Vol-4-No-4

t987 - 88VOLUME IV NUMBER IV

IRI, KOREA

900 90t

CONTENTS

Editorial ..... I

Meanings of Founding Mottos of lflon Buddhism.and the FoundingMotive of l4/on Buddhism . . aby Ven. Daesan, the &ime Master of Won Buddhism

The Life and Tho_}gh1_of Ven. Soongsan 9by Dr. Kim fum-Yong

|IThe Disease of Society and the Role of Religion. . . . . . . 14

by Dr. Yang Hyun'Soo

Historical Approach of Buddha-body of lt/on BuddhismbyMr.sung Il-Ho

r-v\''sJr ,r ttL'rr rJt't'q'r*"rr' ' ' ' ' ' 18

', :!

On the Sudden Awakening of Ch'an School in Dharma Teachingof theMind$round .....zzby Dr. Han Ki-Doo

"30News Corner

WON BUDDHISMPublished bY:

Research lnstitute for

Overseas MissionsWonkang UniversitY

lri City, Cholla Pukdo, Korea

903

WON BUDDHISM I

VOL, IV NO. 4 VON BUDDHISM rc87 - 88

EDITORIAL

Seoul, the capital of Korea, seems to be full of people gatheredfrom all gver the world, which reminds us of the old proverb 'All roadslead to Rome.' Today, Rome is replaced by Korea, Not only Seoulitesbut also even the remote villagers of Korea are in expectation of seeingthe successful Olympic Games, now only a few days ahead. We Koreansare highly proud of being an Olympic nation. At the same time westrongly feel responsibilities as citizens of the host country. We some-times witness taxi drivers practicing their English conversation todiminish inconveniences caused by the language barrier. Residents ofmany rural areas have devoted themselves to raising beautiful flowerbeds to delight foreign guests.

Through this Olympic gathering we can foresee the seeds of muchmore broadly based festivals of Oneness in a world too much torn byviolent confrontations in pursuit of narrow and prejudiced goals ofethnic, religious, political and economic ideologies.

We fervently pray for the peaceful and successful conclusion of the'88 Seoul Games, and for the ensuing World Peace which we can expectwould accompany such brilliant success.

It is undeniable fact that we come to cherish sisterly or brotherlylove and friendliness towards onr foreign guests who have been entirelystrangers just moments before. Shaking hands, with broad smiles oneach face, we solidify our long-cherished beliefs that the human race isone family. Despite physical differences such as color or size, and thedifferences in ways of thinking, customs etc., we cannot forget thatthe original nature of all human beings is the same.

Truth is one; the human race is one family; the world is one work-shop. This principle is of fundamental importance for increasing effortsto promote the cause of World Peace thrbugh the establishment of a

world body of religions, which we propose be called United Religions.We have many religions of all sizes in the world, but world peace

still seems to be far away. Wars between nation$ have too often beencaused by religious conflicts. It is not untrue that many of the mostserious wars have been the result of religious prejudices.

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2 WON BUDDHISM

World Peace without religious solidarity can be compaled to fishing

in a mountain. The way to world peace can be led by religionists and

aU religionists must be enlightened to the truth that all religions have

on. rolt. So all religions cin be compared to the branches of a tree,

which has only on! root. All conflicts, prejudices, haueds, -et-c.,

between different denominations come from ignorance about this

truth of Oneness.This is why Won Buddhism advocates the orgni_zing of United

ne5gions in the World on a basis similar to that of the United Nations.

Lik; a home, run through solid cooperative inteEation of paternal

strictness and maternal love, the wOrld, to establish a perfect peace,

should develop both roles on an equal basis'

Now it seems that Korea has 6..o*. a center of the world through

the celebration of ih. *"gt ificent '88 Otympiad. We expect sweet and

positive fruits of mutual understanding, cooperation, and harmonious

reconciliation through this event, which will contribute to the cause

of world Peace.However, it is our dream that, before long, all religions, lar-ge and

,*"U,-*"y "Lo

come together in Korea or any other plce to talk over

;;;H p."1.. But at present, to achieve world peace' the-first step which

all reliiions must take must be away from prejudice or dogma especially

betwe6n different religions. Then the united Religions will become

redity.

On the twenty-sixth of March in the first year of Wonguddhism, the Gieat Master, Venerable . Sotaesan, upon the

attainment of his Eeat Enlightenment, said, rtflll bein-gs are ofonr Reality and "it

things and principles - originate- {ro1t one

**.r, where the Truth of No Birth and No Death and the Principie of

'Cause and Effect operate as a perfect organ on an inter-

related basis."

From "Introdu ction" of theScripture of Won Buddhism

905

WON BUDDHISM 3

Meanings of Founding Mottos of Won Buddhismand the Founding Motive of Won Buddhism

by Ven. Daenn, the ftime Mastertranslated by: Dr. Chung Bongkil,.kofessor of FloridaInternational U niversity, U.S. A.

Meanings of Founding Mottos of Won Buddhism

L "As Material Civilization Develops, Cultivate Spiritual CivilizationAccordingly."

A. When the earth opens itself, material things ransform intoformidable forces, resulting in advanced scientific civilization,which drives out poverty, diseases, and ignorance and thusimproves the daily commodities like clothing, food and shelter.This leads to the way of physical paradise of one life span.This is only of secondary and external importance.

B. When the heaven opens, the spirit unfolds, resulting in advancedmoral culture. The moral culture can be improved by ThreefoldLearnings and Eight Articles with which we overhaul our mentallife, and by Fourfold Graces and Four Essentials with whichthe world is to be delivered. This leads to the eternal spiritualparadise. This is of primary and eternal importance.

In this slogan is reflected the traditional view that when an oldheaven [era] comes to its end, a new heaven [era] opens itself. An idealin this new era is that both the spiritual and the material should strikea balance between morality and technology. This slogan has a hopefulvision towards the future of a paradise characterized by a perfectequality.

Our dual task is to cooperate in order to wipe out poverty, ignor-ance and disease, both spiritual and physical.

fi. "All are Incarnations of Truth-Buddha;Do Each Thing as an Offering of l4/orsh ip to the Buddha."

' There is nothing in the universe that is not a Buddha;hence bydoing all things as an offering to the Buddha, one is to requite the FourGraces and thereby to realize gneat virtue. In this lies the realistic way

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4 WON BUDDHISM

of offerings to the Buddha.To realize that everywhere is the Buddha is to see one's own

nature; this leads to ,the right enlightenment, resulting in wisdomlprajnal.

To do everything as an offering to the Buddha is to realizeBuddhahood;this is to do the right things, resulting in blessings.

Il-won is none other than the Four Graces; Requital of Graces isnothing other than making offerings to the Buddha. Similar ideas arefound in such statements as: Man is heaven; Serve man as heaven;Treatothers as gods.

** Three Great Ways of Offering to the Buddha **

l. Offering to the Buddha without sparing one's own life.2. Offering to the Buddha through abstinence and ascetic practices.3. Offering to the Buddha by doing various charitable works.

fiL "hactice n@ditation Continually;hactice Meditation Everywhere. "

This way of ch'an helps one attain the complete freedom ofmind because it can keep the mind constant and uniform in all placesand at dl times, whether one is motion or in Quietness. Thus this is theway of living ch'an.

l. Stop the mind from being perturbed as often as possible until themind attains the power of samhdhi (calmness and serenity of themind). Guard the mind against being perturbed by setting a checkpoint.

2. Roll your thoughts until you attain the power of prajni (wisdom,a thorough contemplation like a well-polished mineral).

3. Train the mind to do the right and to discard the wrong until thepower of SiIa [precept keeping] is attained. Your conduct shouldbe like a personal check that will not be dishonored.

