EARLY KOREAN ZEN:

Foundations of the Chogye Order 

By 

Ozmo Hyonjin Piedmont, Ph.D.

The early teachers of Korean Zen developed a unique style of practice and philosophy drawing from many sources, including Chinese Buddhism, Hua-Yen, Pure Land, Taoism, and Confucianism. One finds certain major themes as special to these founding members of this Chogye lineage of Buddhism, including a One Vehicle eclecticism combining Meditation and scripture study along with integration of many schools of practice into one functioning whole, along with Sudden Enlightenment and Gradual Cultivation and One Mind (Consciousness only) teachings. These early teachers were reformers, free thinkers, and mavericks that worked toward integrating Buddhist teachings into daily life through the transcendence of duality, a profound understanding of causality and emptiness, and a turning back of awareness to the source of all life and spiritual being.  They had common techniques peculiar to Korean Zen, including hwadu practice based on koan case study and using the senses to turn back one’s attention to the source of awareness itself. The following essay will first show the cultural context in which Korean teachers emerged, often in environments of corruption, social unrest, competition for resources, and competing ideologies.  Out of this certain teachers appeared unifying the people, establishing Buddhist teachings as a stabilizing force, and democratizing its teachings for everyone, both aristocracy, monks, and the rural population. These early teachers had many common characteristics in teachings and practice, and yet each preserved his unique personality traits and idiosyncrasies which make both more human as well as quite interesting as models of emulation for the modern day practitioner.

Early Buddhist Culture

            Early Buddhist culture emerged in times of extreme political unrest and uncertain times economically and socially.  Through the belief in merit, people could make huge donations to temples, nuns, and monks as a way to buy out bad karma.  This resulted in much activity, such as the creation of art, building of new temples, paying for clothing and food of nuns and monks, providing them with the tools and decorations of rituals and ceremonies, the copying of sutras, donations to charities and relief efforts, all beneficial for the growth of Buddhism itself and the alleviation of suffering for many in the society.  The wealthy could also donate land, property, money and other assets to Buddhist communities.  Temples became richer, tax exempt, well connected politically, with powerful protectors.  Temples were centers of culture, industry, meeting places and travelers’ inns.  They became the main source of money lending and institutional continuity and could extend credit.  Temples could also become market centers where people could trade, gossip and be entertained. 

            As Buddhism became institutionalized, educating and uplifting the society they were in, it could also have negative impacts on both the religious institution itself as well as the society it upheld.  Donors might give out of self interest, to maintain their own power and property, and converting monks into managers of temple resources for their own gain.  Temple overseers might manipulate and exploit serfs and novice monks for their own benefit.  Buddhist establishments came to manage and control substantial resources and labor power.  Thus, many regimes tried to curb or control institutionalized Buddhism, at times purging the country of its clergy and confiscating its wealth.  Laws were sometimes written limiting the number of clergy and the number of their temples.  Rulers tried to insure that the Buddhist establishments were loyal to their regimes, defending the realm and the ruler.  Buddhist groups were often drawn into political conflicts and contending factions for power.  Anti-Buddhist factions would then attack clergy and their institutions.  In Korea, governments would redirect their patronage to first one and then another Buddhist institution.  Buddhist temples often had to fortify themselves with armed forces.  Everyday Buddhism was often plagued with everyday sophistries, shallow routines, mechanical attitude toward ritual, and service-for- hire clergy, as well as millenarian movements of open rebellion, fighting for unrealizable utopias of perfection.  

            Nevertheless, many authentic Buddhist teachers transcended these worldly concerns, calling for the reformation of a society or ruling regime, even calling for the reformation of Buddhism itself for a return to the essentials of Buddhist teachings and the realization of those teachings in the lives and institutions of Buddhism.  Buddhism is based on personal transformation and awakening to one’s true nature.  Real teachers wanted to see people actually apply the teachings to their everyday life, including admonishing nuns, monks, and monasteries to return to the original essence of the teachings.  They wanted people to find Buddha within themselves and reach their own independent realization.  These masters knew that fame and reputation for holiness could become burdensome and attract unwanted attention.  But these masters could also use their reputations to speak out publicly, to occupy positions of power, trying to influence and guide the Buddhist community and to intervene in politics. 

            During the seventh century Silla dynasty in Korea, Buddhist teachers addressed the emperors and kings, exhorting them to live up to the example of the Confucian Sage Kings, who were creators of good order, ruling by moral force, winning the people’s hearts and minds, models of cultural creativity, public mindedness and impartiality, putting ability and moral qualification above hereditary claim. In a time of much ethic inequality and caste systems, Buddhist teachers associated with people from all walks of life, disregarded conventional social distinctions, and appealed in the inherent enlightened nature in everyone.  Buddhist philosophy viewed the human dilemma as plagued with habitual opinions, skewed perceptions, taboos and conventions that resulted in delusions that caused suffering to oneself and others.  Nevertheless, Buddhism stressed a practical means to escape these traps of suffering through refining our perceptions to a wider reality through such means as meditation, charity, discipline, patience, energy and wisdom. 

