"

It was owing to this passage that the twenty-three year old Hanam was finally able to overcome his vexing doubts about the reality of his own self and the origin of the universe that had filled his heart since the days of his youth. 

Following this, in order to preserve this awakening, he exerted himself in purification practices. At the age of 29, he led his fellow meditators as the lead master in the Naewon Seonwon Center at Tongdosa in Yangsan. That he took the position of “lead master” is quite remarkable, considering this is usually reserved for the highest achieving elder monk. That a young man of 29 could take such a role is a testament to the respect he held among his peers, owing to the power of his practice. However, after five years, he gave up the title to begin practice on his own. This meant that rather than depending on recognition from others, he placed more importance on “self confidence.” It was during this period that one day, while engaged in his purification practice at Uduam Hermitage in Pyeonganbuk-do Province, he was sitting in the kitchen stoking the fire when he suddenly experienced a complete awakening. 

In 1925, at the age of 49, while serving in the role of lead meditation master at Bongeunsa in Seoul, he left behind the words, “I'd rather be a crane hiding his tracks for one thousand years than be a fine speaking parrot for a hundred years” and set out for Mt. Odaesan. A parrot is a bird that can only repeat or imitate the words of others. He was not the type of monk who preaches the dharma by simply memorizing the words of the old masters. He was a genuine truth-seeker who sought his own words ardently flowing from his own heart, showing us the true spirit and world of Seon.

Until his passing into nirvana, Master Hanam spent the next twenty-six years giving his undivided attention to the instruction of his disciples as well as his own training, never leaving the temple gate even one single time. In 1951, while undergoing a fifteen day fast, he sat in meditation and passed into nirvana at the age of 75 after spending 54 years in the sangha. He left behind many disciples, among whom the Venerables Bomun, Nanam, and Tanheo stand out.

2.    Writings

Though the poetry and letters of Master Hanam were compiled in the Ilballok, the only manuscript was lost to a fire at Sangwonsa in 1947. Accordingly, the Society of Hanam Disciples gathered the numerous works of Hanam scattered here and there and compiled them into the Hanam ilballok, published in 1995.

3.    Intellectual Distinction

Master Hanam did not adhere solely to Seon, but emphasized Seongyo gyeomsu, a combination of both Seon and doctrinal practice (Gyo). His translation and publishing of the Commentaries of Five Masters on the Diamond Sutra and the Bojobeobeo along with his request of his disciple Venerable Tanheo to translate Sinhwaeomgyeong hamnon into Korean script is indicative of this fact.

In fact, though Seon advocates getting rid of language and the scriptures, this should be taken to mean that the shell of the words and scriptures should be cast off, not the kernel of truth therein. Following this idea, even when Master Hanam was leading his disciples in the Seonwon hall, during breaks from meditation he would also expound on such scriptures as the Diamond Sutra and the Flower Garland Sutra.

In addition, Master Hanam practiced the “After Enlightenment Tame the Ox” practice. “After Enlightenment Tame the Ox” is a metaphor in which the pure and original nature that is within all sentient beings is described as the Ox and the practice of continued cultivation after enlightenment is referred to as “taming the Ox.”   From early on in the Seon tradition, the work of cultivating the mind has been called “searching for the Ox.” As the mind is awakened through cultivation, the “ox has been found,” but just like when one has an awakening, there are possibilities for continued awakenings, cultivating doesn't end after enlightenment and thus it is said, “After Enlightenment Tame the Ox.” There are those who assert that in this, Master Hanam stands an inheritor of Bojo Jinul, who emphasized the “sudden enlightenment, gradual cultivation” method.

Though Master Hanam was extremely diligent in his regular ascetic practices, it is said that he avoided formality and authority. He always accepted many disciples and eschewing formalities, would enjoy sharing tea and a friendly chat with them. However, when he would encounter some problem, it's said that he would devote himself entirely, to an almost frightening degree, in order to break through the obstacle. This aspect also emerged in his dharma sermons, where he frequently emphasized the essential role of determination:

“Determination means having a decisive mind. Facing something that must be done, it is the mind that does so with utmost certainty, or to put it another way, it is the mind of bravery, of integrity, of steadfastness. One who has established a mind like this faces things both big and small with the same determination to finish them completely. Without one's full determination, mastering even the simplest of skills is difficult. Accordingly, how much harder it must be for someone who renounced the world to search for the truth, if they lack determination. Not even speaking of the search for ultimate truth, the pursuit of success and distinction in the smallest affairs requires a firm decision to reach one's goals.

However, within the mundane world, we are so occupied with the five desires and passions that we are vulnerable to temptations even when we make no special effort to seek out pleasure. As a consequence, it becomes difficult to escape indulgence in these passions, and eventually we come to actively desire them. As such, how can we even dare to wish to make grand achievements, becoming a Buddha or a Patriarch?   Lacking firm determination, even the tiniest accomplishment is difficult.

Determination is not a one-time event, it must occur continuously, with each and every thought. We ultimately succeed only when we've reached the firm state where we no longer turn back on our decisions. Even when it can be said that we've succeeded, it would be wrong to forsake our original determination.”

Questions about Seon 

Question #1: What relationship does Seon meditation have with the lives people are living? In other words, even if people do not practice Seon, does it make any difference? If it does make a difference, then what is the danger in not practicing Seon meditation?

Answer #1: According to the words of Bodhidharma, “The mind is none other than Buddha, Buddha is none other than the path of enlightenment, the path of enlightenment is none other than Seon.” Accordingly, that which is called Seon is nothing more than the mind of sentient beings.

Generally speaking, there are said to be two classifications of the mind of sentient beings. First, there is the pure mind and second is the contaminated mind. The contaminated mind is the mind of 'ignorance and the three poisons of greed, ignorance and hatred' (mumyoung samdok) while the pure mind is the uncontaminated “true thusness” of our original nature (muru jinyeo). Muru jinyeo is the unwavering liberation, like that of all the Buddhas, in accordance with mindfulness and non-duality. Chasing after mumyoung samdok, we make so much negative karma, falling into the six levels of rebirth, endlessly spinning in the cycle of samsara. The pure mind is our correct path and a home of peace and comfort while the contaminated mind is the path of danger, a pit of fire. How could a wise person wish to fall into a pit of fire and endure endless suffering by forgoing the correct path and avoiding a peaceful abode? You have to think very deeply about this point.

Seon meditation (cham seon) is really nothing special. Cham means “to harmonize with,” rehabilitating our pure mind through our harmonization with our true self-nature and not searching about outside.

I pray only that you, together with all sentient beings, correct your mind and bodies and awaken to the unexcelled path of great enlightenment (musang daedo), I hope that you never again fall into the net of evil and unrighteousness and you quickly attain the fruits of Buddhahood.

Question #2: If we have already decided to practice Seon meditation, what kind of attitude of the mind should we have?

Answer #2: If people who practice Seon Meditation clarify the karma of the first step of the great undertaking, they understand that from the very beginning, their original mind is the Buddha, their own mind is the dharma, and as they unwaveringly believe this ultimate fundamental, gradually their doubt must disappear. However, if they are unable to come to this judgment on their own, even though they may practice for an eternity, they will never be able to enter the ultimate path of Buddhahood.

The Great Master Bojo Jinul said, “If we said that the Buddha existed outside of our minds and the dharma existed outside of our self-nature, and if we persistently adhered to this kind of mind in the search for the path of Buddhahood, then even if an eternity passed, even if we immolated ourselves, smashed our bones and used the blood and marrow to copy the scriptures, even if we endured the practice of 'sitting without ever laying down' and purified ourselves by eating only one meal a day every morning, even if we chanted the entire Tripitaka [Buddhist scriptures] and engaged in every type of ascetic practice, this would all account to nothing more than our own troublesome labor, as if we were trying to make rice by boiling sand.” From this we must learn the primary critical point that it is entirely up to us to awaken ourselves, to cultivate ourselves, to create the path of Buddhahood in ourselves. If we say that Buddha is outside of the mind, that Buddha is nothing more than an “external Buddha” and thus, how could the Buddha ever exist in me? That's why it is said “The [external] Buddhas are not my path to enlightenment.”

Question #3: If one is already possessed of the mind that is aroused towards the determination of enlightenment, how must we continue in our cultivation in order to engage in sincere meditative investigation?

Answer 3: Though those who possess the great wisdom that comes with high spiritual capacities can utilize their circumstances to immediately take advantage of a single opportunity without the need for much talking at all, if we were to speak of meditative investigation, it is fitting that we question and question again the vexing words of such hwadu as Zhaozhou's “Mu” and “the cypress in the courtyard,” Dongshan's “three pounds of flax,” and Yunmen's “dried shit stick.” We must investigate these hwadu relentlessly, absorbing our entire body into the effort, as if we were mosquitoes sitting on the back of an iron ox, trying to drive our proboscis into its impenetrable back. If even the tiniest thought of discrimination or any minute artifice in our practice starts to move during this time, the result will be as the ancients said, “scattered study infiltrates the mind and damages wisdom.” Thus, this is the most pertinent and profound problem for seekers of enlightenment to guard against.

As the Master Naong said, “The arising of one thought and the annihilation of another is called life and death, and thus in the moment of life and death if we give all our energy investigating our hwadu, life and death at once will exhaust itself. This immediate extinguishing of life and death is called nirvana. In nirvana, the absence of hwadu is called 'indifference,' and when a hwadu is no longer murky, this is called 'the divine.' When there is neither destruction nor confusion, the divine wisdom of the tranquil void is established.” Accordingly, it is imperative that the learned ones should make this their guiding principle.

Question #4: If we are already truly engaging in meditative investigation, what is it that we are truly exerting our energy towards?

Answer #4: As an ancient master once said, “where energy is lacking, that is where energy can be cultivated.” Likewise, a hwadu, even when not being questioned, on its own accord will inspire questioning, and even when not being investigated, the doors of the six senses naturally open to allow the investigation to arise on its own, going higher and higher, growing smoother and smoother. Only when the hwadu gets to the point that it is like the light of the moon projected on the raging sea, crashing into the waves but not scattering, swallowed by the swells but never swept away, one is nearing the great enlightenment. Arriving at this point, if the discriminating mind appears even the tiniest bit, the simple profundity is lost and the great enlightenment cannot be obtained. Thus, this is something we must earnestly guard against.

Question #5: If we have already truly established our energy and our awakening is certainly completed, what is the final state of this true awakening?

Answer #5: According to the words of an ancient master, “even if someone is without a clear and distinct awakening to the dharma, if they have some sort of awakening, they are still nothing more than a deluded person." He also said, “if you say that you have an awakening, that is like not having been awakened.” Accordingly, if we say that awakening has a final state, then this is exactly not the final state of awakening.

If this is so, would all of the many enlightenment anecdotes of the great masters, like Master Lingyun being awakened when he saw a peach blossom, Master Xiangyan hurling a stone against a bamboo tree, Master Xuansha spraining his toe, and Master Changqing raising the bead screen, be nothing but lies handed down to us?

When Master Yangshan states, “though we can't but say 'awakening,' that awakening is [once it is understood as awakening] it falls into the second grade stage,” he's talking about awakening by half stages.

When Xuansha says, "looking at my respected elder friend daringly, I’m still not complete,” this is truly his sincere kindness.

I wonder if it is correct that these awakenings are at the final state of completion, or if it is right to say that there is no final state of awakening. What are we to do to understand this? Without speaking, I thought for a while and then composed this poem:

             Where the bright moon first springs forth, in the mix of sky and sea,

          When the crying of the monkey on the rock-wall stops.

Question #6: After awakening is already thoroughly complete, what comprises true self-discipline?

Answer #6: An ancient said, “For those who have already passed through the gate, there is no need to insist on taking the ferry again.” If awakening is already complete, how could there possibly be any need to consider self-discipline? Nevertheless, though the clouds and the moon are one in the same, streams and mountains are each different.

Not able to gather a handful of willows, they hang on the jade railing, flying in the spring wind

Question #7: After already disciplining oneself, what is it that comprises true consummation?

Answer #7: A monk asked to Master Zhaozhou, "Can the nut pine also achieve Buddhahood?" Master Zhaozhou replied, “It can.”

“When does it achieve Buddhahood?”

“You have to wait until the sky collapses into the earth.”

“When does the sky collapse into the earth?”

“Wait until the nut pine achieves Buddhahood.”

The ancients, having completely awakened to the truth of the non-arising, show here an occasion of using the mind in a topsy-turvy way, but how should we do things today? Tell quickly, tell it quick. Does the sky collapse into the earth? Does the nut pine achieve Buddhahood? It is no good if you think the sky never collapses into the earth or the nut pine never achieves Buddhahood.

After snapping his finger once he says, "I just missed making a mistake writing my footnote."

Question #8: After already reaching consummation, how can one bring about the perfectly final conclusion?

Answer #8: As an ancient master said, “before your eyes there is no monk and here there is no old master, this is not the dharma in front of you, it is not something that reaches you through your eyes or ears.” The Seon masters of various meditation traditions speak through the standard of these words to show the extent to which their meditation has advanced. I say this here now and everybody forgets it all.

Question #9: From the very beginning of one's initial religious awakening until reaching the very end of the path, what kind of mind is most indispensable and which precious aphorism is most suitable?

Answer #9: The very last line of Shitou Xiqian's Cantongqi (Harmony of Sameness and Difference) states, “Humbly I beg of you who engage in Seon, do not spend your time in vain.” Later, Master Fayan heard this and said, “It is truly difficult to pay back such a veritable blessing,” and I also find it very difficult to pay back a true blessing. However, what are we to know is to be done so as to not spend our lives in vain?

Coughing for a spell, I issued a poem.

Not eating the sweet peach and persimmon

I continue up the mountain and pick a sour pear

Question #10: What difference is there between ganhwa (observing a key phrase or hwadu) and banjo (reflective illumination)? Since Seon meditators are always arguing about this, I pray you might be able to offer a detailed argument to clarify this issue.

Answer #10: I'm laughing as I speak. The melody of the previously questions all sounded the same, but with this question, the wind blows quite a different tune! Nevertheless, try and hear a bit of what I have to say.

When a big elephant comes to a river crossing and passes across the flowing waters, don't draw any conclusion from the fact that rabbits and horses can't touch the bottom.

Do you get it? If you don't get it, then I'm going to speak with you today in detail about this very issue.

A long time ago, Master Yangshan asked Master Weishan, "What is the abode of the true Buddha?" Weishan answered, “by practicing reflective illumination on the boundlessness of the divine spark, through the profundity by which the absence of thought is arrived at through thought itself, conceptions are exhausted and one returns to the source. Eternally abiding in the essential nature, action and practice are not two, and this is the genuine 'thusness' of the true Buddha.”