This is the correct and short way of disciplining oneself con-stantly with one's whole heart to attain the three great powers [ofsamddhi, prajnh,3rJa]

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WON BUDDHISM 5

The Method of Incessant Meditation in Motion and in Quietness

When the six roots [five senses and the mind] are free fromwork, exclude worldly thoughts and cultivate the One Mind (sam5dhi);and when the six roots are at work, exclude the unrighteous and culti-vate the righteous.

How to Guard and Nourish the One Mind in Motion and inQgietness.

1. As if stepping on thin ice in a deep lake.2. Be watchful over yourself when alone.3. Guard the mind against falling into evil and correct the dis-

positions.4. Have no depraved thoughts.5. Do not let the mind off guard: do not let the mind become

perturbed.6. Do not be irreverent toward anything.7 . Keep the One Mind from disturbance.8. Be scrupulous and attentive.9. Ordinary mind is the Way.

10. Be harmonious with others without losing the identity of theBodhisattva; be in samadhi in motion and in quietness.

IV. "Keep Such Oneness in Motion and in Quietness. "When the One Mind functions, its discriminations are without

attachment; when the One Mind is at rest, its mental functions are indue course. This is like naga's gireat samEdhi. NEga is a sanskrit termmeaning dragon. NEga and mahdndga are titles of the Buddha. Dragonsare regarded as beneficent, bringing the rains and guarding the heavens;they control rivers and lakes, and hibernate deeply. So naga's samidhimeans the calmness of this hibernation.]

In Motion : Discipline the undisturbedness of mind in motionIn Quietness: Discipline heedfulness in quietness.You should develop a mind which guards itself against carelessness.

Cultivation of the One Mind in Motion and in Quietness:

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6 WON BUDDHISM

In Motion : Keep calmness in clear awareness. This is the ch'an ofmotion and the same as the samddhi realized in motion.This is the same as the honest mind, not being irreverent,and marvelous existence [the incomprehensible spiritualabsolute, as contrasted with the superficid reality ofphenomenal.

In Quietness: Keep alert in quietude [quiet illumination]. This ch'anis in quietness smadhi realized at rest, calmness of OneMind, no depravedness in thought and true void[sunyaa].

"You shoulcl develop a mind which does not abide in anything."[from the Diamond Sutra]

V. "Maintain the FuIl Oneness of the Spirit and the Body."

By keeping mind and body in integration one can attain bothblessings and wisdom. The spiritual life should be improved by keepingprecepts tSila ] , keeping calmness [samidhi ] and maintaining wisdomlprajnl] ; the physical life should be improved by improving clothing,food, and housing. These six items should be improved simultaneously.This is the way to keep both mind and body alive and to make bothmorality and technology keep pace with each other.

VI. "Buddhrst Truth rs Found in Life; Life is Buddhr'stTruthltself."

One is to live eternally in the Buddhagrace, redizing theBuddha dharma in daily life by modernizing and popularizing theBuddha dharma [uuth] .

By realizing Buddha dharma in daily life, one is to make lifebright; and this is done by requiting the graces with one's whole heart.By realizing life as none other than Buddha dharma, one is to practiceBuddha dharma in daily life; and this is done by requiting the graces

wholeheartedly. These ideals aim to establish a religion that can bepracticed in daily life.

The Significance of the Buddha-Enshrinement (Enshrine-ment of the Mind-Buddha):

We enshrine the Buddha in order to worship. and we wor-ship the Buddha in order to become living Buddhas. Aliving Buddha realizes the Buddhahood in daily life:

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WON BUDDHISM 7

The Founding Motive of Won Buddhism

The statement that we ought to unfold the spirit since the matteris about to unfold itself is the motto with which the gneat masterSotaesan opened the gate of this religion. From ancient times it hasbeen said that an old world is replaced by a new one unsurpassable inhuman history when the old heaven and earth are replaced with newones. This does not mean that a new heaven and a new earth open afterthe destruction of the old ones. It rather means by "opening of heaven"that human mind improves in accordance with the flowering improve-ment of spirituql and moral culture. By "splitting the earth open" ismeant that material life gets better in accordance with the developmentof technological and material civilization. While material civilizationalone had progressed, the human spirit to use its result had become soweak as to be its slave; thus it hadbecome inevitable for a new religionto arise. It was at this time that the great master, Sotaesan, upon hisgreat enlightenment, had an insight into the grand turning point of theopening of a new heaven and earth. As the ground for new spiritualculture, he asserted the faith in a truthful religion and the discipline ina sound and practical morality.

Firstly, the attitude of worshipping the heaven only was changedso as to worship the earth also; the spirit to respect paternity only waschanged so as to respect maternity also; the tradition of esteeming ascholar official was changed so as to treat equally people of all occupa-tions such as farmers, artisans, and merchants; the spirit of esteemingthe legislators was changed so as to treat administrators and the judici-ary equally. Heaven and earth, parents, brethren, and law were renderedas the objects of worship without any gradations among them. The in-novations advocated by the grreat master Sotaesan penetra[e alsothrough social systems. The tendency to depend on someone else forliving was to be replaced by the spirit of self-reliance. The only dis-crimination allowed was between the wise and the foolish, abandoningall other, unreasonable, discriminations; The selfishness to educateone's own children only was changed to an altruistic attitude to educatethe children of others as well. The selfishness to make only one's ownIife prosperous was to be changed to an altruistic attitude to make allhuman beings prosperous as well.

Secondly, the limited faith of the past in one object was to bechanged to an integrated faith in the whole; the eccentric faith of

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8 WON BUDDHISM

self-reliance and that of other-reliance were changed to be an integratedfaith of both. Eccentric and partial discipline was replaced with the

integrated disciptine of the Threefold Learnings. -Emphasis was put on

b;iti worship and discipline. Both spirit and body were made to keep

;;; *itt each other. Iioth discipline and daily life were to be carried'out

simultaneously. A way was shown to discipline in motion and at

r6t. By these reformations, the great master Sotaesan has opened-t-le

gate of a new heaven and earth and provided a wide p_ath to build a[oundless paradise into which all sentient beings will be delivered

from the world of spiritual illness.

** The Fundamental Ideals of the Five Great Sages **

The Buddha's ideal lies in the great compassion of equality and the

grreat enlightenment.Lao-tiu's ideal lies in the great naturalness and emancipation, and

the teaching of no'actionJesus' iieal lies in the universal sacrifice and love, and the teaching

of meekness.Confucius' ideal lies in the practice of Middle Way, and the teaching

of jen [humanity, benevolence] and j [righteousness].- Soiaesan's' ideal lies in lJwonism of great perfection, and univer-

salism.

One of the disciples asked the Great Master, "What may we

call the great WaY?"The Great Master replied, "The Way which all people can

follow is called the univeisal great Way, and the Way which only

a few people can follow is called the narrow Way. The fundamen'

tal teaihings of I|-Won, the Four Graces and the Four Essentials,

and the Tlireefold Learnings and the Eight Articles of our Order

.r. to be taught to and can be practiced by all people. Therefore,

these teachings are called the great way."

From "On Doctine" ofthe Scrrp ture of Won Buddhism

9ll

WON BUDDHISM 9

The Life and Thought of Ven. Soongsan

by Dr. Kim Sam-Yong

One year and a half have passed since Ven. Soongsan enteredNirvana. He left a great mark on his age and oaWon Buddhist history.His achievements in the Won Buddhist Order and in the education ofthe students of Wonkwang University are so gireat that they will be longremembered and cherished in our mind.

