Tsukamoto Zenryu. A History of Early Chinese Buddhism: From
Its Introduction to the Death of Hui-yüan,tr. Leon Hurvitz.
Tokyo and New York: Kodansha, 1985.
Zürcher, E. The Buddhist Conquest of China: The Spread and
Adaptation of Buddhism in Early Medieval China.Leiden,
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JOHNR. MCRAE
KYO ̆NGHO ̆
Kyo ̆ngho ̆ So ̆ngu (1849–1912) was among the few
important So ̆n (CHAN SCHOOL) Buddhist leaders in
nineteenth-century Korea. His rise to eminence took
place at a time when Buddhist institutions were in cul-
tural and political decline after almost six hundred
years of Confucian domination.
In 1879, after secluding himself in a hut for several
months in order to practice intense kongan(KOAN)
meditation, Kyo ̆ngho ̆ became enlightened. Subse-
quently his fame spread far and wide and hundreds of
followers gathered to receive his instructions. In the
following decades he revived So ̆n practice greatly and
set up different monasteries as training centers.
Kyo ̆ngho ̆also contributed to the renaissance of Korean
Buddhism by organizing Buddhist societies on behalf
of the laity.
Kyo ̆ngho ̆passed away in his hermitage on Kapsan
in 1912. His lineage of So ̆n was continued by several
important disciples, all of whom have left their imprint
on contemporary Buddhism in Korea.
Kyo ̆ngho ̆did not write any major works, but he left
behind a large number of instructions for meditation,
exhortations to practice, and occasional pieces, as well
as many songs and poems in praise of So ̆n in particu-
lar and Buddhism in general. Among these his Odo ka
(Song of Enlightenment) is the most important. Much
of this material was compiled posthumously by his dis-
ciples and subsequently published. Kyo ̆ngho ̆also com-
piled a manual for So ̆n practitioners entitled So ̆nmun
ch’waryo(Important Points of So ̆n Buddhism), which is
still in use today.See also:Chan School; KoreaBibliography
Kyo ̆ngho ̆chip(Collected Works of Kyo ̆ngho ̆), ed. Han Yongun.
Seoul: Poryon’gak, 1979. Reprint of Chungang So ̆nwo ̆n
Chang edition, 1942.
Kyo ̆ngho ̆po ̆bo ̆(The Dharma Talks of Kyo ̆ngho ̆), ed. Kyo ̆ngho ̆
Songu So ̆nsa Po ̆bo ̆Chip Kanhaeng Hoe. Seoul: Inmul
Yo ̆n’gu, 1981.
So ̆nmun ch’waryo (Important Points of So ̆n Buddhism), ed.
Kyo ̆ngho ̆So ̆ngu. Seoul: Poryo ̆n’gak, 1982.
Sørensen, Henrik H. “The Life and Times of the Korean So ̆n
Master Kyo ̆ngho ̆.” Korean Studies7 (1983): 7–33.HENRIKH. SØRENSENKYO ̆NGHO ̆