Hearing these words, Yangshan immediately had a great enlightenment. Later, when Meditation Master Xinwenben heard this hwadu, he said: “though you say, 'by practicing reflective illumination on the boundlessness of the divine spark, through the profundity by which the absence of thought it arrived at through thought itself, conceptions are exhausted and one returns to the source,' when one departs from this, won't there again just be some pure sickness? When someone enters into the mundane world, in going against it and adapting, what can really stain oneself or make one happy or upset? After this, brightness and darkness become completely broken down, and one is turned towards a place that is neither bright nor dark. Then, only after fully penetrating the hwadu, 'there are memorial services at Dabeiyuan' one truly knows the origin and one truly can know the true gist. At that time, from but one eye, the mountains, sky and earth are illuminated with the light of enlightenment, exactly as if the sky was being sliced through by a great sword; who can dare to face this light? It is only when you have such a power that you are truly able to enter easily into the ranks of the sages, diligently cultivating the practices that bring enlightenment, bringing about the fulfillment of the powers of wisdom and compassion, and there is only this path, this doctrine that brings benefit to yourself and others. There is no other way.”

Wouldn't “trace back the boundlessness of the divine radiance” be talking about reflective illumination? And wouldn't “Seeing the memorial service at Dabeiyuan” be referring to a hwadu?

Though Yangshan had already had a great enlightenment when hearing the words “reflect upon the divine radiance,” for what reason was Xinwenben said to have contemplated a hwadu again?

If everyone who has achieved awakening is like Yangshan, we expect there to be nothing more to say, and if we can't reach the level of Yangshan's awakening, our associative thinking not having disappeared, we cannot overthrow our mind of birth and death. If we can't destroy the mind of life and death, how can we possibly be able to speak of any “great enlightenment”?

Here is where Meditation Master Xinwenben speaks particularly to those who, while practicing “reflective illumination,” are unable to be complete in their practice. Master Gaofeng also says something pertinent to this question: “When I heard the hwadu, 'the ten thousand dharmas return to the one, where does the one return?' I broke through the phrase, 'dragging around a corpse.' However, even though I became entirely absorbed into the whole earth, forgetting everything about the subjective and the objective world, composed in meditative absorption and the master of myself, when my master asked me, 'when you are in that place of slumber where there is neither dreams nor thoughts, where is the master then?' I had absolutely nothing to say in return, no means by which to form a response. 

My master again asked me to contemplate a hwadu, 'the master of your wakefulness, where does he seek peace and follow the ways of heaven?' Finally, one day when I was sleeping together with Master Doban, his wooden pillow fell to floor and made a loud noise, hearing this, it was like I had sprung out from a net, bursting free with not a single thought of deliberation, the sky above and earth below in one great peace. Yet at the same time, it was like I was someone I had always been from a long time ago, a traveler coming home as if nothing had changed.”

Here too, isn't “where does the one return” a hwadu? And wouldn't “look for the awakened master” be an example of banjo [careful reflection]?

Though Gaofeng had already firmly stabilized his meditative absorption and become master of himself through the hwadu "where does the one return?" what caused his master to reprimand him so that he would take up yet another hwadu, regarding "the awakened master"?

This teaching, as it is especially given to benefit those who are in the midst of contemplating a hwadu, yet unable to penetrate it exhaustively, how indeed can there be a determining of what is superior and what is inferior, or what is complete and what is partial? Here, one must know that the completion or incompletion of awakening is dependent on the sincerity or deceit of the practitioner, or whether they have or have not achieved the “ultimate unsurpassed ” (gugyeong) and not on the relative merits or depth of any particular means utilized.

I respectfully submit that one should not create incoherent views and be defeated by self-created obstacles and difficulties, according to the true teachings of all the Buddhas and the Patriarchs..

In a letter written in reply to Vice-Minister Rong, Meditation Master Dahui Zonggao explained:

Paying close attention at all times simply to those places full of the karma of daily life, when I clearly abandon any sense of right or wrong with others and receive someone else's benefit, if I were to carefully examine that, after all, those benefits were drained from somewhere else, then normally something that is fresh becomes ripened on its own accord. When the fresh has already become ripened, then the ripened will actually become fresh. Where then is the site of ripening?

It is precisely within the five aggregates, the six bases of the senses, the twelve sense fields, the eighteen elements of cognition, and the twenty-five stages of existence, and the karmic consciousness of ignorance, where the discursive operation of mind and perception flicker day and night like the shimmering of heated air, never resting even for a single moment. Though all suffering issues forth from our wandering through life and death, with human beings as mere pawns, if these pawns have already become the focus of meditation, then cessation, enlightenment, 'thus-ness' and buddha nature will all suddenly become manifest.

When this manifestation arises, no further manifestation even need be considered, this is why the ancient masters, upon achieving awakening, said, 'when the eye is reciprocated, it is as if the light of one thousand suns shines, such that you can't escape the illumination of all things in the universe; when the ear is reciprocated, as in the deepest of valleys, there is no sound, great or small, that does not clearly echo.' As such, in this type of endeavor, there is nowhere else to search, no other power to wish upon. Naturally, as karma is manifest, it is a vivacious and lively affair. If you cannot achieve something like this, then using your mind that is focused on the affairs of the mundane world, try to reconsider those places that have been beyond your capacity to consider. Where is that place that goes beyond your capacity to contemplate?

A monk once asked Master Zhaozhou, 'Does even a dog have buddha nature? Or not?'

When Master Zhaozhou answered, 'No,' [using a single syllable represented by the character mu 無] what kind of capabilities do you suppose rest within that character? I pray you give it as much attention as possible. As there is no place allowing you to calculate or deploy your thinking, there is nothing but misery in the pit of your stomach, your mind in anguish, and this is exactly the right time for you to become awakened to the fact that your eighth consciousness does not operate together in turn with the other seven. As such, when awakening takes place, don't just let go, you must attend only to the character 'mu.' As you come and go into it, the place of arising naturally becomes the place of ripening and the place of ripening naturally becomes the place of arising.

Generally speaking, isn't carefully investigating the place of karma in daily life considered “reflective illumination?” With the mind afflicted by defiled thought, in returning to the character of “mu” and contemplating it deeply without letting go, isn't this a hwadu? If that is indeed the case, Master Dahui likewise taught people using the method of "reflective illumination" and combined this with instruction in an overall strategy of contemplating a hwadu. But as he made indelibly clear when he said, “as cessation, nirvana, thus-ness and buddhahood is suddenly manifest, the place of arising naturally becomes the place of ripening, and the place of ripening will naturally become the place of arising," he wasn't simply teaching a method or strategy. If we contemplate the logic implicit within what he is saying, in the benefit gained in the two practices of contemplating hwadu and engaging in reflective illumination, how could there be deep and shallow?

We can not separately make mention one by one of the many occasions in which those of old have given us their instruction in a way similar to what I've been describing, maintaining no distinction between ganwha or banjo. Nevertheless, haven't we come to learn that these days students everywhere attack one another and think of such teaching as quackery?

There are those who are in the process of investigating their assigned hwadu in accordance with the teachings, but then get to a point where they rest for a moment. Soon, they feel satisfied with their progress and no longer moving forward they try applying logical reasoning to their case. As a result, before long they do away with the course they've been following, as if they desire to cast away with the whole endeavor. This leaves them totally unable to understand the fact that all of the boundless means of instruction from the teachings of the Buddhas and Patriarchs have arisen from their obligation to us, such that they would go through mud and water to exhaustively create opportunities to instruct our awakening. Such people have fallen into a deep pit of cold inactivity, and are unable to budge even an inch.

There are others who, in the process of practicing “reflective illumination” in accordance with the dharma, after acquiring but a dash of accomplishment on the path, thinking they've accomplished this all on their own, no longer carefully investigate their mind and they come to hold eccentric thoughts. When they meet with others, they immediately talk about their progress, displaying their knowledge and wisdom. Such people are wholly unable to understand how the fundamental duty and obligation of those who wear the robes totally consumed the Buddhas and Patriarchs, piercing into the very marrow of their bones, over and over again, completely cutting them off from the very root of their being. Such people, unable to understand the light and shadows in the gate to truth, construct for themselves a personal space of enlightened luxury. If such behaviors continue and are allowed to stand, the Buddha's righteous teaching is practically thrown in the dirt. What a lamentable, painful thing.

Your thoughts having come to this point, I dare say that your questioning shows that you know what to focus your energy on.

Given my limited knowledge and lack of study, how could I, with my few words pointing out some obvious things, possibly bring any succor to the evil and deep seeded diseases of this hopeless world? Because of this, I too am unsure and struggling with what to do.

Nevertheless, a wise person once said, "Don't investigate dead words, but rather, investigate the living words.” This is because dead words rely on rationality, arguments, information and discursive understanding, while living words are void of rationality, arguments, diversion and grasping.

The fact that seekers who practice Seon meditation as a matter of course pursue both banjo and ganhwa in accordance with the dharma is just like when a clump of things all burn together within one fire. If you try to get to close to it, your face will burn. As there is no place to permanently affix the wisdom of the entire teachings of the Buddha, won't there always be occasions to argue about the countless things regarding hwadu or banjo, differences or similarities. If you simply meditate lucidly on one thought that appears before you so that there is nothing else remaining, even if you ignore 100,000 dharma sermons and the infinite divine mysteries, as you apply yourself completely, seeing and acting truthfully as you practice in accordance with the dharma, you will still be able to obtain the great freedom from the cycle of life and death. Therefore, I wish only that it is exactly here that all of your thoughts may reside.

※ As the following ten questions are direct quotations taken from Patriarch Na-ong's questions, the text is omitted at this point.

<Source: Hanam Ilballok >

Doctrinal Distinction

Master Beophui left us neither one line of writing, nor did she offer even one word expounding on the dharma in front of an audience. However, through her life, the silent reverberations of her dharma remain to this day. At a time in Indian society when women were looked upon simply as a type of possession, the Buddha recognized the ability of women to reach the highest pinnacles of achievement and he approved the establishment of the female monastic order. For this time, such an act was positively revolutionary. He recognized that women were similarly capable of enlightenment owing to the dignity inherent in the character of human beings. He asserted that it wasn't by social status or gender that but rather “how one thought, how one spoke and how one acted” that determined whether one was noble or base.

However, if one looks across the breadth of Korean history, it is clear that women have continually been devalued. From far back in time, the spiritual prison women found themselves in, built by the prejudice and theories of karma among those in control of politics and religion as well as the self-abasement of women themselves, has served as a major obstacle to be overcome by female monastics. Moreover, needless to say, the aftereffects of the 500 year Joseon Dynasty practice of namjon yeobi (respect men, abase women) were also a major hurdle to overcome.

Master Beophui was thus someone who, though born into this difficult situation, still was able to achieve enlightenment as a woman. Her life was based on a gentle, sincere faith and a pure ascetic practice. Building on her deep faith and her indomitable spirit that simply did not know how to quit, she showed how her actions made her able to establish a foundation for cultivating the dharma purely relying on her staunch belief. Expressing through her sincere ascetic practices the proper appearance of an upstanding practitioner, Master Beophui conveyed a model of behavior to other Buddhists for as long as she lived. But this was not all. Always appearing as if to hide the powers of her spiritual attainment, she made constant sacrifices to help her students' training, taking upon herself the most onerous of others' tasks, earning inestimable merit through her lifelong service. Maintaining constant meditative concentration, both Seon and life were the same for her, and thus, with meditation, wisdom and virtue abundant, she was truly a complete person. Beginning with the time when Beophui was practicing there, Gyeonseongam Hermitage has stood out as a place fitting of its reputation as Korea's first meditation hall for nuns, and it has served as a gathering point for many female Seon practitioners, remaining to this day the pre-eminent bhiksuni meditation hall in the Korean Buddhist tradition. This is, of course, owing entirely to the fact that Beophui served as this meditation hall's sturdy cornerstone.

Walking or at rest, sitting or lying down, throughout all her life, with each step representing the broad-mindedness of the Buddha, Master Beophui embodied the notion that “our ordinary minds are precisely enlightenment” through her actions lived in her everyday life. This ordinary mind spoken of here is the state where that natural mind as it is sees all things as they are naturally, without any discriminating thoughts or deluded thoughts attached. The goal of Buddhist practice is to attain and maintain this mind. Though on the one hand, this may seem to be a more or less simple task, in reality, it is not quite so. This ordinary mind is not the everyday mind of unenlightened beings. It refers to the mind that accepts the whole where all confrontation and conflicts are dissolved. If we quietly look upon our minds, we'll see that within each day there may be numerous times that we become angry, then happy, getting sad at something or other and worried about something else. All of this stems from some form of delusion or mental distinction. When something we want is lacking we get angry, when something we do is seen favorably we are happy, and when we lose someone we love, we are sad. Only when we appreciate the whole of what we have and what we are as it is, we move beyond this shifting happiness and anger. When comparing ourselves to others or to ourselves in the past, if we have less we are angry and if we have more we are happy. Without this type of comparison and distinction, we come to see everything as it is, and the fluctuations of joy and sorrow will not arise. What is happy by itself is happy, what is sad by itself is sad. This is the “ordinary mind,” this is the mind of the enlightened one.

A life lived in this way is the greatest of dharma sermons, the embodiment of the 84,000 dharmas, the edification of the masses achieved by itself. Staying at the Master's side, the gasping mind calmed down, quarrels dissipated, and the humble mind emerged. Beophui's enlightenment of the people came about just like this. Just in looking at her, one's mind would become sublime, and on our own mind of faith and devotion would then arise. Though she didn't speak with smooth eloquence or freely expound with profound erudition, she possessed a recondite power capable of bringing about change in the minds of all those she encountered.

In just this way, without a sound, those who live with ferocious intensity can, simply through the example of their living, take on the appearance of a completely perfect dharma sermon within every moment of their entire life. Within such a life, we can earnestly sense in our heart a genuine dharma message that we cannot otherwise find, even within any of the most magnificent words. This was Master Beophui's underlying strength as well as the strength of Seon.

Sudoksa  

Renowned as a meditation center of study and virtue, Sudoksa has been the home to many Zen masters. Modern giants from the temple have included Zen Masters Gyeongheo and Mangong, and in 1984 the temple was promoted to status as a full monastic training center. The Main Buddha Hall at the temple is one of Korea’s oldest existing structures (National Treasure No. 49, built in 1308 C.E.). The temple and its branch temples have contributed more than 600 Buddhist cultural treasures stretching all the way back to the Baekje Kingdom. Many are on display at the Rose of Sharon (Korea) Buddhist Cultural Properties Museum.