Park Kil-Chin, Ven. Soongsan, was born the eldest son of the GieatMaster, Park Chung-Bin, Ven. Sotaesan, the founder of Won Buddhism,in Youngkwang, Chonnam, Korea. Influenced by the close relationshipof blood and Dharma with his father, the incumbent saint, he ac-customed himself to meditation from childhood. His truth-seekingtemper was evident throughout his adolescent years, including seodang(Korean traditional school for children) and highschool.

Encountering the 'new western sciences, different from Koreanclassical learning, in his early school days, he decided to engage himselfin politics at one time, but changed his mind in favor of his strongerreligious passion, and preoccupation with the ultimate reality andlives cycling through birth and death.

In L937, he entered the Department of Oriental Philosophy atDongyang University in Japan to get down to learning in earnest.While studying abroad, he devoted himself to reading a wide range ofclassics and surveying both western and eastern philosophers. He wasalso fascinated by literature and art. He met with many religiousIeaders to discuss the ultimate problems related to truth, and life ingeneral:

After returning to his Won Buddhist origins, his wanderings throughthe worlds of philosophy developed into establishing his religioussubjection to the Great Master's teachings. On the basis of his self-enlightenment to ll-Won-Sang Truth, he started in religious life as aneducator and devotee of Won Buddhism for the Won Buddhist Orderand l4/onkwang University. In other words, he realized his lofty idealsin the realities of life, thus bringing into bloom the personal IL-WonWorld. His life as an educator and l4/on Buddhism devotee and truth-seeker inspires us with a feeling of grreat reverence.

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I. Il-Won Philosophy

The thought of Ven. Soongsan can be defined as "Il-WonPhilosophy." It is composed of his religious search for Truth, the philo-sophy of eastern and western societies and a wide range of learning. Hisarticle, "On ll-Won-Sang" (1967) well represented his thoughts andstudies so far, and also provided a guidepost for his future life. "Il-WonPhilosophy," the major topic of the article, means belief in ll-Won-SangTruth and its practice in our daily lives, and the essence of l4/on Buddh-ist doctrine which Ven. Sotaesan tried' to teach all his life. Ven. Soong-san grrasped the essence of ll-Won-Sang as having the following qualities:endless circulation, eternity without beginning or end, absolutenessbeyond all discrimination, roundness not Iacking in anything, and theone and only linking all existence. It was clear to him that such an

insight is attained by a "metaphysical desire to be awakened to theTruth" and by existential meditation.

Another reason to pay much attention to his philosophy is that his

"Il-Won Philosophy" opened a new horizon for the explanation of l4/on

Buddhist doctrine. The first attempt to annotate the main tenets ofthe Great Master's philosophy was made by Ven. Chongsan, the firstsuccessor to the Great Master. While the approach of Ven. Chongsancan be thought of as the deep understanding and practice of Ven.Sotaesan. Ven. Soongrsan generalized the thought on the basis of hisbroad and deep study. According to him ,ll-Won-Sang Truth is nothingother than the Tao commonly pursued in Confucianism, Buddhismand Taoism, the traditional oriental schools of thought in commonwith the "Only Being" consistently studied in western philosophy.

In the Scrrpture of Won Buddhism, four questions about ll-Won'Sang asked by him are introduced in the chapter. "On Doctrine": (1)"How is ll-Won-Sang related to human beings?" (2) "How do wepractice our faith in the Truth of, Won?" (3) "How do we practice themorality of ll-Won-Sang?" (4) "Then does the very form of. Il-Won'Srng, drawn on that flat board, preserve the Truth, the great power,and the way of study?"

The answers by the Great Master provide the basis for the ll-WonPhilosophy. The essence of the answers are, respectively: (I) We wor-ship IJ-W on-Sang (the Perfect Circle) with the same spirit as that withwhich traditioni buadhism worships the Buddha image . Won Buddh-ism chose the Truth of ll-Won-Sang as the standard of our real life and

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WON BUDDHISM I I

as an explanation of the two entrances to the way of faith and the wayof moral practice. (2) The way is to believe in the Truth of l4lon as ourobject of faith and to pray for all blessedness and happiness frorn theTruth. I|-Won-Sang is composed of the Four Graces, and the FourGraces comprise all beings in the universe. All things that we see in theuniverse are nothing but Buddhas. (3) We set ll-Won-Sang as thestandard of moral practice and follow the Truth of lL-Won-Sang tocultivate our personality. (4) People who practice the Law must see thereal Truth of ll-Won through the /l-!t/on-Sang, the symbol of ll-Won.

2. Ven. Soongsan's View of Religion

His unique view of religion is based on the IJ-I,t/on Philosophy. Heleft no systematic writings on religion, but by uniting the fragmentaryremarks, we can amive at some conclusions.

First, a desirable religion, he thought, must be helpful to humanIives rather than simply be Buddha Truth, for the sake of the times,everyday life and ordinary people. Concerning this view, he said thatTao is not superhumanism and inhuman. Tao is always part of theprosperity of heaven and earth, so that there should exist life enhanc-ing activities and development. Tao apart from life in disregard of thiscannot be viewed as noble and lofty. From this viewpoint, Ven. Soong-san warned us of the danger of disregarding human duties and enteringthe mountains to seek the Truth, emphasizing only mystic meditation.He encouraged his followers to practice Buddha Dharma in their actuallives. His strong intention was to build an ideal life integrating body andspirit, and casting aside the more traditional attitude of Buddhism, i.e.standing aloof from the trivialities of life. Such a feeble religion, hebelieved, when confronting politics and science, could not lead themodern world. Of course, it does not mean catering to popular taste,but rather "transcending but not neglecting the world." It is for thisreason that Ven. Soongsan emphasized a pure and undefiled attitude inthe religious life.

Second, he insisted that religious teaching should be simple andplain in order for religions not to leave the real world. This was alsobased on the spirit of Ven. Sotaesan, that Right Law must be a wayeverybody can practice. The real meaning of this lies in the idea thatthe transmission of Tao itself must not be complicated. It does notrefer to simplicity of meaning itself. According to him, the so-called

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Right Law should be formed on the basis of the essential ways ofhumanity into a more perfect, easier style than the old prejudiced anddifficult one, so that all people may enter the great Way without anydifficulties. If one seeks the Law apart from the mundane, or tries toattain only supernatural power, ignoring the way of humanity, one isseeking an unrighteous way.

Third, Ven. Soongsan did not mean one should indulge oneself indaily life itself, but emphasized the transcendental mind, or the minddelivered from all attachments, as in Son (Zen) Buddhism. And hewas sure that only the teachings based on the original nature can openour closed minds. He said that a religion which does not teach aboutNature is not a perfect religion because Nature is the origin of all Lawsand the basis of all Principles. No matter how well built the doctrinesuch a religion may have, it only adds confusion, never opening up theclosed minds of human beings. On the other hand, study rooted inNature can guarantee real freedom. The freedom acquired from Naturenever makes one become attached to objects, and breaks down alldiscrimination and walls between religion and mankind, uniting theminto one world from every direction. Ven. Soongsan also acceptedcorhmunication, or dialogue, as the most important way to get at theTruth.

