576 henrik h. sørensen
reason a good understanding of where and how the myths fit into the
larger picture of the history of Esoteric Buddhism in Korea is not only
important but also necessary.
There are essentially two sources for these Buddhist tales: the Hae-
dong kosŭng chŏn (Histories of Famous Monks in Korea;
hereafter HKC),^2 attributed to a Koryŏ monk by the name of Kak-
hun (fl. first half of thirteenth century), and the famous Samguk
yusa (Of the Three Kingdoms; hereafter SGYS),^3 compiled by Iryŏn
(1206–1289), a Sŏn monk and learned literatus. The former work
is an attempt at creating a Korean history for its famous Buddhist cler-
ics, in particular for those who went abroad, mainly inspired by the
“biographies of famous monks” (gaoseng zhuan ) compilations
of China, while the latter is a collection of mainly Buddhist myths and
tales taken from a variety of sources including oral traditions, local
writings, as well as Chinese sources. Despite the fact that the contents
of both of these books are mainly mythological in nature, here and
there they contain bits of what appear to be documented, historical
fact.^4
Although the HKC frequently touches upon miraculous and super-
natural events, it does not contain much in the way of Esoteric Bud-
dhism. On the other hand, the SGYS contains several references to it,
including some of the earliest dated information, in which it is said
that during the reign of Queen Sŏndŏk (632–647) a monk by
the name of Milbon (n.d.) appeared. He is described as a thau-
maturge who performed various acts of magic based on Esoteric Bud-
dhist beliefs (see HPC vol. 6, 355ab). Milbon’s miracles were mainly
exorcistic in nature, in connection with which he is said to have used
a magic wand (a khakkara?) and the recitation of the Bhaiṣajyaguru
sūtra (probably T. 450). Consequently, he has been considered one of
the founders of the local Esoteric Buddhist tradition.^5 The account of
1994b, 12–27. See also the historically absurd section on spells and mantras in Kim
Yŏngt’ae (1990, 31–79).
(^2) T. 2065. See also the translation and study Lee 1969. Recently there have been
speculations that the HKC is a later fabrication, probably written by Hoegwang Sasŏn
(1862–1933), the monk who is credited with having found the original
manuscript (which has, in fact, never been seen by anybody). Pers. comm., Dr. John
Jorgensen, Griffith University, May 2007. 3
HPC vol. 6, 245a–369c. See also Ha and Mintz 1972.
(^4) A discussion of the historical value of the SGYS can be found in Sørensen
2000b.
(^5) See, for example, Ko 1986, 127–222, esp. 156–160.