분황 원효와 인각 일연의 화엄학과 선학 이해 ― 각승(角乘) 가풍과 경초(莖草) 선풍을 중심으로 ― = Understanding Huayan and Seon Thoughts from the Perspectives of Bunhwang Wonhyo and Ingak Ilyeon ― Focusing on “riding a horned cow (角乘)” Seon tradition and “stems and grass (莖草)” Seon tradition ―

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This thesis investigates Bunhwang Wonhyo’s (617–686) and Ingak Ilyeon’s (1206–1289) ways of living and thinking through their understanding of Huayan and Seon thoughts. How did Wonhyo of the Three Kingdoms of Korea pre- and post-unification and Ilyeon of the Goryeo period, during the Mongol invasion, live and think? As a philosopher and thinker, Wonhyo lived a life of public edification by writing and lecturing while feeling the pain and conflicts of the Korean people before and after the unification of the three kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla.
As a historian and thinker, Ilyeon practiced, writed, and penned historical books while experiencing the pain and conflicts of the Korean people during the late Goryeo Dynasty when the country was confronted by in this emergency due to the Mongol invasion. Although the two men lived in different eras, because 1) they share the same place of origin, 2) they did not neglect loyalty and filial piety despite being monks, 3) they spread their lifestyles and ways of thinking, focusing on Huayan philosophy and Seon thoughts, and 4)they were the most representative high priests and advisers to kings in Korean history, they shared many commonalities.
Wonhyo and Ilyeon managed their lives and developed their ways of thinking using the traditions of Huayan and Seon thoughts, respectively.
Wonhyo wrote Treaties on Vajrasamādhi-sūtra (金剛三昧經), showing wisdom that harmonically encompasses initial and original enlightenment.
He reconciled with Awakening of Faith in Mahayana thought, which emphasizes “concurrent application of stabilizing and insight meditation,” and Huayan thought, which emphasizes “being without hindrance or impediment.” He also reconciled the Awakening of Faith in Mahayana thought, focusing on the non-dualism of the shrine and the grave, and the Seon thought of the non-dualistic middle way. Furthermore, he greatly contributed to popular edification by making people chant “I take homage to Buddha.” On the other hand, Ilyeon promoted Bodhisattva’s One vehicle Huayan thought, while also showing the Seon tradition of “stems and grass” in which phenomenal and metaphysical realms neither increase nor decrease.
He published Overlooked Records of the Three Kingdoms, a national history book aimed at fostering the national spirit that was crumbling due to the Mongol invasion, and contributed greatly to the process of establishing Korean people’s identity.
Wonhyo corresponded to prajnācontemplation of the middle-way school as the essence of “one taste observation practice” and the consciousness-only school as “ten-fold aspects of dharma.” Thus, he attempted to converge the two-truth theory of the middle-way school with the theory of the three natures of cognition of the consciousness-only school. Additionally, as a military adviser to Yu-shin Kim, he participated in the reality of war and added wisdom to it.
Ilyeon showed both Mahayana Bodhisattva’s Huayan thoughts where One vehicle is emphasized and Seon thoughts in which phenomenal and metaphysical realms neither increase nor decrease by running the example of “entering the body of a cow and attaining enlightenment.” In addition, he showed Hyosun thought, which is a combination of the idea of filial piety and good deeds, through Overlooked Records of the Three Kingdoms.
Therefore, Wonhyo’s “riding a horned cow (角乘) ” Seon tradition and Ilyeon’s “stems and grass (莖草)” Seon tradition passed down the Bodhisattva tradition, which later became a source of nourishment for the Korean people’s spiritual and cultural maturity.