3. Educational Philosophy

An element we cannot omit in the thoughts of Ven. Soongsan ishis philosophy of education. His philosophy is well represented in theschool motto of Wonkwang University-Integration of Intelligencewith Wisdom, the Practice of Justice, and Morality. This motto aimsat fostering able minds with knowledge, virtue and wisdom to buildwhole personalities. His view has much in common with the ThreefoldLearning of Iflon Buddhism-Cultivation of Spiritual Stability. Studyof Facts and hinciples, and Selection of Right Conduct. It is on thisbasis that his philosophy is sometimes called "Human Education."He would say, "Before acquirini; knowledge and techniques, you mustbecome real men and women. If persons don't fulfill their duties as

human beings, I wonder whether they can be called persons. Originallymen and women are born with good nature, but the dark cloud ofcovetousness shades that nature. Therefore, we must recover theoriginal goodness and practice it in everyday life. This is the way of

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true humanity.As is well known by the above saying, it follows that the mission

and essence of education is to restore the origindl face of Nature andmake it the basis of an affirmative recognition of the Nature. This ideacomes from the founding spirit of "Yuil Hak<rim" (predecessor ofWonkwang University) as promulgated by Ven. Ch1ngsan; "The onlyobject is to deliver mankind and cure the disease in this world. Theonly activity is selfless devotion to mankind. The only achievement isthe construction of an ll-Won World." In conclusion, Ven. Soongsan'seducational ideal is the construction of a happy garden in this worldthrough a firm belief in Original Nature, and developing this ideal withintelligence and morality.

The Great Master spoke to those assembled at a monasterv,"The regular training at a monastery may cause beginners to feeluncomfortable and restricted while following exclusively therequired courses of meditation. However, there will not be a morecomfortable or more pleasant life than this when you becomeproficient at it, arid your mind and body gradually becomedisciplinsd. Hence, examine your mind to determined whetheryou are leading a hard or comfortable life while you follow thedaily required courses. Those who feel monasterial life to be hardand troublesome have not sufficiently divested themselves of theKarma accumulated in worldly life. For those who do find themonasterial life pleasant, the door to attainment of Buddhahoodis gradually opened."

The Great Master said, "The degnee of sincerity with whichone manages affairs depends on whether or not one knows therelationship between the work and oneself. For instance, thereason one earnestly drives oneself to earn money for food andclothing is that one knows that food and clothing are indispensa-b1e to life; the reason one who is sick is sincere in seeking medicaltreatment is that one knows it has a vital relationship to themaintenance of health; the reason a student is sincere in the effortto learn.

From "On Moral hactice" of theScripture of Won Buddhr'sm

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14 WON BUDDHISM

The Disease of Society and the Role of Religion

by &ofl Yang Hyun-Soo

The modern societies are now experiencing more serious culturalshock than ever before in the spiritual history of mankind. Even thoughthe process of modernization has its rocit in rationality, it seems thatithas lost its basis. Here the question "What does the ieligion mean topersons in the industrial society if anything?" is raised.

Modernization is closely associated with development of hightechnology, various organizations, industrialization anh urbanizatio-n.When discussing the relationship between modernization and religiqn.I think it is useful to start with Max Weber's great work "The Pr6tes-tantic Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism." The point of this work wasthat, in the background of modernization, especially industrializationin the western world, the renovation of popular ethic sustained it.What's more, this popular ethic was consistently related to the tradi-tion and renovation of western religion, i.e., Christianity, and led by it.Maybe such a view would be helpful to grrasping the process of moder-nization in Korea. The problem is, however, that only a religious viewcan grasp the situation in modern industrialized society.PeoplL,whetherthey be influenced by religions or not, have been gradually estrangedfrom it. This phenomenon is in direct proportion tt the dct that ihedomain of religion has shrunk. Humanity, relatively diminished by theprevailing materialism in the gigantic industrial society cannot yetfind a new morality to which it will become subject.

It is said that man is the lord of all creation. This means, in otherwords, that the huge mass of the world, without human beings, is nomore that an empty crust, and if people suffer from disease in thespiritual sense, the lustrous decorated earth is merely a polluted en-vironment. The materialistic society, lacking spiritual dlvelopment,can be called.a diseased society.

1. The Disease Phenomena of Society

The diseased society refers to the community where sociil diseasesare aggravated and structural evils are built in without reflection. Con-

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WON BUDDHISM 15

sidering the present situation, w€ need to look at modern society.Urbanization and rapid economic development have brought gneatchange in the social structure and philosophical outlook of the Koreanpeople. A conspicous social change in the midst of rapidly industrializ-ing society is the drift of population. As industrialization proceeds ona large scale, people resident in rural ereas are compelled to move tolarge cities to meet the demand for a labor supply. This results in thedivision of social functions.

Consequently, as traditional local communities are confronted withdisorganization, the foundations of religion are also shaken. The tradi-tional controlling power of religion can no longer bind the individualto cultural and social restraints. Children have no chance of beingsocialized by religion. The simple belief that the religious experiencecreates a sense of value is not accepted anymore by modern society.

In such a cultural environment, there exist the social systemsof Gemeinschaft and GeseJlschaft as described by Weber. A goodexample of the former is an agricultural society, while an exampie ofthe latter would be an industrial society. Agricultural society stillvalues humaneness and harmony. A moral senie among family mem-bers and mutual assistance among villagers are emphasized as ethicalnorms. But efficiency is cherished most in industrial society and itmay be that all factors which hamper efficiency should, as a matter offact, be eliminated. But scientific proofs are presented that men,evenin modern society, cannot abandon friendly human relations. It is nowconfirmed that "gemeinschaftlich" relations played an important rolein promoting unity and morale in the workplace. It is, therefore, notnecessary for us to pattern only after the Western "gemeinschaftlich"human relations. The advanced capitalist so_ciety shows the trend toseek the "gemeinschaftlich" in order to be free from the shackless ofheartless " Gesellschaft. "

The "mass society" governed by inhuman bureaucratism deepensa sense of alienation and other pathological phenoma. Extreme egoismmuddies the distinct moral standard between good and evil, and rightand wrong, promoting us instead to follow lustrous superficials. MJnypersons believe that money is everything in life, playing down topeople's secular taste.

_ The great losses made in the war arb almost unimaginable. If thehuman lives and material wasted-both spent and used unnecessarily-had been spent and used productively or necessarily, human society

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would have been and would be far different from what was and is.Nevertheless, powerful and wealthy nations are still all out to wasteand to be prepared to waste further, their manpower and material inthe competition for increased armanents. It is easily imaginable thatanother world war would not fail to result in the unthinkable wasteof the entire world.

A great part of the history of the human race is a story of homicideand exploitation. Modern science has enabled mankind to annihilateitself at any moment, allowing superpowers to compete to make moreand more sophisticated killing weapons. International and intra-nationalpolitics are practised not so much in a human way as in an inhumanway. A superpower nation can be said to be no more than a potentsuper killer. We are afraid that the time may come when human societywill be renamed inhuman society. Humanity is now seriously at stake.

Ven. Sotaesan detected social disease early and was deeply con-cerned about it. Seeing through the chronic disease of society, he saidthat the more higher eivilization developed outwardly, the more theworld would come to suffer inwardly from disease deeply rooted inthe world. According to him, the diseases affecting the world are: (1)money (2) ungrateful mind (3) dependent mind (4) indifference tolearning (5) inattention to teaching, and (6) lack of public spirit.

In opposition to the social diseases, Ven. Sotaesan made an analysisof them. The remedies against these diseases are nothing other thanteaching people-morality, self-satisfaction with what they are, findingbenefaction, independence, and positive attitudes toward learning andteaching. At the present time, systematic devices are keenly neededfor the completion of personality and realization of social welfare alike.I believe that religion will pave the way for such devices.

3. The Present Object of Religion

Through the analysis of modern societies, we are confronted withtwo pending tasks in modern religion. The first is the recovery of thesacred domain that enables religion to endure. The second task is torestore the influencing power to carry out social roles.

Firstly, we must recognize the nature of religion. The recovery ofreligious identity in the fundamentally changed society today wellprovides us with a source of life. While we feel keenly the necessity ofthe religious experience of the ultimate reality, the wisdom of generaliz-

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ing it is also apparent. Religious.people have to show that the spiritualinnerworld does exist. This also will serve the standard to distinguishsecular from holy action, and lessen the retardation of spiritual civiliza-tion.