At the age of 37, he entered the Buddhist order as a student under Master Seokdu at Singyesa Monastery on Mt. Geumgangsan. In order to find a true master, he then embarked again on the path of the wanderer. However, after being convinced that he had to become enlightened through a practical method based on his own direct investigation and not from being entranced with the words of others, he turned his back on his two years of wandering and again returned to Singyesa. Entering into the retreat in the meditation hall at the Mireugam Hermitage near Singyesa, he said the following to his fellow monks, “Because I've become a monk so late, while my karmic connection with wisdom is thin, I can't engage in any leisurely devotion. Please allow me to simply sit constantly night and day, maintaining strict silence and taking no breaks to rest or walk between meditation periods.” After receiving their consent in this way and devoting himself to this practice for three full months, his buttocks became inflamed and covered in sores, such that his clothes and his cushion were on the verge of becoming stuck together. Because he sat down once and then remained like a heavy stone mortar, devoting himself so strenuously and never budging, he earned his nickname as the “stone mortar meditator.”

Still not enlightened even after spending his first five years of monkhood practicing such strenuous devotion, one late night in 1930, at the age of 42, he constructed a tiny mud hut behind Beopgiam Hermitage. With a hole in one corner for his bodily functions and another hole to receive his food once a day, his hut was built to completely wall himself off from the outside world. He pledged that until he reached enlightenment, he would die before emerging from his tiny abode. In the summer of 1931, as the morning rain cleared, he kicked out one side of the hut and emerged. One year and six months had passed. A song of enlightenment (odosong) rang out:

In a sparrow's house under the ocean, a deer is sitting on an egg

In a spider's web in a burning fire, a fish is making tea

Inside this house, who can know what's going on?

White clouds fly west, the moon moves east.

After this, Master Hyobong practiced retreats at many different meditation halls, one by one receiving a seal of approval (inga) of his enlightenment experience from each head master. In 1937, his 49th year, he went to Songgwangsa at Mt. Jogyesan. He had said that Songgwangsa felt in no way unknown to him, that it was very familiar, as if he was certain he had spent much time in a previous life living there at the seminary. Master Hyobong also received his Buddhist name here, when, in a dream, Gyobong, the 16th dharma heir to Bojo Jinul, appeared to him and said, “Bring vibrant light to this monastery” and bestowed on him his name of Hyobong, together with a set of verses (gatha). Master Hyobong also gave himself his name of “Hangnul” (Studying [Ji]nul), as both a sign of respect and as an indication of how much he had learned from the Great Master Jinul. During the ten years at Songwangsa, while filling the position of head master, he reconstructed the Monastery compound and taught many disciples.

In 1946, Master Hyobong was made the first Patriarch of the newly inaugurated Gaya Monastic Compound, a comprehensive training seminary for monks, headquartered in Haein-sa Monastery. In 1954, he participated in the preparatory committee working in conjunction with the Buddhist Sect Purification movement. In 1962, at the age of 74, he became the first Supreme Patriarch of the Unified Jogye Order and devoted much of his effort to its revival.

In 1966, at the age of 78, with his vitality now in decline, he moved to the Seoraegak Pavillion at Pyochungsa in Miryang. A few months after his arrival, on October 15th, during the morning chanting service, with the aid of his disciples he assumed the lotus position as was his ordinary training regimen and stated to those around him, “I will be going today.” Focusing to the very last moment on the 'Mu' hwadu that he had not stopped practicing for even one moment since he had become a monk, at ten o'clock, with his eyes closed, the Master's prayer beads that had been fingered for so long in his right hand finally came to a stop. His “Song of Nirvana” was the final thing he left behind, a few days before passing into nirvana:

All of the dharma I have spoken

all of it superfluous

should one ask of today's affairs

the moon is reflected on a thousand rivers 

Writings

There are no works written by Master Hyobong directly. There are only the Collection of Seon Master Hyobong's Dharma Discourses, a collection of dharma talks and sermons compiled by the Association of Hyobong Disciples and published in 1975, and the newly revised and enlarged edition of the same, The Collected Dharma Talks of Hyobong, published in 1995.

Doctrinal Distinction

The period of Master Hyobong's life began with the ruin of the Joseon Dynasty, continued through thirty-five years of Japanese colonial occupation, and then passed through the post-liberation period of economic ruin and ideological tumult. Within this generational backdrop, Master Hyobong, centered around Songgwang-sa, strove to inherit the spirit of the “samādhi and prajñā society(Jeonghye Gyeolsa)” established by the Goryeo era National Master Bojo Jinul (1158 – 1210). The fact that Master Hyobong came to this emphasis on Master Jinul's dual practice of meditation and wisdom can be considered as stemming from an awareness that the sense of duty among monks to be ascetics must be recovered, given the vulgarization and Japanization of the Korean contemporary monastic sangha that was caused by the married monk system instituted during the period of Japanese colonialism. In short, he believed that the harmonizing spirit of the dual method of meditation and wisdom was the only way to solve the problems facing the contemporary Buddhist community, since Buddhism's most fundamental issue of “awakening” depended on “the path of cultivating the mind.”

The Master once said, “Though the courtyards of the monks of the past were each set up differently, when it came to the way they led other seekers, they were all kind. The kindest among them included the Sixth Patriarch Huineng of the ancient period, Zhaozhou of the middle period, and Jinul of the later period.” In this way he clarified that he is following the teachings of the three masters. The common point among these three monks can be known in the fact that they all locate the combined study of the three practices of morality, concentration and wisdom, directly within the mind. This type of thought comes through in the following dharma talk given by Master Hyobong:

If you want to cultivate wisdom (prajñā) without having morality, the result will be an arid wisdom and you won't be able to escape the condition of life and death. Since the three practices of morality, meditation and wisdom serve as the gate of entrance for all of the ancient Buddhas and Patriarchs, any teaching not on this path is a heretic teaching. In addition, while meditating, those who investigate a hwadu must cultivate both meditation and wisdom, for without the proper energy of concentration the hwadu will often be interrupted. During meditation, only by thoroughly awakening to your hwadu can you escape the condition of life and death. Wisdom without the vitality of meditation is like a castle in the air. (from the sermon at the winter retreat, 1 December 1958, Geumdang Seonwon Hall at Donghwasa Temple)

Like in the words spoken above, Master Hyobong understood that, “the investigation of a hwadu in Seon Buddhism is the combined cultivation of meditation and wisdom.” In short, it is precisely in the practice of the Ganhwaseon method (Observing the hwadu) that the viewpoint regarding the genuine meaning of the dual practice of meditation and wisdom becomes clear.

North and South Lay Foundations for Buddhist Temple  

A Buddhist temple in North Korea, destroyed by U.S. bombs during the Korean War, is being rebuilt by South Koreans as part of an effort to improve ties and establish a new road to national unification.

The New York Times published an article describing the efforts by South Korea in Korea's city of Singye, or Holy Valley in English translation, to rebuild a temple destroyed during the American bombing of North Korea in its Oct. 5 edition. Writes New York Times reporter James Brooke, "But few are as rich symbolically as the temple reconstruction...materials from South Korea and labor from North Korea are joining to restore the legacy of a common religious heritage."

The Los Angeles Times, quoting a South Korean monk overseeing the reconstruction, said the project is intended to give the North Koreans "an opportunity to revel in the culture that they share with the South."

The Singye Temple dates back to 519. It will be one of the few Buddhist monuments that stands in North Korea after the generations of religious oppression under Communist rule. Defectors relate that persecution still exists, according to the New York Times.

For North Koreans, the temple is historic because their late leader Kim Il-sung visited it in 1947, before it was destroyed during the Korean War (1950-1953), with his son Kim Jong-il who rules the nation now.

The reconstruction, begun 11 months ago and led South Koreans monks and workers who reside at the site for the project, is estimated to cost $10 million, much of it being paid by the South Korean government.

According to the L.A. Times, foreign tourists can also pitch in by donating an average of $20 to write their names on one of the roof tiles.

Once completed in 2007, it will be opened to visiting South Koreans and foreigners coming to Mt. Geumgang, located east of the temple site. The temple is off-limits to local North Koreans at present.

The Ven. Jejeong, the South Korean head monk coordinating the reconstruction at Singye, says he cannot go outside the 6-foot-high wire fence and has no access to cell phones or e-mails.

The New York Times quoted Jejeong as saying, “From South Korea's point of view, the rebuilding of one national historic monument today means one fewer reconstruction bills to pay when the Koreas finally join again. It is a logical extension of the South's 'sunshine policy' of engagement and eventual reunification with the North."

"I think culture is an easier path toward unification that politics or economics...That is why I was interested in this project," he told the L.A. Times. 

In the winter of 1927, the year he turned 35, Master Gyeongbong held a service at Geungnagam Hermitage to preach a sermon on the Flower Adornment Sutra (the Hwa-eom Sutra). Starting on the first day of the sermon, his hwadu began appearing to him with an extraordinary clarity, and on the fourth day of the services his sights bursted wide open as if a wall in front of him suddenly gave way, and he experienced the boundary of the complete and perfect image of the "universal circle" (irwonsang). The morning of the following day, he experienced the state of "not two," where one's self and the universe are not separate.

Though he came upon the edge of enlightenment twice, the doubt about his hwadu was still not completely released and so he again entered into absorption in his hwadu. The following early dawn, though there was no wind, the candle made a "flutter, flutter" sound and in the moment the flame danced, Gyeongbong slapped his knee, gave out a roaring laugh, and dashed outside. The heap of doubt that had persisted despite his strenuous efforts finally dissolved to make way for his self-nature. Intoxicated in the world of great freedom after twenty years since his entrance in the sangha, he danced alone under the full moon. 

Having searched for myself in all myriad things

True Self (Juingong, lit. protagonist/hero or main actor) appeared right before my eyes

Ha! Ha! Meeting it now, there is no doubt

Brilliant hues of udumbara flowers spill over the whole world

Master Gyeongbong's first serious step in the path towards the enlightenment of all beings began at age 38 in February 1930, by his appointment to the position of Director of the Buddhist Seminary in Tongdosa. Transcending the difference between Meditative Practice and Doctrinal Study with his enlightenment, his unbending labors to awaken all beings only came to an end fifty years later. After serving in various positions, including head priest of Tongdosa, Gyeongbong took the position of head master of the Hoguk Seonwon center in November 1953 at Geungnagam Hermitage, where he would stay until his entering nirvana. During this thirty-year residence at Geungnagam Hermitage, he would guide the way of truth to monastics and lay practitioners who were seeking the dharma.

Starting at the age of 81, on the first Sunday of every month, he held regular services that drew a crowd of a thousand people that wished to hear his sermons. Even at the age of 90, with the aid of his disciples, he would rise to his position on the dharma seat to give dharma talks. Unlike other masters, he would usually preach from his own experiences, rather than relying on using quotations from the records of the Patriarchs.

On July 17, 1982, after summoning his disciple Myeongjeong, who asked, "Even after Master departs, I still wish to meet you. What is your true appearance?" he replied, "Try touching the wooden crossbar of the main gate deep in the night in the third hour" and then entered nirvana at that age of 91.

2. Writings

Adept at Chinese poetry and brush and ink, Master Gyeongbong also left behind many paintings and calligraphic works. In addition, from the age 18 until his passing at the age of 90, he unfailingly recorded the important events of each day in his journal, a work that allows us to see a detailed picture of the state of society as well as the conditions of Korean Buddhism in his day. After his enlightenment, Master Gyeongbong also engaged in continued correspondence with the acclaimed Seon masters of his time, including Masters Hanam, Mangong, and Yongseong. In particular, his correspondence with Master Hanam concerning the practice of Seon meditation is captured in twenty some letters, and owing to Master Gyeongbong's safekeeping, those valuable texts still exist today. His disciple Myeongjeong compiled these materials in the 1994 text, Gyeongbong Daeseonsa Seonmuk, and the 1979 work, Gyeongbong Daeseonsa Beobeojip. Myeongjeong sunim, while editing works such as the compilations of the Master's dharma talks, calligraphy and artwork, has spent over fourty years protecting the Geungnagam Hermitage from which Master Gyeongbong had departed.

3. Intellectual Distinction

To achieve enlightenment, Master Gyeongbong investigated the "what is this?" hwadu, bringing him to the edge of enlightenment on two occasions. This was the state of the "universal circle" and "not two"; the dissolving of the boundary between self and others, subjectivity and objectivity, as expressed in the singular form of a circle.  And in this he experienced that all phenomena that appears before the senses are created by the mind, and that that mind is also the ordinary mind. Therefore, he had experienced the truth that all existence as it is, in nature, is in a relationship where it and the self are not two. The only difference between the minds of sentient beings deluded by illusory thought, and those of an enlightened mind, is the ability to vividly and clearly see the universe without suffering or conflict. As described in the Master's journal one year later, this is the experience of "Tathagata Seon."

Nevertheless, his heap of doubt that remained though he strove so diligently in his investigation of the "what is this?" hwadu only melted away through his enlightenment while hearing the sound of a candle fluttering in the wind. This awakening was not merely an intellectual confirmation of a reflection on self-nature; it was an empirical awakening brought by the vivid confirmation of the true form of the True Self (Juingong) when he had driven himself into a state so full of doubt that there was no escape. The Juingong had in fact never been far from himself. Finally then, Master Gyeongbong had experienced the meaning of Patriarchal Seon.

Looking with the eye of enlightenment, everything became so completely self-evident. In his dharma talks, he said, “Why don't the sentient beings understand that their eyes and ears are masked in the darkness of delusion, so they are entirely unable to see or feel this -- that the immeasurably luminous realm of the Dharma nature is as it always used to be, where the light of the moon is always transparent and the wind is always fresh?”

And Master Gyeongbong also compared life to a dream. Once he said, “even if all the sentient beings in the entire universe lived for one hundred years, if they are unable to see the true Juingong, they are simply in a slumber within a dream.” He wondered why he had even sought the Buddha from so far away, the object of such fervent belief, feeling as though he existed separately in some distant realm. In the eyes of the Master, he could experience the Buddha firsthand, who was 'right in front of my eyes, as familiar as my own name.'

Jogye Order's 25 Temple Distirct Head Temples  

Tongdosa is one of Korea’s five “Palace of the Jewel of Nirvana” temples, where the relics of the Buddha substitute for a statue. Precepts Master Jajang brought the relics, including part of the Buddha’s robes, from China and enshrined them. Consequently, the temple represents the Buddha of Korea’s three Jewel Temples and it also is a Full Monastic Training Temple, with Yeongchuk Monastery. Mt. Yeongchuksan above the temple resembles Mt. Grdhrakatu where the Buddha delivered the Lotus Sutra, and consequently the name of the temple means “Pass Through (to) Enlightenment.” In addition, all monks have to pass through the Diamond Platform at the temple, where ordinations take place. The temple has had many famous monks including Seon Master Gyeongbong; there are more than 20 hermitages scattered around the grounds; and the Tongdosa Museum is the only one in the world dedicated to the preservation of Buddhist temple paintings.

More Information> The Temple Without a Buddha Statue: Tongdosa

Tongdosa, ＂Pass into Enlightenment,＂ Temple is the first of the ＂Three Jewels＂ temples of Korea representing the Buddha. It is traditionally a Seon Temple and as far as the number of buildings is concerned, 65, it is the largest temple in Korea.