            Zen teachers also challenged the tendency to ethnocentrism by making constant reference to the first Zen teacher Bodhidharma as the “red-bearded barbarian” and to Buddha himself as the “old barbarian.”  In Korea, Zen teachers constantly called for an elimination of routine formalism and a reawakening to the original intent of the teachings.  Many Korean teachers advocated the reunification of the various schools of Zen and emphasized the underlying harmony between zen meditation and the scriptural teachings.  During the Mongol reign of the 13^th and 14^th centuries in Korea, much of Buddhism had become institutionalized, superficial, ceremonial, and intellectualized. Authentic teachers arose and adapted to this situation emphasizing the practical application of Zen, emphasizing both study and practice of meditation along with Pure Land recitation of the Buddha’s name, Pure Land becoming synonymous with inherent mind and true nature.  Zen masters in the 13^th and 14^th centuries strove to restore koan study as a valid technique to refine the mind, shift ordinary habits of mind and errors of perception, to go beyond piety and personal gain, and instead focus on a true reality.   

            By the tenth century, due to the intellectual emerging prominence of Buddhism, the relationship between Confucianism ranged between deep animosity to open respect. Yet both deeply influence each other, deepening their content, considerations, and practices. Rather than being mutually exclusive, they could be seen as complementary, both serving needs and expertise in differing areas: Buddhism for transcending the world, and Confucianism for managing the world.

            Certain schools of Confucianism saw a fundamental harmony with Buddhism, equating the Buddhist ideal of the bodhisattva with the Confucian value of “ren”, the human fellow-feeling or benevolence.  Likewise, Buddhist meditation was considered parallel to Confucian practices of composing and calming the mind. Both traditions addressed practices of self-cultivation that could be mutually practiced and beneficial.

            Other Confucian thinkers partial to political concerns along with state and national management, rejected Buddhism as being a parasite of society and unproductive to the economic welfare of the nation.  Confucianism was well established as a political institution, but tended not to openly attack Buddhism, as this would invite chaos with the general populace that had a long standing love of Buddhism for many centuries. Instead, they tried to limit the numbers of temples and clergy, hoping Buddhism would dwindle and disappear of on its own. Open attacks were usually brief attacks by aristocratic rulers and warlords seeking to appropriate the material wealth of the Buddhist institutions, or to re-align power bases depending on allegences with different factions.

            Some Confucian groups accused Buddhism as promulgating vulgar superstitious beliefs aimed at the lower classes with promises of release from suffering. Some Korean  philosophers placed great value on Chinese classics, which they viewed as more  indigenous to their culture beliefs over what was percieved as a foreign cultural invasion of Indian philosophy into China and Korea. They saw Buddhism, as represented by Zen, as being amoral, libertine, incomprehensible, nihilistic, and lacking proper standards of conduct for a society.

            Conversely, Buddhist teachers maintained a certain reserve toward Confucian teachers, seeing them as advocating an acceptable version of worldly truth valuable as a basis for social morality and a good base for Buddhist philosophy and practice. They  appreciated that Confucianism was trying to convey basically the same message of self development, benevolence, love, compassion, and service to helping others.  Buddhist teachers often urged members of society and its rulers to live up to Confucian ideals.  However, many teachers from both camps saw the underlying harmony between the two religions, and made efforts to maintain contact between them.  Many Buddhist teachers had studied extensively the Confucian classics and made reference to them in certain contexts as upaya, skillful means, to teach the Dharma. 

            However, there were also extremist Buddhist groups, Millenarians, that arose posing a threat to both mainstream Buddhist institutions as well as rival Confucian establishments.  These were basically religious fanatical sects that expected the imminent coming of Maitreya bringing in a new era of justice and perfection on earth.  Anyone that did not agree with their philosophy was seen as corrupt and evil, and had to be eliminated or overthrown. This created much political upheaval, persecution, and fighting on the part of both rulers and established Buddhist groups, each trying to repress or eliminate the

Millenarians, seeing them as a threat to their own survival.  In turn, these Millenarian groups staged many uprisings against the rulers of their time.  By the 14^th century, strong Millenarian groups, represented by the White Lotus religion, as they were called, were posing a serious threat to both the ruling elite as well as the established Buddhist groups in Korea.

            Though Zen had become firmly established in Korea by the 9^th century, political unrest was also prevelent due to various political leaders and kingdoms seeking power and supremacy.  As new unified dynasties emerged, Buddhism helped to stabalize, console and unify the people.  Wang Kon became the established dominate ruler of this time, and since he believed in Buddhism, he became its chief patron, funding many temples and ceremonies at this time.  Many Buddhist establishements connected to ruling aristocratic nobles acquired large possessions of land and property.  It became very fashionable for the upper classes and nobles to immitate the Chinese high culture based on Buddhist philosophy and practice. There was an ongoing wide exchange of people and monks between Korea and China for sutras, teachings, and writings. Royal patronage continued to play an important role in the stabalization and disemination of Buddhism in Korea throughout the 11^th to 13^th centuries.

