598 henrik h. sørensenEsoteric Buddhist denominations, the Ch’ongji and Sinin
, can be added to these lesser schools, some of which may have been
very small and short-lived as independent denominations. Although on
the surface it can be argued that sectarian divisions were rather strict,
at least during the first half of the dynasty, they were never so strict as
to exclude the borrowing of certain doctrines and practices from the
other Buddhist denominations. During the time of the military dicta-
torship of the Ch’oe clan, starting during the middle of the twelfth
century (a period when the Sŏn tradition was formally in dominance),
we begin to see a freer, even ecumenical spirit having prevailed among
the various Buddhist denominations.^3 Not only was there a sort of
rapprochement between Ch’ŏnt’ae and Sŏn, especially after Ŭich’ŏn
(1055–1101), but also between Sŏn and Hwaŏm and even the fol-
lowers of the Pure Land tradition. While this new tendency found its
most prominent spokesman in Chinul (1158–1210), the founder
of the Susŏnsa brand of Sŏn,^4 there were other monks, such as
Wŏnmyo Yose (1163–1245)^5 and Ch’ŏnch’aek (1206–?),
both belonging to the Ch’ŏnt’ae school, who also contributed to the
development of a more trans-sectarian and harmonizing spirit in
Korean Buddhism.^6 In this religious environment Esoteric Buddhism
came to play a significant role as the single most important factor in
the trans-sectarian development of Buddhist ritual practices on both
the local and national levels.
The Significance of Imported Esoteric Buddhist ScripturesThrough massive import of the printed Buddhist canon and other
Buddhist writings from the Northern Song (960–1127), the Liao
(916–1124), and the Jin (1115–1234), as well as through the project
of producing their own Tripiṭaka, a wide range of Esoteric Buddhist
scriptures became available in Korea for the first time. It is assumed
that many of the important Esoteric Buddhist scriptures contained in
the first Korean Tripiṭaka, carved during the years 1029–1089 (cf. KS(^3) For a study of Buddhism during the period of military dictatorship, see Kim 1986,
59–72.
(^4) For his contributions, especially in the areas of Hwaŏm and Chŏngt’o, see Buswell
1983.
(^5) Biographical details on his life can be found in HPIS 193b–194b.
(^6) For additional information on the activities of these two monks, see Yi 1988,
187–262. See also Hŏ 1995.