Secondly, the most important social role of religion is to offer asource of life to diseased society. Originally the prime mission ofreligion. is spiritual' salvation. When this mission is brought into aro.irty, it has the effect of social renovation through spiritual cultiva-tion in each person. This also implies that religions should erect em-bankments of the common good against the structural evils.

The question of whether human nature is originally good or evil isvery difficult to answer because the two are on a par with each otherin their achievements. From an absolutist viewpoint, it may be needlessor meaningless to make such a division, as Ven. Sotaesan pointed out,by saying that there is nothing good or bad in the Original Nature-only thinking makes it so. By the woy, one thing we must remember isthat human relationship coexists with each other. If he is alone, un-related with others, he will be simply reduced to animality. Ven.Sotaesan says that if one wishes to know how much one is favored bythe Four Graces-of Heaven and Earth, Parents, Brethren and Law,then one has only to reflect on whether one can have one's being with-out them. One will soon teabze that existence without them is animpossibility. The ways presented by Ven. Sotaesan to cure socialdisease have their foundation in this doctrine of the Four Graces-aphilosophy of human relationships. All persons in charge of leadingsociety should recognize their responsibility to make society a moreharmonious community on the basis of religious principles stressingsocial salvation-especially the improvement of human relations.

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18 WON BUDDHISM

Historica! Approach to Buddha-body of won Buddhism

by Mr. Sung Il-Ho

More than 2,500 years have already passed since sakyamuniPuddha passed away. In Buddhist history, ovei this vast extent of time,there have been many changes, developments and adaptations to thetimes. The philosophical contents of Buddhism have beln enriched bythese changes. Here I am especially interested in the theory of buddhi-body as the main manifestation of Buddhism in its historical aspects.

Before going into detail, I think it's better to make mention ofBuddha image to understand the buddha-body theory. It is said thatthe earliest image of the Buddha appeared in the Kusana Kingdom.At that time Buddha images were shown with plain, simple nionk'srobes-without adornments. With the seventh century there rose a newlind 9f Buddha image, the "Adorned Buddha." This type of AdornedBuddha was particularly popular in Southeast Asia,.eveiling the beliefthat Buddha sometimes appeared as universal monarch, a manifesta-tion of Buddha.

Etymologically, the sanskrit word buddha means "one who hasawakened". In the Indian religions it is used as an honorific title for anindividual who is enlightened. The buddha denotes not merely theindividual incumbent but also a larger conceptual framework. guaahahas been used to describe a broad spectrum of persons, from specificpersons to those who have had transforming and liberating insighis intothe nature of reality. Buddhist have, in general, employed thjterm inthis second, stronger sense.

The early Buddhists may not have immediately applied the termbuddha to the person-historical Gautama. However, bnce the termbuddha was adopted, it was not only the primary designation forGautama but also assumed a central role within the basic structure ofBuddhist thought and practice.

As an appellative term utilized in classical Buddhist contexts, buddhahas had three distinct, yet interwoven, levels of meaning. It hasreferred, first of all, to what we call "the Buddha"-otherwise knownas the Sakyamuni Buddha. The second level of meaning associated withbuddha as an appellative term has to do with "other buddhas." Many

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Buddhas of different times and places are named in Buddhist literature.Finally, the term buddha has the third meaning that provides its widestconceptual context. This view is constituted by the recognition that theBuddha and other Buddhas are, in a very profound sense, identicalwith ultimate reality itself.

The term Buddhahood has sometimes given somewhat depersona-lized meaning to the notions of the buddhas. Early Buddhists, reluc-tant to depict Gautama in human forms, liked to use impersonal andsymbolic representation to express their perception of the guddha. Insome later traditions, this third level of meaning was expressed throughthe formation of the concept of dharmakaya, the source of morepersonalized manifestations of Buddhahood.

Quite early, Sakyamuni Buddha is perceived as one of severalBuddhas in a series that began in the distant past. According to theconceptions that are closely related with notions concerning previousBuddhas, the appearance of a Buddha in this world is determined notonly by his own spiritual efforts but also by other circumstances. Therecan be only one Buddha in a particular world at a given time, and noBuddha can arise until the teachings of the previous Buddha havecompletely disappeared.

The belief in a future Buddha played an important role in "MaiteyaBelief." According to the Maitreyan mythology that has been diffusedthroughout the entire world, the future Buddha, who was on6'ofSakyamuni Buddha's disciplils, now dwells in Tusita Heaven, awaitingthe appropriate moment to be reborn on earth where he will inauguratean'era of peace, prosperity, and salvation. The wish to be reborn inthe presence of Maitreya, whether in Tusita Heaven or when he isreborn among humans, has been a sustaining hope of many Buddhistsin the past.

Korea has also paid much attention to Maitreya, in part becauseBuddhism was introduced on the peninsula at a time when the Maiteyacult was at the pinnacle of its importance in China. Since Maitreyapractice was one of the first to be introduced. Korea held it in highesteem and continued to do so long after Chinese interest in the tradi'tional aspects of Maitreya had died.. In the chapter of "On Doctrine" of the Scripture of, Won Buddh-

ism, Ven. Sotaesan declared the relationship between ShakyamuniB,iddha and Dharm akaya Buddha. According to him, we can worshipDharmakaya Buddha as the symbol of the Truth and Sha kyamuii

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Buddha as the original Teacher. It foltows that we can worship equallythe Dharmakaya Buddha and the Rupal<aya Buddha. He supplementedhis view on buddha-body by'saying that Dharmakaya and Shakyamuniare identical when considered from the point of view of the Truthwithout discrimination. It is important to note that Buddhist usage has

always held the three levels of meaning closely together, with theresult that each level has had a continuance in the others. Thus, eventhough a disconnection between the different denotations of buddhais helpful for purposes of interpretation and understanding, it cannotbe drawn too sharply. Ven. Sotaesan also has it that such a classifiede:<planation is just only when based upon the distinction of dharma-kaya and Shakyamuni.

Ven. Sotaesan holds that all physical phenomena are just the mani-festation of the source, dharmakaya, but does not stay on the concep-tual insight. He further develops the idea into the practical method of'belief. He says, "In teaching people it is difficult to actually prove thatthe Buddha image itself is the source of our blessedness and punish:ment, but ll-Won-&.ng (One Circle) is the symbol of DharmakayaBuddha. Heaven and Earth, parents and brethren are its incarnations.It is with this spirit that we worship ll-Won-Sangr as our object offaith." As shown in this saying, Won Buddhism uses the symbol of OneCircle for representing Dharmakaya Buddha more illustratively.

Although the Korean traditional Buddhist order pays little atten-tion to Maitreya, the laity of Korea refuse to let Maitreya fade fromtheir religious practice. One disciple asked Ven. Sotaesan, "A numberof people are anxious to see the coming of Maitreya Buddha, and theestablishment of the Yonghwa ("dragonflower") Order in this world.kay tell me about thbm." He answered, "Maitreya Buddha symbolizesthe Truth of Dharmakaya Buddha, who is to come forth. The Dragon-flower Order stands for the world that is perfectly bright. In otherwords, it is the world where the teaching'All are incarnations of Truth-Buddha; do each things as an offering of worship to the Buddha', iswidely practised

In Won Buddhism, the status of Maitreya is elevated to Buddhafrom bodhisattava. In a word, the world where Maitreya descends isrife with the real meaning and practice of Dharmakaya, leading to theYonghwa Order, the widely spread belief in Korea. To conclude, theview on buddha-body is consistent with the traditional Buddhistthought. On the basis of trikaya ("three bodies") theory, Dharmakaya

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Buddha, with the new but traditional symbol of ll-Won-Sang (OneCircle), is worshipped as the object of belief and the standard of religi-ous practice. But Won Buddhism never rejects the Buddha as rupakaya,but rather, regards Shakyamuni Buddha as the antecedent of the Lawof Won Buddhism. Ven. Sotaesan makes clear his intention to establishthe grreat and perfect religious Order with Buddha Dharma as thecentral principle.

