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The Originality of Early Buddhism & Its

Contemporary Significance In Korea Dr. Lee Chi-Ran

(Professor, Dongguk Buddhist Cheonbop College, South Korea)

Contents

I. Introduction

II. Sangha Formation

III. The Originality of Sangha wisdom in Korean Buddhism

IV. Conclusion

I. Introduction

In Buddhist studies, ‘the Originality of Early Buddhism and Its Contemporary Significance’ is a

quite important and interesting subject for the students of the history of Buddhism comparatively. By

means of Early Buddhism, in this context, Buddhism and its related matters during the period from the

time of the Mahâparinirvâna of the Sâkyamuni Buddha down to the 4th century __ arising of different

Buddhist sects is __ meant. As we know there are three main schools in Buddhism : namely, Theravâda1),

Mahâyâna2) and Vajrayâna3). The Theravâda tradition exists in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia

and Laos ; Mahâyâna in China, Korea and Japan and Vajrayâna in Tibet and Mongolia. However, all

Buddhist traditions basically have many things in common __ in their origin, spirit, and historical

development. Moreover, there is hardly any difference between teachings of the Buddha and the Buddhist

Sangha in the ancient Indian Peninsula and modern Korea. For these reasons, in this paper I have made an

attempt to research the early Buddhism and Sangha both ancient and modern periods with special

reference to Korea in briefly.

As a teaching that aims at the development and perfection of human being, the role and

significance of Buddhism are tremendously increasing in relation to the ever-increasing tendencies and

concerns of human roles and issues in modern societies. Many religious figures and scholars regard that

social role and responsibility of Buddhism is not likely to be decrease, but rather it will increase in XXI

Century. Thus, it creates a great responsibility to Buddhism and its followers. That is to say, it is very

important to adapt wisely itself according to the demands of contemporary social life on one hand, and

hold rigorously its root teachings and moral conducts on the other hand. It is our belief that Buddhism can

spread and glorify only if it preserves its original state of holy aspects and qualities. It has proven

throughout the entire historical developments of Buddhism that is a history of Buddhist tradition and its

reformation. For instance, if we look at the History of Korea and Japanese Buddhism, it would be clear

that the immovable foundation for many hundreds of years development of Buddhism in these countries

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are true faith in Buddha’s teachings and unstained preservation of rules and norms for the Sangha

community.

It holds the same truth in Lamaism4) or Yellow-hat sect or Tibet-Mongolian Buddhism. When Lama Je

Tsong Khapa, who is founder of Lamaism, reformed Tibetan Buddhism in accordance with social

development of Tibet at his own time, say middle age, he had specially stressed the importance of

maintaining what Buddha and holy aspects and qualities of original state of Buddhism teach. That is

why, this particular tradition succeeded and spread in many centuries. As far as Buddhist and scholar’s

viewpoint is, concerned, Tibetan Buddhism is spreading with increasing speed and its influences are

gaining more and more power in the nowdays world.

Early Buddhism and Sangha(fully ordained monks and nuns) formation issues have been a

subject matter of world Buddhist Studies right from its beginning. Let me give a brief account of some

creations by some well-known scholars out of this rich hermitage of studies.

Those Outstanding scholars, who established Buddhist Studies made tremendous contribution

to its development, had done extensive research about the origination, earlier period and further

development of Buddhism and created numerous valuable works. Very first research target was those

literatures in Pali language. The scholars, who had established Scientific Studies of Buddhism for the first

time, were all from European countries such as England, Germany, Russia and French, etc. One of those

first biggest creations, which contain the entire history of Buddhism, was “Introduction a l’histoire du

bouddhism Inden” by a French scholar, E. Burnouf. This work, which published in 1844, deals with some

researches on Buddhist source materials and root texts based on the comparison between Sanskrit and Pali

traditions.

As for finding out, translating and publishing Pali texts, first biggest step was taken by a

Danish scholar, V. Fausboil and Holland scholar, Prof. H. Kern.5) The most famous creation of V.

Fausboil was that he had published “Jataka tales”. He had published six volumes of works within the

certain length of time starting from 1877 to 1897, which can be one of the biggest research material for

Buddhist literatures, likely Studies, Similarly, prof. H. Kern had also put a lot of efforts and labor to

publish root texts, especially those in Sanskrit. While H. Kern deals with the entire history of Buddhism

in his “Manual of Indian Buddhism” (1896) his two volumes of work that titled as “Histoire du

Bouddhism dans l’india,(1901-1903) reveals a life story of Buddha, what are Dharma and Sangha, a

historical accounts of origin and developments of Buddhism and its many fold schools, and streams and

traditions.

One of those scholars, who had greatly contributed to study early Buddhist teachings and

history, especially translated and print pali texts, was a English professor T. W. Rhys Davids. He had

written many works such as “Buddhism, its History and Literature”, “Buddhist India” and etc.6)

Rhys Davids had established a well-known society for its great works of “Pali Text Society” in

1881.There are many translation those of creations by Rhys Davids himself among those published

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almost published works from this society. This society had published almost 40 series of translations that

contains most of sutras of Pali tripitakas within first 15 years only, say in 1881 to 1895. There were many

others, who had participated in this masterpiece works along side with Rhys Davids such as a German

Professor E. Muller, Russian Professor Minayeff, Danish Professor V. Fausboll, French Professor M.

Leon Feer, etc. These scholars also translated many root texts into English, French and Germany. Prof. T.

W. Rhys Davids had also written an extensive “Pali English Dictionary”, which is still significant in this

modern time, by working in collaboration with Dr. William Stede. By any means, an outstanding scholars

like Rhys Davids could only complete this real monumental creation.

C.A.F. Rhys Davids, who is wife of T.W. Rhys Davids, was very active in all activities of the

Pali Text Society, and hence she had continued her husband’s work that resulted many translations of the

root texts. She had written many books based on her research works for history of Buddhist thoughts.7)

H. Oldenberg, who played significant role in the 19th Century Indian Studies, had made a great

contribution to the Buddhist Studies, besides his extensive researches on Vedic Literature. His treatise

called “Buddha, Sein Leben, seine Lehre, seine Gemeinde “ was the first European fundamental creation

that was directly based on Pali texts. He had also published all the texts of Vinaya pitaka and translated

many others into English.8)

A new pace of Buddhist studies was begun with the works of English Scholars A. B. Keith, B.

C. Law, E. J. Thomas, French scholars S. Levi, Russian scholar Th. Stcherbasky, Belgium scholars L. de

la Valle Poussin0and0Et. Lamotte. Italian scholar G. Tucci, etc0 in the 1920s of 20th century.

A Scholar of Indian studies, Sylvain Levi had achieved a great success in studies of Sanskrit

texts of Buddhism and it can be clearly seen from his famous book on Nepal.9) He had mastered in

Chinese, Tibetan, Kuchean and Tokharian Languages that enabled him to deepens his research. One of

his greatest creations was an Encyclopedic dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms.

A Russian distinguished Buddhist Scholar, academician Th. Stcherbatsky 10)had done research

words on both Sarvastivada of Hinâyâna and philosophical thoughts of Mahayana. While he dealt with

the entire theoretical thoughts of Early Buddhism in his “The Central Conception of Buddhism” , he had

clarified the conception of Nirvana based on his own studies of Mahâyâna philosophy in his other

monography. Th. Stcherbatsky had also put tremendous efforts and endurances to study Buddhist logics

and translate its root texts that resulted in coming out his monumental creation called “Buddhist Logic”

(two Volumes). St-Petersburg’s “Bibliotheca Buddhica,” had published 30 volumes of Buddhist,

particularly Mahayana texts under the guidance of Th. Stcherbatsky. There were many distinguished

scholars, who participated and contributed greatly to this publication such as Russian distinguished

scholars like S. Oldenburg, Th. Stcherbatsky, W. Radloff, E. Obemiller, B.Vladimitsoff and outstanding

scholars from other countries like N. Kern, L. de la V. Poussin, L. Finot, C. Bendali, A. Grunwedel, M.

Walleser, B. Nanjio, and so forth.

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Louis de la Vallee Poussin had dedicated his works for studying teachings of Hinayana and

written many valuable treatises11) Besides of his many translations of the root texts he had translated

Vasubhandu’s both “Abhidharmakosa12)” and its commentary into French (1923-1931).Thus, we can

regard this as his biggest creation.

The most famous work by a well-known English scholar, A. B. Keith is “Buddhist Philosophy

in India and Ceylon “. A scholar, E.J. Thomas had presented detailed accounts of early Buddhism and its

Theravada texts in his creations. His work about the Buddha was very peculiar for it presented some

analysis of historical facts of founder of Buddhism, and therefore it was essentially significant for

illuminating History of Early Buddhism. Here we should acknowledge those works of well-known

english scholar B.C. Law on early Buddhism13)

If we look at a general outline of the World Buddhist Studies, it is obvious fact that first

Buddhist scholars of Oriental Countries had developed this Western research works further based their

own traditional texts by creating numerous works. As for such scholars are we can make a list as follows:

Indian scholars S. C. Das, S. C. Vidyabhusan, D. Kosambi, B. M. Barua; Sri Lankan scholars

S.Hewavitarane, G.P.Malalasekera, Ven. W. Rahula; Japanese scholars Bunyiu nanjio, J. Takakusu, D. T.

Suzuki; Chinese scholars Rev. Tai Hsu, Prof. Kan Yu-wei, Yang Wei-hui, etc.14) David Hewavitarane or

known as Anagarika Dharmapala15) had initiated the activities for preserving and developing Buddhism

and contributed a lot to these particularism deeds for many years. For example, “Mahâ Bodhi Society”

(1891), which is founded by him, had played a significant role in these activities. Even today, this society

is working actively for studying and spreading Buddhism.

The World War II was a biggest obstacle ever happened in the World Buddhist Studies for its

further growth and development. Due to this terrible war, it was very difficult to extend research work

scope and publish root texts. After the war, starting from the 1950s onward Buddhist Studies had revived

again. 2500th of Anniversary of Sâkyamuni Buddha’s Passing away was celebrated world widely

in India, 1956. Since, many scholars and religious0figures from different countries had participated to

the celebration it activated the Buddhist Studies and attracted numerous people to this work. Thus, it was

actually begging of new era for the Buddhist studies.

After the 1960s Buddhist Studies had greatly expanded, and hence it developed strongly in

USA, Canada and many other Asian countries, besides those European countries like England, Germany,

Russia and French, etc those had classical hermitage of research works for Buddhism. Since then, the

numbers of research institutions and centers, where intensive Buddhist Studies carried on, were

established. Thus, it became very difficult to make even outline of research works.

We should mention an English Buddhist scholar Ed. Conze from those distinguished scholars of

later half of the 20th Century. He had made classifications of Buddhist philosophical thoughts as (1), the

Archaic Buddhism; (2), the Sthaviras; (3), the Mahâyâna and paid a great attention to theoretical thoughts

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of Early Buddhism in his “Buddhist Thought in India” E. Conze had also done deep research works on

Mahâyâna, particularly Prajnâpâramitâ (wisdom perfection) teachings and Buddhist meditation16).

A Numerous detailed researches by American scholars are generally on a School of Buddhist

Thought, or thinker, or a root text, but particularly dedicated to study Mahâyâna Buddhism.

Nowdays those research works on Early Buddhism, Pali Literatures are developing much more

in Sri Lanka and Thailand. Here we must underline works of Sri Lanka and Thai monks and professors,

likewise, the serial Publications, which are edited by The Buddhist Publication Society(Kandy). They are

very significant for studying and commenting Theravâda literature in general, practicing Buddhist

morality in one’s day to day life, purifying one’s own mind in particular, and hence practicing pure

morality by all means. Many Thailand Buddhist Universities, such as Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya

University and Mahamakut University are deeply engaging with Buddhist studies and Educations.

Thailand is giving a great importance on developing Buddhist meditation as a common practice in the

entire Kingdom.

At present many Tibetan experts, mostly monks are doing extensive research works on

Buddhism in general, Vinaya teaching in particular in the light of modern scientific methodology. This is

due to the activities of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan Government in exile at the Dharamsala in

India and Tibetan Monastery, research institutions in many countries all around world. Particularly, His

Holiness XIV Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso has written many works on Buddhist teachings and some

important issues of the Enlightenment17). His Holiness the Dalai Lama emphasized on certain issues such

as how one can live with happiness, how one can purify the mind in these modern circumstances and

conditions accordance to Buddhist teachings. The Scholars from Korea, which is one of those countries

that has preserved a Buddhist Tradition, have paid and contributed a lot to Buddhist studies. Here we can

mention the research works of Kweon Sang-ro, Lee Nung-hwa, Kim Dong-hwa, Lee Young-moo, Rhi Ki-

young, Kim Ji-kyun, Lee Ji-kwan, Kim Wol-woon, Park Sung-bae, Ko Ik-jin, Kim Young-tae, Jo

Myeong-ki, Yi Jong-ik, Chong Pyong-cho Ven. Seong Chul, Ven. Cho Oh-hyun and Kim Gwang-sik etc.

They have analyzed through a broad scope of research areas and problems on history of Korean

Buddhism18). Its specific characteristics and its renowned thinkers, particularly on Seon Buddhism and

Jogye School(ùfªn—[ ÿand gave important estimations and conclusions .

All these research works by these outstanding scholars contributed enormously to development

of world Buddhist Studies. Having gone through all these works at certain extend enables my

dissertation to have both theoretical and methodological basis, and some of them become the subject

matter or important source materials. Most of them dealt with the historical outlines of an Early

Mahâyâna Buddhism, with translation and publication of root texts, and analysing of them. But they have

not a very important in connection to our present time since they are dedicated mostly to historical

accounts.

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The special characteristics or novelty of this research lies in its revelations on early Buddhist

teachings and its practitioners, namely Sangha, what are specific characteristics, original doctrines,

present traditions and significances of this grand hermitage. Moreover, we hope this research will give a

clear picture of outlines for Korean Buddhism and its specific characteristics, and specific efforts for

preserving and developing its originality.

II. Sangha Formation

Accordingly, therefore, let us first consider why the early Buddhist community has been

considered to be a monkish community. The early use of the words bhikkhu-sangha and bhikkhuni-

sangha indicates that the Sangha consisted of bhikkhus (monks) and bhikkhunis (nuns) as regular

members. We are, therefore, led to surmise that the early Sangha must have been an ascetic community

from which laymen (upasaka) and laywomen (upasika) were excluded.19)

Although the universal Sangha is now seen as extending to the three worlds, it is evident that

the early ‘Four Quarters’ Sangha’ was fundamentally a monastic association of monks and nuns.

