found his hermeneutical key in the famous Mahayana
text, the AWAKENING OFFAITH(DASHENG QIXIN LUN).
Wo ̆nhyo’s commentaries on this text influenced
FAZANG(643–712), the great systematizer of Huayan
thought.
But Wo ̆nhyo was more than a scholar-monk. He
tried to embody in his own life the ideal of a
bodhisattva who works for the well-being of all SEN-
TIENT BEINGS. Transcending the distinction of the sa-
cred and the secular, he married a widowed princess,
visited villages and towns, and taught people with songs
and dances. Silla Buddhism fully matured during
Wo ̆nhyo’s time, not only in terms of its doctrinal depth
but also its ability to engage the common people.
Beginning in the late eighth century, the unified Silla
dynasty began to show signs of disintegration due to
conflicts within the ruling class and the rise of local
warlords. During this period of political turmoil the
So ̆n or Chan school of Buddhism was introduced into
Korea from Tang China. Numerous So ̆n centers were
soon established, mostly in provinces far away from
the Silla capital of Kyo ̆ngju and under the patronage
of local warlords and magnates. Most of the founders
of the NINEMOUNTAINS SCHOOL OFSO ̆N (Kusan
So ̆nmun) received transmission in China from mem-
bers of the dharma-lineage of the famous Mazu DAOYI
(709–788). Their new approach to Buddhism soon cre-
ated conflict with the older schools of doctrinal Bud-
dhism (Kyo), bifurcating the Korean san ̇gha.
Buddhism in the Koryo ̆ ̆dynasty
The long political turmoil of the late Silla period ended
with the redivision of the Korean peninsula into three
kingdoms and the rise of Wang Ko ̆n (r. 918–943), a
local warlord who founded a new dynasty, the Koryo ̆
(918–1392). Although the political climate had
changed, the intimate relationship between Buddhism
and the state did not. Buddhism became even more
firmly established as the state religion. Wang Ko ̆n was
a pious Buddhist and attributed his political success
to the protective power of the buddhas. He was also
a firm believer in geomancy, and he constructed nu-
merous Buddhist monasteries according to geoman-
tic principles with a view to curbing evil forces
emanating from unfavorable places. Following his ex-
ample, the succeeding Koryo ̆monarchs became ar-
dent supporters of Buddhism. During the reign of
King Kwangjong (949–975), the state established a
monks’ examination system that was modeled on the
civil service examination. Titles were conferred upon
the monks who passed the examination, according to
their ranks. The highest honor belonged to the royal
preceptor (wangsa) and the posthumous national pre-
ceptor (kuksa). In short, the Buddhist san ̇gha became
part and parcel of the state bureaucracy, and the idea
of hoguk pulgyo(state-protection Buddhism) became
firmly entrenched during the Koryo ̆dynasty.
In the latter half of the eleventh century, a new
school arose and changed the denominational dynam-
ics of the Koryo ̆san ̇gha. U ̆ICH’O ̆N(1055–1101), the
fourth son of King Munjong, became a Hwao ̆m monk
at the age of eleven. At thirty-one he traveled to Song
China, where he met many illustrious Chinese mas-
ters, who inspired him to establish a new order, the
Ch’o ̆nt’aejong (TIANTAI SCHOOL) in Koryo ̆, a decision
rooted in his determination to resolve the severe con-
flict between So ̆n and Kyo (doctrinal Buddhism) in the
Koryo ̆san ̇gha. U ̆ich’o ̆n was critical of So ̆n’s iconoclas-
tic rhetoric, which he believed ignored scriptural learn-
ing. He wanted his new school to balance doctrinal
study (kyo) and MEDITATION(kwan). U ̆ich’o ̆n’s lead-
ership and royal background soon made Ch’o ̆nt’ae a
flourishing order, but the conflict continued to inten-
sify. Not long after U ̆ich’o ̆n, the Nine Mountains
school of So ̆n began to consolidate under a new name,
the Chogyejong.
A century later, a So ̆n monk named CHINUL(1158–
1210) led a quiet monastic reform movement in order
to purify the Koryo ̆san ̇gha, which he believed was in
a state of serious moral and spiritual decay. Convinced
through his encounter with the writings of the Hwao ̆m
exegete Li Tongxuan (635–730) that So ̆n’s “sudden en-
lightenment” (tono) approach could also be found in
Hwao ̆m teaching, Chinul concluded that there was no
discrepancy between So ̆n and Kyo. Chinul established
a comprehensive approach to So ̆n that balanced “sud-
den enlightenment” with “gradual cultivation,” and he
permitted both a Hwao ̆m method of “sudden enlight-
enment” and the “extraordinary” (kyo ̆goe) method of
hwadu(KOAN) meditation. Chinul’s So ̆n teaching, set
forth in many of his writings, became the foundation
for the thought and practice of Korean So ̆n Buddhism
to the present day.
Koryo ̆Buddhism is also noted for its monumental
woodblock editions of the Chinese Buddhist canon,
the first of which is said to have been commissioned
by King Hyo ̆njong (1009–1031) in the hope of pro-
tecting the country from invading Liao forces. This edi-
tion was burned by Mongols in 1232. King Kojong
(1213–1259) commissioned another edition of the
canon on Kanghwa Island, where he had fled after the
Mongol invasion. This edition, which consisted ofKOREA