Tongdosa Temple, once a center of Korean Buddhism, was built in 646, in the reign of Queen Seondeok by Master Jajang on his return from China. One of Korea's greatest monks, Master Jajang, brought relics of the Buddha with him and these he enshrined at Tongdosa Temple.
http://www.tongdosa.or.kr

From then on, Master Jeongang, who had taken on the position of Head Master of the Bogwang Seonwon (Meditation Hall) at Tongdosa at the age of only 32, presided over many different meditation halls (Seonwon) across the land, including the Bokcheon Seonwon at Beopjusa, the Donghwasa Seonwon, the Seonwon at Sudoam Hermitage, and cultivated numerous disciples.

Master Jeongang never showed a single flaw in his dharma discourses and teachings. In matters of dharma he never went easy on either masters or disciples. Still, his love for his disciples was exceptional.

For example, Master Songdam, the current head master of the Yonghwa Seonwon and a disciple of Master Jeongang, was practicing the discipline of silence in those days. But when the Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950, it became very difficult for him to maintain his silence in those circumstances. Thereupon, Master Jeongang took on the management of a store in the marketplace, allowing Master Songdam to safely take refuge in the attic of the store, and therefore made it possible for him to continue his special practice. Receiving such continuing unconditional help like this, Songdam completed ten whole years of this practice but had yet to bear even a hint showing that he had gained any enlightenment. Seeing this, Jeongang, who had treated Songdam better than his own son, finally beat him mercilessly. The following day, Songdam let out a lion's roar, and to pay back the kindness of his master, he has become a towering figure in the sangha, rising high to lead the lineage of the Korean Seon Buddhism of today.

In 1963, Master Jeongang established the Beopbo Seonwon at Yonghwasa in Incheon. Without distinguishing between monastics and lay followers, he served as a light to all practitioners, clarifying their minds through his dharma sermons. At the age of 77, in 1975, after 61 years in the sangha, at two o'clock in the afternoon on January 13th, after ascending the dharma platform, he entered nirvana at the completion of this short dharma sermon:

What is the suffering of birth and death?

Ha!!!

Nine times nine multiplied backwards is still eighty-one.

Though the master's body had already returned to the earth and wind, his formless dharma body remains to this day preaching the dharma, still remaining in the position of Head Master of Beopbo Seonwon; transferring the merit of his accomplished enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Master Sondgam was Master Jeongang's senior disciple and among his fifty or so other disciples were Masters Jeonggong, Jeong-u, Jeongmu, Jeongdae, and Jeongnak. In addition, these disciples also had another 200 disciples following them.

Doctrinal Distinction

Out of the many methods of Seon meditation, Master Jeongang especially emphasized the Patriarchal Seon transmitted through Live Phrase (hwalgu)investigation.

The Master said that the method of Seon meditation was the one genuine eternal truth and that this truth was the awakening to your original countenance. Moreover, he said that in awakening to one's original face and understanding the truth of no life and death, samsara cannot take root; awakening to this truth that samsara cannot take root and being assured of this enlightenment is what is meant by the “hwalgu Seon meditation method.”

In addition, he said that Seon meditation was drilling through a gongan (Jp. koan, Ch. gongan), impossible to be analyzed by intellectual understanding. Just as you can only truly know if a glass of water is cold or warm by drinking it, if you do not have any direct experience, you can never awaken to the truth of a gongan. In this way, Seon is a path of self-awareness to bring about awakening. It is not an objective perception, but rather the work of intuitive understanding, the accomplishment of awakening to the infinite creative power that resides within, through the process of one's exhaustive self-examination.

The representative hwadu that Master Jeongang used while cultivating his many disciples was the “panchi saengmo.” Panchi saengmo means “on a plank's (pan) teeth (chi), hair (mo) grows (saeng)” and originates from Master Zhaozhou's answer to the question, “What was the reason that Bodhidharma came from the west?” Master Jeongang said that when asking, “how could hair grow from teeth on a plank?” the place of totally unknowable doubt created by this hwadu was a place where neither illusion or desire could become attached.

It is totally taboo from the perspective of Seon to use as your own the analyses of the gongan by the old Patriarchs. This is due precisely to the fact that awakening can never be the simple imitation of others. Moreover, a gongan is not a riddle that can be solved through our intelligence nor can it be unwound through our logical analysis. Therefore Master Jeongang asserted that “First comes Seon meditation and second is also Seon meditation. Third, fourth, and fifth are also Seon meditation. The face of a true practitioner is the energy devoted vigorously to practicing Seon meditation for nothing other than solving the great matter of life and death.”

In addition, he said that it was wrong to search for Buddha or to exert energy in order to find Buddha, emphasizing that our own true nature was precisely the Buddha and that the Buddha did not exist separately, estranged from this true nature.

The master also completely exercised the practice of “freedom from possessions” (musoyu). Saying that true freedom never came in possessing things, he argued that such freedom could only be gained in musoyu. Telling his disciples, “after my death, don't save my remains,” he displayed his musoyu spirit to the very end, not wanting to leave even a single ash of his cremated body behind.

In 1967, at the age of 68, he assumed the position of the third Patriarch of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, in 1970, he served as the second Head Master of the Haeinsa Monastic Compound(Haein Chongnim), and in 1972 he served as the fourth Patriarch of the Jogye Order. Once again in 1978, he became the sixth Jogye Patriarch, but noting, “I hate continuing in the position of Patriarch,” he resigned the position. Following this, Master Goam went to Hawaii to stay with his disciple Daewon for the purpose of propagating Buddhist teachings abroad. Here he volunteered to take on the role of offering aims for the sake of the public and gave five or six dharma sermons a month. Then in 1985, he traveled to India, Southeast Asia, Australia and other countries on a pilgrimage to transmit the dharma. Even at the age of 86, he visited Europe and the United States, forsaking no one, expending all his energy to offer dharma sermons and engage in propagation activities, including offering the bodhisattva precepts to the Korean immigrants in each of the places that he visited.

In 1988, at the age of 89 and nearing the end of his years, he called together his disciples at the Yongtap Seonwon Hall in Haeinsa and told them, “Be careful as you live. The law of cause and effect is clearly present” after which he left the following “Verse of Nirvana” and passed away.

The color of the fall leaves on Mt. Gayasan are rich and deep

hereby we know the autumn of the universe

with the frost, the leaves fall and return to their roots

September's bright full moon shines its light on the void

Among Master Goam's numerous disciples are Daewon, the receiver of his dharma transmission and the Head Master of Hangnimsa in Gongju; Gukbong, the paragon (hanju) of the Yongtap Seonwon Hall at Haein-sa; and Jinwol, who received a doctorate from the University of California-Berkeley and now serves as the head of the Jeonggagwon Temple at Dongguk University.

Writings

Mater Goam left no written works during his life. However, after his death, a compilation of his dharma sermons, Jabi bosal ui gil (The Path of the Compassionate Bodhisattva), was published in 1990.

Doctrinal Distinction

When examining the dharma lectures of Master Goam, though his erudition in Seon teachings is quite evident, he did not focus solely on Seon. Even while he may have focused specifically on “perceiving the Buddha nature,” he did this according to the various capacities of different people, administering precepts to some, while also living a common life together with the general public. Though he displayed no extraordinary discernment into the Seon teachings, neither did he suffer from any deficiencies. To the contrary, he made up for whatever shortcomings he may have had through his compassion and humble mindedness. That said, his dharma lectures were nevertheless infused with the spirit of China's Linji sect and the unique voice of Ganhwaseon (or observing the hwadu). The content he emphasized through his meditation retreat lectures encapsulated just such broad meanings.

His point of emphasis was this: “During the meditation season, while immersed in your hwadu or released from it, in all activities no matter what you see and hear, as in the saying 'in all things alike, water is water, mountain is mountain' (susu sansan dudu mulmul),this is the reality of absolute existence. You must become the hwadu.”

A sacred thing is covering the entire cosmos

you search for its inside and outside, but you can't even see the end of your own nose

you deeply ponder your thoughts and emotions, but you can't see your mind's true nature

Do you know what it meant when the Buddha held up that flower?

Here, the thing that is called sacred is the original mind. Even without an extended analysis of what this sacredness is, it covers and exceeds the universe. Simultaneous with the providence of our mind's creation is the true essence of the universe, which is also the foundation for the attainment of Buddhahood. There can be no inside or outside of the mind. Thus, if you say you are searching for mind, there is no target for you to find. Though there was nothing unique in Master Goam's insight grasping the totality of the universe within the dharmakāya Buddha, his was a perspective realized directly through his own practice.

“When practicing Seon and learning the dharma, what is it that you seek? When you sweep away the 10,000 delusions, forgetting even the mind, everything in the universe is your true, original nature.”

When we personify Buddha nature, all of the mountains, rivers and land become our original true countenance. Yet despite such grandiose conceptions, no matter where Master Goam was, he neither set himself above others nor tried to gain attention for himself, instead, he lowered himself constantly by putting into practice direct actions of humility. This humility is the foundation on which human arrogance is conquered and it becomes a motivating force that give others a deep and lasting impression. Thus, while volunteering to give daily offerings to the Buddha while at Yujeomsa Temple on Mt. Geumgangsan, he always managed to heat the water of the baths and straighten up the shoes of the other practitioners. Moreover, even after he turned 70, he always washed his clothes by himself, never ending this type of work, even up until the final days preceding his death. In emphasizing that, “we should not distinguish between high and low sentient beings, but instead respect them all. This is precisely being of service to all sentient beings” he offers to us an inestimable instruction on how to truly act with complete humility. Criticizing traditional masculine family customs, Haeinsa's Master Seongcheol, who asked that anyone who wanted to meet with him must first do 3000 prostrations, called Master Goam the Bodhisattva of Compassion, noting his maternal loving kindness that he offered to anyone he met. It was with just such humility and compassion that Master Goam leaves to us a different type of “family custom.”

Jogye Order's 25 Temple Distirct Head Temples 

Haeinsa Temple is one of the three Jewel Temples representing the Dharma or Teachings as it houses the 81,258 Tripitaka Koreana woodblocks – designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is one of the 10 Avatamsaka (Garland Sutra) temples established during the Silla Dynasty as well as one of the five full monastic training temples and the repository of a long tradition of preserving the Zen tradition. It has been home to many outstanding Zen masters and the current Patriarch of the Jogye Order, Ven. Beopjeon, resides at Haeinsa.

Founding Date : 802

Address : : #10 Chiin-ri, Gaya-myeon, Hapcheon-gun, South Gyeongsang Province

Tel : 82-55-931-1001

URL : http://www.haeinsa.or.kr

The world's outer appearance is originally emptiness

Do people point to emptiness because the mind resides there?

For the withered tree above the crags, there are no seasons

when spring arrives flowers bloom, in fall, it bears fruit

Master Hyobong accepted this verse and endorsed Kusan's enlightenment. Beginning in 1954, he assisted Master Hyobong as an avid supporter of the Buddhist purification movement. In 1966, with Master Hyobong's passing, Kusan returned to Songgwangsa, following his master's dying request to “restore Songgwangsa [which was mostly destroyed in the Korean War] and train many great people there.” Following the developments at Haeinsa, after three years effort the Jogyesan Monastic Compound (Jogye Chongnim) was established, the second Chongnim in Korea, at Songgwangsa in 1969.

As the first patriarch of the Monastic Compound, Master Kusan instituted a fundamental training program for his disciples, and as one of the three jewel temples, Songgwangsa, the “Sangha Jewel Monastery,” overflowed with the energy of its vivid restoration, the likes of which had not been seen since the days of National Master Bojo Jinul. To say nothing of the Korean monks, monks from the United States, Europe and elsewhere also came to Songgwangsa, constantly maintaining the highest levels of intensity in their training. In 1973, after attending the inaugural service at Sambo-sa in Carmel, California, in the United States, Kusan returned to Songgwangsa with a few foreign disciples and other practitioners to found Korea's first international Seon meditation center, “Bulil International Seon Center,” opening a new chapter in the globalization of Korea's traditional Seon teachings. Kusan continued along these lines, pouring his energy into the international propagation of Korean Buddhism, founding temples around the world, including Goryeosa in Los Angeles in 1980, Bulseungsa in Geneva in 1982, and Daegaksa near Carmel, California.

One day the following year, in 1984, as the restoration of Songgwangsa, together with the winter retreat, was coming to an end, Kusan let his disciples know that the karma of his life here was meeting its completion and left behind the following requests: “don't give my body any injections, perform the cremation in sitting meditation posture, live together in harmony without harm to the Seon tradition, do not live as a monk deceiving yourself, and devote yourself continuously to awakening.” He also left his “death verse”:

As the leaves of fall burn more crimson than the flowers of spring

All of creation is completely laid bare

As living is empty, and dying too, is also empty

I go forth smiling, within the ocean-like absorption of the Buddha

On the afternoon of December 16th, at the Samiram Hermitage in Songgwangsa where he had first met his master Hyobong, surrounded by his many followers, Kusan assumed the lotus position and his seventy-four years of life came to a quiet end with his passing into nirvana.

Writings

Among Master Kusan's written works are his 1975 book, Seven Perfections, aimed at bringing Buddhism back into daily life, and his 1976 book, Nine Mountains, an English version of his dharma talks, written for the benefit of his foreign disciples. After receiving much attention from scholars of Buddhism and eastern philosophy around the world, Nine Mountains was revised and published in Korean as Seok Saja (Stone Lion). After Master Kusan's passing, his foreign disciples published Seon! My Choice, a compilation of their impressions and experiences regarding Korean Buddhism and their Seon training at the Bulil International Seon Center. In 1985, Master Kusan's disciples Stephen Batchelor and Martine Fages edited an English compilation of his dharma teachings, The Way of Korean Zen. The Society of Kusan Followers also published Kusan Seonmun (Seon Teachings of Kusan) in 1994, a volume of the Master's Seon sermons, and Kusan Seonpung (Seon Tradition of Kusan)in 1997, a collection of his dharma sermons delivered in the early 1980s while touring the United States, Taiwan, Europe and elsewhere.

Doctrinal Distinction

Master Kusan's practice was an exhaustive hwadu training. After gaining experience with the hwadu, “what is this?” Kusan then took up Zhaozhou's “MU” hwadu, leading his disciples in this practice as well. This hwadu was meant to lead one to understanding the state of mind that exists before saying “MU!” Kusan described his struggle this way:

“Investigating this hwadu, my investigation and the saying of “mu” coincide. In this state, I come even to defer sleep and forget meals. Standing alone, I reach to the point where I am alone, facing every enemy I've ever made during the past 10,000 years, wanting to sleep but unable, put in a position where I cannot go left or right, straight ahead or back, until finally, the place I have been leaning on exists no more, and I become unafraid of tumbling into emptiness. Thereafter, one day, I suddenly yell, 'Ha!,' and I'm left feeling as if heaven and earth have been overturned. When other people enter this place whose depth is unfathomable, they laugh out loud to themselves and do nothing but smile.”

