636 henrik h. sørensen
century onwards, something that undoubtedly reflects the influence
of the integration between the Chogye school and the Ch’ongji school
(one of the two Esoteric Buddhist schools of the Koryŏ dynasty). As
time wore on the contact between the Sŏn and Kyo traditions became
quite intimate, and it is more than likely that the practices of the
Chungsin school, which had been merged with the other Esoteric Bud-
dhist school, the Sinin, gradually became accepted by the Sŏn tradition
as well. In any case, there is little reason to doubt that both of the
old Esoteric Buddhist denominations were relatively vital by the time
of the mergers during the first three decades of the fifteenth century.
That Esoteric Buddhist ritual practices would become a very promi-
nent aspect of this syncretic form of Korean Buddhism from the early
fifteenth century onwards is, as we shall see below, fully documented
in the extant sources.^35
The extant writings from the hands of several Sŏn masters from the
Chosŏn period reveal that they were also adepts of Esoteric Buddhist
lore. Among the most important of these we find Hŏung Pou
(1510?–1566; see Poŭ sasang yŏn’gu hoe 1993), a leading fig-
ure in the short-lived Buddhist restoration that took place during the
reign of the dowager Queen Munjŏng (?–1565).^36 Scattered
throughout Pou’s writings we find evidence of Esoteric Buddhism
mainly in the form of dhāraṇīs and mantras. Due to the leading role
he played as royal advisor to Queen Munjŏng during her fifteen years
in power, he had to preside over a number of important ceremonies at
the royal palace and wrote the texts for the ritual proceedings of two
major suryuk rituals dedicated to the two former kings Chungjong
(r. 1506–1544) and Injong (r. 1544–1545).^37 There is exten-
sive use of mantras evident in the accompanying ritual text. However,
Pou also wrote smaller occasional tracts and addresses for a variety
of ritual functions such as the “eye-opening” ceremony (kaegwang
(^35) The Sinin school, together with the Chungdo school (which was a minor denom-
ination), is stated to have controlled thirty temples by the time of the merger. The
Ch’ongji school, together with the Chogye school (which was a major tradition), is
said to have controlled as many as seventy temples (cf. Hŏ 1986, 522–535). 36
Pou’s reputation as a Buddhist leader came to the attention of the dowager queen
in 1548, and shortly thereafter they met in person. This event is mentioned by Pou
in a poem in his Hŏung tang chip (Collected Writings of Ven. Hŏung). Cf.
HPC 37 vol. 7, 548a.
Pou was also the author of the ritual text used at these occasions. Cf. HPC vol.
7, 599a–609a.