            Nevertheless, Korean Confucianism continued to be a strong influence throughout those centuries. In the 10^th century, goverment officials were selected based on an examination system that was based largely on Confucian philosophy and curriculum. By the end of the 11^th century, many Confucian private academies were established to prepare wealthy Korean families’ children for entry into political life in preparation for the official exams.  However, due to a stong aristocratic influence, many positions of power were granted due to nepotism or connections with family and friends, not on achievement in the exams.  This weakened the political system and eventually brought with it the downfall of the ruling classes.  By the end of the 12^th century, uprisings and coups were common throughout Korea, and even Buddhist monasteries had to arm themselves to defend their holdings. By the 13^th century, Mongol armies invaded and overthrew the ruling families, establishing their control of the country. 

            By this time, religious institutions had to scramble in order to gain patronage by the rulers, including Confucian and Buddhist groups.  Though at first Confucians were excluded from traditional political roles by the Mongal rulers, they were seen to be a good base for maintaining the purity of cultural norms and values in the local community leadership. Therefore, they began to be accorded some political positions through the state exams.  By the 14^th century, the Cheng-Zhu school of Confucianism had become the standard of orthodoxy in the examinations.  This Confucian orthodoxy solidified itself around a belief that its perceived norms of society were the only legitimate reality and basis for a civilized government and culture, and became openly hostile to Buddhist philosophy and practice. Nevertheless, Buddhist groups survived and expanded due to patronage from Mongol rulers, who tended to synthesize the ruling norms of both Confucianism and the stablizing esthetics of Buddhism into a cohesive and functional mode of government and society.

 WANHYO (7th-Century C.E.)

The 7th-century Zen teacher Wanhyo is one of the most beloved and renowned teachers of Korea.  His philosophy centers on the idea of oneness, the interrelatedness of everything in the universe, based on the Hua-Yen philosophy and One Mind. He is credited as having brought Pure Land Buddhist teachings to Korea and also for inspiring later Korean Buddhist scholars in the study of the Flower Garland Hua-Yen School of Buddhism. Though he was a monk, he renounced formal religious life to teach ordinary people. Since the sutras were written in Chinese, Buddhism was considered a religion for the aristocrats. The common people considered the Buddhist sermons too difficult to understand. So Wanhyo would put many scriptures to song. He would dance and sing in the streets, carrying a gourd, and encourage the people to sing and recite the Buddha’s name. At one point, he married a princess and had a son, who became one of the most prominent Confucian scholars in Korean history. The most noted story of Wanhyo relates to a pilgrimage he took to China. On the way, he took shelter from the storm in a cave. Finding what he thought was a gourd ladle in the dark filled with rainwater, he drank from it to quench his thirst, finding the water sweet and fresh. In the morning, to his dismay, he discovered that the gourd ladle was actually dirty water in a skull. Throwing up from disgust, he suddenly realized that everything is mind. There is nothing clean and nothing dirty; all things are made by mind. This One Mind Only philosophy became the foundation of his teachings the rest of his life.

Wonhyo drinking from water from a skull.

            One Mind is the teaching that all phenomena is fundamentally based on an

infinite essence, the true nature of mind, inherent in all beings and things.  However, the discrimating little ego mind of opposites divides phenomena into pure and impure, likes and dislikes.  Upon elimination of the discriminating mind, all phenomena are seen to be One.  Wonhyo discovered One Mind outside the world of binary opposites. Contrasting

terms, such as clean and unclean, are created by the discriminating mind.  When one discovers the essence of One Mind, then discriminating mind does not arise. Since all beings have this fundamental essence, the One Mind, then Enlightenment is inherent in all beings, only obscured by desires.  Enlightenment does not depend on any thing, it is already present in each of us. By developing the mind, calming the desires of ignorance, Enlightenment reveals itself by returning to this One Mind, where one discovers one’s true self, and is able to effectively serve and help all other beings to do the same. 

            In order to return to One Mind, one must understand the little mind.  There are two gates of the mind: True-Suchness Gate and the Arising-Ceasing Gate. The True-Suchness Gate is the essence free from all discriminations; the Arising-Ceasing Gate is the world of phenomena as it is projected by discriminations. These two gates are not separate. Hidden within the discriminating mind of the Arising-Ceasing Gate is the One

Mind of the True Suchness gate, which is our Buddha Nature.  Since Buddha Nature is One Mind, and One Mind is free from all discriminations, therefore One Mind does not correspond to anything. But since One Mind does not correspond to anything, it does not correspond to nothing either, it just is, pure and radiant right here, right now.  It is inherently pure and distinct from existence and non-existence. It is the true mind, the true essence, which combines both the absolute and the worldly, is above suffering and abides

in a liberated state without attachment or dependence on anything.  This then implies that samsara, the world of birth and death and suffering, as well as the world of Nirvana, are not separate.  Since they are not separate, then both separate beings and Buddha are not separate.  All is One Mind.  Realizing this, we recover our essence and are free from suffering. 