According to the Vinaya Pitaka, it did not include lay people.

The Sangha consisted primarily of bhikkhus and bhikkhunis. This was also true of the “Four

Quarters Sangha,” since it was understood to be an extension of the individual Sangha. There were four

categories of followers-monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen-but this does not mean that there were four

organized groups. The lay people, who had been selected in the early days of Buddha’s life, belong to the

Sangha only as individuals, rather than as part of an organized group such as that of the monks or of the

nuns.

Thus, the Buddha never tried to astonish the people by doing any wonderful deeds and after this

affair with Moggallana, neither he nor any other of the Bhikkhus ever tried to do any. Yet in spite of this,

the people clearly saw and felt that the Buddha was a great teacher, and they showed their respect and

veneration for Him wherever He went, by providing plentifully for the wants of Himself and His

company of Bhikkhus who went about everywhere with Him. And many of the followers of the other

religious teachers did not like to see this at all. They were very much annoyed to see how the people went

to these new yellow-robed ascetics of the Sakya ascetic Gotama to hear them preach and to give them the

best of fool and medicines, while they neglected them and their teachers.

According to the Mahavagga, Buddha was undecided after his enlightenment as to whether he

should deliver the Dharma or not, but, following the advice of the god Brahma, he began to transmit it.

The legend of Brahma’s advice obviously is a later addition; nevertheless it can be assumed that the

Buddha underwent some inner psychological torment as to whether or not he should present the Dharma

to the people. Considering to whom he might first teach his doctrine, the Buddha thinks of Arada and

Udaraka, but is told by deities (or spirits, devata) that both have recently died. He then thinks of five

compassions of his in his wandering and ascetic practices before the enlightenment. He finds by his

insight that they are near Varanasi (Benares) and resolves to go there. On the way he meets an Ajivaka

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named Upaka, who remarks on his happy, contented appearance and ask whose doctrine he follows. The

Buddha replies that he has no teacher, that he is freed, the influences being exhausted in him, that he is

enlightened. The Ajivaka is sceptical, saying ‘It may be so’, shaking his head and going away by a

different road (this can also be interpreted as by a wrong road: the ambiguity is no doubt deliberate, the

reaction of the Ajivaka symbolizing that of all those who were not ready to understand the new

doctrine)20).

The Buddha finds his former companions in a park (now called Sarnath) near Varanasi. They

first resolve to treat him without respect because he had given up the severe ascetic practices he was

formerly following with them and relapsed into a life they regard as worldly. This refers to the tradition of

the extreme asceticism tried out by the future Buddha, which he eventually gave up as useless, attaining

enlightenment whilst living moderately and taking a resonable amount of food. The tradition does not

occur in the text we have so far followed, except by implication here, though it is found in many later On

the Buddha’s approach, however, the five former companions receive him with respect in spite of

themselves and become his pupils. He tells them how (as described above) having the principle of birth

and discovered its ones. disadvantage he has acquired extinction. knowledge then arose in them, and

insight: our freedom is certain, this is our last birth, now there is no rebirth. After the events in Varanasi

the Buddha returned to Uruvilva in Magadha. Here the Vinaya in its different recensions(confirmed by

the Mahavastu) narrates a strange event when the Buddha meets three ascetics with matted hair (jatilas),

all of the Kasyapa clan and each having numerous followers. The Buddha asks to stay the night in

Uruvilva Kasyapa’s fire temple(the ascetic is apparently an orthodox brahman maintaining a sacred fire).

The ascetic objects on the ground that there is a dangerous dragon (naga) there. The Buddha is not afraid

of dragons and insists, the ascetic giving way. The dragon tries to overcome the Buddha by breathing

forth fire and smoke, but the Buddha is too powerful for him and subdues him. Convinced of the

marvellous power of the Buddha the three Kasyapas and their followers join the Buddha’s community21).

The Buddha next goes on to Rajagriha, the capital of Magadha, invited by King Bimbisara. The

King is pleased with the Buddha’s teaching and becomes a lay disciple. According to the Buddhist

community22).

Next follows (confirmed by the Mahavastu) the story of how the Buddha gained his two best

followers, Sariputra and Maudgalyayana. A wanderer named Sanjayin, whom the Mahavastu (but not the

texts of the other schools) identifies with the leader of the Agnostics, was staying in Rajagriha with some

of his followers. Among the latter were Sariputra and Maudgalyayana, who were great friends. Sariputra

met one of the buddhist monks, was most impressed by his calm and pleasant bearing, and asked him who

his teacher was and what his doctrine. The monk says that he has not learned much of the doctrine but can

state the meaning (artha) of it very briefly. Sariputra was brilliant of intellect and not need any elaborate

explanations, a hint of the doctrine would been enough to give him insight into it. So he asked for just the

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meaning without elaboration. The monk tells him the Master teaches the organization of principles from

causes.

This is enough to give Sariputra insight into the doctrine. He at once tells Maudgalyayana and

they decide to go to the Buddha. They first tell Sanjayin, who refuses to go with them, but all the other

followers of Sanjayin go. The Buddha welcomes the two friends to his community and says they will be

his best pupils.

Upon one occasion when the Buddha was known to be going to deliver a discourse in a village

where, He had rested overnight, a poor farmer, a Brahmin, living near by, made up his mind to be present

and hear the Great Teacher speak. But to his dismay, on the morning of the day when the Buddha was to

preach, he found that one of his bullocks was missing. He was only a poor man and could not afford to

lose it, so he set off at once into the jungle all round to look for it, hoping that he would soon find it, and

be able to get back to the village before the time when the preaching was to begin. But the bullock had

wandered further away than he expected; and although he made all the haste he could searching here,

there and everywhere, wherever he thought his bullock might have got to, it was some time after mid-day

before he found it and got back to the village. He was very hungry and very tired with running about all

the morning under the hot sun, but he did not want to miss hearing the Great Teacher speak, so without

waiting to take a rest or get anything to eat, he hurried to the place where the Buddha was, hoping he

would still be in time to hear the end of the sermon at least. But when he got to the preaching place what

was his surprise to find that the sermon had not even begun. There in the preaching hall the Buddha sat

silent with all the people round Him patiently waiting for Him to begin. Pleased and thankful to find that

he was still in time, the farmer crept quietly in at the back of the hall to look for a seat there.

The Lord Buddha now began to feel that His days in this world were coming to a close; but

before He passed away He wished to give His Bhikkhus some last advice which should serve to guide

them in their general conduct after He was gone and could advise and guide them no more with His living

voice. So He told Ananda to gather the Bhikkhus together in the Preaching Hall at Rajagaha; and when all

the Bhikkhus had assembled, He addressed them as follows:

“O Bhikkhus, as long as you remain united and meet together frequently, so long the Sangha

will continue to flourish and prosper. So long as you meet together and decide all important questions in

union and harmony one with another, and do not make new and oppressive rules, hard to keep, where I

have made none, but strictly adhere to the observance of those rules which I have given you for your help

and protection - so long as you do this, the Sangha will never decay and die out.

''Always treat with respect those who have been longer in the Sangha than yourselves, and pay

attention to their counsel and admonition. Be ever on the watch against the beginnings of anything that

tends to evil in order that you may not become the slaves of evil before you are aware. Do not seek

company: seek solitude. When Bhikkhus from other places come to visit you, attend to their wants and

treat them well and hospitably. When any among you are sick, let the others wait upon them and care for

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them. He who thus waits upon and cares for a sick brother, it is the same as if he waited upon and cared

for me. Shun pride vain show. Seek the companionship of the good; avoid the company of the bad. Think

and reflect frequently upon the nature of all things here, that they do not last, that they cause suffering to

him who clings closely to them, that they are empty of any solid substance.”

And now the Buddha is getting to be an old man. He is eighty years of age. For nearly forty-five

years He has been traveling about on foot up and down His native land of India, teaching and preaching

without any rest except during the rainy season of each year. And now He is feeling His years. He is

weary and worn out in body, though His mind remains as strong as ever. He feels that He is not going to

live much longer, and His thoughts turn to the north, towards the lands that lie at the foot of the great

snowy mountains, where His youthful days were passed. It is in that country that He wishes to pass away

from the world He has served so ungrudgingly these many years. So, leaving Rajagaha. He turns His now

feeble steps northwards, intending to go to the little town of Kusinara, and there await death. On the way

to it, He passes through the city that is now called Patna, and then, still going north, through the rich town

of Vesali where He once was splendidly entertained by the courtesan Ambapali, and given a Vihara by

her, much to the annoyance of the young princes of the place who wanted to have the honor of doing this

themselves. When the Bhikkhus had all come, He exhorted them earnestly, as His last parting

admonition to them, to follow faithfully the good way He had taugthem, for the sake of the world, for the

sake of the benefit, the advantage, the welfare of the world of men which need to have kept before it the

example of the holy life, perfect and pure. “All that belongs to this world is changeable and un-lasting,”

He said. “Exert yourselves! Strive earnestly! Follow the Good Way! Keep close watch over your minds!

So shall you find certain deliverance from the round of birth and death and all things evil.”

Then, the next morning, the Buddha started out direct for Kusinara, and on the way, at a little

village called Pava, He was invited by the son of the village goldsmith, whose name was Cunda, to

partake of a meal of sukara-maddavam, a kind of mushroom which wild boars much delight to eat, hence

its name which means boar’s delight.

The Buddha partook of the meal Cunda offered Him, and after He had eaten, felt very much

refreshed and strengthened. Indeed, He thought He had quite got over His illness and He praised Cunda

for having given Him a meal that had done Him so much good, and said that the good deed Cunda thus

had done would make for his well-being both here and hereafter, both now and in the future.

So Ananda took the Buddha’s robe and, folding it in four, spread it on the ground between the

two big Sal trees, so that his Master could lie on it with His head towards the North. Then the Buddha lay

down on the couch thus prepared for Him, not to sleep, but only to rest His sick and weary body while

His mind remained calm and collected as ever. For, did He not once tell Sariputta in the years when He

was still hale and well, that if He were to live to become so old and weak that He could not walk but had

to be carried about in a litter, still, for all that,He would be able to expound His Teaching and answer any

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question about it that might be asked even by the wisest and cleverest scholars, as long as they could stay

awake to ask questions! He would never be tired in His mind.

But now, when Ananda saw that his beloved Master was really going to leave him he was filled

with grief; he could not help it. And he went into the Vihara close by, and hiding himself from the

Buddha’s eyes behind the door, he began to weep, saying to himself: “I am not like the other Bhikkhus. I

am still only a learner. I have not yet reached the state of Arahan. And now my Teacher is going to pass

away and leave me, he who has always been so kind to me.” And the hot tears rolled down poor Ananda’s

cheeks.

Then the Buddha opened His eyes and seeing that Ananda was not beside Him as usual, He said to the

other Bhikkhus who were round Him: “Where is Ananda?”

“Reverend Lord,” replied one of the Bhikkhus, “the venerable Ananda has gone into the Vihara

and is now standing behind the door there weeping, and saying that he is only a learner, not perfect yet,

and now is losing his teacher who was always kind to him.” “Go, O Bhikkhu,” said the Buddha, “and tell

Ananda that his teacher is calling for him.” So the Bhikkhu went and told Ananda that the Buddha wanted

to see him. And Ananda came and sat down near the Blessed One. And the Blessed One spoke to him and

said:

“Enough, now, Ananda! Do not grieve, do not weep. Have I not told you many and many a time

that it must be that some day we shall be separated, cut off, sundered, parted from all that is dear to us?

This must be, Ananda. There is no help for this. How is it possible that any-thing that has been born, has

had a beginning, should not again die, come to an end? Such a thing, Ananda, is not possible. For a long

time now, Ananda, you have waited upon the Tathagata and served him with body and speech and mind,

in deed and word and thought, kindly, devotedly, cheerfully, ungrudgingly, and beyond measure. You

have done much that is good by your faithful service of me, Ananda. Now exert yourself to get rid of all

the things that hinder you from becoming an Arahan, and in a very short time you will become one.”

Then the Buddha spoke to the other Bhikkhus round Him and said: “All the Buddhas before

me have each had a favorite disciple and body-servant just as I have had Ananda. And all the Buddhas to

come will each have a favorite attendant like Ananda. A wise and faithful servant has Ananda been to me.

He always knew when it was a suitable time to let visitors see me. He has always been pleasant to them in

all his words and ways, and they have always been pleased with his manners towards them. When he has

addressed them, they have always wanted to hear more from his lips. Such an excellent disciple and

servant has Ananda always been to me.”

Then Ananda spoke and said to the Buddha: “Pray, Reverend Lord, do not pass away to

Nibbana from this little mud-built place, this jungle town, this out-of-the-way corner. There are great

cities like Rajagaha and Savatthi and Vesali and others. Let the Blessed One be pleased to pass away from

one of these places. In these cities there are many wealthy and high-placed believers in the Blessed One

who will see to His funeral rites in a manner worthy of the Tathagata.

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“Nay, Ananda,” said the Buddha, “do not talk like that. Do not call this a little out-of-the-way,

mud-built, jungle place. For at one time Ananda, in days gone by, this was a great and flourishing city,

the capital of the country where a great king lived in his golden palace.”

“But go now, Ananda, and tell the chief men and the people of Kusinara that tonight, in the last

watch of the night, the Tathagata will pass away to Nibbana. Therefore let them come and see the

Tathagata before He passes away.”

Now it happened that a certain wandering ascetic, called Subhadda was staying near Kusinara at

this time, and when he heard that the Buddha was about to pass away, he resolved to go and see Him at

once and ask Him about a certain matter that puzzled him, before He passed away. For he felt sure that

the Lord Buddha could answer the question he wished to ask and clear up all his doubts about it. But

Subhadda was too anxious to have his doubts settled by the Buddha before He passed away, to take a

refusal from Ananda, and he pressed Ananda again and again to let him see the Buddha; and Ananda

again and again told him that his Master was far too ill and could not be disturbed by any one. However,

the Buddha, where He lay, caught a word or two of the talk that was passing between Ananda and

Subhadda, and He called Ananda to Him and said:

“Come, Ananda. Do not keep Subhadda from seeing me. Let Subhadda come and see me if he

wishes. What he asks will be for the sake of learning from me, and not merely in order to troubleme. He

is quick of wit, and will readily understand what I say to him, Ananda.”

Then Subhadda asked to be admitted to the Order of Bhikkhus, and the Buddha granted his

request, and told Ananda to give him ordination. In this way Subhadda became the very last Bhikkhu

whom the Buddha admitted to the Order, just as Kondanna in the deer park near Benares was the first.

