Book XIV 77913th Day (Kimi)
It rained. A meteor emerged from the east of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure
(Chamiwŏn) to enter the seat of Emptiness Constellation (Hŏsŏng), the elev-
enth lodge.
The king ordered the districts and counties of Left Kyŏnggi and Ch’ungch’ŏng
Provinces to repair the walls in the capital when necessary. The circumfer-
ence of the city walls slightly exceeded 9,760 paces.
Sangch’ong, chief monk of Hŭngch’ŏn Monastery, submitted a memorial to
the king:
“Meditation (sŏn) is the mind of Buddha, and doctrine (kyo) the word of
Buddha. However, there is little difference between the two because those
who belong to them all pray for the long life of the king and the well- being
of the state and the people. I believe that Your Majesty has realized the wish
of his former life. After you established a new capital on the site you chose,
you put all government buildings in good order and harmonized various
duties and responsibilities. On top of that, you built a monastery in the capital
and bestowed the name of Hŭngch’ŏnsa (Monastery of Heavenly Prosperity),
making it the center for the practice of meditation. Your reverent faith in
Buddha and thereby your expectations for blessings from the dragon kings
and devas (Yongchŏn)^4 were extremely deep and serious.
“Since you appointed Sangch’ong as chief monk, one who used to live in
the mountainous countryside, how can your servant not purify his heart and
do his utmost in discharging his duty of spreading dharma and praying for
blessings?
“Generally speaking, among Buddhists meditation is regarded most highly.
If a man is born with a superior nature, he can succeed even in a day and
thereby attain enlightenment and great wisdom. Even if he is not so suc-
cessful, Buddha will be delighted in him and dragon kings and devas respect
and trust him when he can investigate hwadu [critical phrase].^5
- They refer to the eight kinds of demigods that protect dharma.
- Hwadu is the phrase in a verbalized phrase or exchange that points to the reality
beyond thought. One is supposed to focus on that critical phrase until one can see that it fails
to accurately represent the undifferentiated thusness that underlies all discriminated phe-
nomena. See Robert E. Buswell’s article “Chinul’s Systemization of Chinese Meditative