The Great Master said, " In doing anything in the world, wemust know first of all what is fundamental and what is incidental,what is primary and what is secondary. If we try to put emphasison the fundamental things first, the incidental things will naturallybe successful. On the other hand, if we put emphasis on incidentalthings only, we will naturally become ignorant about the funda-mental things. And also, if we understand the primary things andplace emphasis on them, the secondary things will become success-ful. But if we only seek after the secondary things, we will becomeignorant about the primary things. For example, in mankind themind is fundamental and the body is incidental. In the world,morality is fundamental and science is incidental. One who is ableto discriminate between fundamental and incidental things andbetween primary and secondary things. can be called one whoknows the Way. Only such a one will be able to lead the worldinto a righteous Way."

From "The of Humanity" of theScripture of Won Buddhr'sm

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On the Sudden Awakening of Ch'an School in Dharma Teachingof the Mind Ground

by Dr. Han Ki-Doo

L The Ch'an School's Seeking for the Sudden Awakening

The Patriarch, Bodhidharma, who qame from the westqrn area inwhat is today India, had a fresh effect upon Chinese traditional society,and is regarded as the founder of the Ch'an School. The Ch'an Schoolis significant, as it began a great renovation of traditional Ch'anthought.

The primary characteristic of the Ch'an School was its stress uponawakening, or enlightenment, as the dominant principle in the remakingof actuality in terms of one's awareness of self-nature. A considerableamount of ideological controversy and internal struggle accompaniedthe spread of Ch'an.

The ideological disputes in the early days of the development ofCh'an can be generally characterized as follows: First, there was acontroversy beiween the doctrines of proponents of the two ways ofattaining the truth, i.e. enlightenment. One way was through Seng-

Chou's (€,[E) Habit Ch'an (Htttr), (Tien-taj school X6fi), the otherthrough the two entrances and four disciplinary processes to whichBodhidharma's hajna Ch'an ( ftft#4i$) belonged since his period.Second, as is generally known, there was a controversy between Pu-chj($ffi ) of the northern school (JtH) and Shen-hui ( ffi@.) of thesouthern school (ffi-H), involving differences of perspective, and thedirection of teaching, dating from the period of the latter.

While an important renovation of Ch'an thought occurred betweenthem in its early days, by that time the foundation of Chhn thoughtwas already well-established. The point at issue in the thought of thatperiod centered around one's grasp of the main objectives: SuddenAwakening (fiFl-*), and Seeing the Nature ( E,'14). The way to lead allsentient bLings to attain Sudden Awakening and Seeing the Nature is

precisely the bharma teaching of the Mind-Ground.Giving Hui-go (ffirT) the four volumes of the Deung-Chia Sutra

(Eflmffi) , Bodhidharma said, "This is Tathagatha's Dharma teaching of

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the Mind-Ground. Enlighten all sentient beings to this." The Dharma

teaching of the Mind-Ground was passed from Bodhidharma to Hui-Neng (ffiAC), and from Hui'Neng to Ma-Tsu (,Emg), Pai-Chang (tr't),Huang-Po (ffi#) and Lin-Chi (HHE).AU of these men are significantfigures in the historical development of the Dharma teaching of theMind-Ground.

The Dharma teaching of the Mind-Ground is freQuently apt to beregarded as being generalized words without a special character. It canbe praised highly for having sought a variety and an inclusiveness ofthought such as developed by the Ch'an School. What, then, is the realmeaning of the Dharma teaching of the Mind-Ground, and what are itscontents?

Though such a question cannot be answered both fully and briefly,the basic thought of the Dharma teaching of the Mind-Ground leadsto Sudden Awakening and Seeing the Nature, and transmitting themind of the Ch'an School.

il. The Dharma Teaching of the Mind-Ground in the SouthernSchoo] of Ch'an

Kuei-Feng Tsung ltti (+il4*ffi,780-84I), who is the Dharma.successor of Ho-Tse Shen Hui (ffitrim'S', 670-762), spo{<e frankly ofthe Ch'an Dharma as the Dharma teaching of the Mind-Ground. Con-sequently, Kuei-Fei Tsung Mi showed that the content of their thought,which was attained through the seven Dharma successors, would be theC hu n g -Hu a - Ch u an -H si n -T i -Ch an -M e n - Shih -T zu -Ch e n g -Hsi- Tu ( * +ffi , U.AU

ilHPTBmHAHtr ). His view of the succession of the Dharma teaching ofthe Mind-Ground was carried forward by, and centered in, the southernCh'an School.

The Hsin -Ti-Kwan Sutra (,L.flUffif$) attributes the original words ofMind-Ground to such references as "Tri]oka (=51), the Three Realmsis only one mind by which all things come into being just as the greatearth comes into being. So mind is the ground of all things." So saysthe Fan-Mang Sutra (ffifiHfg).. An article of Hui-Neng in a collection of Tsu-Tang (rfltr€) pre-

sents the following: Hui-Neng, Ch'an master, always said to his dis-ciples, "Don't doubt that your own mind is Buddha. You are capableof creating your own mind without depending on anything fromoutside. It is through reason that original mind produces' all things."

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He continues,

Therefore, the Buddhist scripture says that all things come into existencewhen onefs mind comes into being and all things vanish when one's mind isextinguished. Keep a state of Samadhi in which hate and love, acceptanceand rejection, are repressed, in which the mind reaches an undivided stateanchored in quiet calmness ( ffiffi), and the realization that the nature of allBuddhas is the same

Some seeds in the earth begin to sprout and bear fruit when it rains.Then, both the bud and the fruit are contained in the seed, just as a state ofSamadhi, in which mind is alive vrrth no restlessness, reveals itself. .YourBuddha nature must be as the buds of the seeds in the earth just as if myDharma teachings were benevolent rain on the earth. Here is Buddhist rain ofbenevolence to bring out the bud.

A person who has perceived my words can be sure of attaining Buddha-'hood, and so can one who has imitated my practice by all means obtain saint-fruits. My intention in delivering the Dharma teaching of Mind-Ground insteadof cassock and almsbowl, is to lead all persons to realize that only throughbelief in self-mind can one become a Buddha.

Hui-Neng continued speaking to his chief disciple, "The Mind-Groundincludes various potentialities, wherein suitable Dharmateaching bringsBuddhahood into being. It is natural that the Buddhahood fruit shouldripen when a flower of sudden awakening has unfolded."

As stated above to Hui-Neng, the central meaning of Ch'an is theDharma teaching of Mind-Ground. Accordingly, the Platform Sutraof Hui-Neng (Xrflreffi) focused on grasping the origin of Mind-Ground(,L',fiU), since he spoke. of a disciplinary platform without abiding mind(tr+EfrrH ) as a discipiinary platform of Mind-Ground without abidingmind.

So as to gain perspective on the practice of Three Learningsbetween the northern and southern schools of Ch'an, Hui-Neng con-versed with Chih-Cheng to explain the practical way of Three Learningsin terms of the teaching of the northern Ch'an School. Thereupon,Chih-Cheng (frff) answered as follows, "The prohibition of all evil isdiscipline, the purification of the mind is meditation, and thought inaction which produces good is wisdom."

Hui-Neng explained the Three Learnings correctly by criticizingChih-Cheng's way of the Learnings as being centered on gradualpractice. "Non-abidance of any evil in the Mind-Ground is the dis-

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cipline of self-nature, nonabidance of any disturbance in the Mind-Ground is the meditation of self-nature and non-abidance of foolish-ness in Mind-Ground is wisdom of self-nature." From this, it is apparentthat Mind-Ground is made up of the Three Learnings of self-nature.