And by earnest and diligent labor in the Doctrine and Discipline, Subhadda very shortly became an

Arahant.

It is twenty-five centuries ago since Siddhattha Gotama, the Sakya Prince who became Gotama

the Buddha, thus passed away in far Kusinara. But His words, His Teachings, have not passed away.

These still remain, the guide through life to what is beyond life, of millions of the human race. For, after

His passing away, the Arahants and other disciples of that Blessed One spread the tidings of His great

Teaching all through His native land of India, and passing beyond its boundaries, carried it far away to

the West into Egypt, and to the East into Tibet and China and Japan. To Lapland in the cold North the

Message was borne by them, and to Java and the isles of the southern seas. So that to-day two and a half

millennia since He passed away from the earth, nearly a third part of those that dwell upon it revere the

name of the Exalted One, the Blessed One, the Buddha Supreme, the Instructor of gods and men the

Teacher unique, without a peer, who taught Nibbana and the Way Thither.

III. The Originality of Sangha wisdom in Korean Buddhism

We are here concerned with brief history of Korean Buddhism and Tripitakas23) in order to

understand what the reality is including the relationship between ancient Korean Buddhism and Mongolia

12

Empire and Mongolian Buddhism as well. it is necessary to observe Korean Shamanistic Beliefs and

religions before considering from angles of various culture and anthropological point of view. Because in

the north part of korea was not homogenous in those times. It was a mix of Chinese new comers and

the local Korean-Manchurian population. There is much anthropological, DNA and archaeological

evidence to support this, but intense nationalism has prevented Asian countries from adequately studying

history and facts. Before Buddhism came to Korean. Neolithic man in Korea held animistic beliefs, being

convinced that every object in the natural world was possessed of a soul. Man, too, of course had a soul

and it was believed that this soul was immortal. Accordingly, in burying the body of one who had died, a

variety of special attentions were shown. Stones were placed around the corpse in an effort to protect it

from evil spirits, articles that the deceased had used during his life time were buried with him, and the

corpse was laid with its head toward the east, in the direction of the sunrise. Through this burying

customs, we are able to understand primitive men’s life and their religious rituals.

The souls of natural objects such as mountains, rivers, and trees were thought of in the same

way as those of men, and certain of these were accorded statues as divinities. Foremost among these was

the sun, and its worship is perhaps best evidenced by the numerous instances that can be found of myths

of human birth from eggs. For example, Yuhwa24) is said to have conceived after the rays of the sun shone

on her body and to have an egg from which the founder of Goguryeo, Jumong, was born.

Again, Bak Hyeokgeose’s25) birth is described as being from an egg, and it is related that the

name he was given, Bak (brightness) is owed to the fact that light radiated from his body. Both these

legends indicate that exalted personages were thought to be children of the sun. With good spirits like the

sun were believed to bring good fortune to human beings, it also believed that evil spirits such as those

who dwelled in darkness brought misfortune upon man. Accordingly, it was necessary that there be

adepts in magic, intermediaries with the ability to drive off evil spirits and invoke the gods so as to bring

about a happy outcome. It is supposed that these tribal magicians performed ceremonies designed to

forestall calamity by means of chants and dancing, for a tradition of such practices can be found in the

routines of the cheongun (Heaven prince) of the Shaman period. Primitive religious practices of this same

form are found throughout the world, and in the area of Northeast Asia they are known by the general

term of Shamanism.26) The Chinese writing system, introduced to Korea in much earlier times along with

continental iron culture, came into considerably more wide spread use during the Three Kingdoms period.

All of the Three Kingdoms laid great stress on inculcating the Confucian ethos as a means of maintaining

their aristocratic social orders. Already in 372 Goguryeo had established a National Confucian Academy

at which Confucianism was taught. Subsequently, at the Gyeongdang in each locality, the unmarried

youth of Goguryeo were assembled for intensive instruction in the reading of Chinese texts as well as for

archery practice.

The widely used date for the initial acceptance of Buddhism is the year 372, when the monk Sundo came

to Goguryeo from the Earlier Jin state then in control of northeastern China and transmitted images of the

13

Buddha and Buddhist sutras. Twelve years later the monk Malananda brought Buddhism to Baeckje from

the Eastern Chin state in the Yangtze river valley. In both these instances it would appear that a receptive

attitude toward the adoption of Chinese culture already had developed and that the new doctrine was

conveyed through officially sanctioned missions from states in China with which the recipients had

friendly relations. Accordingly, Buddhism was welcomed by the royal houses of Goguryeo and Baekje

without giving rise to any significant discord. In Silla, too, Buddhism was first disseminated not very

much later, certainly by the mid-fifth century, by the monk Ado who entered Silla from Goguryeo. In all

of the Three Kingdoms the principal initiative for the acceptance of Buddhism was taken by the royal

houses. This is seen with particular clarity in the case of Silla. Only when Buddhism had been transmitted

to the royal houses of Silla, a century after it first had been propagated among the populace, was the way

finally opened for official recognition of this alien religion. Moreover it was the king and those who

served his person who turned aside the opposition of the aristocracy and forcibly carried through the

official sanction of Buddhism.

The fact that Buddhism came to be so strongly supported and promoted by the royal house

probably was because it was seen to be well-suited as a spiritual prop with which to under gird the new

governing structure centered on the authority of the throne. The concept of a single body of believers all

alike devoted spiritually to observing the way of the Buddha, taking together with the notion of the whole

of the nation’s people serving the king as one, surely played a major role as a force for unity and cohesion

in these early Korean states. At the same time, however, it should not be forgotten that without the

acquiescence of the powerful aristocracy the official acceptance of Buddhism likely would not have come

about. It is plausible that, in societies like these marked by such strict social stratification, the Buddhist

teaching of reincarnation, of a rebirth based on karma, was welcomed as a doctrine giving recognition to

the privileged position of the aristocracy. It may be argued, then, that Buddhism came to be accepted as a

system of thought peculiarity suited to the needs of a centralized aristocratic state headed by a king.

However we should focus the first transmission of korean Buddhism in the korean peninsula on other

records and legends as well. For example nation Gaya was located in east-southern part of the peninsula.

The nation lasted for many centuries. When Silla recognized Buddhism officially Lee Cha Don’s

religious martyrdom was inevitable. It meant that there was religious struggle between buddhism and

shamanistic custom. In the process of religious mixing, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism were fused

into shamanistic custom but three major religion did not lost their identity. That is why even now we can

know and find out there are many shamanistic evidences among Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism.

For example, a Taoist shrine consecrated to the Big Dipper(Nf£•), a mountain god building(q\^y£•) and

the three holy sages of the world, three Buddhas and the harvest God are merged into Korean Buddhism.

According to legends of Gaya nation, buddhism was introduced around BC 1st century, but

officially not recognized in korea. However we should concentrated this legend. There was a sea route in

14

southern part of Korea via China to the south east Asia and India even to the middle east. Samguk Yusa27)

says about this story as follows;

When they were far out at sea a ship with a red sail and flying a red flag appeared on the

horizon, darting toward the north like an arrow. The Gaya sailors waved torches and made signs for the

mysterious ship to come near. when it did so, they found that a beautiful princess was on board. The

sailors escorted her to the shore, where a courier mounted a swift steed and galloped off to convey the

news to the King.

The king bestowed native costumes and jewels upon the suite and bade them rest on beds

covered with embroidered quilts and pillows. Then he and the princess entered the sleeping chamber. “ I

am a princess of Ayuta(in India),” the princess said. ‘ My family name is He, my given name is Hwang-

ok(Yellow-Jade), and I am sixteen years old. In May this year my royal father and mother said to me, ‘

Last night we had a dream, and in our dream we saw a god who said, “I have sent down Suro to be King

of Garak, and Suro is a holy man. He is not yet married, so send your daughter to become his Queen.”

Then he asended to heaven. It is the command of the god, and his words are still ringing in our ears. my

daughter, bid farewell to your parents and go.’ so I started on my long voyage, with steamed dates of the

sae and fairy peaches of heaven for my provisions. Now I blush to sand in your noble presence.”

The above legend story says that she was from India and brought a buddha statue with her and

her elder brother became a monk in Eunha temple. My opinion is that there was religious interchange

between korea and India. The introduction of buddhism is officially recognized A.D. 372 in Korea, but

through Garak country’s legend we presumed not later than A.D.372. 00

A look at the Buddhist sects that flourished during the Three Kingdoms period will also serve to

illustrate the close nexus that existed between state and religion. The most important sect was Vinaya, and

the monks Gyeomik of Baeckje and Jajang of Silla were major figures in this school. Jajang, in fact,

occupied the position of Chief Abbot of State, and so exercised supervision over the entire Buddhist

establishment in Silla. The emphasis on the Vinaya doctrines, which set forth the ‘disciplines’ or rules

governing monastic life, also had a political significance, in that the unity of belief and discipline fostered

by the religion could be made to serve the purposes of the state as well.28)

The Tripitaka is a general term for the whole set of Buddhist texts including the Vinaya Pitaka,

the Sutra Pitaka, and the Abhidharma Pitaka. All Buddhist countries possess complete collections of the

Tripitaka. The Goryeo Tripitaka is considered one of the best Mahayana sets because of the exquisite

carving of the characters on the wooden blocks and the completeness of the texts. It was originally

created because the royal family and the people believed that if the entire collection was carved, it would

protect the Korean peninsular and put an end to the invasions by northen people such as Khitan and

Mongolian. It is generally accepted that the whole set of texts was carved twice, although some hold that

it was done thrice. The first set was made during the reign of King Hyojong, and the second during the

reign of King Gojong.

15

In 1010, the armies of Khitan (Georan in Korean) invaded the northern part of Goryeo. They

occupied Uiju and Seoncheon, originally strongholds of the northern territories of Goryeo, and

surrounded Pyeongyang. At that time, monks like Master Bobon led the monks militia, but in spite of

this, even the capital Gaeseong fell. King Hyojong took refuge in naju and started the huge0protect of

carving the wood-block edition of the Buddhist canon to inspire the people to overcome this national

disaster.

At that time the people needed inspiration and belief in Hoguk-bulgyo (state-protecting

Buddhism) in order to rouse the national spirit. For the people believed that the bodhisattvas and the gods

could protect the nation. This belief was backed and supported by Gyo-jong rather than by Seon-jong. At

that time, the state-backed Gyo-jong rather looked to the sutras to justify their preference and encourage

the people’s belief in the protection offered by the Buddha. Thereby, to promote the Buddha Dharma and

to secure the national benefit with the help of the protecting power of the Buddhas and other divine

protectors, the project of carving all the texts was started.29) The protect was continued even after the

withdrawal of the enemy armies, taking about 40 years to complete in the reign of King Munjong. This

edition included 1,106 parts, making 5,048 volumes and it is known as Goryeo Gujang-gyeong In the

12th century, Goryeo had to face many hardships and problems in its domestic and foreign situation. The

Jurchen tribe of the Jin dynasty(1115-1234) and the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty(1156-1367) rose up

aganist Goryeo after the Khitan tribe of the Liao Dynasty. The Mongolians in particular swept through

and conquered India, central Asia, and part of eastern Europe as well as mainland China and they

established a kingdom unparalleled on soldiers, was forced to submit to Jin in 1126 and to Yuan in 1259.

Yuan insisted on imposing excessive tribute on Goryeo, and when could Goryeo could not

fulfill the demands, Yuan invaded Goryeo in 1231. From that during the next 30 years, Yuan invaded six

times all together. Nearly all of the territory of Goryeo was occupied by Yuan and, as we have already

mentioned, the nine-storeyed , stone pagoda of Hwangnyong-sa and the woodblocks were burnt by the

Mongolian. King Gojong and his government took refuge in Ganghwa-do in 1231 and time, established

Daejang-dogam, the Buddhist publication office at Seonwon-sa in Ganghwa-do for the carving of another

set of wooden blocks 1 of the Buddhist texts in 1236. This aim was to create a new set of blocks like the

last one and to inspire the people in their belief of the state-protecting power of Buddhism as had King

Hyonjong.

Scholars and technicians all over the nation were mobilized and the necessary materials for the

project were collected. The main office of Daejang-dogam was organized in the provisional capital of

Ganghwa with branches in districts such as Boju. Wood mainly from Jiri-san was specially cut and

prepared for this great work, the logs being transported by sea so as not to be threatened by the mounted

Mongolian hordes. For sixteen years, the nation focused on the project, and soldiers, officials, and

ordinary people as well as monks and scholars worked for it. The entire set was completed in 1251 and it

is called Jaejo-jang-gyeong or Goryeo Jaejo-jang-gyeong.

16

There are 81,258 wooden blocks of the Jaejo-jang-gyeong and both sides are carved, making

162,516 surfaces. Each wooden blocks is two chok three chon (67cm.), across, eight chon (23cm.) in

length, and one chon, three pun (3cm.) thick. Each surface has 23 lines, and each line has 14 Chinese

characters, making 322 characters on each side, making 52,330,152 characters in all. The wooden blocks

have 1,512 parts which make up 6,791 fascicles. About 30 scholars monks like Master Sugi carefully

compared the texts with other wooden blocks from wooden blocks from Sung and Liao, taking special

care with the editing. This led to the creation of a Tripitaka which is famous for its quality. At present it is

kept in Haein-sa and usually known as the Goryeo Taejang-gyong or Palman Daejang-gyeong or Palman

Daejang-gyeong.

In 1910, the Choson Dynasty came to an end with the annexation of the country to Japan.

During the Colonial Period, Buddhism was greatly favored and supported by the Japanese government.

However, the celibate sects were discouraged and monks were encouraged to take wives. Heads of

temples were appointed by the Japanese occupation authorities. Unfortunately, during this period, many

Buddhist art treasures were taken to Japan in order to have these stolen treasures returned to Korean.

After Liberation in 1945, the celibate ordained members of the main sect of Korean Buddhism. Jogye,

superseded the married monks who had taken over the main temples during the Japanese Occupation.

Large numbers of men and women were ordained and there was a great revival of Korean Buddhism.

