BUDDHISM IN KOREA AND VIETNAM 233lished during the Yi dynasty, whereas others place more emphasis on medita-
tion. All preserve traces ofHwaom doctrine in their formal organization. Sin-
uous paths winding from shrine to shrine among the buildings replicate the
Hwaom dharmadhatu maJ.?-<;iala, a diagram that outlines the unimpeded inter-
penetration of phenomena (see Section 8.5.2). The monastic population is di-
vided into two groups: the scrutinizers of principle, or meditators and scholars,
and the scrutinizers of phenomena, or the support corps. The interaction be-
tween these two is an object lesson in Hwaom doctrine, forming a dhar-
madhatu mal).<;iala in the four dimensions of space and time.
Each monastery is divided into several compounds, each of which is a
monastery in miniature. One compound is also set aside for nuns who wish to
study with the resident Son master. Although they come together for the daily
ceremonies of the monastery, contact between the monks and nuns is strictly
curtailed. Within their compound the nuns lead a life similar to that of the
monks, which is outlined in the following:
Korean folk wisdom traditionally recognizes five possible reasons for tak-
ing on the life of a monk: a sense of vocation, the fulfillment of a vow (as in
the case of Chinul), family pressure, failure in love, or laziness. The fulfillment
of a vow does not appear to play a role at present, and only the most devout
Buddhist families would consider the life of a monk a desirable vocation for
one of their sons, but the other incentives are still in force. Ironically, the sense
of vocation felt by young men seeking ordination today often stems from the
rampant Westernization of the country, as university students become disillu-
sioned with the Western approach to philosophy that dominates the modern
educational system and view ordination as a way to reconnect with Korea's
ancient roots. T!J.e call to ordain can also come from personal experience in
modern warfare, as happened in the late 1970s, when many Vietnam War vet-
erans became monks. Young men who come to the monkhood with a sense
of vocation tend to be more idealistic than their brethren, but practical expe-
rience shows that initial motivation does not necessarily determine how suc-
cessful a monk's career will be.
That career goes through several stages, beginning invariably in the sup-
port corps of the monastery. The candidate spends the first six months as a
postulant, working in the kitchen, the latrines, and the monastery's fields. Not
only does this provide the manual labor needed to keep the monastery self-
sufficient, but it also tests the stamina and commitment of the newly arrived
devotees. The postulants are also expected to study basic chants and the
Vinaya. As a result, their days-from the wake-up call at 3:00 A.M. to lights-
out at 9:00 P.M.-are full, with little time for rest. If they last the six months,
they are invited to ordain as novices and they receive the Ten Precepts (see
Section 3.4.1), although here the vow to abstain from eating in the afternoon
is changed to a vow to abstain from keeping domestic animals. At the end of
the ordination ceremony, the novice's change in status is marked by his taking
a wick, placing it inside his forearm, lighting it, and letting it burn down to
the skin, as a symbol of nonattachment to the body. When the wound forms a
scab, some novices have been known to pick at it to enlarge the scar, as a badge
of their bravado.