Why Wonhyo Now?

Why Wonhyo Now?

Why Wonhyo Now?
Posted : 2010-04-15





The writer is a researcher of Buddhism at Dongguk University. ― ED.

Chun Ock-bae
Contributing Writer

Wonhyo was a Great Master of the Silla Kingdom period (57 B.C.-A.D. 935) and one of the most creative thinkers in the history of Korean Buddhism. He chose the name Wonhyo indicating his desire to be a light in Buddhism, as the term was used locally to mean ``dawn.''

Why remember Wonhyo now? Violent conflict is everywhere around the world. In the Middle East, Palestine and Israel seem helpless to break the cycle of violence that has held sway there for so many years. In South Asia, two nuclear powers, India and Pakistan, continue a tense standoff over the disputed territory. And, of course, the Korean Peninsula remains both divided and heavily armed because of conflicting ideologies.

For this reason, Wonho's theory of ``harmonization and reconciliation'' is as relevant today as it was when he first formulated it 1,300 years ago. It offers an intellectual and spiritually profound explanation of how apparently irreconcilable differences can be harmonized and the underlying unity of all things revealed. As such, it serves as a potent reminder of how much the West has to learn from the East, and how much the present, with all its technological advances, has to learn from the past.

Wonhyo teaches us to live in Buddha's mind by returning to the origin of One Mind. His One Mind philosophy is quite a relevant teaching to the contemporary world where people live in chaos and delusion as a result of ignorance of their true nature and attachment to name and form.

He also teaches us a way to solve the oppositions and conflicts by way of Harmonization and Reconciliation, or ``Hwajang.'' He explains that Hwajang synthesizes all teachings and gives rise to one taste from all streams of thought. It reconciles the different assertions of the various schools and points us toward the correct meaning of Buddha's teaching. Wonhyo was not a man who stuck to doctrinal studies or abstract ideas.

The most oft-cited episode from Wonhyo's life found within these hagiographies is that of his attempt to go to study in Tang China (618-907)― a common desire of Korean monks for a number of centuries.



As the story goes, when Wonhyo and his colleague Uisang arrived at their port of embarkation, their ship's departure was delayed by inclement weather. Caught in the rain and without a place to stay, they took shelter for the night in a nearby cave where they found gourds from which to drink, and so were able to get a decent night's sleep. It was only at the first light of dawn that they realized that the cave in which they stayed was actually a tomb, and that the ``gourds'' from which they had drunk were actually human skulls. Due to the continued storm, their departure was delayed for another day and they were forced to spend another night in the same cave. During their second night in the cave they were unable to sleep, being plagued by ghosts and nightmares.

This experience became the base of his realization that ``there is nothing clean and nothing dirty; all things are made by mind.'' The fact that all phenomena arise from the mind is a truth which he clearly understood. He knew that the mind exists in all human beings and so he decided not to go to Tang China and to return home. This is a well-known Korean Buddhist legend.

As Wonhyo reflected on this experience, he suddenly became deeply aware of the extent to which his perception of the world was based on the condition of his own mind. He experienced a great awakening to the principle of Consciousness-only, after which he decided that there was, after all, no need to go to China in search of Dharma (Truth). He explained his experience thus: ``Because of the arising of thought, various phenomena arise; since thought ceases, a cave and a grave are not two.''

This sudden realization gave rise to a profound understanding of the world. Wonhyo said, ``The three worlds are only mind, and all phenomena arise from the mind, consciousness. If the truth is present in the mind, how could it be found outside of the mind! I won't go to Tang.'' Then he once again returned to Silla.

This is a reference to the verse in the Awakening of Mahayana Faith, which says, ``When a thought arises, all dharmas arise, and when a thought ceases, all dharmas disappear.'' Wonhyo concluded saying, ``Since there are no Dharmas outside of the mind, why should I seek them somewhere? I will not go to the Tang.'' Through awakening, Wonhyo saw that since there was nothing outside of his own mind, there was nothing special for him to seek in China and he returned home to Silla.



Wonhyo insisted that the ultimate aim of Buddhism is to save all beings through his philosophy. His life itself demonstrated a true practitioner's attitude in which behavior and doctrine were unified, and at the same time he was constantly dedicated to popularizing Buddhism. Wonhyo called himself ``Muoae Geusa'' [unhindered practitioner]. Dancing and singing around the country carrying a gourd, he committed himself to spread Buddhism to the masses so that all people could chant and recite the Buddha's name.

Wonhyo died suddenly at the age of 70 in the third lunar month of 686. His son Seol Chong brought his remains to Bunhwang Temple (the temple with which Wonhyo had been primarily associated during his career), where he made a clay image and interred his ashes.