            A second major teaching of Wonhyo is called Hwajaeng, which can be summarized as the harmonization of opposites in the oneness of the heart, a recognition and consequent acceptance of difference. It functions by not allowing for a distinction between positive and negative, but instead emphasizes that everything is interconnected and interdependent and with a common origin. The whole and the part exist as one.  In practice, if one is unattached to being accepted by others, then there is nothing to be affirmed nor anything to be gained by affirmation, nor anything to lose if one’s views are unaccepted. In an argument, one normally ignores the opinion of the other, attached to one’s original opinion, making it difficult to propose something, understand, or see an issue objectively.  In order to effectively communicate, it is necessary to be free from a self-centered perspective, free from preconceptions and prejudices, to be open-minded and humble. When we are free from preconceptions, the distinction between self and other is non-existent. We do this by eliminating our fixed standards, through letting go of our clinging to our own point of view, believing that the other is separate from us, and therefore wrong or opposite from us in their opinion.  We must learn to be impartial, without ego, freed from the idea of difference.  Problems arise when we are trapped by our own narrowness of perception, insisting the absolute validity of our own point of view, a dogmatization of our position. 

            Wonhyo believed that there are many possible ways to solve a problem, since they are all ultimately one.  All is One, so there are many ways to arrive at the one goal or resolution of the problem, or happiness, if we but let go of our own narrowness and constrained mind of opinion.  We do this by seeking the meaning of words rather than focusing on the words themselves.  It is to go beyond the surface appearances of discrimination, and aim for the unity of essential oneness at the core of the two apparent opposing points of view. 

            This is emphasized in Wonhyo’s “Chong-Yo” teaching: unfolding to all and combining into one.  This means that the essence, the spirit of Buddha, is revealed in infinity of forms and ways, but all the ways are essentially one.  So although two sides of an argument appear valid from their points of view, both sides should attempt to view the situation in a holistic way, from their and the other person’s point of view at the same time. 

            For example, one can synthesize the many elements of the sutras into one meaning, the Truth of our essential nature. By so doing, one finds the harmony of universal meaning, in spite of the opinions of hundreds of sects.  Wonhyo suggests that one should neither contradict nor affirm any given doctrine or opinion in order to bring the two sides together. To do this, one must consider two factors: emotion and reason.  Emotion is the feeling of attachment to your own opinion. Reason is our ability to acknowledge that everyone has this attachment, believing that he or she is right, so we can recognize the wisdom of not holding on to a narrow viewpoint.  We must learn non-attachment, to both affirm and contradict the two sides of an issue at the same time. We embrace all that is relative so as to see the essence that lies within these apparent opposites.  The absolute is not opposite to the relative, but rather transcends all relativity of opposites altogether.  By recognizing the relativity in myself, I open to the oneness of essence beyond the apparent opposites, the basic philosophy of One Mind in action and application. (Cleary, 2013)

TA HUI (12th-Century C.E.)  

Ta Hui was a 12^th-century Chinese Zen teacher who invented the koan practice of hwadu, “word head,” a short phrase, theme, or word based on a koan encounter dialogue story between a teacher and a student. However, the hwadu is shorter than the koan, serving as a kind of meditation to still the mind.   The use of hwadu was not an intellectual endeavor, but rather a means to turn the light of consciousness back to its source: “Just turn your light around and reflect back: where does the one who entertains such thoughts come from?(Cleary, 2013: 880-881). Ta Hui used the hwadu to teach and train both monks and the lay community, particularly the educated scholar-officials, who were essential for the survival of the Zen lineages through their government financial support and abbot appointments. Ta Hui was deeply influenced by both Confucianism and Taoism, and was a sharp critic of Silent Illumination school of Zen, considering its emphasis on meditation only as a distortion of the teachings, fomenting quietism and disconnection from the world.   

            Ta Hui unified and transcended the doctrinal school differences of his time. He taught that first one must quiet the mind in order to experience one’s inherent nature at all times.  He was influenced by the Hwa-Yen philosophy, that the universe is the body of Buddha, all things are connected through inter-dependent co-origination, and that all schools of zen practice are but skillful means as the One Dharma of Truth. He was also influenced by the Mind only school of Buddhism, whereby everything is a reflection of one’s own mind. The Buddha means enlightened awareness and if we can see the Buddha everywhere, be totally aware (mindful) in all circumstances, then we can break through to the essential peace and bliss that is our own true identity.

            His teachings centered on the enlightenment experience as a key element in overcoming the suffering of samsara.  He promised that this experience was open to all people, whether lay or monk, and advocated the use of hwadu to create “great doubt” from which one could break through to the direct experience of enlightenment.

He emphasized mindlessness, which he defined as keeping the mind calm in all situations, without attachment, viewing all phenomena and thoughts and kleshas as empty, and yet maintaining one’s activities and engagement to the world. He was constantly admonishing students to not get caught in the trap of quiescence and total

withdrawal.

