mately be traced back to the Sanskrit expression des ́a-
bhasa(language of a country).
Although there are a few examples of vernacular el-
ements in non-Buddhist texts from before the Tang
period, they are extremely rare. A careful examination
of the trajectory of the early written vernacular in
China reveals that it is unmistakably and overwhelm-
ingly related to Buddhist contexts. In other words, it
is safe to say that Buddhism legitimized the writing of
the vernacular language in China.
See also: Apocrypha; Buddhavacana (Word of the
Buddha); Entertainment and Performance; Lan-
guages; Poetry and Buddhism
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ers Association12, no. 3 (1977): 177–203.VICTORH. MAIRCHINULChinul (“Puril Pojo kuksa”; 1158–1210), founder of the
CHOGYE SCHOOLof the So ̆n (Chinese, Chan; Japanese,
Zen) school, is one of the preeminent figures in the his-
tory of Korean Buddhism. His work contains three re-
lated but distinct accomplishments. First, he helped
initiate the practice of kongan(Chinese, gong’an; Japan-
ese, KOAN) meditation within the Korean So ̆n tradition.
Second, he attempted to reconcile the longstanding
conflict between the So ̆n schools, which focused on
meditation practice, and the doctrinal or Kyo schools,
which focused on scriptural study. Third, he formu-
lated a theory of enlightenment that sought to bridge
the sudden-gradual debate that had long troubled the
Korean Buddhist world. Often termed “sudden en-
lightenment and gradual cultivation,” Chinul’s theory
posited an initial sudden enlightenment experience that
ongoing practice would deepen and enrich.
Three separate enlightenment experiences define
Chinul’s spiritual journey. He became a monk at the
age of eight, and at twenty-five passed an examination
meant to select clergy for high administrative service.
Instead of taking a post, he left the capital and went
south, eventually settling at the monastery of Ch’o ̆ng-
wo ̆nsa. There, he read the PLATFORMSUTRA OF THE
SIXTHPATRIARCH(LIUZU TAN JING), which triggered
the first of his enlightenment experiences. In 1185, at
the age of twenty-eight, he moved to the monastery of
Pomunsa and read the Huayan lun(Treatise on theCHINUL