He also explained that even after achieving an awakening, until you are able to precisely communicate your experiences to others, while pushing yourself to continuously refine your own opinions and understanding, you must engage in purification practices; then you must work to relieve the sufferings of all sentient beings.

Though Master Kusan spent 45 years practicing his hwadu with precisely this kind of discipline, he never stinted from getting involved in doing the work of the Buddha. Whenever he had a spare moment free from his practice, he could not keep still, such that he earned the nickname, “the working monk.”

Moreover, he never failed to join with the rest of the Buddhist community to participate in worship services, cooperative cleaning or building efforts, food offerings, or other such activities. In this way, the ever-thoroughly practicing Master Kusan emphasized the practice of making Buddhism a part of daily life, based on the idea that it was wrong to think of Buddhism as the sole preserve of a singular class of people, like monks and nuns, or that you have to live in the mountains to practice. Combining these methods under one teaching, Master Kusan promoted the “seven perfections” movement. He taught that a good way for Buddhist practitioners to implement the truth of Buddhism within their daily lives was to use six days of each week to practice each of the six bodhisattva perfections: charity on Monday, morality on Tuesday, perseverance on Wednesday, effort on Thursday, meditation on Friday, and wisdom on Saturday, and then to use Sunday as a service day, the day to practice the perfection of all works together.

Nine Mountains  

FOREWORD

Buddhism is the formalized expression of a truth about life which is valid to any social situation in either past, present, or future. Since its introduction into Korea in the Fourth Century A.D., the Buddhist attitude towards life has played a vital role in the development of the Korean world-view, and its approach to living has had great influence in the shaping of Korean civilization. Although the last twenty years has seen the rapid encroachment on traditional Korean cultural values by Western material and religious outlooks, Buddhism continues to satisfy a deep need on the part of a large segment of the population for spiritual and psychological growth.

The author of this book is the inheritor of a unique tradition founded by National Master Bojo; feeling respon­sible for giving instruction in and transmitting the understanding of his lineage, he wishes to present this written outline of the teachings of Korean Buddhism. He believes that the practice of Buddhism, as taught in Korea, can lead Westerners to a deeper appreciation of the fruits of Buddhist practice in their lives.

The Seon (Zen) Master Kusan Suryeon (구산 수련) is the Master of Song Kwang Sa (Vast Pines Monastery), Jogye Chonglim, the monastery which represents the Sangha-jewel in Korea. Steeped in the long Korean meditation tradition which has been preserved along orthodox Chinese lines the Master's strong emphasis on practice, and his concern to maintain an atmosphere most conducive to sincere spiri­tual cultivation, have earned Song Kwang Sa the reputation of being the best among the three top Korean centers for meditation.

The Venerable Kusan is one of the few Masters in Korea who has taken a direct interest in the propagation of Buddhism not only within Korea, but in foreign countries as well. He regularly travels to deliver lectures to Buddhist lay groups in major cities throughout this country, and in 1971 toured the United States, delivering lectures at many of the major Buddhist centers there.

The selections from the Master's lectures included in this book are intended to provide a representative collection of his teachings on Buddhism, and include instructions for beginning students of Buddhism, lay-adherents, and monks who practice meditation. It is instructive to note the difference in his approach when instructing lay-people and monks. For people who have never had contact with the Korean Seon (Zen) tradition, it will be of interest to note the uniqueness of the Korean interpretation of Buddhism which is distinct from the meditation traditions of Japanese Zen or Chinese Ch'an, though there is still strong influence from the early Ch'an tradition which was current to T'ang Dynasty China (618—906).

The first selection, The Road to the Other Shore, contains much of the material the Master covers during conversations with people (especially Westerners) who have never been exposed to Buddhism before. It contains the essence of the Master's basic approach to Buddhism, and is also fairly representative of the Korean approach to Ch'an Meditation. It was written to provide a basic description of the Buddhist analysis of the world, the consequent approach to life, and the aims and practice of Buddhist meditation.

The second selection, The Seven Paramitas, is an outline for the practice of Buddhism during the ordinary activities of daily life and is especially directed to the needs of lay-adherents. It is a lecture delivered to a Buddhist lay-organiza­tion in Daejeon in 1976.

The final selection consists both of an introductory account of the lifestyle of those meditators residing in the Meditation Hall, and of The Formal Dharma Discourses which were composed in classical Chinese and were delivered to the meditation monks training at Song Kwang Sa during the three-month Winter and Summer Retreats of 1975-76. It must be emphasized that these lectures are instructions directed specifically to   full-time cultivators who are developing hwadu (kung-an) meditation, and were delivered with two purposes in mind:

1) to provide the beginning student with an additional source for strengthening the sensation of doubt which is the indis­pensable core of hwadu meditation through   hearing an exposition of the enlightened man's understanding; and 2) to give the advanced student that final push he needs to break through the i-ching or 'sensation of doubt', which will produce the experience of chien-hsing(見性 Jap. kensho) or the seeing into one's own true nature. If not read with these purposes kept carefully in mind, it will be easy to dismiss these discourses as paradoxical or incoherent nonsense, rath­er than seeing them for what they are in reality— advanced meditation directions. They are presented here for the benefit of those exceptional students who will be able to make proper use of these instructions.

The International Meditation Center would like to extend its appreciation to: Hae Heng Sunim and Hei Myong Sunim who read through and interpreted the Korean and Chinese manuscripts; Hei Myong Sunim who edited the material and made the English rendering; Ham Wol Sunim who typed all the drafts and wrote the introduction to Part III; Hyun Ho Sunim, Hyun Sung Sunim, Su Il Sunim, and Sung Il Sunim for their encouragement and help during all stages in the preparation of the translation.

It is hoped that Buddhist students at all stages of de­velopment will find these lectures inspiring, and that the instructions therein will be the catalyst required to pro­duce the final achievement of Buddhahood.

With one tattered and spindly staff
Travelled east and west; it was endless.
If someone asked, "Where have you travelled?"
Everywhere in the world has been all-encompassing.


At age twenty-two (1908) he heard, for the first time, about Son meditation and raised the great faith. Giving up his endless journey, he attended the seasonal retreats in Diamond Mountain, in Myo-Hyang (Profound Incense) Mountain, and others, in order to do the original task of the sramana (Buddhist priest).

After four years had passed and his study had not progressed, he realized that the expected results of further study would require a teacher. In 1911 the Master Song-Wol in Tongdo Temple gave him a Hwa-du(Kong-an) and in the same year he had a chance to meet the Venerable Master Mann-Gong in Sudok-Sa.

Yesterday was new spring, today is already autumn. Yearly, daily, monthly, it flows like valley streams. Looking for fame and fortune, Returning gray-haired before the desires were accomplished.

He began realize what the right teacher could do, and it was becoming apparent to him what the only task for a human-being was. How lucky!

Even parents are not close.
if asked who the closest is,
Blind tortoise and one gimp-legged turtle.

Hye-Am S'nim's first meeting with Venerable Master Hye-Wol and Master Yong-Song was also very significant. "Without them," he commented, "how could I am?"

Blind tortoise met the wood-board in the ocean;
The meeting with superior mind in the Eagle's Peak
(Where Buddha held up the lotus flower).


Master Mann-Gong was a great, powerful master, while Master Hye-Wol was like a compassionate father or almost a mindless Buddha; but, both were the honey-dew tea of dharma for Hye-Am S'nim. There were many great monks under Mann-Gong. Especially great were Tae-An and Song-Wol (sometimes called Ha'm-Wol), both of whom were actually older than Master Mann-Gong.

Other monks who were related to Master Hye-Am included his well-known colleagues, Jon-Kang, Go-Bong, and Choon-Song. Hye-Am S'nim's lifelong foundation of enlightenment and sea of great accomplishment included the Venerable Master Yong-Song of O-Dae Mountain, an expert in dodtrinal and patriarchal teachings, as well as other great figures: Mann-Gong, Hye-Wol, Song-Wol, and his closest colleague, Jon-Kang.

 Fifteen years passed during which there were continuous retreats and ceaseless re-examination for Hye-Am S'nim. Finally, on the day of Master Mann-Gong's bifthday. April 18, 1929 (March 7th, 2473), when Hye-Am S'nim was forty-three, the Master was at Sudok-Sa and recalled everyone in the mountain. He cheerfully rolled up his sleeves, filled his brush with ink, and without hesitation, composed the following patriarchal transmission Gatha on silk to Hye-Am S'nim:

To: Son Master Hye-Am (Wisdom Hut)

Clouds and mountains are not the same or different,
Also has no great family tradition:
This, the wordless seal
Transmitting to you, Hye-Am.

From: Mann-Gong: Wol-Myon (Moon Face)
March 7th, 2473rd year from Buddha
(April 18, 1929)

This patriarchal transmission was derived directly from Kyung-Ho and Mann-Gong, both in the modern Korean Buddhest lineage, the ancestry of which goss back to Bodhidharma and includes the Sixth atriarch Hui-Neng (Hye-Nung), and hes lineage of Lin-Chi (Yhm-Je). This Korean lineage, at the end of the Koryo Dynasty, includes the Patriarch Na-Ong (1380-1436) and Chong-Ho (1520-1604) in the Yi Dynasty; after which was a three hundred and fifty year dark age for Korean Buddhism.

After this dark age, however, modern Korean Son Buddhism flourished. We must mention this because it really began with Kyung-Ho S'nim (1849-1912). Just prior to his time, Korean Buddhism was still faded from a lineage that had slept deeply. The great life of Buddhism had been awry until Master Kyung-Ho's time.

As the 75th generation from Buddha, the 31st from Lin-Chi, and the 12th generation from the Korean Patriarch Chong-Ho, Kyung-Ho S'nim was able to reestablish the foundation of Bodhidharma and the Sixth Patriarch, Hui-Neng. Kyung-Ho S'inm was the modern revival of Korean Son Buddhism. Mann-Gong and Hye-Wol S'nimm were in the first generation after him, but it was to Mann-Gong S'nim (1871-1946) that Master Kyung-Ho transmitted the dharma with the following Gatha:

To: Mann-Gong, the Moon-Face

Cloud, moon, stream, mountain are same everywhere.
'Tis Mann-Gong Moon-Face's
(this was Mann-Gong's monk name) family tradition.
Secretly transmit the wordless seal by sharing with you,
One wonderful power overflows in your unmovable living eye.


From: Kyung-Ho; Sung-Woo (Awakened Ox)
March 27th, 2448th year from Buddha (1904)


When Mann-Gong S'nim, composed the Gatha to Hye-Am S'nim, the direct lineage was suddenly transmitted to Master Hye-Am who, without regard for fame or fortune, continued to just examine day and night. At that time, however, this young "bud of enlightenment" did not understand what had happened, so he immediately asked,
"Master, my study is still far behind; I did not accomplish the great enlightenment. What dharma are you going to transmit to the one who did not yet accmplish the Tao?"
To this question, headmaster Mann-Gong smiled slightly and snswered, "This dharma is a so-called, birthday surprise."
He, however, did not understand this unexpected, extraordinary surprise, and declared, "There are many good students of yours on this mountain; I am yet the un-perfected bowl."
Master Mann-Gong suddenly stood up, took out his own bowl from the wall closet and abruptly said,
"If so, then keep this bowl."
Hye-Am S'nim's words were severed. Suddenly one aucient phrase dawned on him.

People of the true mind
Have no shape to see and no form at which to look.
word and utterance are severed,
Thought and its abiding place are also annihilated.


Mann-Gong S'nim wrapped up the Gatha in red silk and proclaimed him. No one understood it and no one questioned concerning it.
Who said, The circle does not know the circular?
After receiving the bowl and robe, Hye-Am S'nim continued to study under the great masters, caring for nothing but study. He preserved himself under the re-examination with the Good-and-Wise Ones.
"Only by the power of continuous re-examination, until the moment of death, can one be free from the suffering of Hell. Do not jump into the ocean of life-and-death by haughty foolishness.

Studying without the Master-Mentor is death.
Studying without refinement is insanity.
Studying without re-examination is disease."

He also said that without a Master-Mentor life is only miserable; worse than having no parents.
Here is a Gatha sung by Ch'an Master Tu-Sun:

A cow in northern city had hay.
A horse in southern city had indigestion.
Looking for a good doctor everywhere,
Treating a pig's shoulder with burning moxa.


The rewards after continuous refinement and re-examination under the true Master-Mentor have nothing to do with the rewards of this ordinary world's pursuits. The goal of the homeless one is this invisible work.
One time, an attendant asked the Venerable Master, "By virtue of what seeing can the direct lineage of Buddhas and Patriarchs be transmitted to the one who is not enlightened?"
Master Hye-Am sad,
"Enlightened and not enlightened are just names indicating how they are examining. If you let the word of resolve become the contents of your faith, then that is the enlightenment. If there is no faith in the mind, then the re-examination will be cut off and cause a final entry into the ocean of life-and-death. That is why it is called not enlightened." -p 31-
This is what the Master Mann-Gong called birth day surprise and the bowl of dharma, which is nothing but the holding bowl of re-examination. Because of that, it is called greatly awakened, not because of a certain enlightenment to be attained.
The Sixth Patriarch said,
Seeing Self-nature is the virtue (of re-examination), Equanimity is its excellence.

The Patriarch once sang a Gatha:

Since re-examining the Buddha-Patriarchs' words is
The Tathagata's enlightening mind -as-it-is,

If fire can emerge by rubbing sticks,
Red lotus will definitely bloom in the mud.

When night is deep, dawn is near. When the mind is deep, word is little. When examination is deep, enlightenment is supreme.
By chance, Master Yong-Song once asked the following Kong-an of Master Mann-Gong:

Yong-Song: Tell me, merely departing from speaking silence, movement, and stillness.
Mann-Gong: .....
Yong Song: Is that the Good-Silence?
Mann-Gong: No, not at all.

This dharma discussion was dropped here. Later, Hye-Am S'nim's life-long colleague, Jon-Kang S'nim, discussed this with Master Mann-Gong.
Jon-Kang: It us as though both of you masters entered the muddy water while strangling each other. -p 33
Mann-Gong: Then how would you respond?
Jon-Kang: What could possibly be said merely departing from speaking, silence, movement, and stillness?
Mann-Gong: Very good. Very good.

Master Hye-Am did not overlook this Kong-an but examined it and had a chance to meet with Master Jon-Kang.
Hye-Am: Do you believe what you said to the Master, "What could possibly be said merely departing from speaking, silence, movement, and stillness," was right? Since it has something from which to depart, why can't you say something?
Jon-Kang: ....
Hye-Am: Why don't you ask me?
Jon-Kang: Tell me, merely departing from speaking, silence, movement, and stillness. "In order to answer this Kong-an you have to discover the moment before entry into the womb.
If someone asked me, 'What is the discovery of the moment before entry into the womb?' I would say, Broken glass is non-cohesive."
He then sang a Gatha:

One word for Speaking silence-movement-stillness, Who could possibly break through it?
If one asked me to comment after departing from them,
I'd say, "Broken glass is non-cohesive."