            In many ways, Ta Hui viewed his job as that of breaking all schemas of thinking and acting that had become entrenched in the minds and actions of the students.  He asserted that he had no fixed doctrine or school. He would implore his students to consider what he was saying, in order to return to the pure openness of the knowing mind of emptiness, at which point the student should discard all he had heard from Ta Hui, because the next day his teachings would be totally different.  His emphasis was on non-attachment and transcendence of opposites.  The challenge was to encourage the student to free him or herself from conceptual and discriminative thinking. Nor should one try to attain anything, but rather be attentive to what is arising right here and now, the essential

emptiness.

            Ta Hui empowered his students to think and learn and make the teachings true for themselves, surpassing the teacher in understanding and application. He would say that one must learn to believe in oneself as one’s own master. When one is arousing oneself, one should ask ‘Who is it that is asking or arousing?’ and then one will discover that it’s just oneself, there are not two. When the dualistic views of delusion and enlightenment have perished and interpretations have disappear, when there is no turning towards nor turning away, then all that remains is the lucid and bright mind, vast, open and empty as space. (Cleary, 2013)

           

CHINUL (12^TH – 13^th Century C.E.)

Chinul is considered the founder of the Chogye Order, unifying the different sects of Korean Buddhism into one cohesive school. His key teaching centers around the essence-function of our Buddha Nature that is present in all beings. He believed that the sublime essence of Nirvana is present in everyone, and this unchanging essence is awareness itself, the ever present numinous found within each person’s mind. This essence then manifests as functioning through all forms of phenomena. He believed that the best way to achieve full realization of this numinous essence within oneself was through sudden awakening and gradual cultivation.  

            Sudden Awakening/Gradual Cultivation. Chinul advocated the sudden awakening and gradual cultivation technique as put forth by Tsung-mi, which bridges the academic school to the meditation schools, which had been historically at odds for predominance. He felt that this combination of meditation with sutra study was the best way to protect against misunderstandings of practice that arose in his sudden enlightenment/sudden cultivation schools.  Sudden awakening means that one discovers one’s own body as the body of all Buddhas and one’s own mind is the Buddha Mind itself. In gradual cultivation, although one is Buddha, there are still ingrained mental habits of greed, anger, and ignorance to be eliminated. One must learn how to apply this awareness of the

essential Buddha Nature to the everyday world of proper action. This is done by countering the arising defilements in the mind and to developing spiritual qualities. This leads one from being a Buddha in theory, to being a Buddha in fact. Though one knows one’s innate Buddha Mind from the beginning of practice, one still encounters defilements to be eliminated, although there is nothing actually nothing to encounter, and though he develops spiritual qualities, there is nothing to develop. One cultivates the spiritual qualities of a Buddha which leads to becoming a perfect Buddha in action, perfectly fused with the knowledge and awareness of the essence, becoming a bodhisattva or saint in action to help others. Cultivation involves ones humanity, connecting to others to help them realize for themselves their Buddha nature, and without which, one loses the vitality and purpose necessary for practice itself.

            There are two aspects to awakening. First there is the initial understanding-awakening that proceeds cultivation, but allows one to become prepared for entering the

path of the bodhisattvas. One comprehends the inner workings of the mind, the eternal essence, and its function. Then there is subsequent realization-awakening. This occurs after cultivation has matured, becoming the ultimate awakening. One’s initial understanding now permeates one’s entire being and one truly enters into the bodhisattva path with the arising of bodhicitta (Buddha mind awareness and wisdom).  

            There are also two aspects of cultivation. First there is cultivation of

thoughtlessness, which is passive, a oneness, unification and harmony with the essence.

Next there is cultivation which deals with all matters, which is the dynamic aspect of

cultivation, considered as the relative aspect, where one practices to counter negative habits and to nurture positive qualities. The essential calmness now encounters the negative reaction habits, ensuring that they become positive and beneficial. It is not based on discriminative thoughts, but rather the expression of Reality as essence (passive) and its function (dynamic), which are non-dual, two aspects of Mind or Reality. Chinul felt that sudden awakening coupled with gradual practice provided balance between the absolute and relative spheres, maintaining the calm aspect of the mind to be in dynamic interaction with the world.  At the same time, it provided the enthusiasm and determination to maintain one’s cultivation up through complete realization and manifestation of Buddhahood.

            Hwadu investigation. Though contemplation and the study of texts are good for beginning practice, at higher stages of spiritual development they can actually become a hindrance. One needs a more direct short cut to direct experience which side steps the scriptures and concepts. Hwadu draws from stories of prior teachers instructing their students in the form of kongan or koan, meaning “public case records.” The hwadu is the

primary topic of the whole kongan, the point beyond which speech exhausts itself. It is a technique to exhaust the discriminative thoughts in mind, clearing the mind of its discriminative thought tendencies, leaving it clear, attentive, and calm, perfect for meditation. It is intended for mature students that have already practiced other methods. One must abandon all investigation of the meaning and interpretation, and enter into investigation of the word itself. The question stumps the rational mind creating a necessary aspect of perplexity, wonder and a spirit of inquiry, meaning “doubt”. Examples of such questions might be: “Who am I?”; “What is this?”; “Who is asking the question?”, or “What is Life?”  As doubt increases, ordinary discriminative thoughts are

disrupted, and activating consciousness is revealed (the activating consciousness is that which creates all the dualistic thought). One may then experience an activating event that pushes one into direct experience of essence.

