224 CHAPTER NINEof clothing. Temples were built specifically to house these relics, as well as to
channel their powers to individual devotees and to the country as a whole.
The Buddhist pantheon inspired monumental works of art. The cave tem-
ple at Sokkuram is probably the most impressive example of the dynasty's
devotion to the religion. Begun in 751, it was inspired by the cave temples of
China, yet reflects a Korean aesthetic. The main Buddha-figure, a seated
Sakyamuni Buddha nearly 10 feet tall, is surrounded by statues of various bod-
hisattvas and disciples. Many wooden temples were built but have not sur-
vived the rigors of time.
On the doctrinal level, early interest focused on the Avatmpsaka and Lotus
Sutra. Ironically, it was during this period of unification that Korean Bud-
dhism split into five doctrinal schools (under the influence of trends in China):
Vinaya (Kyeyul chong), Nirvat:ta (Yolban chOng), Dharma Characteristic
(Popsong chOng/Haedong), Hua-yen (Wonyung chOng/Hwaom), and "Old"
(pre-Hsiian-tsang) Yogacarin (Popsang chOng). Ch'an (Son) and Pure Land
(Chong-t'o) also came to Korea during this time, as did T'ien t'ai (Ch'ont'ae),
although this last school did not become well established until the following
dynasty. Chen-yen (Sinan) became popular with the royal family, but the fall
of the dynasty seems to have brought about the end of the school as well.
9.3.1 Hwaom (Hua-yen)
Of the doctrinal schools, Hwaom became the most important. Its Korean sys-
tematizer, Uisang (625-702), studied in China as a disciple of the second Hua-
yen Patriarch, Chih-yen (602-68). Uisang not only introduced Hwaom to
Korea, founding the school's Korean headquarters at Pusok Temple, but also
continued to shap"e its doctrine in China through his correspondence with
Fa-tsang (see Section 8.5.2).
Another Korean monk who influenced Hua-yen/Hwaom doctrine both
in China and Korea was Uisang's friend and fellow student, Wonhyo Daesa
(617-86). Koreans generally regard Wonhyo as one of their great philoso-
phers, and his career is remarkable for the way in which his life mirrored his
thought. His main agenda as a scholar was to unite all the diverse Buddhist
schools. He delineated two main approaches to Awakening: the analytic ap-
proach, in which one tried to develop the full range of paramis, and the syn-
thetic approach, in which one tried to return to the One Mind. He then
worked out a scholarly method that revealed how the two approaches applied
to all issues in Buddhist thought and yet ultimately could be syncretized by
demonstrating how each contained the other in a totally unhindered way.
After he had written 240 volumes applying his method to major Mahayana
texts, his principle of unhindered thought led to a life of unhindered action.
Fathering a son with a widowed princess, he abandoned his robes and began
wandering, teaching that meritorious and demeritorious action were one and
the same for the truly wise person. He used song, music, and dance to spread
Pure Land teachings among the common people, and made a career ofbring-
ing the Dharma into brothels and taverns.