Chinul

Chinul Puril Pojo Daesa (1158-1210) was a Korean Buddhist writer and philosopher-reformer of the twelfth century. Chinul was an ordained monk in the Sŏn or Chán tradition and held the rank of National Teacher (kuksa) during the period of the Ch'oe Military Rule (1170-1258). This same military had promoted and supported Sŏn Buddhism over the teachings sects which had been supported by the monarchy it had displaced and the aristocracy and civil bureaucracy that it had oppressed. Chinul is most noted for his incorporation of Huayen Buddhism as explicated by Li T'ung-hsufan (635-730) into Sŏn Buddhism and his attempt to unite all the sects of Korea (teaching and meditation) into a single sect (the Chogye Sect). Half a century before the royal monk Uich'on, with the backing of the throne of his father and three brothers, had decimated the ranks of the meditation sects by establishing a meditative T'ient'ai sect with the primary emphasis on T'ient'ai scholasticism and ritual. Chinul's response was to reverse that synthesis, by placing primary emphasis on instantaneous enlightenment achieved through meditation as the basis for understanding Buddhist doctrines.

Chinul’s approach to Buddhist practice ended up becoming an interesting blend of gongan (J. kōan) meditation, coupled with scriptural study, incorporating the Hwom (Ch. Huayan) approach that tended to see the mutual containment of ostensive opposites. From the Chinese Chan master Dahui, Chinul incorporated the huàguān (話觀’observing the key phrase of the kōan’ ) method into his practice. This form of meditation remains the main method taught in Korean Sŏn down to modern times. Yet on the other hand, Chinul believed that scriptural study was a vitally important component of Buddhist cultivation. This approach is enunciated in the oft-repeated adage that Chinul did not undergo his enlightenment experiences as the result of the classical so-called personal ‘mind-to-mind transmission’ between teacher and student as characterized in the Sŏn school. Rather, each of his three enlightenment experiences came in connection with the contemplation of a passage in a Buddhist text. In his final articulation of the issue of the relationship between sŏn (meditative practice) and gyo (scriptural study), Chinul was highly influenced by the explanation of the relationship between practice and study provided by the Tang Huayan master Li Tongxuan (李通玄; 635-730). Chinul’s philosophical resolution of this issue brought a deep and lasting impact on Korean Buddhism, and can be seen as repeated theme in the works of numerous subsequent Sŏn masters, including such famous figures as Gihwa (己和 1376-1433) and Hyujeong (休靜 1520-1604), who followed Chinul’s way of thinking in addressing the issue of practice and study in their own writings.

Photo:Chinul Puril Pojo Daesa