Recently, many new temples and centers have opened in the town. programs for people of all ages include

learning to chant, studying, all night meditation classes, and social gatherings. About half the population

of Korea is Buddhist. Most Koreans, even though they may not call themselves Buddhists, maintain a

Buddhist view of life and the after world. I mentioned about the history of Korean Buddhism briefly at

the beginning. However modern korean buddhism has been changed so much since the ancient type of

buddhism. Through the history of the Korean Buddhism, specially its principle of practice has changed a

lot since introducing Seon Buddhism. A new epoch in Korean Buddhism began during the latter Silla

with the birth of schools of Seon in Korea. On the Chinese mainland, the movement toward a meditation-

based view of practice which came to be known as chan (ªy, meaning “meditation,” widely known in the

West through its Japanes zen), had begun during the sixth and seventh centuries. In considering on

doctrinal development of the Korean Buddhism for the first half year of Shilla period Korean buddhism

had been researched in various fields, the latter period scholarly study was collapsed and resulted in

stagnation rapidlly because of entering into Seon throwing away the doctrine(hcNeeQªy) through the

way of Seon meditation from China. That is why Yogacara school, Mind Only study was dull as well.

More over in Koryeo Dynasty invasion of foreign enemy caused doctrinal research callapsed and no more

than Shilla period’s level even if there were many Dharma meetings and ceremonial events. Seon seck

was higher than doctrinal one and Seon Buddhism dominated cross the country. On Seon point of view

doctrinal study was just affiliation of Seon Buddhism. In Yi Dynasty Korean buddhism was oppressed

17

until Japanese Empire occupation and again Japanese Empire tried to force Korean Buddhism a branch

sect of Soto sect of Japanese Buddhism.

Being geographically contiguous with China, the history and development of culture on the

Korean peninsula is strongly influenced by that of the continent, especially during earlier periods when

Chinese culture was so advanced as compared with that ofits neighbors. The transmission of Buddhism to

Korea from China happened along with the importation of Chinese ideographic writing and various other

currents of Chinese philosophy, as well as medicine, arts and societal customs. Korea was also the source

of the initial Buddhist transmission into Japan, remaining in this role for several centuries.

Since Koreans were in continuous close contact with developments in Chinese Buddhism, it

was not long before the influence of the new meditating school reached Korea, where it was known as

Seon. The founder of the first Jogye Order, National Master Doui, received transmission from the

Chinese monk Xitang Zhizhang in the lineage of the Sixth Patriarch of Zen, Huineng. ‘Jogye’ is the

Korean pronunciation of Mt. Ts’aochi where Huineng resided showing the great veneration that the Sixth

Patriarch is held in by the Jogye Order. In the Goryeo Dynasty, National Master Pojo Chinul established

Suseonsa Temple the forerunner of today’s Songgwangsa Temple in which meditative and doctrinal

schools were integrated into one system. There he introduced hwadu meditation practice which was later

promoted by National Master Taego Pou as the main Korean form of meditation.

Despite the Joseon Dynasty’s severe repression of Buddhism, such Zen masters as Cheongheo

Hyujeong and Buhyu Seonsu continued the transmission of the hwadu tradition. As was the case in Tang

China, as well as the Nara and early Heian periods in Japan (which are roughly contemporary to the

Silla), the sparkling intellectual developments of Silla Buddhism also brought with them significant

cultural achievements in many areas, including painting, literature, sculpture, and architecture. During

this period many large and beautiful temples were built, and two crowning achievements were the temple

Bulguksa ([OWú[), and the cave-retreat of Sokguram (ówŸzµ^ ). Bulguksa was especially famous for its

jeweled pagodas, while Sokguram was known for the beauty of its stone sculpture.

In the early 20th century, the tradition was continued by Masters yeongheo Seongwoo and

Yongseong Jinjong who played vital roles in bringing new life to the meditation tradition. With a virtual

end to organized Zen meditation in China during the latter half of the 20th century, Korea has become

widely recognized as the country which preserves the Zen tradition of seeking enlightenment through the

use of koan (K: hwadu). As a result, people from different countries have taken ordination in the Jogye

Order, and Korea has become justifiably proud of its growing worldwide reputation. We should focus on

a great meditation master Manhae Han Yong-un(1879-1944) who was a 20th century korean Buddhist

Reformer and poet. Manhae was his religious name(buddhist name), which he also used as a nom de

plume; his birth name was Han Yong-un( korean:\Õ©Æ´Æ or Ó—Äùò–; also written Han Yong-woon).

Manhae was born in southern Chungcheong province South Korea. Prior to being ordained as a buddhist

monk, he was involved in resistance to Japanese influence in the country, which culminated in the

18

Japanese occupation from 1905 to 1945. The same year the occupation began, 1905, Manhae was

ordained as a Buddhist monk at Baekdam Temple on Mt. Seorak. As a social writer, Manhae called for

the reformer of Korean Buddhism. Manhae’s poetry dealt with both nationalism and love, one of his more

political collections was Nimui chimmuk, published in 1926. These works revolve around the ideas of

equality and freedom, and helped inspire the tendencies toward passive resistance and non-violence in

Korean independence movement.

Han Yongun was one of the 33 members who in 1919 singed the historical document as a

representative of the people to declare Korea’s independence from the Japanese colonial control of Korea.

His poems mainly concern his philosophical meditation on nature and the mystery of human experience.

Since Korean Buddhism has come to the attention of Western scholarship rather late compared with

Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, it still lies, with its deep store of untouched resources, almost fully open

for exploration. And while early ignorance regarding the Korean Buddhist tradition lent to some degree of

uninformed glossing over from preconceptions drawn from models in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism,

scholars of East Asian Buddhism nowadays are generally becoming aware of the important role of

Korean Buddhism in the East Asian religious philosophical sphere.

In the Korean Buddhist tradition is the tendency for its most noted thinkers to be holistic in the

interpretation of The most distinctive general characteristic that can be seen doctrine and to be

exasperatingly thorough in the resolution of doctrinal and “loose ends” passed on from Buddhist

predecessors.1 Korean scholars and monks not only devoted unusually large portions of their time and

energy toward the resolution of sectarian debates and apparent doctrinal inconsistencies; they produced a

strain of Buddhism of a significantly new character from that which had been initially transmitted to

them. This Korean ethnic color of Buddhism, termed by its most important exponent Weonhyo (CQÉf 617-686) as tong bulgyo (�[ONe ‘interpenetrated Buddhism’ ) remanifests itself in various forms in the

works of one major Korean thinker after another throughout the history of the tradition.

A meditation monastery or center is the place for monastics to practice Korean Seon, or

meditation. For a time, monks sever all ties with the outside world and concentrate on discovering their

Original Nature through this practice. During the intensive 3-month meditation retreats in the summer and

winter, the monks practice hard and in between these retreats, the monks have 3 months to “float like the

clouds and flow like water,” although nowadays many monks continue their meditation efforts all year

long. These 3-month retreats, which date back to the time of the Buddha Sakyamuni, are one of the strong

points of Jogye Order Buddhism.

At the Zen centers, monks arise at either 2 or 3 am to the crack of the bamboo clapper and

perform three prostrations of homage. During the rest of the day, except for mealtime and group work

time, the monks immerse themselves in meditation until either 9 or 11 pm, depending on the temple’s

own regulations. There are three types of meditation sessions: the regular daily schedule is 8-10 hours; the

additional practice sessions of 12-14 hours; and “ferocious”meditation periods of 18 hours or more. In

19

general, most temples have one month of this “ferocious” meditation. Other forms of meditation include

sitting for at least 3 months, and sometimes even years, without lying down; and “no door”meditation,

when the practitioner will go into a solitary cell or cave for months or even years without ever coming out

until enlightened.

The Jogye Order takes the teachings of the Buddha Sakyamuni as its basis and its principles are

transmissional Seon, realization of Buddha nature, and propagation. The order relies on the Diamond

Sutra as a guiding text and though sutra study, chanting and devotional practices are integrated into the

program, the most important and widely known practice is hwadu meditation. The Jogye Order has its

own constitution based on the Buddhist Dharma and discipline. The charter set out at the

monks’Conference in 1929 stands as a model for the modern constitution which came into being on April

10, 1994. The administrative organization of the Jogye Order includes a Supreme Patriarch or Spiritual

Leader, the highest authority in transmitting the order’s traditions; a President who overseas

administration of the order; a Central Directorate for Religious Affairs comprised of an Administrative

Headquarters, a Bureau of Education, and a Bureau of Missionary Activities; a Central Council, the

legislative organ, and a Board of Adjudication, the legal organ.

Monks then proceed to their respective practice halls for meditation or sutra study. At 10:30 am

they return to the Main Buddha Hall for the traditional offering and then after their meal and some free

time they resume their activities. At about 5 pm, depending on the season, they have the evening meal

followed by chanting. And then after another session of meditation or study, they retire at about 9 pm.

Monastics of the Jogye Order receive a number of educational programs. These fall into the categories of

basic, standard, special or re-education; not all are required. All ordained members must complete the

standard education program, after which they receive their full precepts (250 for men, 348 for women).

After 10 years of steady practice, they can take the 3rd Class examination which entitles the successful

candidates to be in-charge of a temple. In addition to the basic and standard educational program, the

order has a number of special programs, which include deeper philosophy, analysis of the precepts as well

as programs to foster such monastic resources as translators and lecturers. There are also programs giving

monastics a chance to develop in a variety of fields in cultural as well as artistic subjects. In the Jogye

Order, a future member of the community first seeks out a teacher at a temple, has his head shaved or his

hair cut very short, and serves as an aspirant apprentice for a period of at least five months. Once the

aspirant is accepted, there is a ceremony of the taking of the novice precepts, or training rules. These

consist of refining the ethical standards of the individual. After completing four years of basic training in

living in the monastery and attending training college where the aspirant learns philosophy and other

necessary subjects, candidates then take prescribed examinations and if successful, they then take the full

precepts, becoming a monk, bhikkhu, or nun, bhikkhuni. Once ordained, a new monk will participate in

all the daily activities of the temple, including chanting, maintenance, meditation retreats, text study, and

so on. Some may be involved in administrative affairs and the teaching of the laity.

20

A lay member of the Jogye Order receives precepts and education according to the constitution

and laws of the order. The Five Precepts (to refrain from taking life, stealing, sexual misconduct,

language misconduct, and taking mind altering substances such as alcohol) coupled with taking refuge in

the Triple Gem of Buddhism the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, or community of monks establish

a person as a member of the lay order. There are four types of educational programs for the laity: basic,

special, teaching, and re-education. Basic educational programs can be found at all temples and it is

necessary to complete this course to become a lay follower. These programs teach people about the

philosophy, practices and how to behave in the temples and in communal situations. The special and

teaching programs are aimed at fostering special knowledge and cultivation so that the laity can be more

active in the temples. In re-education programs, the order holds training programs to further the

cultivation of executives of the Lay Association. I introduced Korea Buddhism in general conception and

brief history in the preceding pages. Korean buddhism mainly rely on Chinese Buddhism throughout the

history of Korean Buddhism rather than Indian Buddhism. Of course in three kingdom’s time Indian

buddhist theory, Yogacara and Madyamika were dominated by monk scholars those who studied in China

or inland korea.

Nowadays, we call Korean Buddhism as total traditional Buddhism which accepted all different

tradition even Taoism and Shamanism. In the process of the historical development of Korean Buddhism,

the most noteworthy aspect is the perfect overcoming of any philosophical confrontation between the

different ideas and scholars of Korean Buddhism and the harmonization of theory and practice. Korean

Buddhism can be “Whole Buddhist Harmonization.” Comparing the Buddhism of India and that of China,

Buddhism in Korea is certainly different in the process of its development and in the final result. Indian

Buddhism is characterized by the fact that it is the origin and thereby it may be considered as “ The

principle.” Chinese Buddhism shows a special quality of development in its many schools, hence it

exhibits a tendency toward “ diversity “ and “ decentralization.” Korean Buddhism shows the

harmonization of “whole Buddhism,” making it one, in which philosophical confrontation and conflict are

overcome. Such a characteristic was developed through the deeds of the long line of eminent Korean

practitioners. Therefore, from this point of view, we can compare the history of the spread of Buddhism

to a book. Indian Buddhism is the introduction, Chinese Buddhism is the matter, and Korean Buddhism is

the conclusion.

We can mention outstanding monks who gave great and important influence on korean

buddhism throughout history of korean buddhism. They are Wonhyo, Jinul(Bojo), Hamhur(Duktong),

Seosan(Hyujeong) and Manhae etc.

Wonhyo (617-686)has been called the most and best scholar monk in Korea. He was about to

go to study China but he changed his mind under way with master Uisang. According to legend, one night

two monks took a sleep in a hut after sunset. However they realized the hut was a tomb and

discovered water they drunk was water in a skull container. He realized that every thing happened and

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dependent on mind. Then he gave up going to study in China. One day Wonhyo saw bees and

butterflies fitting from flower to flower, and he felt a strong desire for a woman. He walked through the

streets of Kyungju singing, “Who will lend me as axe that has lost its handle? I wish to cut a heaven-

supporting pole.” The passers by laughed at him , not realizing thereal meaning of his song, but King

Muyeol said when he heard it, “ The love lorn monk wants to marry a noble lady and get a wise son by

her. If a sage is born, so much the better for the country.” 30) When he wrote a commentary on the

Hwaeom(avatamsaka sutra) scripture he stopped at the fortieth chapter, and when he lived at Bunhwansa

temple in early life he was constantly occupied with public affairs. For these reasons he never rose above

the lowest ranks of the monks. Guided by a sea dragon, he received a commandment from Buddha to

write while traveling a song about Sammaegyeong(Samadhi sutra). He put his ink-stone and his writing

brush on the two horns of the ox he rode, and therefore people called him kaksung(Horn Rider). Wonhyo

wrote many buddhist books but many of them were being scattered and lost. Some of his writings are

very important for korean buddhist scholars. Most of korean buddhist scholars agreed to opinion

that wonhyo is the best writer in ancient Korea.

Next we should concentrate on Jinul(Bojo 1158-1210) in Koryo Dynasty. Jinul is considered

be the most influential figure in the formation of Korean Seon buddhism. he was born at a time when the

Sangha was in a state of crisis, both in terms of its external reputation as well as on internal issues of

doctrine. Jinul sought to establish a new movement within Korean Seon which he called the ‘samadhi and

prajna’ society (š[ga>yjeonghyesa). This movement’s goal was to establish a new community of

disciplined, pure-minded practitionners deep in the mountains. Jinul accomplished this mission with the

founding of the Songgwangsa monastery at Mt. Jogye.

In the middle of Goryeo dynasty (937-1392), Goryeo buddhism was protected by the founder

Wang Geon(877-943Taejo,r.918-943). The kingdom encouraged very much religious activities. In 943,

the year of his death, Taejo promulgated ten admonitions to guide his sucessors in ruling the kingdom.