Everyone called this the enlightenment Gatha of Master Hye-Am. Every mountain was surprised by this discovery and speechless, like a person who had just slightly awakened from sleep.
As Master Jon-Kang commented, "Patriarchs are nothing but the ones who re-examine Buddha's words." Without ceaseless refinement of the Kong-ans, one cannot be claimed as a disciple of Buddha.
After Master Mann-Gong passed away, Sudok-Sa became an empty temple in need of a new head master. Some elder monks recommended Master Hye-Am, but at that time he refused, saying, "To be head master is worse than going to a fiery hell. Why are you concerned with such titles? Why can't we just study together?"
Within the political turmoil of a new born country on old traditional soil and after the Korean war, Buddhism was no longer an interest of the people. It was worship attended for miracles of escape from anxiety and hunger and by the wealthy for good fortune, while the priesthood brotherhood of landholders under the name of Buddhist work. The abbot of the temple was usually a property manager or landlord. By way of criticism, Venerable Master Mann-Gong once roared out:


What is the dirtiest thing in the world?
Dirtier than dung is the maggot;
Still dirtier than maggots are all abbots in the main temples.

The true students were very few. Korean Buddhist sects became vehicles for achieving fame and wealth.

Thieves were many, feigning mastery:
No good people claimed themselves as students.

When Master Hye-Am, who had never been an abbot of any temple, was nominated as head of Dok-Sung Chonglim (Sudok-Sa Temple affiliates), he bellowed out:

Who wishes to hold the dog's collar?
It's hollow gourd.

All the disciples were in utter agreement and appreciation of his discerning assessment of the outside world. The times were topsy-turvy. Rather than monks, many lay people came to see him and a score lf thousands studied; but only sixty lay people, twenty Bhikunis (female monks), and less than a handful of Bhikus (male monks) saw the Selfnature. Most came, not to study, but to accrue a popular affiliation. Verily, the times were such that instead of students looking for a master, a master, the master had to look for the students.
No need to blame the world. This kind of situation was not new; it existed in Buddha's and Bodhidharma's times as well as in Kyung-Ho's time.
Even after becoming disabled from an accident, Master Hye-Am deeply sighed, citing Master Kyung-Ho's living thunderbolt-in-daylight:

The one word breaking through the empty space,
True voice of giving and snatching away:

Looking around, there is no one;
To whom should I transmit this bowl and robe?

Why is it called bad?
Because of not believing in the dharma.
Why does one receive the sufferings of hell?
Because of not following the word of the Good-and-Wise Ones.
What is the trouble?
Letting thought arise in the mind.
The Master summarized his one hundred years of life with one word: re-examination.

While examining what you have awakened, naturally, the major Hwa-du from Buddhas and Patriarchs will be pierced through.
Even if one has seen the Self-nature, without re-examination, seeing Self-nature will soon be obscured and totally useless.

In the study of Son, the three requisite pillars are great faith, a great bundle of doubt, and great provocation.

To the one who saw the Self-nature,
What else can be the great faith other than re-examination?
To the one who saw the Self-nature,
How possibly can the bundle of doubt not be vivid while in re-examination?
To the one who saw the Self-nature,
Re-examination cannot be perfected without the great provocation.

Because of faith, it examines. Because a bundle of doubt is vivid, it examines. Since the mind is provoked, nothing else can do except re-examination.
Today's students deal with patriarchal Kong-ans carelessly as if they were children playing with a ball, with the idea that awakening is easy, merely saying, "understood it."
But the old Master, using his dharma sword, destroyed them mercilessly, which is the same way that all the patriarchs have brightened Buddha's Teaching by re-examination. That is the patriarchal spirit.
Re-examining the Hwa-do of Buddhas and Patriarchs is the true nature of enlightenment, i.e.,Buddha-as-it-is.
Here is a Gatha sung by Ch'an Master Hwang-Pyok (d. 849):

Liberating ourselves from the six sensual dusts is extraordinary.
Playing tug-of-war while holding tightly the end of the reins;
Without passing through the one time chilled-to-the-bone cold,
How dare exotic plum blossom fragrance reach to the tip of the nose?

This old Good-and-Wise One, already past the dusk of life, eight years before his death, slipped and fell, rendering his hip and knee useless. He barely managed to live with only several spoonfuls of rice in plain hot water; sometimes one spoonful of honey with some pine nuts for nutrition. Food was as simple as his life.
However, layman students and the lines of the laywomen never stopped whether he was in Sudok-Sa Temple, at Non-Dual Shrine in On-Yang City, or in -p45- the Dong-A Hospital in Seoul. Wherever he was, it became the Chonglim; the sitting and the dharma discussions never stopped. It contented him because this was the old Good-and-Wise One's karmic task. The weakened body, seeing the world as a shadow, was unable to distinguish voice, was unable to distinguish drum and bell. He fell into the soundless abyss; his hearing was like waiting for the echo from the horizon. Several broken teeth protruded like tombstones from his otherwise toothless mouth.
However, even in front of this old, weak, and sick corpse, why did the strong and not knowing what to do?
Why? Why?
Why could someone else have strong teeth, a better and healthier jaw, and yet not open it? Why?

What did they see?
What could they not see?

In contrast, as goes the ordinary world, people are only interested in power and gold; and the Korean Buddhist sects were no different. In fact, they were the monsters who only looked after the benefit of their own family members and pursued power with the Outlaw Kingdom. Through the eyes of power holders, Master Hye-Am was just a helpless monk -p47- and an irascible old fellow. However, even for this kind of criticism, the Master scolded his attendants who spoke ill of those people.

"After all, dragon lives among snakes!
Mind which better condition is wicked.

If you pursue something outside, then already you have slain the Buddhas and Patriarchs, not to mention having lost your life.
Do not become a follower of them; while you debase them, you become the same kind of indigent-being. While you criticize them, you become a disciple of devils.

Talking hard; useless, 'til blood pours from the throat.
Prefer shut mouth for the rest of life."

Study, Study, and again Study!
Once the great Son Master Na-Ong sang a Gatha:

The primary concern of Son is faith;
Study carefully but sharpen it more enthusiastically.
When the bundle of doubt is pierced through unexpectedly,
Mud-ox ploughing in the farm at the entrance of Aeon.

Days and months were faster than thunderbolt, knowing that his time would soon come.
He urged,
Ask without delay.
Nineteen eighty-four, this old Good-and-Wise One became Korean Ancient Buddha who lived twenty years more than Buddha.
On one of the hottest days in Sudok-Sa Temple, Master Hye-Am recalled all of the students to review one-by-one. He called his attendant, Myo-Bong:

In this soil, seeds are sufficient,
The West will be the new fountain.
Quickly but secretly proceed!
Not easy to spread the true Teaching.

"Where can you go with your health?"
"Teaching of the seeing the Self-nature cannot be delayed by any means. This is a first in history. There are some who, under the name of Zen, gather the people and teach the Sutras, or raise the fist and make the Hal(shout), or compose the Gathas without knowing even how to distinguish between black and white; all the while claiming themselves to be teachers of Zen life, of Zen chanting, or even proclaiming themselves to be paatriarchs. However, no one does direct teaching of the Buddha-Patriarchs' Hwa-du work, by which one sees the Self-nature.
I have been waiting for this opportunity for over twenty years and I cannot postpone it.
Claiming themselves to be enlightened; gathering the people everywhere; but, hungry students have nothing to eat. Imitating their teacher as a cub somersaulting, what will be their excuse on the Day of Judgement?

One who knows has word.
One who speaks cannot know.

Not knowing how to teach the disciples, their disease will become critical. Both teachers and disciples will become descendents of the devil.
One mink who resides in America said,
'There are many different books published on Byddhism. Many kindw of prescriptions have been introduced, but, there is no real doctor who can properly determine how to treat the patients!'
Let's pack up! Accomplish it as soon as possible.

Like a mouse-catching cat.
Like a birth-giring mother.

If it fails this time, there is no hope for the Buddha-dharma in the West."
Leaving behind all the deceitful gossip and insults owing to jealousy, this old Good-and-Wise One still eagerly did his work in order to repay all the Buddhas.

Twenty-seventh day of November in 2528 (1984),
Finally faith reached ultimate peak where "faith" is no longer.
An ancient trace of Kyung-Ho and Mann-Gong; the highest teaching of mankind, Have moved to the western world to be begetter of the beginning.

Finally, the wicked ones shut their mouths for a while to find out what was going on, but the ignorant ones continued the chattering of debasement behind his back. This old Good-and-Wise One was accomplishing his only purpose: whatever the cost, he would direct seeing the Self-nature to the world.
Around scenic Los Angeles there were many communities: industrial, educational, and especially excellent scientists and artists, and many religiously open-minded people. Just south of Los Angeles, in Orange County, there were at least three million people of upper intelligence from South East Asia, Northern Europe, England, and South America. Truly, some might say that America was the "Department of the Human Race."

One journalist, originally from Denmark, was -p55- asked to come and interview this oldest and highest Korean Buddhist leader. She published this historic event. Everyday many visitors, sometimes thirty or forty, came to see him. During the three months he was in America, about one thousand people were interviewed. Among them, three or four, after several interviews, reached high levels of dharma understanding. They were given dharma names and encouraged by the Master to accomplish the Buddhahood, But, what heavy work for this old body!
A one hundred-year-old international birthday party was held and still he continued to see the people. Finally he became dramatically weak and could not swallow even a grain of rice. This far journey to the West was new explained.
"I am ready to depart from you."
"When are you going?"
When the temple bell crown is softened.
"To where are you going?"
To the fiery hell.
Afterward, what should we do?
"If I die in the city, put this corpse in the hearse, carry it to the mortuary, and cremate it immediately. If I depart from this world in the mountain, do not even make a coffin, but rather carry my body just like a coffin, but rather carry my body just like a dried piece of wood and cremate it with a bowl of gasoline. After the cremation, return to the main altar, burn one piece of incense and prostrate three times. Then, go to the altar of spirits (for the deceased ones) and again burn one stick of incense and chant The Heart Sutra one time. Do not waste any materials for my body.
Also, I would not produce any sarira from my body, because I do not even respect Buddha's sarira. Even if sarira were produced, it would not be the same kind as Buddha had. If something emerges from this corpse, immediately bury or scatter it. If anyone gathers my ashes, builds a pagoda or a mausoleum, he will be my worst enemy.
Sarira originally were to be examined by the Good-and-Wise One with the true dharma eye. If the Good-and-Wise One perceives them in his palm with the dharma eye, the licentious sarira will become bloody pus, and greedy sarira will become a snake or serpent. The ignorant sarira will become a snake or serpent. The ignorant sarira will become a wandering ghost. The ignorant sarira will become a wandering ghost. Only the sarira examined by the master of the brightened-eye can be acknowledged as the true sarira.
Even if there is the true sarira, including Buddha's whole body sarira, one should not ct,respe bow, or pray in front of them, for all of these behaviors will be the main karmic cause of entering the hell. Prayers, bows, and displays of respect are derived from attachment to the truth of all that Buddha taught us.

Whatever has the form
As a whole, is all delusory.
There is no definite substance;
Even illusion has no definite illusion.

This is The Dharma-of-Formlessness.

By not assuming the form, one will coincide with the Saint.
Departing from each and every form is called,
Enlightened-One (Buddha).

Now, listen to my own Gatha:

At the summit of Buddha's and Patriarchs' peak,
Ancient buried sarira have been disclosed.
Instead of seeing one's own sarira,
Everyone busily scurries after them.
I just carefully looked at Buddha's sarira,
Buddha is not in sarira.
Even though sarira came from the Buddha,
Buddha-of-seeing is watching Buddha's sarira.

Therefore, from now on, people of the True-Mind should strive hard, alert and bright, in Study. Purify and cultivate the uncountable vows for the uncountable indigent-beings until this body is completely dis-integrated."

Blue-eyed students asked,
"How should we Study from now on?"
"Let the examination become your teacher; there is no other work to do besides this. I heard that even Socrates said, The unexamined life is not worth living for man."
"What, then, would be the last word?"
"Good-bye," he said in English.
After this short word he turned away. He concluded his difficult three-month journey to the Western world in this way. He insisted on passing away in America. However, his attendants knelt down and beseeched him to return to Korea for the sake of his many followers there. He returned on February 16, 1985.
He locked up his room and forbade entrance to anyone; then spent three more months before he entered Nirvana.
Anxious disciples asked,
"To whom did you transmit the Chamber of the True-Dharma-Eye?"
To the one who examine.
Since the disciples did not say a word, the old Master continued.
"Listen to my Gatha:

No form is,
No emptiness is,
No non-emptiness is."

"Is there anything more to say?"
There is nothing more to say.

He entered Samadhi for a while; then opening his eyes wide, embraced the whole universe. He then made three strokes in the air horizontally and one vertically. No one knew what he meant.
The Master's last day was eight days before Buddha's Birthday, May 19th, nineteen eighty-five (March 30, 2529 by the lunar calendar).
Many eminent monks attended his funeral from throughout the nation. Throngs of people attended the ceremony, forming an ocean of people. Who are they? Suddenly a colorful aura, as appeared at his birth, arced in the sky. Everyone was enraptured by this marvelous phenomenon and called it his power of dharma. What an auspicious occasion!

One short shrill honk from hollow goose pierced through to the stratosphere.

Now where is our old Master? Here is something we cannot forget.
Venerable Master Mann-Gong once wrote a Gatha for Venerable Master Kyung-Ho's (Empty Mirror) true Self image. The Gatha is:

The empty mirror originally has no Mirror.
Awakened ox is already not an Ox.
Everywhere where there is neither Ox nor Mirror.
Living eye freely abides with inebriety and indulgence.

For comparison Venerable Master Mann-Gong wrote for his Self-image:

I am not departed from Thou;
Thou art not departed from me.
Before Thou and I were born,
I don't know; what is this?

Venerable Master Hye-Am concluded with a Gatha for his Self-image:

Thou art not the Thou of Thou.
I am not the I of I.
Since I and Thou are non-dual,
Immediately here is true Thou-and-I.


SHOUT!

This is the Nirvana: his worldly-age was 99, dharmaage was 85 and 77th generation from Shakyamuni Buddha (in Korea).
Here I would like to conclude this story with the Master's own Gatha which he composed shortly before he entered Nirvana.

By birth limpid air blew in the horizon,
By death the shadow of moon flew in the tranquil pond;
Departing from body out of Karmic circle: Where did it go?
River flows toward east outside of the Capital City.