In view of these facts, the Dharma teaching of Mind-Ground can besummarized generally as follows: first, the Dharma teaching of Mind-Ground is not only a Ch'an way of the Patriarch Dharma, but also acentral meaning of the Ch'an of Hui-Neng; second, the Dharma teachingof Mind-Ground is the content of transmitting mind since the succes-sion of Dharma; Hui-Neng and Lin-Chi; third, the Dharma teaching ofMind-Ground during the period of Hui-Neng is the content of preachingthe Dharma of a disciplinary platform not abiding mind, and forms thefoundation creating Dharmic seeds, flowers and fruits; and fourth, theDharma teaching of Mind-Ground is the principle of wholly building upthe perfect Three Learnings of self-nature. So, in this light it can beseen that, following upon the thought of Hui-Neng, the Dharmateach-ing of the MindGround resulted in a controversy among Shen-Hui, hissuccessor Tsung-Mi, and others of the southern Ch'an School.

Shen-Hui's view of the Mind-Ground changed after he experiencedsome serious disputes during a grreat Hua-Ta (ffia) meeting with thenorthern Ch'an School. The Mind-Ground was held by the northernschool to be the original state of one's nature, but Shen-Hui hadthought of it as the knowledge enabling the perception of all thingsas well as being the sensitive, perceptive principle. Therefore, theknowledge can only have evolved in the absence of false thoughts, inHui-Neng's interpretation.

This is not wisdom acquired through meditation but grown spon-taneously in the midst of one's nature, absent any false thoughts. Thusit became necessary to cultivate wisdom regardless of whether onepracticed meditation. In summary, the following three outlines appear:

(I) Such minds as solidifying mind,.abiding mind, rising mind andcollecting mind accelerate evil passions and wild fancies, according toShen-Hui's view. The riddance of those imperfect minds is the precisemeaning and purpose of Ch'an. Its basis was the emptying of allthoughts from the mind, as asserted since the period of Hui-Neng.Herein is the first Chhn meaning of the teaching of theMind-Ground,as contended by the southern school.

(2) Traditionally, the conquest of evil passions and wild fancies re-quired one to replace them with pure thoughts and correct actions as

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counteractive measures. Shen-Hui, however, insisted on a more directapproach, vigorously extirpating the undesired states, holding that theother way allowed the obstinate passions and fancies to remain. Shen-Hui emphasized that it was the most natural and important to enterinto the state free from all ideas and thoughts.

(3) Shen -Hui maintained that Ch'an of the northern school was theway to wisdom through meditation, whereas that of the southernschool was the way to the Three Learnings through cultivation ofwisdom. So he placed great emphasis on knowledge and wisdom.

Driven by the stress on knowledge, he explained it as the gate ofall abstruse productions, as well as of divine knowledge in the void.He also stressed that knowledge should be the harmonized and balancedstate between meditation and wisdom.He advocatedthewayof SuddenAwakening and Gradual Cultivation so as to acquire harmony andbalance.

Shen-Hu i's Dharma teaching of the Mind-Ground was well-knownto those of the southern school, but to the extent that his reputationwas that of a master of intellectual knowledge he was less respected.He criticized the Ch'an of the northern school as being nothing butgradual cultivation and counteractive measures (cf. Buswell 1983:391). In turn he received criticism because of the problem of intellec-tual knowledge.

ru. Criticism of Dharma Teaching of Mind'Ground by theSouthern Ch'anSchoo]

Nam-Yan g Hui Chung (ffiEH,B, , ?'775), who held the highest rankof priest, criticized Shen-Hui's view of Ch'an. Volume twenty-eight ofChuan Teng Lu (6ffiffi) contains the following dialogue between Nam-Yang Hui Chung and an unnamed Ch'an visitor, probably Shen-Hui'sdisciple. Nam Yang asked, "What kind of knowledge does the southernarea have?"

The Ch'an visitor answered, "There are several varieties of know-ledge in that area."

Nam Yang asked again, "How does the southern one teach people?"The visitor answered, "The southern priests teach that life and

death of the disciple's flesh is transitory, but one's original nature isimmortal, exempted from life and death. The original nature neverchanges even in mortal flesh, no more than a dragon migfrt bhange its

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bones depending on the season, to use a metaphor. It is the same as if asnake sloughs its skin, or a person moves to a new house."

Nam Yang then spoke critically against the southern Ch'an masterShen-Hui's thought, "Then, it is no more thanSenikaism ( fttrrlff )."He especially deplored that the 6th patriarch Hui-Neng's right teachinghad lost its prestige because it regarded Seeing, Hearing, Awakening andKnowing (Hffiffifu) as Buddhas nature, which wrongly added to thePlatform Sutra of Hui-Neng.

So Nam-Yang Hui Chungb criticism was that the southern schoolexemplified hy Shen-Hui had misinterpreted the Platform Sutra, andthat the misinterpretation had three aspects: first, the misunderstandingof Seeing, Hearing, Awakening and Knowing as Buddha-Nautre; second,the view of the flesh as mortal and the mind as immortal; and third,the assertion that all sentient beings (-91Hffi) had Buddha-Nature butall insentient beings (-91ftffi) had no Buddha-Nature.

Noting that, with the exception of Tun-Huang Book ( #trt ) inthe Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, most reference books con-tain two contradictions.in terms; with regard to the first aspect, HuiCltung held that the absolute in self-nature produces thought, whereaseye, ear, nose and tongue by themselves cannot alone pr6duce sensa-tion. Second, the rising mind of self-nattre exists never being affectedor contaminated by any sense such as seeing, hearing, smelling andtasting, or by any external situation either. Third, Nam-Yang HuiChung asserted that even insentient beings had Buddha nature, andpreached the principle of the Dharma of insentient beings.

Accordingly, Hui Chung defined his position to An-Ku o-Hsien-Ting(*WkW), the 6th successor of Niu-Tou School (+q*), as follows:"I don't belong to the southern school or the northern school of Ch'an.I am only of the Mind-School (ffi,L',Hf;)." His definition of his posi-tion clearly put more stress on Mind-Ground. In the Mind-School, theMindGround is the undivided state of mind and surroundings.

N. The Dharma Teaching of Mind-Ground and the Consciousnessof Sudden Awakening in the School of Ma-Tsu

Kuei-Fei Tsung Mi, who tried to correct the Dharma system ofShen-Hui, was greatly critical of the Niu-Tou School and the Hung-Chou School (*/l{ft ). He was interested in Ma-Tsu Tao Yi in particular,but he thought that even Ma-Tsu was of Hui-Neng's party (as seen in

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Cheng-Hsi-Tu). But the Hung-Chou School centered around Ma-Tsuspread the movement of Patriarchal Ch'an (fflffifffi), which was contraryto Tsung-Mi'stheory.

Meanwhile, Ma-Tsu had been placing emphasis on Self-conscious-ness of Mind-Ground, by means of being based on Dharma teaching ofMind-Ground as transmitted by the Patriarch Dharma. It is known thatas Hui-Neng's disciple began delivering his Dharma verse with theDharma teaching of Mind-Ground, Huai-Jang (8ffi) answered, "Mind-Ground contains all sorts of seeds, and makes it possible for everyliving being to sprout by dint of Dharmic rain and dew. The flower ofSamadhi is no forms and no ideas, wherein there is no formation andno collapse."

