e) The Period of Transfiguration


The rapid development of Ch'ont'ae philosophy influenced the whole of Buddhist studies in the early Koryo Period. Especially the Zen School was deeply affected. The result was that many Zen masters moved to the new Ch'ont'ae School. This shows that the Ch'ont'ae philosophy of Master Uich'on who claimed that the dual practice of study and meditation was necessary, had absorbed Zen philosophy. The result was that the hitherto active Zen made poor progress once the Ch'ont'ae School was founded.
It was Master Chinul (1158-1210) of the middle Koryo Period who overcame the hardships of Zen and created a fresh direction in the Zen tradition. He fiercely criticized the existing Buddhist communities like the Avatamsa School which revealed excessive political interests and conspiracy with aristocrats on the one hand, and developed community movements centered around Zen in local places far from the capital, Kae-gyong, aimed at renovating Buddhism on the other hand. His Meditation and Wisdom Community emphasized the equal, balanced practice of meditation and wisdom in order to keep the religious purity of Buddhism from the pollution of political power. At the same time, it was aimed at the study of all aspects of Zen.
Master Chinul's intentions are well seen through his creative Zen philosophy of the three approaches: the approach of "equal maintenance of alertness and calmness," the approach of "complete and sudden faith and understanding," and the "shortcut" approach. His creative Zen attitude forms a good contrast to that of Uich'on who intended to include Zen in the Academic School by founding the Koryo Ch'ont'ae School.

When the Koryo Zen tradition was again roused from stagnation and stimulated by Master Chinul's community movement, the Ch'ont'ae School founded a similar community. Called the White Lotus Community, it was created by Master Yose (1163-1245) and based in a local temple. Master Yose developed three approaches to repentance as taught in the Lotus Sutra as well as emphasizing the wish to be reborn in the Pure Land and the Ch'ont'ae practice of Concentration and Insight. In that way he advocated popular Buddhism which made this movement different from Master Uch'on's Ch'ont'ae philosophy. The White Lotus Community together with Master Chinul's community affirm the philosophical change of Buddhism in the middle Koryo Period.

Then a new tradition of Zen was introduced from Yuan in the late Koryo Period. It was at the time when military rule, which had been encouraged in order to fight against the Mongols, was over and imperial rule was restored. Hence from the 13th century, Koryo's internal affairs were intervened upon by Yuan, and Koryo Buddhism found itself in a new situation: the new Chaun School and the Ch'ont'ae School coming from another lineage became active. However this was merely a social influence and not one that affected the philosophical movement at all. In fact it was the direct result of aristocratic Buddhism which had taken up a position closer to politics.

At that time, Ch'ont'ae Master Unmuk of the White Lotus Community persisted in his wish for the purification of folk Buddhism, and so he advocated having deep belief in Amitabha. Also Avatamsa Master Ch'ewon inspired belief in Kwanum (Avalokitesvara) based on the Flower Garland Sutra. In addition, one Master Wonch'an, of unknown origin, formed a peculiar esoteric group which practiced the pure conduct of reciting mantras and prognosticating rebirth in the Pure Land. What was common to the above tendencies was that they all relied on other power, that is the help of the Bodhisattvas or Buddhas, a very different trend from that of Zen.

It was in the middle of the 14th century, that Zen was introduced from Yuan by masters Po-u, Hyegun, and Kyonghan. The Zen School was one of five Chinese Zen families of the seven Chinese Zen schools. This family tradition was more active than any other. Zen prospered greatly in Koryo and an effort was made at reviving and renovating Zen Buddhist thought through this new direction. From the time of the development of the community movement by masters Chinul and Yose until the flourishing of Zen was a period of transfiguration for Korean Buddhist thought.