His statement opens with the solemn caveat:

“ All the great enterpprises of our kingdom depend upon the protectivepower of all the

Buddhas.” Jinul wrote many seon books. There is a book called Straight Talk on the True Mind (wÃ_ôvªŠ) by Jinul. The precise date of composition is unknown; it was probably written about the same time as

secrets, around 1205. Straight Talk on the True Mind represents a median stage in the development of

Chinul,s thought. Here he moves away from the basic practice of balancing samadhi and prajna, the

primary method explored in his early work encouragement to practice, and investigates the more

sophisticated cultivation of no-mind. At this stage, however he has yet to progress into an examination of

the exclusively Seon technique of hwadu investigation which will characterize his late works. Straight

Talk suffered the same fate as secrets: lost in Korea during the Mongol invasions, it was reintroduced into

Korea in the fifteenth century via the Northern Ming edition of the Tripitaka.

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We remember other Seon masters like Hyegeon(gaäR) and Taego(*YäS) in Goryeo dynasty.

Now I will mention two Seon masters among them in Joseon period. Gihwa(ñ]ŒT) and Hyujeong(O\—). Gihwa, also known as Hamheo Teuktong(1376-1433). He was a late Goryeo -early Joseon Biddhist

monk of the Seon order, who was the leading Buddhist figure of his generation, also as hamheo. He was

oringinally a Conucian scholar of the higest reputation, but he converted to Buddhism at the age of upon

the death of a close friend. Gihwa’s writings showed a distinctive mixture between iconoclastic and

suddenistic Seon(Chan) language, and a strong appreciation for the scriptual tradition. He took up from

Jinul the tradition of unificationof Seon and Gyo(sutra) Buddhism. Among his writings, there are four

works in particular that made a deep impact on the subsequent Seon tradition in Korea. These are his

commentary on (1) the Sutra of Perfect Enlightment(the Wongak gyeong hae seorui); (2) his redaction

and subcommentary to five famouse earlier commentaries on the Diamond Sutra, the geumgang

banyabaramilgyeong ogahae seorui; (3) his subcomentary and redaction of the Collection of Yongjia, the

Yonggajip gwaju seorui and (4) the Hyeonjeong non. Gihwa,s commentary on the sutra of perfect

Enlightenment was traslated by Charles Muller.

Seosan Hyujeong (n‰q\O\—; 1520-1604) is quite famous monk in Joseon dynasty. Before

ever having tested his hand as a military commander, Seosan was a first-rate Seon master and the author

of a number of important religious texts, the most important of which is probably his Seonga gugam

(ªy¶[œŸQ”), a guide to Seon practice which is studied by Korean monks down to the present. Like most

monks of the Joseon period, Hyujeong (or “Seosan Daesa,” as he is popularly known in Korea) had been

initially educated in Neo-Confucian philosophy. Dissatisfied, he wandered through the mountain

monasteries, eventually joining the sangha. Later, after making a name for himself as a teacher, he was

made arbiter of the Seon school by queen Munjeong. He soon resigned from this responsibility, returning

to the itinerant life, advancing his Seon studies and teaching at monasteries all around Korea. He died at

85, leaving behind some 1000 disciples, 70 of whom were monks and nuns, and many of whom held a

prominent role in the later transmission of Joseon Buddhism

Manhae(1879-1944) was a 20th century korean Buddhist reformer and poet. Manhae was his

buddhist and pen name; his birth name was Han Yong-un. He was involved in resistance to Japanese

influence in the country, which culminated in the Japanese occupation from 1905 to 1945. Manhae was

ordained as a Buddhist monk at Baekdam Temple on Mt. Seorak. As a social writer, Manhae called for

the reform of korean buddhism. He wrote many buddhist books and poetry. One of his more political

collections was Nimui Chimmuk published in 1926. These works revolve around the idears of equality

and freedom, and helped inspire the tendencies toward passive resistance and non-violence in the Korean

independence movement. Han was one of the 33 members who in 1919 singed the historical document as

a representative of the people to declare Korea’s independence from the Japanese colonial control of

Korea. His poems mainly concern his philosophical meditation on nature and the mystery of human

experience. I introduce his poetry,

23

The Silence of Love

Love is gone, gone is my love.

Tearing himself away from me he has gone

on a little path that stretches in the splendor

of a green hill into the autumn/tinted woods.

Our last oath, shining and enduring

like a gold-mosaicked flower,

has turned to cold ashes, blown away in the breath of wind.

I remember his poignant first kiss and its memory has wrought

a complete change in my destiny,

then withdrawn into oblivion.

I hear not his sweet voice; I see not his fair looks.

Since it is human to love, I alert, dreaded

a parting to come when we met.

The separation came so suddenly

it broke my heart with renewed sorrow.

Yet, I know parting can only destroy our love

if it causes futile tears to fall.

I would rather transfer the surge of this sorrow

onto the summit of hopefulness.

As we dread parting when we meet, so,

we promise to meet again when we part.

Though my love is gone, I am not parted from love;

I mentioned buddhist thinkers mainly among monks but we should know that there were

many lay thinkers as well among modern scholars those who are monks and laypeople. Buddhist studies

in korea rely on sutras and sastras traditionally. However Seon Buddhism dominates Korean Buddhist

tradition entirely although other traditions are mixed with in Korean Buddhism. Korean Buddhist Sangha

has two retreats each year, summer and winter season. Each retreat lasts for three months. Summer retreat

starts from the full moon day of

April to the full moon day of July for three months according to lunar calendar. Winter retreat

starts the full moon day of October to the full moon day of January to the next year. We call summer

retreat haangeo(Y‰[E\ summer vassa) and winter retreat dongangeo(¬Q ‰[E\ winter vassa). This Seon

practice tradition has been sine Chinese Chán(ªy) Buddhism was introduced to the Korean Peninsula.

In order to understand korean Seon we should study Chines Chan and Japanese Zen. But dhyana in India

including Hiduism also is quite important to understand the origine of Seon meditation. Chán is the

Chinese name for the school of Mahayana buddhism which is the origine of Japanese Zen. Chán is

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known for its emphasis on meditation and everyday life ahead of philosophical and scriptural pursuits,

although not to the point of abandoning serious study completely.

The establishment of Chán is traditionally attributed to Bodhidharma, whose arrival in China

whose arrival in China is dated to the Liu Song Dynasty (420–479) in the Continued Biographies of

Eminent Monks (645) and to 527. in the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall (952). Though they agree

on almost nothing else, all the forms of the Bodhidharma legend concur that he ultimately settled in the

kingdom of Weiw here he took as disciples Daoyu and Huike. In his “Notes on some artists of the Six

Dynasties and the Tang,” Pual Pellio asserts that all accounts of Bodhidharma are legendary. The noted

historian J. A. G. Roberts in his book “The Complete History of China” notes that Chan Buddhism most

likely was an indiginous development within China. Dhyâna in sanskrit or Jhâna in Pali refers to a type

or aspect of meditation. It is a key concept in hinduism and buddhism. Equivalent terms are “Zen” in

Japanese, “Chán” in modern Chinese and Seon in Korean. Then how Buddhism accepted this term from

hindu tradition.

In the Pali Canon the Buddha descibes four progressive states of absorption meditation or

Jhana. The Jhanas are said by the Buddha to be conducive to detachment but they must not be mistaken

for the final goal of nibbana. The Jhanas are states of meditation where the mind is free from the five

hindrances(craving, aversion, sloth, agitation, doubt) and incapable of discursive thinking. The deeper

Jhanas can last for many hours. When a meditator emerges from Jhana, one’smind is empowered and able

to penerate into the deepest truths of existence.

There are four deeper states of mrditative absoption called the immaterial attainments.

Sometimes these are also referred to as the “formless” Jhanas, or Arupajhana(distinguished from the first

four Jhanas, Rupajhana). In the Buddhist canonical texts, the word Jhana is never explicitly used to

denote them, but they are always mentioned in sequence after the first four Jhanas.

In East Asia, several schools of Buddhism were founded that focused on dhyana, under the

names Chan, Zen and Seon. According to tradition, Bodhidharma brought Dhyana to the Shaoline temple

in China, where it came to be transliterated as “chan”(“seon” in Korea, and then “zen” in Japan). Jhanas

are normally described by the way of the mental factors which are “chan” (“seon” in Korea, and then

“zen” in Japan). Jhanas are normally described by the way of the mental factors which are present in

these ststes. Movement of the mind onto the object, Vitakka in Pali (Sanskrit: itarka) 1. Retention of the

mind on the object, Vicara joy, Piti(Sanskrit:Priti) 2. Hapiness, Sukha One-pointedness,

Ekaggata(Sanskrit: Ekagrata) 3. Equanimity, Upekkha(Sanskrit: Upeksa) First Jhana(Vitakka, Vicara,

Piti, Sukha, Ekaggata)

The Five hindrances have completely disappeared and intense unified bliss remains. Only the

subtlest of mental movement remains-perceiveable in its absence by those who have entered the second

Jhana. The ability to form unwholesome intentions cease. Second Jhana(Piti, Sukha, Ekaggata). All

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mental movement utterly ceases. There is only bliss. The ability to form wholesome intentions cease as

well. Third Jhana(Sukha, Ekaggata)

One half of bliss disappears(joy). Fourth Jhana(Upekkha, Ekaggata). The other half of

bliss(hapiness) disappears, leading to a state with neither pleasure nor pain, which the Buddha said is

actually a subtle form of hapiness(more sublime than piti and sukha). The Buddha descibed the jhanas as

“the footsteps of the tathagata”. The breath is said to cease temporarily in this state. traditionally, this

fourth jhana is seen as the begining of attaining psychic powers. The scriptures state that one should not

seek to attain ever higher jhanas but master one first, then move on to the next. ‘Mastery of jhana’

involves being able to enter a jhana at will, stay as long as one likes, leave at will and experience each of

the jhana factors as required. They also seem to suggest that lower jhana may manifest themselves in

higher jhanas, if the jhanas have not been properly developed. The Buddha is seen to advise his disciples

to concentrate and the jhana further.

Seon is the Buddha and the Buddha Nature. These words are the same. The Mahaparnirvana

Sutra says, “All sentient beings and non-sentient beings have Buddha Nature.” And in early Buddhist

sutras it is said that “All existence be it form or formless is the result of dependent origination,” and

“Seeing dependent origination is seeing the dharma, and seeing the dharma is seeing the Buddha.”That is

to say, existence is equal to dependent origination; dependent origination is equal to the dharma; and the

dharma is equal to the Buddha. That is, the Buddha is equal to the existence of beings and beings are the

same as the Buddha. We are Seon itself and the truth itself. There is a book called Straight Talk on the

True Mind (wÃ_ôvªŠ) by Jinul. The precise date of composition is unknown; it was probably written

about the same time as secrets, around 1205. Straight Talk on the True Mind represents a median stage in

the development of Jinul,s thought. Here he moves away from the basic practice of balancing samadhi

and prajna, the primary method explored in his early work encouragement to practice, and investigates

the more sophisticated cultivation of no-mind. At this stage, however he has yet to progress into an

examination of the exclusively Seon technique of hwadu investigation which will characterize his late

works. Straight Talk suffered the same fate as secrets: lost in Korea during the Mongol invasions, it was

reintroduced into Korea in the fifteenth century via the Northern Ming edition of the Tripitaka. When we

discuss korean seon(meditation) we should know abot Hwadu or kongan in korean(koan in japanese)

first.

A kôan (lQHh; Japanese: kôan, Chines: gông-àn) is a story, dialog question, or statement in the history

and lore of Chan (Zen) Buddhism generally containing aspects that are inaccessible to rational

understanding, yet that may be accessible to intuition. We can understand an example of Gong-an which

is through The Gateless Gate Wumenguan(!q€•Ü•, pronounced Mumungwan in korean, Mumonkan in

Japanese, often translated into English as The Gateless Gate but more accurately rendered as Gateless

Barrier or Gateless Checkpoint) is a collection of 48 koans and commentaries published in 1228 by

Chinese monk Wumen(!qۥ). Five koans in the collection derive from the sayings and doings

26

of Zhaozhou Congshen (transliterated as Chao-chou in Wade-Giles and pronounced Jôshû in Japanese).

A monk asked Zhaozhou, “Does a dog have Buddha-nature or not?” Zhaozhou replied, “Wu.”

Translators often render Zhaozhou’s answer as mu from Japanese retellings. Normally, wu and mu mean

no, not, without, or nonexistence. Centuries earlier, the same Chinese character appeared at the end of

verse 40 of lao Zi’s (Tao Te Ching) in a line sometimes translated as “existence emerges from

nonexistence”. Mahayana Buddhist doctrine codified in the Nirvana Sutra held that all sentient beings,

including animals, possess the capacity for enlightenment. However, the commentary of teachers in the

Linji(Rinzai in Japanese) tradition tends to emphasize that this koan dialog consists of a challenge the

monk posed to Zhaozhou to demonstrate Buddha-nature without becoming entangled in doctrine; and that

this interpretation only has meaning to a meditator who contemplates the koan. Teachers routinely reject

common speculations by students, including the assertion that wu signifies that “It is unknowable whether

the dog has Buddha-nature”, that “The question has no meaning”, that Zhaozhou intended to convey the

sound of a barking dog, the way we would say “woof!”, and other erroneous interpretations. However,

some teachers have accepted prefabricated responses such as shouting “mu!” or barking like a dog.

Nevertheless, students offering such canned responses may not withstand the “checking questions” that

such teachers pose in further inquiry. Moreover, many other teachers demand an entirely improvised

response. A related koan in the Book of Serenity reinforces the teaching that Zhaozhou’s response does

not refer to affirmation or negation: One time a monk asked Zhaozhou, “Does a dog have Buddha-nature

or not?” Zhaozhou answered, “No.” Another time, a monk asked Zhaozhou, “Does a dog have Buddha-

nature or not?” Zhaozhou answered, “Yes.” There are many examples of Gong-an. I will introduce one

mre which is quite important one in Buddhist seon tradition. Title is “Buddha holds out a flower”. When

Shakyamuni Buddha was at mount Grdhrakuta, he held out a flower to his listeners. Everyone was silent.

