The Arrival of Seon and the Acceptance of Patriarchal Seon
The Ganhwa Seon of Korea is a mainstream lineage of Patriarchal Seon that accepted entirely the current of Patriarchal Seon established by the Sixth
The Arrival of Seon and the Acceptance of Patriarchal Seon
The Ganhwa Seon of Korea is a mainstream lineage of Patriarchal Seon that accepted entirely the current of Patriarchal Seon established by the Sixth Patriarch Huineng. The Seon Dharma first entered Korea at the end of the Silla and start of the Goryeo dynasties, when monks who were foreign students seeking the Dharma in the Tang Dynasty received the Dharma from China and began to disseminate it in Korea.
Most of them received the Seon Dharma from Seon Master Huineng’s disciples, and they formed the Nine Mountain Seon Schools (kusan Seonmun). By the Goryeo period, these Nine Mountain Seon Schools were collectively called Jogyejong, which was the Seon School that received the Seon Dharma of Seon Master Huineng.
The school name, “Jogyejong” of the Dae Han Bulgyo Jogyejong is derived from the name of the mountain where Seon Master Huineng resided and unfolded the Seon Dharma of sudden enlightenment. From the time of the Tang and Song dynasties, Seon Master Huineng was called Caoqi Huineng (Kor. Jogye Hyeneung). From this it is clear that the Jogyejong has continued to maintain the mainstream lineage of Patriarchal Seon in its true state.
The ancestor of Jogyejong, National Teacher Do-ui received the Seon Dharma from Xitang Zhizang (735-814) in the fourth generation from Huineng. National Teacher Do-ui worshipped and consulted Zhizang as his master, dispelled the ball of doubt he had amassed and finally overcame the indigestion that blocked his enlightenment. Zhizang, seeing this, just as if he had picked out a beautiful jade from among the pebbles or a pearl from the oyster shell, was happy and said, “Truly if I do not transmit the Dharma to this man then to whom would I transmit it?” (Jodangjip 17).
In the Goryeo period, with the advent of the Cheontae (Chi. Tientai) School that had the powerful backing of the royal clan, the Seon School shrank somewhat. Approaching the twelfth century, while consolidating the School, it proceeded to build a new foundation. National Teacher Won-eung Hag-il (1052-1144) of the Gaji Mountain Gate and National Teacher Daegam Tanyeon (1070-1159) of the Sa-gul Mountain Gate acted vigorously to restore the Seon School. Moreover, Layman Yi Jahyeon (1061-1125), who had extensive connections with the Seon monks and who at that time exercised huge influence on the Seon thought of the Goryeo, initiated the flowering of an invigorating layperson’s Buddhism.
The Acceptance and Consolidation of Ganhwa Seon
In the period of military dominance in the Goryeo, with the advent of Seon Master Bojo Jinul (1158-1210), the Seon-style rose strongly once again. At Suseonsa (Cultivation of Seon Society – today’s Songgwang-sa Monastery), National Teacher Bojo developed the Jeonghye Gyeolsa that was a movement for the joint practice of meditation and wisdom, and meditation practitioners gathered there from all over. Then, for the first time, the Ganhwa Seon method established by Dahui (1089-1163) was introduced into Korea by Bojo. The National Teacher offered Ganhwa Seon for the practitioners of outstanding ability.
However, the person who genuinely accepted ganhwa Seon into Goryeo Buddhism was National Teacher Jin-gak Hyesim (1178-1234). Seon Master Hyesim compiled the Seonmun yeomsong, the very first collection of gongan (Jap. koan) in Korea. This collection of gongan opened up a concrete path for practitioners to study (gongbu or concentrated effort) hwadu. Moreover, Hyesim clarified in detail the concrete troubles and symptoms that can occur when studying, and elucidated the topic of the hwadu of the character “no” (the story of a dog having no Buddha-nature).
After Seon Master Hyesim, the Ganhwa Seon method of practice and style was continued through sixteen national teachers of Suseonsa. Of course, even in the period while they were active, the practice method of Ganhwa Seon entered Goryeo from China several times.
In 1270, the military regime collapsed and Suseonsa fell to a low ebb, but the current of Ganhwa Seon was renewed by Seon Master Iryeon (1200-1289) who consolidated the Seon style. Around this time, many Seon monks of the Goryeo entered into Yuan China in active pursuit of the Dharma, and through