October 15, 2529 (1985)
Recorded by His Disciple

妙 峰 Myo-Bong (Profound Summit)

* Prolegomena

* How to Study Kong-an

* True Prayer

* The Original Face

* Re-Examination Is the Faith

* What to Love

* Introduction  

The inception of the Korean War in 1950 brought the dissolution of this association and Master Seongcheol once again began a pilgrimage participating in retreats at numerous meditation halls around the country. It was around this time, in a valley in front of Anjeong-sa Monastery in South Gyeongsangnam-do Province, that he constructed the Cheonjegul Grotto and led the believers who had come to see him in a practice of doing three-thousand prostrations. No matter who came to see him, young or old, business magnates or government officials, before he would do anything with them they first had to do three-thousand prostrations in front of the Buddha. The reason he ordered every one of his followers without exception to partake in this practice originated in the desire to get each of them to see themselves directly and to cultivate their minds to remove their own impurities. It was within the physical suffering felt in the knees and backs during the constant bending of the prostrations that this process could naturally take place. In 1955, at that age of 43, he went to Seongjeonam Hermitage at Pagyesa Monastery, where he used barbed wire to seal off the grounds of the hermitage and again entered a period of jangjwa burwa, abstaining completely from going outside for 10 years.

In 1967, he assumed the position of the first Patriarch of the Haeinsa Monastic Compound (Haein Chongnim) and he held dharma talks for the entire sangha of lay and monastic practitioners for 100 days. This was his famous “100 days Dharma Sermon.” During this period, he clarified that the truth of Buddhism was in the middle path between Seon and Gyo (doctrinal study), elucidated the traditional tenets of the Seon school with the teaching of “sudden enlightenment, sudden cultivation” (dono donsu) in addition to explaining that the truth of “neither arising, nor ceasing” (bulsaeng bulmyeol) was also proven within the constructs of atomic physics and quantum mechanics. Through this 100 days sermon, by using the Buddha's “middle path” teaching, an idea representative of the grand achievement of the Buddha's thinking, Master Seongcheol presented a new perspective on Buddhism to the Korean Buddhist society, no matter whether one followed the Seon or Gyo tradition.

In 1981, when he was at the age of 69, in assuming the role of the Seventh Patriarch of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism', he raised interest in the secular world with his Buddhist phrase uttered at his inauguration, “Mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers,” and this phrase could even be heard on the lips of common folk around the nation. Even after his ascension to the position of Patriarch, he never left his abode in the mountains, and if one wanted to see him, regardless of one's social status, one was still ordered to first do three-thousand prostrations, upon which he'd offer a dharma saying that shed light to the dim eyes of his guests.

In 1991, he was re-elected to his position, becoming the Eight Patriarch of the Jogye Order, and returned to Haeinsa where he would live a reclusive life until his passing into nirvana. There, he would encourage his practitioners to study diligently, yelling at them when they'd neglect to practice even a little bit: “Pay for your temple meal then, you thief!” Stubbornly persistent in living like this, as a mountain monk, he would finally enter into nirvana at the Toeseoldang on November 4, 1993. He was 81 years old and had spent 59 years in the sangha.

Writings

Master Seongcheol's literary output is combined in the eleven volume compendium of his Buddhist sermons. This is comprised of the two volumes of his Baegil Beommun (100 Days Dharma Sermon), Seonmun Jeongno Pyeongseok (Commentaries on the True Path of the Seon Gate), Dono ipdoyo-munnon gangseol (Discourse on the Theory of the Essential Practice to Enter the Gate of Sudden Enlightenment), Sinsimmyeong Jeungdoga Gangseol (Discourses on the Xinxinming and the Zhengdaoge) , Yeongwonhan Jayu (Eternal Freedom), Jagi reul Baro Bopsida (Let's Look at Ourselves Correctly), Donhwangbon Yukjo Dangyeong (The Dunhuang version of the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch), Seonmun Jeongno (The True Path of the Seon Gate), Bonji Punggwang (The Natural Beauty of the Original State) and Hanguk Bulgyoeui Beommaek (The Dharma Lineage of Korean Buddhism),which traces the intellectual origin and lineage of the “sudden enlightenment, sudden practice” theory in Korean Buddhism. In a 1976 book, he made a proposal to then Patriarch Master Seo-ong to alter the charter of the Jogye Order, with the consistent emphasis that Taego Bou should be enshrined as the founder of the order. Beyond this, he wrote a book that picked out the most necessary Seon sayings for the practice of Seon, written in vernacular Korean in the 37 volume Seollim Gogyeong Chongseo (The Ancient Mirror of the Seon Grove)

Doctrinal Distinction

Master Seongcheol's Seon thinking is best presented in the 100 days Dharma sermon he offered on his assumption to the position of the first Patriarch of the Haeinsa Monastic Compound (Haein Chongnim) in 1967. Through these sermons, Seongcheol organized a wide scattering of Buddhist doctrine, and in rectifying the lineage of the Jogye Order, he offered a new analysis of the core of the Seon school's thought. These teachings can be largely summarized in three main points.

The first is the assertion that the Buddha's theory of reincarnation was not simply an expedient means, but an established theory that we must believe in. Owing to the fact that samsara, the continuous flow of life and death in accordance with karma, is the most fundamental of Buddhist concepts, he said we must firmly believe in it.

Second is his assertion that Buddhism is a scientific religion. Using Einstein's Theory of Relativity and his E=mc2 formula as examples, he explained the Buddhist saying of “form is emptiness, emptiness is form” in a logical manner. He noted that the idea that mass is converted to energy and energy to mass, both neither increasing nor decreasing, is a teaching of the Buddha stated explicitly as the “dharma realm,” and that the continued development of science has proven this to be a precise fact.

The third idea is the the Buddha's teaching lies in the middle path. Like good and evil, mass and energy, flowing into oneness, every contradiction is harmonized into a singularity.

In addition, as Master Seongcheol ardently emphasized the teaching of “sudden enlightenment, sudden cultivation” (dono donsu), he criticized Master Jinul's “sudden enlightenment, gradual cultivation” (dono jeomsu) teaching. He said that the “sudden enlightenment” of each respective teaching were actually not the same and that they stemmed from differing perspectives. To him, the enlightenment of “sudden enlightenment, gradual cultivation” was nothing but “learned knowledge,” and he labeled this as the type of awakening that could never lead to a genuine awakening. To put it another way, “sudden enlightenment, gradual cultivation” was a poor expression. If we wish to be precise, we should say “understanding and awakening, then gradual cultivation” (haeo jeomsu). It is clear then that the constant “gradual cultivation” practice meant to bring about an ultimate awakening was thus naturally something altogether different than that within the situation of “understanding and awakening” (haeo).

According to Master Seongcheol, he argued that though Master Bojo Jinul did advocate “sudden enlightenment, gradual cultivation” in his early work, his Jeoryo (Excerpts from the Dharma Collection and Special Practice Record), written immediately before his death, clearly states that the practice of “sudden enlightenment, gradual cultivation” corresponded to the teachings of the Gyo (doctrinal study) school and was not part of the Seon tradition.

Beyond this, Master Seongcheol noted also that the practice of Buddhist mass that is commonly thought of as something done for one's own peace and profit, was something altogether different from the volunteer service done for others that is emphasized in the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism. Put simply, a “Buddhist mass” is nothing more than helping others, not just beating a wooden gong (moktak) asking to be given a long life and many blessings. Moreover, he said that a monastery is a place for teaching this “Buddhist mass,” not a place where the “Buddhist mass” is given. Therefore, he said that we needed to solve the mundane problems of our lives on our own and that “prayer” needed to be done for the sake of others, this being the “attitude of a true religious person.”

Clean off the mirrors in our minds  

As the Venerable Seongcheol taught us, in these treacherous times, we must always stay awake.
November 05, 2006
Early in the morning on Nov. 4, 1993, the Venerable Seongcheol of the Korean Buddhist Jogye Order passed away. He died at the age of 82, 58 years after he was accepted as a Buddhist monk.
Seongcheol used to meditate sitting up all night. It was probably due to this prolonged Buddhist training that he preferred to leave the world while meditating in a sitting-upright position.
The monk’s meals were simple and plain. He didn’t use salt and his side dishes were only several pieces of crown daisy leaves, five pieces of thinly sliced carrots and one-and-a-half spoonfuls of marinated black beans. He also ate soup consisting of sliced potatoes and carrots, together with a small bowl of rice, enough food for a small child. Moreover, he took only half a bowl of plain gruel instead of rice for breakfast.
Some people might call it the “original well-being diet,” but it was apparent that Seongcheol did not dine in this manner because he wanted to lead a healthy life.
When he ate, he did not want to indulge. Seongcheol said there were more people who were “eaten by food” than people who “ate” food. If people mix up the purpose and the means to achieve it, it becomes routine for people to cheat others, then get cheated themselves in return.
Seongcheol used to say, in his rough South Gyeongsang province dialect, “Don’t cheat!”
By this, he meant to say that we should not cheat others or ourselves. One who cheats others is like a pickpocket, but deceiving oneself is like being a burglar.
However, people who live without knowing they are robbers, deceive themselves. It is because they cannot see their genuine identity. They cannot see themselves properly because the mirror in their mind is obscured by tons of dust on the surface. So, we must clear the dust away from the mirror in our minds.
The Venerable Seongcheol used to hold firmly and meditate, throughout his whole life, on the topic, “What is this?”
Asking the question, “What is this?” to oneself clears off the mirror in one’s mind. After all, it’s a struggle not to cheat ourselves by pursuing our genuine self. The monk also said, “If the whole volume of 80,000 wooden blocks of the Tripitaka Koreana kept in Haein Temple were summed up, it could be just one Chinese character, sim, which means mind.” He also said, “Even if we wear worn-out clothes, we should not let our minds wear out.”
Seongcheol preached about three kinds of diseases, the ones caused by money, sex and the desire to become a celebrity. Among the three, the most dreadful is a disease caused by the desire to become a celebrity. If one were to catch a disease caused by the desire for money or sex, people around him would see him critically.
But when one is caught by the disease of the desire to become a celebrity, people give applause and cheers to flatter him, although they are reluctant to do so.
Therefore, the disease caused by the desire to become a celebrity becomes a chronic one that cannot be easily cured.
After all, the celebrity disease prevents one from seeing himself or herself clearly as a result of the cycle of cheating and being cheated.
If we see ourselves clearly after cleaning the mirror in our minds, we will find the gold mine that is within ourselves and find that we are pure gold ourselves.
Trying to find a gold mine, leaving the one in ourselves neglected, is like saying that one has no money although he lives in a house made of gold.
As the Venerable Seongcheol said, happiness is not what one receives or gives, but rather what we create in our mind.
Therefore, we must do our best to create happiness. If we exert with all of our efforts, help from others will follow. If we fail, it is due to a lack of effort. There is no fate that can’t be overcome.
It has already been a long time since the Venerable Seongcheol passed away, but his teachings are still alive and awaken us like the whip that Buddhist monks use to wake up monks who fall asleep during meditation.
In this era of confusion where people cheat others and are being cheated, and even North Korean agents stalk the streets, we must stay awake, even when being hit with the whip.
And let’s not be devoured on the dining table of this treacherous era, but prepare a new table for a new era so that we ourselves and our descendants will dine properly.

* The writer is an editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo.

by Chung Jin-hong

Following his graduation from Rinzai University, Master Seo-ong participated in a three-year meditation retreat at Myoushin-ji and then in 1944 he returned to Korea and began serious Seon meditation practice. He entered into meditation together with the esteemed Master Hyanggok, and in particular, while training in Anjeongsa Monastery in Tongyeong together with Master Seongcheol, his study saw immense progress. Following this, for the next twenty years he gave his undivided attention to his practice, training at many Meditation Halls across the country.

In 1962, at the age of 50, he became the first Seon Master of the newly opened University Meditation Hall at Dongguk University. Then, in 1964, after becoming the first Master of the Mumungwan (a meditation hall where one only engages in Seon practice and is not allowed to leave the temple) at Cheonchuksa, he served as head Seon master at the meditation halls of various other temples, including Donghwasa, Baekyangsa and Bongamsa. In 1974, at the age of 63, he served as the 5th Supreme Patriarch of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and that same year he received and honorary doctorate degree from the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka. In 1978, even after retiring from his position as Patriarch, he served as Master of various meditation halls. In 1996, he restored the Gobul Chongnim(Monastic Compound) headquartered at Baekyangsa that had gone defunct during the Japanese colonial period, assuming the position of head Seon master and continuously instructing numerous disciples.

In 1998 and 2000, under the leadership of Master Seo-ong, the 1st and 2nd Open Seon Assembly were held at Baekyangsa of the Gobul Chongnim, dedicated to reaffirming Korea's Patriarchal Seon tradition. An “Open Seon Assembly” (muchaseonhoe) is a meeting where all people from all walks of life, whether monks or common people, men or women, old or young, noble or base, are equally allowed access to hear dharma sermons and engage in dialogue with the Masters. In doing this, Master Seo-ong had revived a practice that had been interrupted for over one hundred years.

On December 12, 2003, Master Seo-ong, who had expanded his Imje Seon inspired “True Person” movement throughout the nation, gathered the abbot and monks of Baekyangsa and said “I have to go now.” Assuming the same jwatal immang (dying while is a seated meditation pose) position as his Master Manam, he then passed into nirvana.

Writings

Master Seo-ong's literary output includes the Imjerok Yeonui (Commentary on the Records of Linji)(1974), Jeoldae Hyeonjaeui Chamsaram (The True Person of the Absolute Present) (1988), Seo-ong Seonsa Beopeojip vol. I and II (The Dharma Talks of Seon Master Seo-ong) (1998), and others. In particular, after the publishing of the Imjerok Yeonui, Linji Seon thought became the basis of the Korean Seon school, set upon the foundation of the Patriarchal Seon tradition.

Doctrinal Distinction

Whenever Master Seo-ong's name is spoken, it is always accompanied by a mention of the “True Person.” While he studied abroad in Japan, Master Seo-ong studied the Linji Lu, a text by Linji Yixuan, the founder of the Chinese Linji Chan sect. His mind was captivated in the phrase, muwi jinin (An Authentic Person of No Status) and he took this phrase on as his lifelong hwadu. What is meant by muwi jinin is that such dichotomies as sacred and profane, delusion and awakening, noble and base, and time and space are all transcended by the true self, with which nothing remains unconnected.

Master Seo-ong saw this “true self” as a state of non-discrimination and it was this concept that served as the focus of the muwi jinin idea of Linji. It is the awakening to the origin of this “true person” that is itself the “True Person.” With no thing newly awakened to, this is the original being of a genuine human. Master Seo-ong also saw that the “true person” originally is without distinctions between life and death, man and woman, young and old, good and evil, sentient beings and Buddhas, the universe, time and space. The “True Person” movement advocated by the Master was his way of taking a step beyond the thinking of muwi jinin.