Only Mahakashyapa broke into a broad smile. The Buddha said, “I have the True Dharma Eye, the

Marvelous Mind of Nirvana, the True Form of the Formless, and the Subtle Dharma Gate, independent of

words and transmitted beyond doctrine. This I have entrusted to Mahakashyapa.” From Wu-Men’

comment about this koan: “Gautama insolently insults noble people. He sells dog meat labeled as mutton

and thinks it commendable.” Wu-Men actually intends his scathing insult as a form of high praise,

thwarting any student’s attempt to rationally explain the koan as feeble. Koans originate in the sayings

and doings of sages and legendary figures, usually those authorized to teach in a lineage that regards

bodhidharma as its ancestor. Koans are said to reflect the enlightend or awakened state of such persons,

and sometimes said to confound the habit of discursive thought or shock the mind into awareness. Zen

teachers often recite and comment on koans, and some Zen practitioners concentrate on koans during

meditation. Teachers may probe such students about their koan practice using “checking questions” to

validate an experience of insight (kensho) or awakening. Responses by students have included actions or

gestures, “capping phrases”(jakugo), and verses inspired by the koan. As used by teachers, monks, and

students in training, koan can refer to a story selected from sutras and historical records, a perplexing

27

element of the story, a concise but critical word or phrase (qŠ-˜ huà-tóu) extracted from the story, or to

the story appended by poetry and commentary authored by later Zen teachers, sometimes layering

commentary upon commentary. Less formally, the term koan sometimes refers to any experience that

accompanies awakening or spiritual insight. English-speaking non-Zen practitioners sometimes use koan

to refer to an unanswerable question or a meaningless statement. However, in Zen practice, a koan is not

meaningless, and teachers often do expect students to present an appropriate and timely response when

asked about a koan. Even so, a koan is not a riddle or a puzzle.

Appropriate responses to a koan may vary according to circumstances; different teachers may

demand different responses to a given koan, and not all teachers assume that a fixed answer is correct in

every circumstance. In the Diamond Sutra, the Jetavana grove which is also known as Anathapindika’s

Park is described. Anathapindika is the name of the rich merchant, Sudatta, who donated the Jetavana

monastery to the Buddha. Anathapindika was a man who cared a lot for the poor and homeless. He was a

very rich man. How rich he was! Before building the Jetavana monastery, Prince Jeta, who owned the

grove, agreed to sell it on one condition which was that Anathapindika must cover the grove with gold

coins. You know what happened. He did it! Anathapindika covered the whole grove with gold coins and

was able to do so because he was so rich. The reason for doing hwadu practice is neither to raise doubt

nor to attain mental focus. We should break the dual thinking such as “you” and “I” and “existence and

non-existence,” which are not necessary. We inevitably have a doubt during our hwadu practice because

of our dual thinking. Evidence of the importance placed in meditation in Korean Buddhism may be

gained by the prevalence of the famous ‘Ox herding Pictures” adorning the exterior walls of the main

hall of most temples. These pictures originated in China in the 12th century during the Sung Dynasty. In

these pictures, the herder is you, the person on the spiritual quest and the ox is the mind. The herder is

searching for the ox. It is the beginning of the spiritual search, a time for a change of lifestyle and the

eradication of bad habits. Sometimes the Path is difficult to find. He finds evidence of the ox. The

struggle is difficult and success seems far away, however, a murmur of achievement is heard faintly. He

sees the ox for the first time. The way appears and he recognizes it as right, even though it is still unclear.

He catches the ox. It is difficult to tame. The mind wanders. He tames the ox. the mind is unruly but by

perseverance the ox (mind) follows by itself. You may notice that the ox is changing colour from dark to

light. The underlying idea is that the mind is naturally pure but is polluted by extraneous impurities.

Through discipline and meditation practice it is cleansed and regains its original nature. The herder

mounts the ox. The mind has submitted. He transcends the ox and stands alone. The herder pays no

further attention to the ox. The herder and the ox are transcended, neither matter any more. This is the

moment of Awakening. The circle is the symbol “Il Won”, the Dharmakaya Buddha, the essence

of enlightenment. He reaches the origin. Returning to the origin he ‘recognizes’ what he knew before.

He returns to the world where he lives to teach others. This model of the “Ten Ox herding Pictures” has

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its roots in the Pali commentaries where it says: “Just as a man would tie to a post a calf that should be

tamed, Even so here should one tie one’s own mind tight to the object of mindfulness”. ]

IV. Conclusion

The early Buddhist Literature, in spite of some exaggerations and discrepancies, gives quite a

life-like-picture of Gotama, moving from place to place, preaching his dharma, encountering praise and

slander. An epoch-making departure from the tradition with so strong a reaction on the contemporaries

would be really passing strange without believing in a great living personality shaping and changing the

course of the age. Kapilavastu, otherwise an insignificant place, and its little known Sakya rulers, could

not have gained any importance but for a real Buddha. The fact that Kapilavastu, the birth place of

Buddha, had become a well-known holy place for Buddhists, at least as early as about 250 B.C. is clearly

borne out by the fact that the great Buddhist King, Asoka visited this place, and recorded his memory on a

column which was discovered in 1986 near the Nepalese village of Paderia.

The inscription as translated by Dr. E. Hultzsch reads as follows: “When King Devanampiya

Piyadassi had been anointed 20 years, he came himself and worshiped (this post) because, the Buddha,

Sakyamuni was born here.” Again the account of Gotama, the Buddha and his contemporaries given by

Buddhist tradition has striking similarities with that of the Jaina tradition. Their mutual correlation hardly

leaves any doubt regarding, at least, the personalities of these two founders of religion and some major

events of their lives.

The immediate source of Buddhism, as we know, is the teachings of Buddha, the individual.

Yet the germs of some of these teaching are traceable to a much earlier period. Thinkers, like other

people, are, in no small measure, the product of their age and cultural traditions. Attempts made by

various scholars to trace the origins of Buddhistic ideas have not, as yet, let them to a definite conclusion.

Opinions are widely divided. Some think that Buddhism was derived from a corresponding theory of the

fore-runners of the Jains. Thus a wide variety of views have been expressed about the origins of

Buddhism. It appears that most of the scholars in attempting to answer have been mainly guided by the

similarities of ideas, and many of them have tacitly assumed that all thoughts existing before Buddhism

must necessarily have a vedic origin. Both these considerations, however, have clear limitations and so, if

relied on as exclusive basis, are bound to misdirect the investigation. In fact, the Indian thought assumed

a composite character at a very early stage. Thoughts, we know, rarely develop in closed rooms. They

have to grow in an open atmosphere, meeting and mingling with different ideas around them. Numerous

races and religions, communities and cultures have met, struggled and fused into one another in the long

history of india and so its process of thought-development cannot be properly viewed without this

historical perspective.

The Buddha and his followers had ‘gone forth’ from the worldly society as wanderers and

formed their own community in which to live the ‘best life’ and attain peace of mind, nirvana. The

movement thus started, however, was much more than this, more than the provision of an escape route for

29

those who wished to contract out of transmigration. It was suggested that sramanas such as the Buddha

hoped from their vantage point outside society to exercise some influence inside it.

The most important feature of this society was that it was classless. The object of the first

discourse is to show that the claims of the brahmans are baseless and to maintain that all beings are equal

before the moral law (good conduct will lead to a good destiny). There was no priesthood, also there was

no aristocracy and no king. As a kind of government there was simply the assembly of all the people,

which eventually established private property and thereby ensured the doom of the ancient society. There

was no work, but only food gathering at need, for each meal. The food plants were abundant and prolific,

so that all needs were easily satisfied and the question of private property could not arise. Equally there

was no basis for any violence or use of force, just as in the absence of property there could be no theft. It

would seem also that there was no religion, since there were no priests. Moreover in the absence of

immorality there would seem to have been no ideas of good conduct until at the end of this period sex and

property originated. If a happy society is to be restored, then, with or without Buddhism, the following are

the moral principles which must prevail. The primary principle, the first which must be established and

from which the others would seem to follow or derive, is ‘abstention from taking life.’ In a time when

‘sword intervals’ are frequent, social regeneration will be begun by people who withdraw from society,

boycott the fighting. This will increase the expectation of life, and it seems to be assumed that its

advantages will be so self-evident at that time that the majority will come to follow the principle. Before

the time, in the phase of degeneration, its advantages will apparently not to be self-evident to very many

people. A little warfare is not enough: only a massive general slaughter can produce the requisite

impression. With this principle it is natural to group its more general statements found in these texts: non-

violence and non-malevolence.

The last of main principles is truth: ‘abstention from false speech’. With this are associated

avoiding all kinds of harmful speech: malicious, harsh, etc. A few other principles are mentioned

occasionally, are presumably good but not basic: the bad principles prevalent in the phase of degeneration

included wrong theories and disrespect towards sramanas and brahmans (these might be instructing his

vassals included with false speech). Finally the emperor when instructing his vassals included not

drinking intoxicants among his precepts(the reason for this, we find in other texts, is that in a state of

intoxication people are liable to perpetrate bad actions). Moderation in taxation belongs rather to the

principles of government. I focused on Jinul’s Seon practice and his method, Hwadu to approach to

enlightenment. He was a Seon master in Goryeo dynasty however his effort and teachings of Seon

Buddhism is still guide line for Seon practitioner of Korean Buddhism. living in the middle of the Goryeo

dynasty, Jinul was faced with a fully developed temple showing serious signs of moral and spiritual

decline.

A major split had occurred between the scholastic and Seon sects, a split exacerbated by

increasingly inflammatory and intransigent attitudes among adherents of both schools. Drawing

30

inspiration from his vision of the basic unity of Seon and the Sutras, Jinul developed an approach to

Buddhism in which the theoretical aids of the scholastic doctrine-particularly as presented in li T’ung-

hsuan’s interpretation of Hua-yen philosophy-could be used to support Seon epistemological views,

especially as outlined in the Chan school. Western accounts of Ch’an have been dominated by

descriptions of the five schools into which the mature tradition of the late T’ang and early Sung dynasties

was divided. It was through these schools that Ch’an emerged as a distinctly Chinese schools of

Buddhism with a viable doctrine and practice. Until this systematization of the Ch’an teachings, however,

there was considerable experimentation among the immediate followers of the early teachers. Jinul’s

basic Ch’an tradition is originated from Chinese Ch’an teachers, however he found his methods of

meditation. Chinul’s ecumenical attitude toward Buddhist philosophy led him to develop a remarkably

eclectic approach toward meditation practice. while that approach remained fundamentally Seon in focus,

he incorporated a number of techniques which would appeal to practitioners of differing capacities and

needs. It was Chinuls accomplishment to demonstrate how these techniques, the characteristic practices of

independent sects in China, could all work together to guide Buddhism students toward the same goal of

liberation. Chinul regarded these methods as expedient devices designed to assist different types of people

in their own spiritual development., and he insisted that all would eventually lead to the same result for

the adept who cultivated with sincerity and vigor.

Hwadu which means ‘head of speech’, can best be taken metaphorically as the ‘apex of

speech’ or the ‘point beyond which speech exhausts itself’. Since the mind is the initiator of speech,

speech in this context includes all the discriminating tendencies of the mind itself in accordance with the

classic Indian Abhidharma formula that speech is fundamentally intellection and imagination.

The method of hwadu is considered a shortcut to realization because it proposes that

enlightenment can be achieved without following the traditional pattern of Buddhist spiritual

development through morality, concentration, and wisdom. By focusing the student’s attention

exclusively on the one thought of the hwadu, all the discriminative tendencies of the mind are brought to

a halt. From this state of thoughtlessness, one more push is all that needed to move from the ordinary

world, governed by cause and effect, to the transcendental realm of the unconditioned. This push comes

from the force of “doubt,” which is a mean to concentrate mind to one pointness.

The hwadu method is regarded as the best way of practice for enlightenment in korean

Buddhist tradition so far. But Vipassana tradition is introduced and very popular for korean meditation

disciplinants. From Korean independence in 1945 until the 1960’s the trend of the Korean Buddhist

community was towards purification. But this process of purification in the Korean society of that day

appears as if it is a movement of discord. It was a miserable period for korean Buddhism, when the

crooked, rotten aspect overwhelmed the harmonious nature of Buddhism. It was only after 1970 that the

Korean Buddhist community could finally start putting itself in good order under the slogan of

“restoration of old glory.” The basis of this movement was, of course, the self-realization of the Buddhist

31

community, but the main current was the reflective awareness brought on by the wave of western

influence. One of the most epoch-making projects of Buddhist modernization was the publication of the

korean Buddhist texts, in spite of many defects and much criticism. many propagation centers in the

cities, and various Buddhist research centers, and Sunday Seon meditation centers were opened, all aimed

at the modernization of Buddhism. But what should be carefully understood here is the meaning

of “modernization.” Not all of the projects of the young Buddhists associations and Buddhist social

movements have been developed to the best possible extent. The concept of “social service” also required

further examination.

Now days, Korean society has many problems. among these, the most important are:

democratization, economic inequality, equal and correct education, and cultural opportunities. Those

problems can only be solved when sound morally principled citizens live and work together; that is only

when a new value system has been settled. In the 1980’s, the Korean Buddhist community continuously

explored ways in which to modernize. Lots of activities were produced, centers were opened, and many

new dimensions of Buddhism began to awaken. Nowadays, Korean Buddhist community has a look to

have interfaith relationship with other religions. Therefore, a World Religious Leaders’ Conference was

held from June 7-14, 2006 in Seoul, Korea. Korean Buddhism is placed in a turning point. And it should

find out new role for new society. This is very important suject for korean buddhism. That is why now

korean buddhism is doing a quite practical programm which is temple stay for foreigners. Through the

temple stay programm, several korean temples are opened to foreigners in order to offer opportunities to

experience the traditional culture of korean Buddhism. This programm was originally implemented

during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and gamered many positive reactions from participants. The temple

stay programm offers visitors the chance to stay in a Korean temple for several days and experience the

daily life of a Korean temple.

In the present era after the two big wars and small wars, history seem to repeat its lessons to

humanity with a voice more audible than ever, because the turbulence and suffering that, alas, are

generally equivalent with political history, affect increasingly larger sections of mankind, directly or

indirectly. Yet it does not appear that these lessons have been learned any better than before. To a

thoughtful mind, more gripping and heart-rending than all the numerous single facts of suffering

produced by recent history, is the uncancy and tragic monotony of behaviour that prompts mankind to

prepare again for a new bout of that raving madness called war. The same old mechanism is at work

again: the interaction of greed and fear. Lust for power or desire to dominate are barely restrained by fear

the fear of man’s own vastly improved instruments of destruction. Fear, however, is not a very reliable

brake on man’s impulses, and it constantly poisons the atmosphere by creating a feeling of frustration

which again will fan the fires of hate. But men still bungle only with the symptoms of their malady,

remaining blind to the source of the illness which is no other than the three strong Roots of Everything

Evil(akusala-mula) pointed out by the Buddha: greed, hatred and delusion.

