Jinul
Awakening comes suddenly, but it must be followed by patient practice – and meditation and study of the teachings belong together.
Placement
Reformer of Korean Seon: sudden awakening must be followed by gradual cultivation, and meditation and doctrinal study belong together.
Key ideas
- Sudden awakening, gradual cultivation
- Unity of Seon and doctrine
- Tracing back the radiance
Influence
Influenced by 2
Huineng
influenced by
Jinul had his first awakening while reading the Platform Sutra ascribed to Huineng (after 1182) and took from it that one’s own nature is originally pure and complete. R. E. Buswell, The Korean Approach to Zen: The Collected Works of Chinul (1983); P. Yampolsky, The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (1967)
Evidence: AI draft
Huineng › traditionally 638–713
Fazang
influenced by
Jinul reconciled Seon with Hwaeom, the Huayan doctrine systematised by Fazang, though mainly through Li Tongxuan’s commentary rather than Fazang’s own works (Hwaeomnon jeoryo, 1207). Jinul, Hwaeomnon jeoryo (1207); Wondon seongbullon; R. E. Buswell, The Korean Approach to Zen: The Collected Works of Chinul (1983)
Evidence: AI draft
Fazang › 643–712
Works
A short guide: first awaken suddenly to the nature of one’s own mind, then cultivate gradually to wear down old habits.
Position
Jinul answered the rift in Goryeo Buddhism between the meditation school (Seon) and the doctrinal schools, above all Hwaeom (Huayan). Awakening, he taught, means seeing suddenly that one’s own mind is already Buddha; but deep-rooted habits remain and must be worn down gradually – “sudden awakening, gradual cultivation”, a formula taken from the Chinese master Zongmi. Practice unites concentration and wisdom, turning the mind’s light back to its source. With Li Tongxuan he held that doctrine and Seon point to the same truth; later he adopted Dahui’s keyword (hwadu) meditation. Seon had existed in Korea since the 9th century, but his synthesis shaped today’s dominant Jogye tradition.
Life & context
Jinul was born in 1158 in Goryeo Korea and ordained as a boy. He passed the monastic examination in 1182 but left the capital for provincial monasteries. Three awakenings came while reading – the Platform Sutra, Li Tongxuan’s commentary on the Huayan Sutra and the records of Dahui. In 1190 he founded a Samadhi and Prajna Society, later moved to Mount Jogye, today’s Songgwangsa. He died in 1210.
Further main works
- Encouragement to Practice: The Compact of the Samadhi and Prajna Society (Gwonsu jeonghye gyeolsa mun, 1190)
- Excerpts from the Dharma Collection with Personal Notes (Beopjip byeolhaeng nok jeoryo, 1209)
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