Instructing Ma-Tsu to learn the Dharma teaching of Mind-Ground,Huai-Jang answered his disciple's question, "How do I use my mind?"Ma-Tsu, accentuating the truth that the mind itself is Buddha and thestate of the normal mind is Tao, listened to Huai-Jang's Dharma teach-ing of Mind-Ground, delivering the following verse: "Mind-Ground canbe preached suitably whenever one wants to. So can Bodhi. As pheno-mena are related to truth, so birth is non-birth."

With an eye to realizing Mind-Ground through enlightening it, theDharma teaching of Mind-Ground emphasized normal mind using mindand mind-Buddha, as well as no mind and no Buddha. This emphasisresulted in Shen-Hui's proposal that normal mind was attained throughthe thoughtful practice of the great foundation, and by overcoming thelimit of the thoughtless practice of the northern Ch'an School whichoverthrew all such minds as solidifying and abiding mind. Appreciationof that proposal requires sensible discrimination between delusion andenlightenment, apparently.

Ma-Tsu said, "Delusion is a consequence of forgetting one's ownoriginal mind. On the other hand, enlightenment arises from recoveringone's own original mind. It is evident that once one is awakened, en-lightenment is permanent, in the absence of delusion. To use a meta-phor, darkness disappears when the sun rises, and carnal desires alsovanish when wisdom arises." Ma-Tsu's view, assuming a critical attitudetoward Ho-Tse Shen-Hui's view of Sudden Awakening and gradualcultivation, emphasized sudden awakening and sudden cultivation asthe way to achieve the state of permanent enlightenment which is theDharma teaching of the Mind-Ground.

Ma-Tsu thought that informal action without a formal way of

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cultivation was indeed pure Tathagatha Ch'an Kuei Feng Tsung Mi,

"Even though worldly anxieties not be eliminated, the bodhi can be

attained," from the Vimalakirti Sutra (fiff.B*E). After d[, SuddenAwakening is headed for the bright world, groping for the truth of an

original enlightenment.It is possible to ignore gradual cultivation as meaningless. Did

Ma-Tsu think gradual cultivation was of no use? He suggested the wayof taming a cow, with the cow representing one's nature. He describedthe steps of practice to discipline oneself and see one's Nature. Whenhe heard his disciples saying, "He pulls up the reins when the cowstrays from the pasture," he made much of it. He recognized that, ifit were true, he could not reject completely the way of gradual culti-vation. He saw the necessity of gradual cultivation before being com-pletely awakened to the Nature. Here Mind-Ground, in the Dharmateaching of the Mind-Ground, does not imply the complete state ofmind. Just as the seed grows into flower and flower into fruit, theMind-Ground finally achieves the great, round enlightenment.

Huang-Po, following Ma-Tsu and Pai-Chang showed in his bookCh'uan Hsjn Fa Yao (ffi'L'EE), "The fundamental principles calledhere the Dharma teaching of Mind-Ground implies that all Dharmaand existence springs from the mind. By the wEy, this mind exists onlyin contact with outside phenomena. We cannot explain even a trace ofmind without mind. The so-called Samadhi and Prajna can be ex-pressed as Chi Chi Hsing Hsing (ffiffitE'lE), or Chao Yung ti ti(ffiHffiffi.).However, this style of recognition is the terminology of middle and lowlevel seekers who interpret the world only in the context df externalphenomena. The high level seekers can achieve the state in which beingand external phenomena cease to be separate."

As is well shown by the above passage, the Dharma teaching ofMind-Ground encompasses lower and middle as well as higher levelseekers, from the novice to the enlightened one. In my opinion, thethought of sudden awakening and sudden cultivation concentrated ononly the final state of the highest level.seeker, was the mainstream ofCh'an masters in the later years of the Sung Dynasty. Perhaps a short-cut to the solution of the problem is to attempt to cause the bene-volent rain of Dharma to fall on the Mind-Ground of all sentient beings.

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News Corner

1. !p.:i4 Planning committee for the 3rd Generation of wonBuddhism Organized

Special Planning Committee for the Srd Generation of WonBuddhism was organized 9n Mg. 19, Igsg to,rgg.J;ew develop-mental ideas and establish policies for the r.*i"g;"tion afteryears of won Buddhism. Ninetv expert members were ,.i;;r; ;;;all levels of the Won BuddhisrnOrder.

2. Temple of JUon Buddhism Opened in Japan

- Temple of Won Buddhism opened and, Il-Won-Sang was enshrin-ed on Mar. 28, I9BT , in Kanajawa, yokohama, Japan.

3. Cross-country Cycling Tour to Help the Children with Hearr DiseaseFour c?llggians of Department of won Buddhism, wKU, finish-

ed their 2,300km trip by cycles across the countrf'to raise sub-scriptions to the fund for the children suffering from heart disease.The tour lasted from Jul. l0 to Aug. g, LggT.

4. The 4th Revision of llon Buddhist CodeThe General Meeting of Won Buddhism was held from Nov. I Ito 18, l98T . The Meeting revised the won Buddhist code, com-

posed of I chapters and 9I Articles, in which the term of thePrime Master is fixed for 6 years and the Prime Master can bereelected only once.

5. The 7th Presentation of won Buddhist ThoughtsThe 7th presentation me9ling of won Buddhist thoughts was

held at the Dharma HalI of wKU-for two days on Jan. so-si, I9gg.

6. Revised English Edition of theScripture of llonBuddhismpublishedThe second English edition of the Soipture of Won Buddhism

was published by the Commemorating e ommission for SacredAchievements of the Great Master of fron Buddhism on Jun. s0,1988. In the revised work, considerable added attention has been

933

WON BUDDHISM 3I

given to word choice and readability of the second English edition.The title of the book was changed to The Scripture of WonBuddhism from the original title, The Canonical Textbook of WonBuddhism.

7. Wonkwang University (WKU) Museum Opened

The 6,052 sq.m WKU Museum was newly opened in June,L987. The Museum, first of its kind is scale in the nation, possesses

materials of Korean shamanism in the largest amount among theKorean museums. In addition, it holds stone tools, earthenware,celadon, porcelain, bronze farming tools, folk paintings, calligrraphicpieces, old dresses and Buddha images of ancient times in Korea.

The Great Master said, "According to the principle of therotation of the four seasons in the universe, all beings pass throughbirth, old age, illness and death. According to the Principle of thealternation of Negative and Positive Forces in the Universe,Yin and Yang, human beings are rewarded for their deeds, eithergood or bad, according to the Principle of Cause and Effect.Though winter is the time when the Negative Force appears to begrreater, the Positive Force is still contained in it, and as the forcegradually gains in strength, spring and summer come. And, thoughsummer is the time when the Positive Force appears to be grreater,the Negative Force is contained in it, and as the force graduallygains in strength, autumn and winter come at last. Likewise,human beings are either strong or weak, and are interrelated witheach other. According to their good or evil deeds, they will beprogressing or retrognessing, and will either be in mutual accordor in conflict as a rsesult. This is the hinciple of Cause andEffect. "

Ftom "On Cause and Effect" of theScripture of Won Buddhism

Won Buddhist delegation participating in the l5th WFB, 1986, posed for cameraat the pond where Queen Maya had taken a bath before she gave birth to PrinceSiddhartha, Nqpal.

The members of the Specid Planning Committee fot the Srd Generation of WonBuddhisrn are holding pmying cer€mony in Everlasting Memorial Shrine, Centerof $Ion Buddhism, on Mar. 19, 1988.

The View of Wonkwang University Museum newly opendon June 5, 1988

Dr. Chon Pal Khn, Vice President of Wonkwang University (fou*h from theleft) met with Professor J.M. Ward, Vice-Chancellor, University of Sidney onJun. 24, 1988. Dr. Chon participated in Korean-Austrialian Partnership inScholarship in the Emergent Pacific-Rim Age, Ausualia.