32

To this sick and truly demented world of ours, there comes an ancient teaching of eternal

wisdom and unfailing guidance, the Buddha-Dharma, the Doctrine of the Enlightenment One, with its

message and power of healing. It comes with earnest and compassionate, but quiet and unobtrusive

question whether, this time, the people’s of the world will be prepared to grasp the helping hand that the

Enlightened One has extended to suffering humanity through his timeless Teaching.

Therefore, we intended to clarify the characteristic of Buddhism that how it is truthful for its

original teachings, Early Buddhist teachings and practice, and reveal its modern significance.

1. We regard that conception and practice of Three Jewels is one of the essential parts of

Buddhism, which has preserved and developed in all Buddhist countries right from early

Buddhism up to today. Thus, we put special efforts to clarify this commonly spread practice. as

far as our analysis as well as Buddhist Tradition is concerned, Three Jewels or Three Sublime

Ones are as unified nature of Buddha, who is a founder or Buddha nature, Buddhist teachings-

Dharma, which reveals the paths to that Buddha nature, and practioners of the path-Sangha. This

sublime view, which was dominant in Buddhism right from its very origination, holds main

characteristics of Buddhism and serves as an essential criterion for the originality of Buddhism.

our accounts on the religious and philosophical meanings of Three jewels enable us to see

certain issues such as ‘how to preserve and develop Buddhism in this modern time’ in a way that

is more fruitful and effective.

2. We have paid special attention to studies on Sangha, which is an embodiment of Early

Buddhism in particular, and preservation of its original doctrine in general, and its disciplines.

While doing so, we have tried our best to depend on the actual instructions given by Buddha

himself. One can clearly see that Buddhists are truthful holders of their original doctrine when

one studies Buddhism and discovers that Vinaya teachings of Moral disciplines of Sangha are

commonly preserved and practiced in both Hinayana and Mahayana Tradition. It is also very

clear from our research that following and practicing those moral disciplines for Sangha in its

original form is the most important factor for existence and glory of Buddhism, and hence to

benefit the entire society.

3. The Main aim of Buddhism is to overcome the bondage of this Samsaric31) life and achieve the

highest Enlightenment. According to the teachings of Early Buddhism, theoretical base for and

paths to the Enlightenment(wisdom and method) are fully contained in those three higher

training When we study three higher training it is obvious that even today they serve their above-

mentioned role. That is to say, even today these three higher training play a significant role in

purification of mind, feel a peace of ones own mind, generating compassion, developing ones

own intellectual thinking or perfection of wisdom, etc for Buddhists of different countries. So,

therefore, three higher training are not mere an abstractive conceptions or supersition, but rather

these are naturally related to human beings, so that important realizations and training for the

33

sake of perfection of humankind. These are very important training for building excellent

characteristic of man such as compassion or say for moral education, deepening and broadening

ones own narrow-minded views. thus, this is how we reveal positive roles of Buddhism in this

modern world.

4. As we consider history of Korean Buddhism, it has a strick practice of its original doctrine and

moral disciplines on one hand, and an efficient factor for social life; culture and moral education

of people of course of changing time and circumstances on the other hand. It is a result of

preservation of original doctrines of Buddhism in korea, based on Seon Buddhism, which takes

meditation as its main practice, and Jogye tradition, which is successor of former one.

Writer: Dr. Lee Chi-ran, Ph.D. National University(Religious Studies)of Mongolia/Int’l 000000000

Exchanging Committee Member of Jogye Order of the Korean Buddhismÿ00000000000Lotus

University-America Buddhist College(L.A.,USA),Vice President/ Buddhist University of Mongolia, Vice

President/Director, Haedong English-Chinese Academy.

Footnotes:

1) Theravaday”The Teaching of the Elders” or “the Ancient Teaching”, is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was

founded in India. It is relatively conservative, and generally closest to early Buddhism, and for many centuries has been the

predominant religion of Sri Lanka (about 70% of the population and most of continental Southeast Asia (Cambodia,

Laos, Burma, Thailand). Theravada is also practiced by minorities in parts of southwest China (by the Shan and Tai ethnic

groups), Vietnam (by the Khmer Krom), Bangladesh (by the ethnic groups of Baruas, Chakma, and Magh), Malaysia

and Indonesia, while recently gaining popularity in Singapore and the Western World. Today Theravada Buddhists

number over 100 million worldwide, and in recent decades Theravada has begun to take root in the West and in the

Buddhist revival in India. Theravada - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Theravada: The “Doctrine of the Elders,” is the school of Buddhism that draws its scriptural inspiration from the

Tipitaka, or Pali canon, which scholars generally agree contains the earliest surviving record of the Buddha’s teachings.

For many centuries, Theravada has been the predominant religion of continental Southeast Asia (Thailand,

Myanmar/Burma, Cambodia, and Laos) and Sri Lanka. Today Theravada Buddhists number well over 100 million

worldwide. In recent decades Theravada has begun to take root in the West.

What is Theravada Buddhism?

2) Mahayana is one of two major divisions of Buddhism, along with Theravada. In this sense, Mahayana Buddhism is

distinguished primarily by its recognition of the Mahayana sutras, which Theravadins reject as spurious. Among its

adherents, “Mahayana” also refers to a level of spiritual motivation or realization based on bodhicitta—the altruistic

aspiration to achieve enlightenment not only for one’s own sake, but for the sake of all sentient beings. The term contrasts

with “Hinayana” (the “Small Vehicle”); and in some forms of Tibetan Buddhism, with Vajrayana (the “Diamond

Vehicle,” i.e., tantric Buddhism), though this is Mahayanist in terms of motivation. Note on usage: The term “Hinayana”

34

tends to be received as a pejorative among adherents of the Theravada tradition, and is therefore often avoided. A useful

alternative, for historical contexts when “Theravada” is too narrow, is Nikaya Buddhism. In theological discussions, one

may refer to followers of the Shravaka (“Hearer”) or Pratyekabuddha (“Solitary Realizer”) path. Although the Mahayana

movement traces its origin to Gautama Buddha, scholars believe that it originated in India in the 1st century CE, or the 1st

century BCE. Scholars think that Mahayana only became a mainstream movement in India in the fifth century CE, since

that is when Mahayanic inscriptions started to appear in epigraphic records in India. Before the 11th century CE (while

Mahayana was still present in India), the Mahayana Sutras were still in the process of being revised. Thus, several different

versions may have survived of the same sutra. These different versions are invaluable to scholars attempting to reconstruct

the history of Mahayana. In the course of its history, Mahayana spread throughout Inner Asia and East Asia, where it took

on two principal forms: Tibetan Buddhism (found in Tibet, Mongolia, and various Himalayan regions); and East Asian

Buddhism (associated with China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam). The former follows the Tibetan Buddhist canon; the

latter, the Chinese Buddhist canon. Major “schools” within East Asian Buddhism include Pure Land Buddhism, Tientai,

Huayan, and Chan Buddhism (Zen).

Mahayana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Theravada Buddhism focused primarily on meditation and concentration, the eighth of the

Eightfold Noble Path; as a result, it centered on a monastic life and an extreme expenditure of time

in meditating. This left little room for the bulk of humanity to join in, so a new schism erupted

within the ranks of Buddhism in the first century AD, one that would attempt to reformulate the

teachings of Buddha to accomodate a greater number of people. They called their new Buddhism,

the “Greater Vehicle” (literally, “The Greater Ox-Cart”) or Mahayana, since it could accomodate

more people and more believers from all walks of life. They distinguished themselves from

mainstream Theravada Buddhism by contemptuously referring to Theravada as Hinayana, or “The

Lesser Vehicle.” The Mahayanists, however, did not see themselves as creating a new start for

Buddhism, rather they claimed to be recovering the original teachings of Buddha, in much the same

way that the Protestant reformers of sixteenth century Europe claimed that they were not creating a

new Christianity but recovering the original form. The Mahayanists claimed that their canon of

scriptures represented the final teachings of Buddha; they accounted for the non-presence of these

teachings in over five hundred years by claiming that these were secret teachings entrusted only to

the most faithful followers.

Whatever the origins of Mahayana doctrines, they represent a significant departure in the

philosophy. Like the Protestant Reformation, the overall goal of Mahayana was to extend religious

authority to a greater number of people rather than concentrating it in the hands of a few. The

Mahayanists managed to turn Buddhism into a more esoteric religion by developing a theory of

gradations of Buddhahood. At the top was Buddhahood itself which was preceded by a series of

lives, the bodhisattvas.

35

This idea of the bodhisattva was one of the most important innovations of Mahayana

Buddhism. The boddhisattva , or “being of wisdom,” was originally invented to explain the nature

of Buddha’s earlier lives. Before Buddha entered his final life as Siddhartha Gautama, he had spent

many lives working towards Buddhahood. In these previous lives he was a bodhisattva , a kind of

“Buddha-in-waiting,” that performed acts of incredible generosity, joy, and compassion towards his

fellow human beings. An entire group of literature grew up around these previous lives of Buddha,

called the Jataka or “Birth Stories.”

While we do not know much about the earliest forms of Buddhism, there is some evidence that

the earliest followers believed that there was only the one Buddha and that no more would follow.

Soon, however, a doctrine of the Maitreya , or “Future Buddha,” began to assert itself. In this,

Buddhists believed that a second Buddha would come and purify the world; they also believed that

the first Buddha prophesied this future Buddha. If a future Buddha was coming, that meant that the

second Buddha is already on earth passing through life after life. So someone on earth was the

Maitreya . It could be the person serving you food. It could be a child playing in the street. It could

be you. What if there was more than one Maitreya? Five? Ten? A billion? That certainly raises the

odds that you or someone you know is a future Buddha.

The goal of Theravada Buddhism is practically unattainable. In order to make Buddhism a more

esoteric religion, the Mahayanists invented two grades of Buddhist attainment below becoming a

Buddha. While the Buddha was the highest goal, one could become a pratyeka-buddha , that is, one

who has awakened to the truth but keeps it secret. Below the pratyeka-buddha is the arhant , or

“worthy,” who has learned the truth from others and has realized it as truth. Mahayana Buddhism

establishes the arhant as the goal for all believers. The believer hears the truth, comes to realize it as

truth, and then passes into Nirvana . This doctrine of arhanthood is the basis for calling Mahayan

the “Greater Vehicle,” for it is meant to include everyone.

Finally, the Mahayanists completed the conversion of Buddhism from a philosophy to religion.

Therevada Buddhism holds that Buddha was a historical person who, on his death, ceased to exist.

There were, however, strong tendencies for Buddhists to worship Buddha as a god of some sort;

these tendencies probably began as early as Buddha’s lifetime. The Mahayanists developed a

theology of Buddha called the doctrine of “The Three Bodies,” or Trikaya. The Buddha was not a

human being, as he was in Theravada Buddhism, but the manifestation of a universal, spiritual

being. This being had three bodies. When it occupied the earth in the form of Siddhartha Gautama,

it took on the Body of Magical Transformation (nirmanakaya ). This Body of Magical

Transformation was an emanation of the Body of Bliss (sambhogakaya ), which occupies the

heavens in the form of a ruling and governing god of the universe. There are many forms of the

Body of Bliss, but the one that rules over our world is Amithaba who lives in a paradise in the

western heavens called Sukhavati, or “Land of Pure Bliss.” Finally, the Body of Bliss is an

36

emanation of the Body of Essence (dharmakaya ), which is the principle underlying the whole of

the universe. This Body of Essence, the principle and rule of the universe, became synonymous

with Nirvana . It was a kind of universal soul, and Nirvana became the transcendent joining with

this universal soul.

Mahayana Buddhism

3) Vajrayâna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayâna, Mantrayâna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism

and the Diamond Vehicle. The period of Vajrayana Buddhism has been classified as the fifth or final period of Indian

Buddhism. Vajrayana is a complex and multifaceted system which evolved over several centuries and reveals much

inconsistency and a variety of opinions. Vajrayana probably came into existence in the 6th or 7th century, while the term

Vajrayana first came into evidence in the 8th century. Its scriptures are called the Tantras. The distinctive feature of

Vajrayana Buddhism is ritual, which is used as a substitute or alternative for the earlier abstract meditations. Vajrayana

scriptures say that Vajrayana refers to one of three routes to enlightenment, the other two being Hinayana and Mahayana.

Vajrayana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4) Lamaism is the Tibetan religion of about 3 million Tibetans and 7 million Mongols and others. The Dalai Lama is the

equivalent of the Pope for them. A secondary leader is the Teshu Lama (or Panchen Lama). These two are regarded as

‘Living Buddhas’, being reincarnations of Buddha passing from one existence to another. When one dies, his successor is

sought from among the baby boys born at the time the leader passed away because it is believed that the soul of the

Buddha has only passed into another existence. Lamaism is considered a corrupt form of Buddhism. It is sometimes

called the Yellow Religion. In some areas it has degenerated into a form of spirit worship.

Lamaism - Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is one of three major forms of Buddhism, in terms of regional culture as well as

canonical language. The other two would be Theravada, based on the Pali canon; and East Asian

Buddhism, based on the Chinese Buddhist canon. Together with East Asian Buddhism, Tibetan

Buddhism forms part of a broader Mahayana tradition. Like other forms of Buddhism, Tibetan

Buddhist tradition claims continuity with the teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha in India. These are

said to have been transmitted to Tibet beginning in the 7th century, from which they spread to

Mongolia and other Inner Asian lands from the 11th century.

Most distinctively, the Tibetan canon includes not only sutras but also tantras. The former consist

of the public teachings of a Buddha or bodhisattva; the latter are orally-transmitted esoteric rituals

or meditation practices. All of these are found in a scriptural collection called the Kangyur. An

accompanying collection called the Tangyur consists of voluminous commentarial treatises, many

of them unique to Tibet. One imporant principle is that such teachings cannot be understood, and

ought not to be practiced, without the guidance of a lama (“spiritual teacher” or “guru”).

37

The number of adherents of Tibetan Buddhism is estimated to be between ten and twenty million.

Besides Tibet, Tibetan Buddhism is also a traditional religion of Mongolia, as well as certain

regions of the Himalayas with cultural affinities to Tibet. One of several religions supported by the

courts of the Mongol Empire, Qing Dynasty, and Czarist Russia, Tibetan Buddhism functioned as

the official religion of Mongolia and Tibet prior to the rise of Communism; and remains the state

religion of Bhutan.

Tibetan Buddhism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

5) V. Fausboll Jâtaka, 6. Vol., 1877-1897; H. Kern, Manual of Indian buddhism(1896), Histoire du Bouddhisme dans

l’India(1901-1903)

6) T.W. Rhys Davids, Buddhism, 1878, Buddhism, its History and Literature, 1896, Buddhist India, 1903, Pali English

Dictionary (in collaboration with Dr. W. Stede), editions and translations of Pali Text.