            No-mind practice. Chinul developed the no-mind practice as another advanced

method. It is the form one’s practice takes after all other methods have been dispensed with. It is a demolition of the conceptual scaffolding leading to thoughtlessness, no-thought, or the absence of defilements during conscious activity. In so doing, the mind becomes more objective, free from defilements, and a spontaneous response to the world is returned, and unity of little mind with the Infinite mind of Essence. Chinul recommended ten ways of practicing no-mind, which if any one is perfected, all are simultaneously perfected:

1. Observation by realizing: if a thought arises, one destroys it by realizing (its emptiness); then even realizing is forgotten as well, leading to no-mind.

2. Resting: one does not think of either good or evil; when thought arises, one rests suddenly like a foolish person or like the incense burner in an old shrine.

3. Existence of objects with the extinction of mind: disregarding external objects, one concentrates on the cessation of one’s own deluded mind; if the deluded mind ceases, no object can harm one.

4. Existence of mind with the extinction of objects: contemplate every object, internal as well as external, as empty and quiescent. Let One Mind exist alone.

5. Extinction of both mind and object: first empty external objects and then destroy the internal mind.

6. Existence of both mind and object: let mind stay in the position of mind, and object in the position of object, so that they do not engage with each other.

7. Everything, external and internal, as Essence: let one regard the entire world, subject and object, as the Essence of the True Mind, so that nowhere may the deluded mind be found.

8. Everything, internal and external, as Function: let one contemplate the entire world, body and mind, and all activities as the Function of the True Mind.

9. Freedom with regard to Essence and Function: let one quietly fit in with the True Essence of empty quiescence, and yet let there be spiritual clarity, so that one may be not merely quiescent but also wakeful at the same time.

10. Transcendence of Essence and Function: here one makes no distinction between internal and external, or between Essence and Function; everywhere One Gate of Great Liberation is formed. (Keel, 2012)

            Like many other Korean teachers, Chinul recommended the recollection of Buddha’s name, a Pure Land practice popular in Chinese schools of Buddhism, though often scorned in other schools of Buddhism. Chinul was initially wary of their teachings since he believed they fostered complacency by hoping for reward in a future life, therby denying the need to practice diligently in this life. But later, Chinul began to reinterpret the Pure Land teachings in a way that were in harmony with Zen. In Pure Land teachings, it is believed that by recollecting the name of Buddha, one is able in one’s next birth to gain entry into Amitabha Buddha’s transcendental world, that had been created through the devotional commitment and vows of Amitabha, creating ideal conditions for one to attain liberation.  Chinul took this basic idea and combined it with ten stages of recollection of the Buddha’s name, beginning with simple verbal recitation which eventually leads to recollection of the Buddha’s name in thoughtlessness and finally suchness, allowing one to realize the one true dharmadhatu, the goal of Zen. This shows Chinul’s incorporation of another method for those of what he considered of least ability for practice, due to their personalities or responsibilities, but they too could attain awakening in accordance with all others forms of Buddhist practice (Buswell, 1991).

T’aego (14^th-Century C.E.)

T’aego is credited with having introduced the Rinzai school of Buddhism into Korea. He was considered a great teacher who had two major enlightenment experiences in his life, and was recognized as a National Teacher and arbitrated over the Buddhist establishment of his time. In his official position, he tried to unify the various schools of Zen Buddhism into one. Though he served in the king’s court for several years, he preferred the quiet agricultural life surrounded by the forests, rivers and mountains of nature.  But he willingly served the king in his attempts to eliminate the corruption in the monasteries and to restore a purer form of practice in the Zen of his time. His writings reflect a poetic

and artistic style reflecting his deep appreciation for nature pointing directly to the Eternal Essence and the Buddha Mind. His style was unpretentious and humble in his use

of koan study.

            T’aego’s writings could be lofty and inspiring, as well as, cutting and reprimanding. When he answered a summons to the royal palace, although he lauded and proclaimed great respect and reverence for the king and the spiritual practitioners, he directly pointed out that “People today are not only self seeking, they take advantage of the power of others for their seeking. I cannot do anything about them.” (Cleary,

1988:95) He went on to make reference to the pervasive corruption in the state and society, when he stated, “If (those in power) rewarded the worthy and the good and punished the wicked and the deceitful, who would not be loyal? Who would not be filial? Who would not be without the Path? Who wouldn’t study? Who wouldn’t cultivate his own virtue?” (Cleary, 1988:96) Obviously, it was the very fact that there were few who practiced ethical and moral behavior through spiritual cultivation that he has been summoned to the court.  He made it his duty to correct this, calling forth for others to fight along with him to restore the purity and integrity of the moral character of the state and the monks. 