“The seat of a 'true person' refers to a stage in which time, space, and even the unconscious is transcended. However, it is not something that lies outside of precisely this space of the dialogue that we now share. The shortcut that leads to this 'true person' is exactly Patriarchal Seon.”

The master went on to define the essence of Patriarchal Seon: “this is the search for the true likeness of the perfectly free human being, permeating the conscious and unconscious, permeating the totality as a perfect interfusion without obstruction.”

Within Master Seo-ong's practice methods of as well, Seon meditation was placed at the pinnacle, and he emphasized that Seon was always a “practice aimed at the awakening to our true countenance of intrinsic compassion.” His emphasis on Seon was owing to his belief that it was only be becoming “true people” that we could overcome the accumulated ills of the modern age and that it was through Seon meditation that this genuine life could be made possible.

Master Seo-ong located the ills of modern society within the breakdown of human character and discipline brought on by the development of scientific civilization. He explained that the other side of the material convenience and abundance created by the western scientific civilization based on the philosophy of greed and desire is the subjugation and destruction of humanity and nature that this culture also brings forth. The final outcome of this, according to Master Seo-ong, is that humans are reduced eventually to slaves and both the social order and the environment are brought to destruction.

“Buddhism treats humanity as dignified life that transcends time and space. Human existence must search for that supremely vivacious place where we can find our fundamental identity. This is the culmination of the 'true person,' the condition of ilda wonyung, “the perfect interpenetration of one and all,” that combines the unlimited universe into one. It is only in awakening to the fact that humanity and the natural world are not two, that one can save both humanity and the world as well.”

Noting that though all people are “true persons” they must actualize this reality, he published a pamphlet in 1996 titled, “The Door to the True Person Association.” Together with an explanation of what a “true person” was, the end of this pamphlet included a pledge that crystallized Master Seo-ong's spirit.

“Let's put the life of compassion into practice. Let's create a history of the human race living peacefully and equally. Let's establish a world that loves beauty, acting righteously, knowing sincerely and without any attachments how to respect and help one another.” 

The wooden ox walks in fire

We live in a world of dualistic consciousness. The realm created by consciousness is characterized by our perceived division of things into subjects and objects. Both consciousness and Store-house Consciousness (or unconsciousness) pertain to the level of subjectivity. They are ruled by the principle of arising and passing away. Our minds are imbalanced and impure, and we cannot escape from the round of birth and death.

In order to overcome all duality, we have to break through consciousness and Store-house Consciousness, where there is no distinction between good and evil, birth and death, subject and object, time and space. This state of mind is ultimately free and without obstruction. One can reach it neither through the mere intellect nor through the immobilization of mind. The surest and most direct way to this kind of experience is through the mass of doubt produced by the active kong-an (Ch., kung-an/Jn., koan) practice handed down in the Patriarchal seon tradition.

It is estimated that there are in all some 1700 types of kong-an within the seon tradition. Actually there are countless varieties, because the innumerable problems of human beings are all vivid motifs for kong-an. If any single selected kong-an is resolved, all of them will burst open simultaneously. I shall now introduce you to the way in which one may understand the practice of kong-an.

First of all, the practitioner should have great tenacity in pursuing the fundamental questions of human birth and death. A monk asked Chao-Chou：

"What is the motif of Bodhidharma's coming from the West?"

Chao-Chou replied：

"The arborvitae tree is in the garden!"

This is a question about Patriarchal seon. That is to say, the monk asks Chao-Chou about the purpose of Bodhidharma's mission, the first patriarch of seon, coming from India to China. The seon practitioner must earnestly ask himself why Chao-Chou said "The arborvitae tree is in the garden!". He should make his whole body and mind into one great inquiry. The first step is that he has to be absorbed into the kong-an without any distinction between subject and object. He has to become one with the kong-an, free from all discursive thoughts. If he continually maintains the great inquiry, the kong-an keeps going under its own momentum. This is the second step. Persevering zealously in his practice of kong-an, all thoughts are completely extinguished. Mind at this stage is motionless like stone or iron, but the practitioner is increasingly alert and attentive with his kong-an. If he pushes himself further, he breaks through Store-house Consciousness by the force of his kong-an. His whole mind, conscious and unconscious, is broken through, and simultaneously, the mind manifests, free and without obstacles. Here, there is no distinction between good and evil, birth and death, subject and object, time and space. At this stage, the mind is ultimately liberated. If he breaks through to a further level, there is unity between the break-through and the manifestation of all things. Taken still further, he is free and dynamic because of the limitless liberation of break-though with boundless manifestation of all things. At last, he accomplishes the great life-time work!

None of these stages are separate from each other, for they are all interrelated. But this stupid old man will not allow even this.

"Why don't I allow it? - Answer my question immediately!" "Why? Because I shall deliver my Dharma talk without allowing myself to adhere to even this ultimate stage of realization!"

[Case]

When Linchi was about to pass away, he admonished San-sheng, "After I pass on, don't destroy my secret code of insight into upright dharma (Zhengfayanzang)." San-sheng said, "How would I dare destroy the teacher's secret code of insight into upright dharma?" Linchi said, "If someone suddenly questioned you about it, how would you reply?" At once, San-sheng started shouting. Linchi said, "Who would have thought that my secret code of insight into upright dharma would perish with this blind ass?"

[The Great Patriarch Seo-Ong's Added Saying]

"After I pass on, don't destroy my secret code of insight into upright dharma." Linchi said. "If someone suddenly questioned you about it, how would you reply?" San-sheng said, "How would I dare destroy the teacher's secret code of insight into upright dharma?"

-        These refer to the state of all-pervading break-though and the simultaneous manifestation of all things.

Linchi said, "If someone suddenly questions you about it, how will you reply?" and San-sheng immediately started shouting.

-        These refer to the state that is free without obstacles due to the unity between all-pervading break-though and the manifestation of all things.

Linchi said, "Who would have thought that my secret code of insight into upright dharma would perish with this blind ass?"

-        This shows the state that is ultimately free and dynamic due to the endlessly liberating break-though and the boundless manifestation of mind.

[Verses by Tiantongjue]

The robe of faith is imparted at midnight to Hui-neng,

Stirring up the seven hundred monks at Huang-mei.

The eye of truth of the branch of Linchi；

The blind ass, destroying it, gets the hatred of others.

From mind to mind they seal each other；

From patriarch to patriarch they pass on the lamp,

Leveling oceans and mountains, A fowl turns into a roc.

name and word alone are hard to compare.

In sum, the method is knowing how to fly freely.

[The Great Patriarch Seo-Ong's Commentary on the Verses]

"The robe of faith is imparted at midnight to Hui-neng" refers to the manifestation of all things.

"Stirring up the seven hundred monks at Huang-mei" refers to penetration of all things. "The eye of truth of the branch of Linchi" shows the manifestation of all things.

"The blind ass, destroying it, gets the hatred of others" indicates the state that is ultimately free due to the endless break-though into all things as well as the boundless manifestation of all things. "From mind to mind they seal each other；From patriarch to patriarch they pass on the lamp" refers to the manifestation of all things. "Leveling oceans and mountains" refers to the break-though of all things.

"A fowl turns into a roc" shows the state that is ultimately free due to the unity between the penetration of all things and manifestation of all things. "Name and word alone are hard to compare. In sum, the method is knowing how to fly freely" refers to the state that is ultimately free and dynamic due to the endlessly liberating break-though and the boundless manifestation of all things.

Thus far, I have illustrated the meaning of the practice of kong-an for the sake of beginners. Practitioners, however, should experience this state of complete break-through through their zealous practice of kong-an. This is an active expression of dharma.

[The Great Patriarch Seo-Ong's Added Saying]

Revolving in day and night, restless in eternity,

The bright moon illuminates reed flowers,

Reflecting their identical appearances.

A young accipiter capable of

Flying far away through the sky

Pierces the air with the flap of its wings,

Free from longing for home.

[Auto-commentary on the Added Sayings]

These added sayings depict the state of the all-pervading break-through and the simultaneous manifestation of all things；the state that is free without obstacles due to the unity between all-pervading break-through and the manifestation of all things；the state that is ultimately free and dynamic due to the endlessly liberating break-though and the boundless manifestation of all things.

Speak immediately!!!

"The wooden ox walks in fire"

"A-ak!" (an abrupt roaring).

from The Dharma Assembly of the Great Seon Masters(October, 2002)

Chan Buddhism and the Philosophies of Laozi (老子) and Zhuangzi (莊子)

Among all Chinese philosophies and religions. the thoughts of Laozi and Zhuangzi are perhaps the most profound. It is often said that the Chinese have a tendency to put much weight on reality and are pragmatic by nature. Therefore, the systems of thought developed in China are usually addressed towards practical matters that can be directly applied in everyday life. While ethical and political ideologies abound in Chinese history, rarely can we find metaphysical views on life or thoughts inclined towards a craving for mystical truth.

Contrary to this dominant Chinese tradition are Laozi and Zhuangzi, figures who deal with the most profound problems of life, transcending the common-sense values and thoughts of average Chinese people. Living in times of unprecedented turmoil in China, the Age of the Warring States, Laozi and Zhuangzi witnessed constant war, where schemes and machinations were the norm. The lens of history shows that many instances of unprecedented philosophical and religious development appeared precisely within those countries suffering from chaos and hardships, as a result of efforts taken to overcome such adversity. Laozi and Zhuangzi are perfect examples of this.

When Buddhism was first introduced to China, local scholars tried to interpret Buddhism by borrowing concepts from pre-existing philosophies, mainly those of Laozi and Zhuangzi. For instance, in the Daodejing written by Laozi, there is a statement, "All the things of the world originate from being (有), and being (有) comes from nothingness (無)." The universe has a form and it is thought of as ‘being’ (有), and the origin of the universe without form is considered ‘nothingness’ (無). Accordingly, the concept of voidness1) in Mahayana Buddhism was translated and understood in terms of nothingness as used in the terminology of Laozi.

When Buddhist sutras were translated into Chinese for the first time, the word Nirvana was translated as 'non-doing', meaning 'doing nothing,’ or ‘doing without deliberate manipulation.' Bodhi was translated as 'Tao,' and Tathata (the truth as it is) as 'Originally Nothing.' Buddhism was thus regarded on its deepest levels through the template of Laozi and Zhuangzi. Of course, it would have been difficult for the pragmatic Chinese to accommodate the esoteric thought of Buddhism without borrowing from the conceptual framework of Laozi and Zhuangzi. However, the true meaning of Buddhist thought was somewhat distorted though this process, as it was not simply words, but an entire philosophy that was needing to be translated.

Furthermore, whereas Indians often employed meditation to transcend the suffering of the mundane world, leading to the development of a theoretical, epistemological logic, the Chinese, more active and realistic, preferred intuition to logic. Therefore, rather than the logical meditation into profound Buddhism as seen in India, Chinese Buddhism adopted a practical religious approach in pursuit of the dharma, that is, to experience the ultimate stage of Buddhism and cultivate the mind with intuition. This was the beginning of the Chan Tradition in China, and the subsequent Seon/Zen/Thien traditions in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, respectively.

Some Buddhist sects consider the intuitive stages of Zhuangzi, such as 'Sitting in Oblivion(坐忘),' 'Seeing the stage of transcending the limitations of reality (朝徹),' and 'Seeing independence (見獨)' to be consistent with Chan, but I would like to quote a critical retort (pingchang 評唱) in case 80 of <The Blue Cliff Record>, a book that reveals the innermost depth of the truth of Linji tradition, to argue that this is not, in fact, the case.

According to the contents of the pingchang, Chan meditation initially consists of our conscious mind (心識). When we proceed deeper into our being, we arrive at the margins of ‘no mind’ (無心 ), the absolute stage undiscerned from the universe or Nature. Chan does not stop here though. With more exertion and devotion, we earn the Panna Wisdom of Buddha that pervades the Store-house consciousness, and then transcends even Buddha, to be limitlessly free and dynamic. This ultimate stage of Chan is called 'Tao, the mind of everyday life,' which is to eat food when hungry, drink tea when thirsty, and to be absolutely free and dynamic, restricted by nothing.

Then what of the stage told by Zhuangzi? In the book titled after his own name, there is a story about 'Sitting in Oblivion' in the Chapter “The Great and Venerable Teacher.”

Yanhui, a pupil of Confucius, said "I have made some gain." Confucius asked, "What do you mean?" Yanhui replied, "I forgot virtue and justice." Confucius commented, "Good, but not enough." After some time, he said to Confucius again, "I made further gain." "What is it?" "I forgot civility and music." "Good, but still not enough." Several days later, he said to Confucius once more, "I have made an even greater gain." Confucius asked, "What is it?" Yanhui replied, "I reached 'Sitting in Oblivion.'" Amazed Confucius asked, "What is 'Sitting in Oblivion'?" Yanhui answered, "It is forgetting hands, feet and body, forgetting the action of ears and eyes, leaving the distinction of form to discard wisdom and becoming one with Tao. This is 'Sitting in Oblivion.'" Confucius praised, "When someone becomes one with Tao, there is no good nor evil. After undergoing transformation into becoming one with Tao, there is no attachment. Wise indeed. Now it is I who should be your follower instead."

The 'Sitting in Oblivion' of Zhuangzi is no more than the severing of consciousness, resting in the margins of no mind (無心 ) where all discriminations vanish, whereas Chan breaks through conscious mind (有心 ), transcends 無心 (no mind), and rises above even Buddhahood to be unlimitedly free and dynamic. To reach Panna Wisdom, one must go beyond even the margins of no mind (無心), to the stage of the eighth sense.

I will give one more example about Zhuangzi, again from “The Great and Venerable Teacher”:

For three days, rising above the world, remaining beyond, I dwell in this stage. After the seventh day, I am beyond all things, and after the ninth day, I am beyond life. Already beyond life, I can see the stage that transcends the limitations of reality, and then I see independence. Then there is no past and present, and then after this stage, I enter the realm without life nor death.

Zhuangzi mentions being outside of all things, outside of life, and then seeing through the stage that transcends the realistic limitations of human beings. In conclusion, he speaks of transcending the limitations of consciousness.

Although people are prone to confuse Zhuangzi's thoughts with Chan, the two lie in totally different spheres. Zhuangzi remains at the boundary of the eighth sense, the margins of unconsciousness, the margins of the great Nature where there is no deliberate human manipulation. Chan transcends this stage of Zhuangzi to reach Panna Wisdom, and transcending even Panna Wisdom, it arrives at the great freedom.

Of course, this analysis is but a brief summary of the very complex differences between Zhuangzi and Chan. All of you must practice more earnestly to see the reality for yourselves.

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1) Voidness: Sunyata in Sanskrit. In the Indian Madhyamaka philosophy, it refers to the ultimate nature of phenomena. It is often used to describe either non-existence or the absence of all mental and physical sensation experienced at some stages of meditation.