7) 10C.A.F. Rhys Davids,Buddhism (1912), Buddhist psychology (1914), Gotama the Man (1928) and Sakya or

Buddhist Origins (1931)

8) 2. H. Oldenberg, Buddha, Sein Leben, seine Lehre, seine Gemeinde, Berlin, 1881, Vinaya Pitaka, 5 Vol., L., 1879-83.

9) 3. S. Lçvi, Le nepal, 1915.

10) 4. Th. Stcherbatsky, The central Conception of Buddhism and the meaning of the Word Dharma. London, 1923, The

conception of Buddhist Nirvana, L., 1927, Buddhist Logic, 2 Vol.s, 1930, 1932.

11) L. de la Vallee poussin, Nirvana, Paris. 1925., la moral bouddhique, 1927, Le dogma et le philosophie du Bouddhisme,

1930,Abhidharma-kosa of Vasubandu, 1923-1931 etc.

12) Abhidharma-koœa (the compendium of Abhidharma) is a key text in verse written in Sanskrit by Vasubandhu. It

summarizes Sarvâstivâdin tenets in eight chapters with a total of around 600 verses. The text was widely respected, and

used by schools of Mahayana Buddhism in India, Tibet and the Far East. Vasubandhu wrote a commentary to his own

work, called the Abhidharma-koúa-bhâsya. In it, he critiques the interpretations of the Sarvâstivâdins and others of the

tenets he presented in that work. This commentary includes an additional chapter in prose refuting the idea of the “person”

(pudgala) favoured by some Buddhists. However, later Sarvâstivâdin master Samghabhadra, considered that he

misrepresented their school in the process, and at this point designated Vasubandhu as a Sautrantika (upholder of the

sutras, rather than as an upholder of the Abhidharma. The Abhidharma-koœa and its commentary is composed of the

following chapters:

1: The Dhâtus 2: The Indriyas 3: The World 4: Karma 5: The Latent Defilements 6: The Path and the Saints 7: The

Knowledges 8: The Absorptions 9: Refutation of the Pudgala.

Ancient translations of the Abhidharma-koúa were made into Chinese by Paramârtha (564-567 CE) and by Xuán

Zàng (651-654 CE). Other translations and commentaries exist in translations exist in Tibetan, Chinese and Mongolian,

and modern translations have been made into English, French and Russian. The Abhidharma Kosha (Sanskrit), Chos

Mngon Pa Mdzod (Tibetan), or The Treasure House of Knowledge, is a Hinayana Buddhist text composed by Master

Vasubandhu (Sanskrit), Slob Dpon Dbyig Gnyen (Tibetan) (350 AD). The text is still widely studied by practitioners of

both the Hinayana and Mahayana traditions Abhidharma-kosa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

38

13) A.B. Keith, Buddhist Philosophy in India and ceylon, 1923, B.C. Law, Chronology of the Pali Canon(1932), Geography

of Early Buddhism(1932), Nirvana and Buddhist Laymen(1933); E.J. Thomas, The Life of Buddha as Legend and

History, 1930, The History of Buddhist Thought,1933 B.C.Law, Chronology of the Pali Canon(1932), Geography of

Early Buddhism(1932), Nirvana and Buddhist laymen(1933); E.J. Thomas, The Life of Buddha as legend and History,

1930, The History of Buddhist Thought, 1933.

14) S.C.Das, A Tibetan-English Dictionary, (1902); S.C.Vidyabhusan, History of Indian Logic, 1922; D. Kosambi,

Buddhacarita, Buddha Dharma and Sangha, Bodhicarayavatara in Marathi and Gujarati; B.M. barua, Prolegomena to a

historical of Buddhist philosophy, 1918, Asoka and his Inscription, Ceylon lectures; G.P. Malalasekera, Pali Literature in

Ceylon, L., 1928, Dictionary of pali Proper names(two Vol), 1937-1938; W. Rahula, History of Buddhism in Ceylon,

1956, What the Buddha Taught, 1959; B. Nanjio, A Catalogue of the Chinese traslation of the Buddhist Tripitaka, 1883;

J. Takakus, The Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy, 1947; D.T.Suzuki, outlines of Mahâyâna,Buddhism, 1907, Essays in

Zen Buddhism, 1927, Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra,1930.

1) Anagarika Dharmapala (17 September 1864-29 April 1933) was a leading figure in initiating two outstanding features of

Buddhism in the twentieth century. He was a pioneer in the revival of Buddhism in India after it had been virtually extinct

there for several centuries, and he was the first Buddhist in modern times to preach the Dharma in three continents: Asia,

North America, and Europe. He was a major reformer and revivalist of Sri Lankan Buddhism. In 1891 Anagarika

Dharmapala was on a pilgrimage to the recently restored Mahabodhi Temple, where Siddhartha Gautama-the Buddha-

attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, India. Here he experienced a shock to find the temple in the hands of a Saivite

priest, the Buddha image transformed into a Hindu icon and Buddhists barred from worship. As a result, he began an

agitation movement. The Mahabodhi society at Colombo was founded in 1891 but its offices were soon moved to

Calcutta the following year in 1892. One of its primary aims was the restoration to Buddhist control of the Mahabodhi

Temple at Bodh Gaya, the chief of the four ancient Buddhist holy sites. To accomplish this, Dharmapala initiated a lawsuit

against the Brahmin priests who had held control of the site for centuries. After a protracted struggle, this was successful,

with the partial restoration of the site to the management of the Maha Bodhi Society in 1949. Mahabodhi Society centers

were set up in many Indian cities, and this had the effect of raising Indian consciousness about Buddhism. Converts were

made mostly among the educated, but also among some low caste Indians in the south. Due to the efforts of Dharmapala,

the site of the Buddha’s parinibbana (physical death) at Kushinagar has once again become a major attraction for Burmese

Buddhists, as it was for many centuries previously. Mahabodhi Movement in 1890s held the Muslim Rule in India

responsible for the decay of Buddhism in India. Anagarika Dharmapala did not hesitate to lay the chief blame for the

decline of Buddhism in India at the door of Muslim fanaticism. In 1893 Dharmapala was invited to attend the World

Parliament of Religions in Chicago as a representative of “Southern Buddhism”-which was the term applied at that time to

the Theravada. He was a great success and by his early thirties he was already a global figure, continuing to travel and give

lectures and establish viharas around the world during the next forty years. At the same time he concentrated on

establishing schools and hospitals in Ceylon and building temples and viharas in India. Among the most important of the

temples he built was one at Sarnath, where the Buddha first taught. Dharmapala’s voluminous diaries have been

39

published, and he also wrote some memoirs. The above was adapted from Sangharakshita, Great Buddhists of the

Twentieth Century, Windhorse Publications 1996, with permission The term ‘Protestant Buddhism,’ coined by scholar

Gananath Obeyesekere is often applied to Dharmapala’s form of Buddhism. It is Protestant in two ways. First, it is

influenced by Protestant ideals such as freedom from religious institutions, freedom of conscience, and focus on individual

interior experience. Second, it is in itself a protest against claims of Christian superiority, colonialism, and Christian

missionary work aimed at weakening Buddhism. “Its salient characteristic is the importance it assigns to the laity.” It arose

among the new, literate, middle class centered in Colombo. The term ‘Buddhist modernism’ is used to describe forms of

Buddhism suited the modern world, usually influenced by European enlightenment thinking, and often adapted by Asian

Buddhists as a counter to claims of European or Christian superiority. Buddhist modernists emphasize certain aspects of

traditional Buddhism, while de-emphasizing others. Some of the characteristics of Buddhist modernism are: importance

of the laity as against the sangha; rationality and de-emphasis of supernatural and mythological aspects; consistency with

(and anticipation of) modern science; emphasis on spontaneity, creativity, and intuition; democratic, anti-institutional

character; emphasis on meditation over devotional and ceremonial actions. Dharmapala is an excellent example of an

Asian Buddhist modernist, and perhaps the paradigm example of Protestant Buddhism. He is particularly concerned with

presenting Buddhism as consistent with science, especially the theory of evolution.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anagarika_dahrmapala.

16) E.Conze, Buddhist Thought in India, L.,1962, Buddhist Meditation, prajnaparamita literature, 1960.

17) H.H. The Fourtheenth Dalai Lama, Kindness, Clarity and Insight (1984), Opening the Eye of New Awareness (1985),

Advice from Buddha Shakyamuni(1982), Universal Responsibility and the Good Heart (1985), The World of Tibetan

Buddhism(1995) etc.

18) Park, Sung-bae, Buddhist faith and Sudden Enlightenment,

19) 1. Chai-Shin Yu. Early Buddhism and Christianity, p. 37.

20) The main schools of Indian Buddhism are: The Sthaviravadins or Theravadins, The Mahisasakas The Sarvastivadins,

The Haimavatas, The Vatsiputriyas, The Dharmaguptikas, The Kasyapiyas. The Sautrantikas or the Sankrantivadins, The

Mahasangghikas, The bahusrutiyas, The Caityakas, The Madhyamika School, The yogacara School.

21) Vinaya-Pitaka, Suttavibhanga; which explains the 227 rules or precepts listed in the Patimokkha which are applicable to

monks and nuns.

22) Majjhima-Nikaya (Pali), Madhyamagama (S). In Pali version, it consists of 152 sutras of medium length and in the

Chinese translation of the lost Sanskrit version of 222 sutras.

23) The Tripitaka Koreana was originally carved in the 11th century at a temple on Ganghwa Island but now the wood-blocks

of the Tripitaka koreana, the Buddhist texts are being kept in Haein-sa temple.

24) Mother of Jumong, who was the Founder of Goguryeo, one of Three Kingdoms in the ancient Korean countries.

25) The Founder of Silla which was one of the Three Kingdoms.

26) The Korean shamanistic tradition is probably originated from Siberia via Mongolia.

40

27). Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea written by Ilyon. Ilyon says that this is a sketchy

description taken from Garakguk-gi, a narrative by Munin, magistrate of Gumgwan Country during the reign of the

Goryeo King Munjong(1046-1083). It consists mostly of the usual legends, but some of it based on fact. There was

indeed an area called Garak on Korean coast in ancient times, and tribes known as Gaya.

28) Ki-baik Lee, A New History of Korea.

29) Mongolian Buddhism is often described as a part of Tibetan Buddhism, which is in many ways. However, there are

enough distinct features to refer to the practice as Mongolian Buddhism.

30) Samguk Yusa( legend and history of the three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea), written by Ilyon Translated by Tae-hung

and Gratton K. Mintz pp 305 1972

31) Samsara (Sanskrit: 88>0) is the cycle of birth, death and rebirth (i.e. reincarnation) within Buddhism, Bön, Hinduism,

Jainism, Sikhism, Vaishnavism and other related religions. Colloquially, “Samsara” can also refer to a general state of

overt or subtle sufferings that occur in day to day life.

Bibliography

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1. Canonical

* Maurice Walshe,The Long Discourses of the Buddha. A Translation of the 000000000000

Digha Nikaya. Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 19950

* Bhikkhu Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Middle Length Discourses of t he Buddha. A

Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya. Translated 0000000000000Buddhist 0Publication Society,

Kandy, Sri Lanka, 1995.

* Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Connected Discourse of the Buddha. A Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya.

Wisdom Publications. Boston, 2000.

* The Entrance to the Vinaya, Vinayamukha Vol. I, II, by Somdet Phra 000000000000MahaSamana

Chao Krom Phraya Vajirananavarorasa 10th 0000000000000Sangharaja of the Ratanakosin Era of

Siam, Mahamakut 00000000000000Rajavidyalaya Press, 1973.

* Ven. Weragoda Sarada Maha Thero Treasury of Truth illustrated Dhammapada Singapore, 1994.

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2. Commentarial

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Translated from the Pali Buddhist Publication Society, kandy, Sri Lanka. 1979.

* Analayo. Satipatthana, the Direct Path to Realization, Buddhist Publication Society, Asian Edition,

2003.

3. Generals

41

* Wilhelm Geiger, Ph.D. Mahavamsa The Great Chronicle of Ceylon. Buddhist Cultural Center, Sri

Lanka.

* Stcherbatsky Th. The Central Conception of Buddhism and the Meaning of the Word “Dharma”,

Lenigrad, 1923.

* Oldenberg H. Buddha, sein Leben, seine Lehre, seine Gemeinde. B., 1921.

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Society, Malaysia, 1962.

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Publishers Pvt Ltd. 1981.

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Sayadaw, translated into English Ti Ni Publishing Center, 1991.

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Kandy, Sri Lanka, second edition 1994.

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Mahasamghikas and Mulasarvastivadins. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi,1996.

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* Editor N.H. Samtani. Amala Prajna, Aspects of Buddhist Studies, , Sri Satguru Publications, Delhi,

1989.

* Nyanaponika Thera, The Heart of Buddhist Meditation, Century, London, 1962.

* K.N. Jayatilleke. Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi, 1963,

reprint 1998.

* Alfonso Verdu, Early Buddhist Philosophy in the Light of the Four Noble Truths, Motilal

Banarsidass, Delhi, reprinted 1995.

* H.H. Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara. Forty-Five Years of The Buddha(book one). 1993.

* Walpola Rahula. What the Buddha taught. Gordon Fraser, 1959.

* G.P. Malalasekera. The Pali Literature of Ceylon. Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka,

1994.

* Alex Wayman. Calming The Mind and Discerning The Real. Translated. Motilal Banarsidass

Publishers, first edition, New York, 1978.

* K.D.P. Wickremesinghe. The Biography of the Buddha, Colombo, 1972.

* Lama Chimpa. Taranatha’s History of Buddhism in India, 1970.

* Benimadhab Barua. A History of Pre-Buddhistic Indian Philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers,

Delhi, 1921.

* Edited by Anuradha Seneviranta. King Asoka and Buddhism, Colombo, 1994.

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Delhi, first edition, Cambridge 1922, reprinted 1991.

* Bhikkhu Bodhi. A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma. Buddhis Publication Society, Kandy,

Sri Lanka 1993.

* Ki-baik Lee. A New History ofKorea, translated by Edward W. Wagner.

* The Korean Buddhist Research Institute. The History and Culture of Buddhism in Korea.

* The Korean Buddhist Jogye Order. Korean Buddhism.

* The Collected Works of Chinul, Translated with an introduction by Robert Buswell Jr, university of

hawaii press. Honolulu, 1983.