640 henrik h. sørensenthis neglect may be connected with the high status he has enjoyed, and
to some extent still enjoys, as a leading figure in the Korean Sŏn tradi-
tion. However, by taking a closer look at his writings, it soon becomes
obvious that Hyujŏng was not a Sŏn master in a narrow sectarian or
exclusivist sense of the word, but a rather broad-minded person, whose
interests in Buddhism encompassed both Esoteric Buddhist and Pure
Land practices as well as Sŏn. Nevertheless, it is correct to argue that
Sŏn practice remained the dominant Buddhist element in his teaching
and writing.
Hyujŏng’s interest in Esoteric Buddhist practices is evident in his
most celebrated Sŏn work, the Sŏnga kugam (Magical Mir-
ror of the Sŏn Family),^45 where we find the following statement regard-
ing the necessity of using mantras:[The reason why] we recite mantras is that although present karma can
be regulated and avoided through self-cultivation, former karma is dif-
ficult to cut off. Therefore it is necessary to avail oneself of spiritual
power.
Commentary: Mātaṅga obtaining the fruits [of her cultivation of man-
tras] is true and not false. Those who do not recite spiritual mantras will
not be able to remove themselves from the affairs of Māra. (HPC vol. 7,
640ab)
Here Hyujŏng gives a standard explanation based on the traditional
Buddhist view of karma as to why mantras are indispensable tools. In
other words, the individual patterns of karma accumulated by sentient
beings over many lives are so deeply ingrained that even self-culti-
vation in the present life is likely to fail in rooting out the retribu-
tion. Hence, the practitioner of Sŏn will need divine assistance, which
the mantras are said to generate, in over to overcome the obstacles
from previous karma. The reference to Mātaṅga in the commentary of
course relates to the celebrated passage found in the Da foding rulai
miyin xiu chengliao yi zhu pusa wanxing shoulengyan jing
(Pseudo-Śūraṅgama Sūtra;
T. 945), where Śākyamuni Buddha saves his disciple Ānanda from the
prostitute Mātaṅgī, who had employed a magic spell to ensnare him
(T. 945.19: 106c).
(^45) HPC vol. 7, 634c–647b. An extensive study of this important work can be found
in Sin Pŏp’in 1983. For a brief introduction to the Sŏnga kugam, see Sørensen 1985,
273–86.