Koh Seung-Hak

10.18399/acta.2014.17.1.007

Pojo Chinul Hwaŏmnon chŏryo Li Tongxuan Xin huayan jing lun selective abridgement

Pojo Chinul (1158–1210) is considered a great harmonier of the conflicting Buddhist trends in the late Koryŏ period. Although diverse philosophical and sotenological aspects of his texts have been examined, the Hwaŏmnon chŏyo, a seminal text that demonstrates his effort to mitigate the tension between the Son and Kyo schools, has not been given due scholarly attention. By revealing the drawbacks in previous scholarship on Chinul, this article emphasizes the importance of a correct understanding of Li Tongxuan’s (635–730) Xin huayan jing lun, the primary text that exerted an enormous influence on the formation of Chinul’s thought. Chinul’s text, however, sometimes omits the rich symbolism as represented in Li’s text. Moreover, the Hwaŏmnon chŏyo does not adopt indigenous philosophical frameworks for the explication of the Flower Garland Sūtra as introduced in its source text Xtn huayan fing lun. Chmul, instead, faithfully accommodates Li’s fundamental philosophical and sotenological theses in this abridged text. Although Chmul does not accept every detail of Li’s exegesis and his text shows the characteristics of selective abridgement, he has a critical attitude toward the contemporary Buddhists just as Li does. This attitude may explain his adoption of this “unorthodox” text which was written by a layman and disregarded by both of the mainstream Sŏn and Kyo schools.