            T’aego often made references in his writings to the classic koan of Zhaozhou:

 “Does a dog have Buddha nature?”  “No” (MU).  He used this koan as a way to instruct practitioners on meditation technique, focusing on the point word essence, hwadu, of the koan Mu, keeping it in one’s mind to cut discriminitive thought, and to merge into oneness with Mu, opening to one’s original essence, mind ground, or one’s true face before your mother and father were born. (Cleary, 1988:106-109)  He also demonstrates the use of the hwadu technique turning back the light of consciousness to become aware of that which is asking the question, or pure essence or consciousness itself when he

writes:

“Still, who is the one who recognizes impermanence and birth and death like this? And who is the one who has come specially to ask about the Path? If you can discern truly here...then, as we say, ‘The visage is unique and wonderous: the light shines on the ten directions’ (Cleary, 1988:108).”

He also demonstrated Pure Land teachings in his writings recommending one recite Amitabha Buddha’s name in order to reach the pure land of present mindful awareness, our essential nature.

            Much of his poetry and writing reflect a close association with Daoist philosophy and nature imagery, pointing directly to Enlightenment, no-self, Buddha-Nature, Emptiness, and impermanence:

            33. Song of Spontaneous Joy in the Mountains

 “...I’d rather share spontaneous joy forever with the streams and rocks...I cannot let worldly people know of this joy...Amid the twists and turns of the cliffs and rushing streams, the solitude is sweet. A small hermitage on a cliffside is enough to shelter the body. It also lets the white clouds rest there. Haven’t you seen the old monk T’aego’s song? In the song is inexhuastible joy. Spontaneous joy, spontaneous song – what doing is there? It’s the uncontrived joy of the knowledge of destiny in the heaven of bliss. Why the spointaneious song, the spontaneous joy? I myself do not know what joy I’m enjoying. There’s meaning in this: do you recognize it or not? Though it’s hard for people to get hold of in daily activities. In the depths of illumination intoxicated we play the lute with no strings.” (Cleary, 1988:126-7)

This spontaneous joy in the midst of nature is the promise of spiritual practice and development, to touch our true essence, which is all around us at every moment, though it may be hard to perceive in the hustle and bustle of everday life. In not knowing what he is enjoying, T’aego is making reference to this joy that is beyond thinking and reason and analysis, it is the suchness of all that arises here and now. We can awaken to it, experience it, in the stillness of mindlessness, beyond discrimitive thought, where we can hear the lute with no strings, the sweet melody of soudless sound, silence that is filled with sound, the Nada of inner perception of our true essence, which is anything but silent.  At the end of this same poem, T’aego writes:

“...Leaving behind in vain the reverberations of an empty name: how can there be silence? Even those who can know it properly are hard to find. Even rarer are those who take joy in it and practice it in action. You should observe T’aego’s joy in this. The ascetic dances drunk. A crazy wind rises in the myriad channels. Spontaneous joy does not know the progression of the seasons. I just watch the cliffside flowers open and fall.”(Cleary, 1988:126-7)

T’aego’s referece to drunken joy dancing in ecstatic bliss sounds very much like the mystic sufi poet Rumi who used the metaphors of drinking, dance, and lovemaking to express the ecstatic bliss in union with the essence, the Great Friend or the Lover as he would say.  When one is release from the rigid adherence to thought and reason, this bliss arises spontaneously. But in the end, it is just simply the flow of life right before our eyes, the natural openning and falling of flowers along a cliffside by the stream. We continually awaken to this perfection in our practice, our meditation, and our life, if we but open our minds, the blossoming of the flower, and then let it too pass, to be replaced by another and another, in the constant flow of life.

            T’aego’s poetry often used the imagery of the moon to represent the whole oneness of Buddha Mind, unmoving yet reflected in every mind of every being, in all our experineces of life. In 41. Moonlight Pong one reads:

In the great expanse of silent sky

The round light shows alone

Its refelctions go down to the depths of the pond

The light divides among the myriad waves spreading out

The wonderous clear illumination...

...It spreads in all directions like a great wave that never overflows

The moon shines into the pond: they are not different

The pond reflects the moon: they are not the same

Not different, not the same: this is Buddha...

...This is the moonlight pond, a spirit land where there’s no “attainment”

It’s not just the one color of an autumn midnight.(Cleary, 1988:135)

Here T’aego is illustrating the calm clear silent light of illumination that is found within the depths of our being, and the light we find there is reflected everywhere. Our true Mind is Buddha, that which is immanent and at the same transcendent, that which is one with all, and at the same time all things are different, the teaching of inter-dependent co-origination, a contrast of opposites that are intrinsically interconnected with each other, in a play of creation, appearance, and change. In the depths of our being, we see the reflection of the moon, our Buddha Mind, which is essentially empty of any independent existence, nothing that can be held or attached to, one cannot hold it, there is no “attainment” nor discriminitive ideas of achievement, just the clear light of being.  And yet, this luminous awareness fills the universe of ten thousand things, of all form, lighting up the midnight darkness of our ignorance.

So Sahn (16^th-Century C.E.)

So Sahn Hyu Jeong was another Korean teacher that emphasized the integration of sutra study and meditation in practice, stating that “Zen is the Buddha’s mind, while sutras are the Buddha’s words.” (Joeng, 2006:xv). He also incorporated Pure Land teachings in his practice, reciting Buddha’s name, along with Precepts study. So Sahn was born in North Korea, and lost his mother and father by the age of ten.  A country magistrate took him in, educated him, and spotted the boy’s superior talent for writing, entering him into the most elite educational institution of the time in Korea. He began studying Buddhism at the age of 18, and by the age of twenty-one he was awakened, received the Precepts and become a monk. After eight years of study and practice, while walking through a village, he heard the sound of a cock crowing, and attained sudden-enlightenment. After passing the state examinations he was appointed as leader of the Zen School, as well as, the Sutra School, but after only three years, resigned and returned to the wilderness in the mountains to live in solitary meditation. However, in 1592, the Japanese invaded Korea. The Korean people, being educated with Confucian values, had not maintained a standing army, consequently becoming devasted by the invading armies. So Sahn considered the situation, and realizing that if Korea fell, the world would lose the Korean tradition of Dharma teachings, so he resolved to protect the nation and the culture by raising an army of thousands of monk soldiers in the cause of justice and loyalty. Their dedication, fortitude and discipline helped to turn the Japanese away, without commiting atrocities against the invaders, with no incidents of beheadings or torture for the prisoners of war at that time. Instead, they were treated with respect and compassion. After serving in this capacity defending the nation, So Sahn returned to the country life. At the end of his life, while giving a Dharma talk to his students, he looked up at his own portrait, stopped speaking, and wrote down a poem: “Eighty years ago, that was me. After eighty years, am I that?” (Joeng, 2006:xxii) Immediately after writing the last line, he died, entering Nirvana while sitting erect in meditation.

            So Sahn’s teachings advocated Sudden Illumination/Gradual Practice, integrating sutra study with meditation, leading to direct realization of the formless and nameless essence within all beings, the Mind as unchanging ground of substance. This is achieved by cutting off the mind’s attachment to discriminative thoughts, leading to the present mind of suchness. Like Chinul, he saw the mind as the unchanging gound of substance, essence, which in turn conforms to function of changing conditions. One maintains the calm mind of awareness through the steady practice of hwadu and koan study along with the mental attitude of “Don’t know” mind, leading to the pure calm awareness of non-doing and non-grasping. He saw meditation as a means of manifesting our already present Buddha Nature by turning back to the radiance and light of original mind. He was heavily influence in his teachings by the Flower Garland Sutra of the Hua-Yen School, Mind-Only, and Pure Land teachings.

Conclusion

Through studying the early Buddhist Zen teachers in Korea, it is surprising how many similarities there are, especially regarding Sudden Enlightenment and Gradual Cultivation. In addition, their emphasis on unification of different Buddhist schools into one cohesive Dharma vehicle incorporating many approaches reflecting eclecticism as well as a tolerance for difference.  Not only did they incorporate various schools of Buddhism, but Taoist and Confucian philosophies were integrated as well.  Each of these early teachers was special in his own right, demonstrating the courage to go their own path, whether leaving the established religious and political institutions at the time or by serving as religious, political, or even military leaders for the good of the nation and the restoration of pure teachings of Dharma.  It is also enlightening to see how the Hua-Yen, One-Mind, and Pure Land teachings played a predominant role in the formation of almost all of the early teaching styles.  These teachings provide a valuable guide for modern day practitioners, showing us a path of insight, personal responsibility, innovation, tolerance, and inclusion as we encounter other religions and social institutions while walking the Path of the Buddhas.  

Bibliography

Buswell, Robert E. (1991). Tracing Back the Radiance: Chinul’s Korean way of Zen.

            University of Hawaii Press: Honolulu.

Cleary, J.C. (1988). A Buddha From Korea: The Zen Teachings of T’aego. Shambhala:       Boston.

_________. (2013). Swampland Flowers: The letters and lectures of Zen Master Ta Hui.

            Shambhala: Boston. Kindle Edition.

Joeng, Boep. (2006). The Mirror of Zen. Shambhala: Boston.

Keel, Hee-sung. (2012). Chinul: The Founder of the Korean Son Tradition. Jain

            Publishing Company: Fremont, California.

Jeong, Byeong-Jo. (2010). “Master Wonhyo: His life and teachings.” Diamond Sutra     Recitation Group: Seoul, Korea

T'aego Pou. (n.d.). A Dictionary of Buddhism. Retrieved August 24, 2013, from         Answers.com Web site: http://www.answers.com/topic/t-aego-pou

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